The Out Of Body Experience
For centuries, human beings have experienced a state in which their spiritual body is freed from their physical body, and thus, able to explore the outermost regions of space and time. This is called the out of body experience, or, OBE for short.
Characteristic of this experience are feelings of weightlessness and freedom from all physical limitations, as well as being able to see one’s physical body from a multi-dimensional outside point of view. This is also known as astral projection.
Those who report having out of body experiences usually do so immediately after going through a traumatic event (either physical, mental, emotional, or a combination of the three), an interaction with drugs, or after intentionally-inducing one through meditation and then a series of specific sequential steps.
Out of body experiences are not dreams; these experiences are conscious states of awareness that unfold in real time and often are very vivid. Dreams are merely manifestations created by the subconscious mind and may or may not seem real to the person experiencing them. People who have had out of body experiences often report that they have heightened senses as well as other levels of awareness in addition to the physical senses they normally possess.
People who report out of body experiences feel as if their spirits or souls take on another form in addition to their physical bodies, and that this spirit – also called the astral body – is then free to visit different dimensions, different times, and to even encounter loved ones who have passed on to the other side.
For this reason it’s easy to see why many individuals actively pursue the out of body experience, whether in search of answers to the unknown questions of the world such as ‘what happens after we die’ or ‘how big is the universe?’ or simply to reconnect with a friend of a relative with whom one has business yet unfinished.
It’s important to also note out of body experiences happen to people from all walks of life, all cultures, and all ages. Some are hesitant to say that they’ve had an out of body experience for fear of religious repercussions, but evidence of such experiences has been documented in religious scriptures throughout history, from various ancient Native American oral traditions to the Christian Bible.
Although most people who actively try to have an out of body experience are new age thinkers, the practice actually is an ancient way to strive for personal enlightenment and betterment.
Surprisingly, individuals report traveling outside of their physical bodies with some degree of frequency: about one out of every 15 people has experienced some sort of out of body experience. Such experiences happen to people in almost any situation as well, from sleeping or relaxing to being in the midst of a violent situation such as an accident or a pending accident. The rationale for such a wide spectrum of causality is simply, people are different, and thus respond differently to various situations.
Many people report a feeling of vibration, or the physical body suddenly feeling very heavy, during an out of body experience. Many believe that these feelings are signals that the spiritual self is separating from the physical body, after which the spirit or astral body is free to travel in the astral plane.
Some who are new to the concept of out of body experience may fear that if the spiritual self separates in this way, it then runs the risk of not being able to reenter. Experts suggest that the physical and the spiritual selves are permanently linked, however, and that this is especially the case for those self-aware enough to purposefully induce a state of separation in the first place. For this reason, it is not believed that one can become trapped outside his or her physical body, and therefore there is no reason to fear exploring.
An OBE is more common than one might think. Out of body experiences have been a part of mankind’s life across a wide array of cultures for hundreds of years. Out of body experiences have long been thought of as being a means to increase self-understanding and to achieve greater enlightenment for the universe surrounding us.
If only we can calm our minds long enough to give our inner selves the freedom they strive for, we can enjoy opportunities for increased personal insight and advances in technology that otherwise lie beyond our physical consciousness. Through study and practice, anyone can begin to unlock his or her personal potential by starting down the path that leads to spiritual awakening. The path is before us, we have only to take the first step.
Tags: astral projection, astral travel, out of body, out of body experience, out of body experiences