The concept of out-of-body experiences has always fascinated me, and there is somewhat of an explanation for it through the pseudoscientific perspective, and a more realistic explanation through scientific analysis. OBEs, or out-of-body experiences are defined as instances of disassociation from conscious reality, whether that is induced through the intake of drugs such as anesthesia or psychedelics, significant amounts of brain trauma, or near-death experiences. An OBE is not so much of a deliberate act, and it often occurs outside of one’s immediate control, and this is the significance of the disassociation. Those who can recall undergoing an out-of-body experience did not necessarily feel completely present within their bodies, and there were even individual reports of experiencing significant hallucinations, and a separatism between their bodies and their minds. When I thought of OBE, I also had the concept of astral projection in mind, which is more of a pseudoscientific and esoteric concept that does not have a scientific explanation backed by research.
Although OBEs and astral projection can be classified as similar instances of disassociation and psychological separatism from the physical body, these two concepts are not necessarily one and the same. Astral projection, as opposed to OBEs, is ritualistically prepped for ahead of time for the intentions to undergo a spiritual experience. The intention is to disassociate, or separate from the body to such an extent, that it feels as if one’s soul is coming out of their bodies. I mentioned previously that out-of-body experiences are not planned for, and that would be true since the effects are so intense, and there is no intention to engage in any spiritual-related rituals or preparations. Through astral projection, participants temporarily leave their conscious reality to tether along the “astral planes,” or higher planes of existence where other spirits supposedly dwell. The end goals of astral projection are to achieve a heightening of spiritual fulfillment, or spiritual gain through “ascension.”
https://cvltnation.com/astral-projections-vs-out-of-body-experiences/
Posts
Camara,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post on OBEs and Astral Projection. I have suffered from more than one concussion and during each occurrence, I had what could be explained as an out of body experience. The last one I had was very traumatic. A beam fell from some rigging where I was working on a construction site and hit me directly on top of the head. While I was unconscious, I had an experience where I seemed to be watching things from afar, as though I was a third party witness. It was only brief and I can't honestly say if it was real or not, or just a bizarre dream while I was under. All I know is that the next thing I remember was waking up as the paramedics were loading me onto the helicopter. These types of experiences are unexplainable which means just that, they are unexplainable. There have also been moments when I have been in deep mediation where I felt very disconnected from my body. Our minds are very powerful indeed. I hope that science can someday be able to provide more data to these experiences and provide us with clear cut evidence as to what really happens during these experiences. Continue to be curious.
~Chris
Hi carmen, your blog post is really interesting, ive never experienced anything like that, it does sound pretty scary though. Thank you for this info, i will research more about it, since you really got me interested.
ReplyDelete