As I'm sure anyone on this website knows, we can dream about almost anything. Our brains are very good at coming up with vivid, convincing, realistic environments. All of the current evidence suggests that out of body experiences are just dreams about leaving our bodies and flying around our familiar environments.
In theory, it is very easy to prove whether an OBE is happening in our real physical environment, or in a replica of it that only exists in the dreamers mind. There are all kinds of experiments where people are asked to view something that is only accessible from above, or placed after they fall asleep. They never work. There are countless anecdotal tales of this happening, but it suddenly becomes impossible when we try to really pin it down.
Many people make the argument that OBEs happen in a realm that exists just out of phase with our reality, which is why we can not see things that would otherwise be plainly visible. "It is only the impression of our reality," or "It is a dream overlapping our reality." This starts to move into the realm of belief and faith, since it is inherently impossible to prove. There would be nothing differentiating this from a regular dream, so it is up to the person experiencing it.
On a semi related note, I think the most fascinating evidence for OBEs comes from near death experiences. It is fairly well documented that people can still experience their surroundings after their sensory organs have supposedly shut down. People can recall what was said or done around them after they were pronounced dead. Of course, this does not necessarily prove that some sort of spirit was witnessing. It only suggests that our senses can provide our brains information even after we are pronounced "brain dead." There is a lot of wiggle room in how doctors define dead, brain dead, ect. There are a few minutes when we are pronounced dead, but can still be revived. It happens all the time in hospitals. There are some new drugs being researched right now that can prolong the window from what is currently a few minutes to a few hours, or even DAYS. DAYS. You could be dead days, and still be revived. That is some horror movie shit!
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