Post 3: OBEs

The separation of mind and body is an interesting concept to me. Many people imagine their thoughts to "be" in their heads, in their brains. Some Eastern cultures picture the place for thoughts to be in the heart, and some even in the kidneys. In the US, the Insidious movie series was based on a boy who had the ability to leave his body during sleep - called astral projection. While in this state his body becomes compromised to demons. While I have never had an out of body experience, I have experienced lucid dreaming, which was touched upon during the powerpoint presentation. States like lucid dreaming are what make people believe in the separation of the mind and body, and when taken to the extreme, can result in tragedies like the Heaven's Gate mass suicide. Memory is malleable, which is another factor in convincing people that their soul has left their body temporarily. The lecture slides mentioned OBEs occuring often on operating tables under anesthesia. Reddit, a social media platform, there had been discussion about near-death experiences. Many of the anonymous participants disclosed their experiences. Some were euphoric, others experienced nothing at all; oblivion. But the euphoric experiences were described as floating through space, with cinematics of the person's life.