I’m not sure if this fits in with being objective evidence, but when my father went into hospital (to have his appendix removed) he found himself “hovering” in the corner of the operating theatre watching his operation. He could tell us the colour of the walls and which instruments were being used, what was being done to him etc.
The only way he could have known about these is if he was anaesthetised (sp?) in the operating theatre therfore being aware of his surrounds when he was put under.
Not to put down your father’s experience, I’m sure that he really experienced something, just not necessarily something external to his own imagination. There’s too much ability to contaminate the memory. We’ve all seen medical dramas and similar to the point that even if you’ve never stepped foot in a hospital you’d have a pretty good idea of what’s going on and how things look.
I’ve yet to be abducted by aliens but I can draw five or six convincing UFO’s and describe the “grays” just fine. I’ve seen too much TV to not be able to do this. (Personally, I was happier when aliens came in huge varieties: blobs, humanoids, tentacles, etc.)
On post I read somewhere from a hospital professional (I know, really specific) said that in their emergency room, they have a symbol or something like that on top of a tall cabinet in the emergency room. No OBE there yet has been able to describe it.
I don’t really believe in paranormal phenomena for the most part, and my experiences have all been consistent with the idea that OBEs are a hallucination (specifically in my case one associated with sleep paralysis). Anyway, to give you some background, the first time I had sleep paralysis, I woke up from a dream to find myself paralyzed. I had read about it before, so I wasn’t absolutely terrified, just somewhat intrigued. I then had some audio hallucinations. First I heard women and children laughing. Then, they were screaming. Then I heard bombs going off. Then I thought to myself, “Cool! I wonder if I can control my hallucinations!” Next thing I knew, I heard a big stereo rumble going from my right ear to my left. The next time I had sleep paralysis, I decided to “leave my body” (an experience I am firmly convinced is merely going straight into REM sleep from being awake and thus retaining awareness like in lucid dreaming). I made myself tilt a bit so my “astral head” (for lack of a better and less New-Agey term) was out of my body and my “astral body” was at an angle. I tried leaving my body several other times, and some of them involved hovering and spinning in every direction so as to make myself dizzy. One of the coolest occurred when my “astral body” sat up in bed. I then floated down to my floor and got up. I went over to my light switch to turn it on so I could see my body in bed. Unfortunately, it didn’t work (I have heard this is a common phenomenon in dreams and may be related to the workings of the visual cortex). My hand passed through the light switch. I then decided to open my door. Strangely enough, I could “build up friction” in my hand to open the door. However, just as it was opening (by now I had the Jefferson Airplane song “White Rabbit” stuck in my head, for obvious reasons), I faded back into my body as if awakening from a dream. So anyway, I must disagree with those of you who think these experiences are real. They can occur as dreams and feel perfectly real, so I think Occam’s Razor probably compels us to look for the simplest explanation.
The particular ER experiments which were conducted were in relatiion to “near death experiences”, not OBEs, so there was no “conscious” projection of the astral self involved. Nonetheless, whenever astral projection has been even LOOSELY tested in a scientific manner (ie, you’re at the top of the room right now describe to me what you see), I can’t recall a single credible study where someone who was ostensibly floating on the ceiling, and therefore able to observe EVERYTHING below them, has reported things which SHOULD be immediately observable.
If anyone DOES know of studies in which this has happened (and I’m talking about VISUALLY observable phenomena; the ability of some people to process sounds from their immediate environment while seemingly “unconscious” has already been demonstrated scientifically to the extent that anaesthetists will often test for the “sound” response no matter what level of consciousness their gadgets are showing), then I’d like to see some links. Those studies should be entirely reproduceable.
A few things.
Fist:
How did you feel while you were, (or… to be fair), thought you were up in the air? Did you feel light, euphoric? What about before it happened? Were you in any pain whatsoever? Where you feeling especially well? Tired? Do you have a cold, or flue? Was there any medication you took, (of course this is personal, so don’t answer if any reluctancy)? How long did this last? Do YOU feel like there’s a scientific or “rash” explanation?
Second:
Think you could do it again at will?
Third:
WHAT is “Hi, Opal”!? Everyone says that man!
What’s it mean.
Once, when I was 17 years old (I am 30 now). I was experimenting with meditation and other mental exercises at the time.
I was tired and just put my head down for a quick rest and settled into that nice pre-sleep state where you’re sort of half-conscious but able to think clearly. Then it happened without my really noticing… the next thing I know is “Hey, that’s me over there!” I was floating in mid-air, drifting very slowly away from and looking towards the back of my own body lying on the bed from a distance of 5 or 6 feet. There was no ‘silver cord’ or anything like that, which I had pre-supposed there would be.
Unforunately, on realising that I was having my very first OOBE, I got a little excited and ‘lost’ it. The whole thing lasted less than 10 seconds.
I’ve thought a lot about that experience, and am fairly sure that physically I never left my own head. I don’t subscribe to the idea of bits of consciousness floating about - fuzzy thinking if ever I heard it.
Really, it was just like a lucid dream (I had two of those too, after the OOBE) except it was set in the waking world. As a matter of fact it was lucid dreaming I was studying at the time, and the mental exercises done in the weeks leading up to the OOBE were from a book I threw away long ago called “Lucid Dreaming in One Month” or some such rubbish.
It worked (for me at least) but I just can’t lose my distaste for the new agey rubbish that infests the literature. Maybe I’ll have another go soon, I’m glad this thread reminded me that such things existed!
Like other posters, I’ve “astrally projected,” but my experiences I can chalk down to sleep paralysis/lucid dreaming. The actual experience feels very close to reality. It happened to me several times, all in situations after staying up for 24 hours to cram for finals. I’d go to sleep completely knackered and stressed-out and fall straight into what I assume is REM sleep. However, the transition between wake and sleep is so sudden that I wasn’t aware of it. I’d lay (lie? I always forget) down in bed, and a few seconds or a minute later, I’d “get up.” I would see the room as it is around me, but my consciousness was separate from my physical body.
The first experience was one of reality. Nothing weird happened. I walked around the room. I saw objects where they were as I remembered them. I don’t remember whether I saw my body or not, but I’m certain of the feeling that I knew I was outside my body. I was unable to leave to room and eventually just came back to my body.
My second experience was a little more frightening. The classic sleep paralysis. In this one I saw my body. Once again, after stressful time studying for finals, I fell asleep while my roommate was in the room. I “woke up,” walked around the room and saw my roommate had left. I saw my body at the bed. Next thing I know a figure with a knife opens the door and enters the room. I see my body and try to get back inside it. I can’t do it. I’m screaming at myself “get up! get up!” I lie down on top of myself, try to force my eyes open. Nothing. Suddenly, my roommate shakes me and I’m out of the OBE state. Turns out I had screamed during the experience (sleep/dream) and he had never left the room and there was no knife-wielding maniac trying to kill me.
Yes, it does feel compltely real. It’s amazing what the brain can do. However, I think OBEs as the spiritual actually severing itself from the physical is complete fantasy. If one could really describe details not seen from a normal standing perspective (like things on top of cabinets and the such) then I see no reason to believe an OBE experience. Just because it feels real does not make it real. My experience felt 100% real. After the first one I thought maybe it was real. But the second one convinced me beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was simply some form of lucid dreaming/sleep paralysis and they both felt exactly the same. I’m willing to wager a lot of money that alien abduction stories are also sleep paralysis.
I felt light. Not euphoric, because it was a little disturbing. I don’t recall feeling anything other than completely normal beforehand (maybe a little situational anxiety, which to me IS normal). No pain; I don’t recall any physical sensations whatsoever - indeed the absence of sensation now seems significant. At the time I was feeling fine - not tired, no illness, no medication, no drugs or alcohol in the week previous. Thinking about it now, I’m not sure how long it lasted. I would have said a second or less, but the girl I mentioned was already looking up at me when I became aware of being up at the ceiling. In any case it would have been only seconds.
I have a half-assed theory about it, but barring some remarkable breakthrough, it cannot be considered scientific.
No, but wouldn’t it be fascinating to have that ability?
Oops. There was a recent thread about this, and apparently some of the real old-timers get irritated about it. See http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=117735&highlight=opal
One little experiment that sometimes works.
Have you ever had a moment you seem to remember often, for no particular reason - nothing earthshattering, but you seem to recall this memory every once in awhile and can’t figure out why - something as stupid as walking down the street with your father and looking at a tree and then walking on.
Means nothing…nothing happened…stupid memory, but it keeps popping up over the years.
Now think of that memory and think of the perspective you are observing this memory. Are you standing next to your father, looking at the stupid tree?
Or are you looking down at yourself and your father as they look at the tree?
This doesn’t work for everyone, but I have seen quite a few people go “aha!” when they realize that that stupid, insignificant memory that keeps popping up over the years is because they were observing themselves from a new perspective, “out of body” for probably the first, and maybe only time.
(I really should stay away from this topic on the board - I studied it in school a lot due to prior experiences [see above] and whenever I mention it in social circles, quite a few eyebrows go up. Thus, I won’t dwell…just thought this little experiment above might help one or two readers…)
You might want to read this. There may indeed be a wee bit of science behind it.
It happened to me a couple of times when I was in elementary school - always during math class. I thought I was hallucinating due to being freaked out about the subject matter. But maybe it was so boring to me that I would start to fall asleep? First the room would get a little shimmery, then everything would look kind of squashed and slant to the right. I would feel nauseous and start to float above where my body was sitting. I could look down and see the other kids and my teacher droning on about the multiplication tables. I’ve never been able to reproduce the experience like some others report doing.
Did you mean that you believe astral projection has a scientific basis?
Because that link explains that it’s all just a hallucination.
If any poster can actually ‘astral project’ - congratulations! You’ve just won $1,000,000 from the Randi Foundation.
Unfortunately this is the same sort of delusion as dowsing. Lots of people think they have a power, but they always fail a scientific test.
And Randi’s money remains unclaimed…
I had one the first time I went down a waterslide. Seriously. I just felt seperated from myself. When I tried to move it felt surreal and my body felt distant. My perseption was off (things were fuzzy) and I just kinda swished around cause it felt so weird. And yes I went back on the slide several more times after that 
.
Wearia
If I believed that astral projection was an actual seperation of consciousness and the body, then I would hardly use that link to bolster my assertion. I posted it because it seemed germane, and had what I felt was interesting information in regards to OBE’s.
Anyway, I do believe that OBE’s and Astral Projection are quite real. Real mental perspectives anyway.
Let me say first of all that I am by education and temperament a hard-core scientist, and don’t believe much of anything that I can’t reason out or experience directly.
Having said that, I come from farm folk. Some farms, ours included, have drainage tiles, which need maintenance on occasion. When they do, we dowse to locate them.
You don’t have to believe me. I don’t believe it myself. But I can do it. Come across the pond sometime and I’ll demonstrate.
Now back to the original topic, please. If you’ve left your body, please share. If you want to argue about it, start another thread.
I woke up once about a year and a half ago, and sat up in bed (but not really; I guess I was “out” of my body – I didn’t physically sit up.) Then I looked to my left and saw one of the Greys opening the door to the room and watching me. I panicked and was snapped back down into my body, as it were (the perspective changed), and I watched the thing out of the corner of my eye. I realized then that I was experiencing sleep paralysis, since I’ve done quite a bit of research on these kinds of phenomena myself.
I recalled religious abductees calling the name of Jesus as an abduction was about to happen, and that the creature would vanish. (Some Xian groups who also believe the Greys are real, think they are demons and/or evil beings.) I figured it probably worked because the desire to yell would be strong enough to overcome the paralysis, and the sound of one’s own voice would break the sleep.
So it took a few seconds, but I managed to finally make some noise and wake myself up. The whole experience was extremely interesting, and unbelievably real. If I hadn’t been so well read in the subjects, I would have been genuinely freaked out. As it was, I just went back to sleep after a few minutes.
I’ve tried to induce an OBE in myself, and never been able to. I do experience some non-related weird things once in awhile, but nothing like that again.
I wish someone could come along with enough evidence that I could believe these things were more than tricks of the mind.
Twice I’ve had “out of body experiences” in that I felt detached from my body. Both were very traumatic events. One was when my daughter had a grand mal seizure and then collapsed. I thought she had died. I had the sensation of floating above the room as I called 911 and my husband and I were screaming directions at each other.
Never really believed that my soul and body detached from each other. Rather I believe it is a coping mechanism we all have in order to protect ourselves from horrendous psychological trauma.
Yes and I’ll be darned if I didn’t lock my keys in my body - and I had a devil of a time getting back in…
Me too.
I mean this nicely 
but I don’t believe you. (I have spent a lot of time discussing dowsing with professional dowsers, who admit they have never succeeded in a scientific test).
However, as a true scientist, I am perfectly willing to be convinced by a demonstration.
I nominate the Randi Foundation (who are on your side of the pond) to test you. As a bonus for your time, they offer you $1,000,000.
Seriously ** $1,000,000 **.
Are you going to submit to scientific testing?
Are you really a scientist, or do you believe anecdotes over evidence?
I don’t want to argue, but I’d like to rephrase the above:
If you’ve left your body, and can do it again, please claim the $1,000,000 as above (you qualify). If you don’t claim, please explain why.
If you’ve left your body, and can’t do it again, please explain why you don’t think it was just a hallucination.
Once while I was at home having a quiet evening sipping tea and doing needlepoint my body left, got drunk, drove a car very poorly I suspect because it then failed the field sobriety test too. Bitch!
Next thing I knew I was being woke up in a jail cell and being told I had been bailed out.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.