Thanks for the article entitled “The Out-of-Body Electric” on Slate. I would like to offer some criticism on the study’s interpretation by the scientists and the coverage in the media.

The OBE moved into the laboratory in 1966 with Dr. Charles Tart's experiments at University of California - Davis, so these are not the first experiments with OBE's induced in a laboratory as reported in Science News and elsewhere. Are these experiments even studying the altered state of consciousness commonly known as out-of-body experience?

The OBE involves a visceral feeling of being embodied in a more subtle body away from the physical body itself, often with exotic "energetic," "take-off" and "re-interiorization" sensations. The VR experiment volunteers did not feel they were no longer present in their body and did not report these other characteristics of the OBE (much more numerous than the 3 selected by the researchers).

In an OBE, the individual is not always looking back at the physical body at a few feet of distance (although this can occur in some cases). OBEs are not always a visual phenomena either, as there are OBEs without sight and blind people may have OBE's. The majority of OBEs also occur mainly when the eyes are closed and when the body is in a more vegetative state with brain wave patterns distinct from even lucid dreaming -- let alone the normal waking state of the volunteers. The reported studies seem to reveal interesting things about dissociated perceptions under virtual reality conditions, but this does not say much about the OBE.

You can find an OBE research lit review here: <link>

Nelson Abreu
Miami, Florida
International Academy of Consciousness
501(c)3 non-profit * research & education