I have experienced this phenomenon (looking at my body from outside of it) and I’m interested in others' viewpoints on it - either personal opinion or the official doctrine of any organized religion. And especially if you have also experienced it.

My view: It is one of the most important factors in the evolution of my own religious beliefs and is at the very foundation of my concept of myself as a spiritual being, independent of the physical body.

i try to get out of my skin, frequently

i've had a dream afew times of me watching myself sleep , and ( the me thats sleeping ) is also watching me sleep ..

not since I gave up acid

So do you consider that it was a true perception for which the acid was an "enabler"? Or that it was was nothing but a hallucination and did not actually happen?

Are you successful at that?

is there a difference? perception is subjective. it just served to reinforce that reality is just an illusion of nerve receptors

good stuff :)

in my experience, the practice of astral projection has assisted with opening my mind to this spiritual principle.

i don't practice it anymore, although do believe that it's purposefulness has been largely replaced by the advent of the internet... at least to the point where mass consciousness is now able to focus and attain outside information and guidance without leaving one's home...

arbitrary out-of-body remains to me a phenomena which i understand to be akin to near death... i no experience there, but that's a "yet"!

I have had an OBE before. I ate some mushrooms (and yes I do understand that people will take me less seriously now, haha) and threw on my headphones. I decided to listen to binaural beats and try to meditate. During this process my eyes (while closed) were moving/twitching a little and then out of nowhere I felt a "thump". Assuming it was my dog I opened my eyes to see what was going on and there I was meditating. This is one of the strangest times of my life, but also the most intriguing. I am trying to astral project by will and hopefully will have another soon. (without the aid of drugs)

There is a book that I am currently reading that you may take interest in. The title is "Mastering astral projection in 90 days.

when a new experience or different plane of consciousness is supposely acheived then atleast a trace of this experience is retain in the form of "new unknown knowledge" .. if one can not tell of any unknown new knowledge that was learn from the experience then the experience was most likely an hallucination

There may or may not be a difference. As you say, perception is subjective. But I wasn't seeking a "definitive answer". I am interested in your subjective opinion on the matter.

If I understand your logic correctly, then the nerve receptors themselves would also have to be illusion. But then what, in your opinion, is perceiving the illusion? Or are you saying that you believe there is no "self", no perception, and in fact even no illusion - no anything, other than waves and/or particles randomly interacting?

Because my experience was similar, although without any drugs or meditation or "near death" circumstances, I have no problem understanding and taking it absolutely at face value.

I have done it and used to practice it and the techniques. I am thinking about getting back into that, but like anything, it takes practice. You don't need mushrooms or drugs and I would advise against that.

The best source for learning this is the Monroe Institute. (Founded by Robert Monroe) The best source for learning about this is his three books. "Journeys out of the body" "Far Journeys," and "Ultimate Journey."

My dream is to spend two weeks at the Monroe Institute learning these techniques with his methods.

Jeannie

I’m having a little trouble understanding that. Mainly because of the use of the phrase “unknown knowledge”, which to me is a self contradiction. But I do understand that your use of the double quotes indicates that the words are not really meant to be interpreted literally. So if I interpret that phrase as meaning something like “information whose basis in fact is uncertain”, then I would say that there is absolutely no uncertainty whatsoever on my part as to the facts of the incident. But I do recognize that there is a great amount of uncertainty, to the point of complete dismissal, on the part of many people.

I'm intersted in this. What was "the return trip" (for lack of a better way of putting it) like? Was it also a "thump"? Or some other "instantaneous" change? Or was it gradual?

Don't worry. I learned my lesson with the drugs thing already. Thank you for the concern.

Robert Monroe felt the same way as Funches suggests. He began having out of body experiences and assumed that they were hallucinations so he went to several psychiatrists to see if he was mentally ill. He said he was found perfectly sane.

Now some psychiatrists might label a person insane just because he was having these experiences. That was certainly the case a few years back. I guess now it is not.

So Monroe approached the experiences in a more scientific manner and took notes about the things he saw and learned and then went to check them out for accuracy.

I found his books interesting. Some people found them unbelievable. The only way to prove this for yourself is to actually do it.

Then, you can decide if you are hallucinating or not. In the end it is the individual who decides what is reality. You are the decider. (I hate to quote George Bush but.. you are the decider..)

Jeanniebean.

I think it is most likely completely impossible to have an out of body experience. What people experience is actually either a dream, a fantasy or a hallucination, or some other kind of sensory perception or malfunction.

Do you think of this as an out-of-body experience? Or simply a dream?

There is a marked difference between a dream and an out of body experience.

I once got out of my body, leaving even my astral body behind. You are simply like an eye with the ability to observe in any direction you place your attention. It is nothing like a dream. It is very real.

I was trying to do astral travel and I popped out and shot up to the sky and found myself looking at the clouds from above them. It was so clear and so real, I thought for a few seconds that I had somehow transported my entire physical body into the air and I was afraid I would loose my concentration and fall to my death. (That would have been hard to explain for the authorities who found me smashed flat from a fall that high.)

But soon I realized that I did not have my body with me. As soon as I decided I was not supposed to be up there, I was suddenly down on the ground in some grass. A few seconds later I was back in my body. It was instant movement, as fast as thought itself.

JB