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Originally Posted by Conan
Yes, I agree. Thanks for clearing that up as I didn't mean to say that science seeks to devalue OBE experiences, but rather that some are of the belief that the hallucinations are random and the personal value is entirely dependent upon later assumptions and bias, as opposed to truly retreating into the mind as ThePhantastasio describes below.
I have never tried any sort of substance induced OBE experimentation, but just today I did feel something quite unlike anything I've yet to experience through plain and simple meditation.
I was actually playing a binaural beat (theta) while laying down and meditating. As much as I'd like to believe binaural beats do anything significant to brain waves, the jury is still out - and I was really only playing it as a way to drown out ambiance. Anyway, after about 45 minutes of relaxation I became partially paralyzed, perhaps not physically but psychologically I couldn't quite signal my hands to move anywhere beyond a slight nudge. It was as if they were being held in place. After about 15 more minutes of this sensation on again, off again, something really frightening happened. My entire body felt as if started vibrating. This startled me so much that I tore my blindfold off and stopped the music (so apparently with enough of a want to I could indeed move).
I was quite disappointed with myself for not sticking with it and seeing where it went. Especially after reading that the "Vibrating stage" occurs right before an OBE.
I'm still in awe of it all. With absolutely no religious pretext whatsoever I was still able to experience something so.. different. And without the use of a substance.. it's all just concentration. The mind is an incredibly powerful thing. My personal theory is that those who can "astral project" at will have trained their body to fall asleep while their mind stays awake. It's really an amazing concept to me.
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Wow. Very interesting story.
I once had a dream, if that's what it was. I don't know what to call it, a "waking dream" perhaps. But in this experience, I found myself awake and looking around my room. It was dark when I went to bed and When I awoke (in this OBE as it seemed) I did not turn my light on, yet it was bright in my room. I just remember walking and looking around for a little bit. The next thing I remember is trying to move my hands and open my eyes, but I couldn't. I remember thinking to myself: "am I blind? Am I dead?" it was quite scary. Finally, somehow, I was able to open my eyes and wake my body. It was so strange.
O ya, during this experience i could not see my arms or legs or any other part of my body. Almost as if my body wasn't there.
What do you make out of this? I'd like to get someones opinion on it. I'm not very knowledgable about this kind of thing. Although I'm very interested in this subject.