Thread: Is OBE a form of Lucid Dreaming or not?

Originally Posted by vmenge

As in, you believe it subconsciously that you'll see a silver string connecting you to your body and that you'll be in your astral form or whatever, but it's actually a dream that's you don't have complete control because you don't really believe it to be a dream, but to be an OBE.

That's actually astral projection, which would be in the realm of "mystial stuff". It suggests that a person ("person" being their conciousness) can leave the physical body and inhabit a sort of energy body known as the astral body, at which point the person is no longer experiencing the physical plane but the astral plane. This is a very specific term, and (if it exists) is one type of OBE.

The term "out of body experience" is a much more general and scientific term. It does not imply any reason behind the experience, mystical or otherwise (i.e. calling something an OBE does not imply the person's conciousness actually left their body in some sort of spirit or energy body, or any other attempt at an objective explanation). It is simply a term for the subjective experience of seeming to see one's self and surroundings from a point outside one's own body. Many people report having OBE's during near-death experiences, in situations such as serious car crashes or complicated surgery. Personally, I feel it has more to do with an odd functioning of the brain than anything else. Imagine there's a security camera on your wall pointed at you and your surroundings. Now close your eyes and try to visualize the view from that camera. There's no need to judge OBE's as real or fake, because the term is just describing a subjective experience. The idea of astral projection, however, goes a step further, and one can easily argue for or against them. Just don't get the two terms mixed up.