Favoring the premise that the simplest explanation is the best one, I suspect that most of these experiences are dreams. Though dreams are not my area of interest, I am a clinician and researcher in sleep disorders. I have had a few patients describe out of body experiences to me, and they invariably occur while the patient is sleeping, never while they are awake. But I admit I've only had a handful of patients tell me about them, so I'm no expert.

I suspect the OBE is a specific subtype of Lucid Dream - a dream in which the subjects have some awareness of being in the dream, and retain their own personality and memories (which are usually lost or distorted in normal dreams). Some of my patients have even volunteered that the OBEs most frequently occur in the twilight state between wakefulness and sleep (i.e. "half-asleep") and that also happens to be prime territory for lucid dreams.

They may or may not be extremely lucid dreams, but let's be clear, many of the recorded reports occur during a period of time when the individual experiences apparent sudden unconsciousness, or on some occasions (like the one documented by Oliver Sacks) cardiac arrest, not while they're merely asleep.

mnemon:

I have had a few patients describe out of body experiences to me, and they invariably occur while the patient is sleeping, never while they are awake.

Really? I had one while wide awake, and running actually.

I dunno... how do you account for the individuals whose "dreams" permit them to accurately describe objects that researchers place above and beyond the "dreamer's" lines of physical perception?

I had an OBE when in a deep state of relaxation but wide awake. I was using a Radio Shack biofeedback device that emits a high pitched noise in increasing or decreasing volume depending on how much muscle tension and/or electrical conductivity is registered through the two finger sensors. I became very good at total relaxation with it and felt as if I were floating above my body. I don't count it as a mystical experience just the product of extreme relaxation. Once however when I was unconcious for six hours after a drunk ran his car head on into my husband and I, I talked to the doctor and my husband constantly repeating the same things over and over (asking if my husband was okay and would he kiss me and that I thought my arm was broken) with my eyes open and yet six hours later felt as if I was awakening and only remembered saying those things once. I also woke up extremely happy as if I had recieved the best news in the world and stayed that way for about three days. I don't know of any medication they gave me while I was "asleep" that might have accounted for the happiness. I did have several bad lacerations to my face that they had sewn up and a badly sprained wrist but no surgery had been necessary and I didn't come close to death apparently or any closer than unconciousness is anyway. By the way this is a lesson also in wearing seatbelts - I had forgotten to put mine on when I got into the car as I was reading something I was interested in so I made a large bowl shape with a 2 inch wide crack across it in the windsheild with my face but my husband had put his on. He was completely unhurt except for where he had bitten his tongue. This was in '72 before the seatbelt laws. I usually buckeled up because of an accident that had happened when I was a child. I'll stop rambling now.

Hi,

My personal experiences are very clear to me. Several times as a child I left my body while watching TV. I was on the couch and just moved up to the corner of the room for a minute or two.

The most vivid was later at about age 19 or 20 I was playing tennis and found myself watching the game from about 15 feet above and behind my body. I could see the whole game from above and continued to observe the ball with my physical eyes as well. It was exhilarating and a bit odd but my game didn't seem to suffer. This went on for about ten minutes.

Many arguments I've read here are using the premise and assumption that only the physical (eyes, ears, nose, brain, etc.) can percieve. These miss the idea that the spirit may very well NOT be OF the physical world but only IN it.

petey

I am wondering, why you are talking about OBE during the dreams, not during the death experience, usualy most of the people get out of the body when their hart temporary stoped and when they come back most of them remember almost everything they saw. I had this experience when I was 22 and I would never forget it.

ever hear of it happening to two people, who are together, wide awake?

just a couple of teenagers driving through the desert.

never would have believed it, if my friend hadn't described it to me first...either it really happened, simultaneously...or he was completely psychic, and knew exactly what i had experienced directly after the event...either way, it was difficult to dismiss as "coincidence"... if there is such a thing as a "coincidence".

i believe there are many ways that obe and nde can occur; like, from too much anesthetic during surgery, to too much coke on the street; or, from cardiac arrest, to just perfected meditation.

it is also possible, that some of these "lucid dreams" are in fact "the real thing" as well...like the one Paul McCartney experienced that inspired the song "let it be"...

it wasn't "just a dream".

it may have been entry into the zero point field.

wake.