Exploring OBEs – Why Not?

By Noah
Halifax, Canada

When I first heard about the astral plane, I was full of questions and doubts. After all, I have always had a very logical, scientific mind with a rigorous drive to ask questions about anything that would spark my curiosity. It was this same drive which led me to read works of philosophy, enter math competitions, and major in physics at university.

One evening several years ago, I decided to attend a lecture at the public library on Astral Travel and Dreams. I was surprised to see an “ordinary”-seeming person speaking with intelligence about a topic that seemed so bizarre and even weird to me. The lecturer explained that there is actually an invisible world called the astral plane which is a parallel dimension to the physical world.

He went on to tell us that we all go to this “astral plane” every time we fall asleep, leaving the physical body behind to “travel” in the “astral body”. Later that evening, we dimmed the lights and did a group practice to try and “project” out of our bodies, by focusing the mind on our heartbeats while the body fell asleep. I left the lecture feeling pleasantly relaxed, and yet somehow energized at the same time.

Afterwards, I went home and did some research of my own, discovering many accounts of people who claimed to have had an out-of-body experience (OBE), either by realizing they were asleep while dreaming, or by actually having a near-death-experience (NDE). It was interesting to read articles and hear radio interviews where people explained that they felt they had been awake in a different place, just as real as the world we live in. Many were told that it had just been a dream, but they disagreed, saying it felt completely different than a dream, and more “real” – they had been fully conscious, feeling aware of their surroundings and themselves.

The Astral Plane

Some of the cases I read involved people who offered proof that the different “plane” they had visited was an objective reality, not just a product of their vivid imagination. One NDE example is of a woman who lost all signs of life while in the operating room. She did not black out and permanently lose consciousness; instead, she floated up out of the hospital room, passing through the ceiling until she found herself hovering over the building. While there, she noticed a red shoe lying on the rooftop. The experience ended as she was revived on the operating table.

Feeling astounded, the woman reported her experience to the hospital staff, including the part about the red shoe. The staff then went to the rooftop, and retrieved that exact red shoe! An important point to make is that the staff said this shoe was not visible from the ground. According to the account, the “vision” of this far-away object was real and accurate.

I listened to this story and many other similar ones with great interest, but the scientific, practical part of me kept saying: “It could just be a story. How do I know that this really happened?” It was a very good skeptical question, and so my attitude to the idea of the astral plane was formed. Is there really an invisible world? As a good scientist with an open mind, I could only answer, “I don’t know. I will believe it when I see it. But it seems testable.”

Personal Investigation

Once I’d decided “I'll believe it when I see it,” my next question was: “Am I going to try to find out?” I felt that the proof would not come by waiting, and as I discovered, it was a question worth pursuing.

I signed up for Gnosticweb’s course on Astral Travel and Dreams, and, encouraged by the interesting reading material and video lectures, I practiced a concentration exercise every time I tried to fall asleep. Initially I felt interesting sensations and heard little sounds which I was told were a natural part of going to sleep consciously.

I continued my attempts at astral projection and built up some momentum with my concentration. Not long after, I had my first fully-conscious experience, where I suddenly found myself floating effortlessly up out of bed, as if an invisible force was lifting me. I came half-way out of my body and became so excited by such a new experience that I jolted myself awake. It was very intense but after I calmed down, I felt great inspiration and renewed enthusiasm for astral travel. I had personal knowledge of the reality of the astral plane and the existence of the consciousness beyond the physical body.

Since that first experience, I have had many experiences exploring the astral plane, studying my inner psychology. By going to the astral plane consciously, I have proven to myself that I am not my physical body; I am something separate from it, and my body is more like clothing that I use to get around on the physical plane.

What was unthinkable yesterday is completely normal today. The history of science and technology certainly shows this. Finding out about astral projection was a very new sort of idea to me, but the more I experienced, the more I could accept and even enjoy about it. It is something that has completely changed my outlook on life, existence after death, and much more, with many benefits to the direction of my life. I am very grateful for having found this information, and I look forward to learning more as I continue with this study.