An out of body state is a phase of sleep in which two conditions are met:
- You are fully conscious of yourself and your surroundings.
- You are completely aware that you are outside of your physical body.
Unlike in ordinary dreams, in an out of body experience, a person’s perceptions, emotions, and sensations are heightened rather than dulled. This creates an overwhelming sense of reality and an intense out of body feeling, as if you are genuinely living through everything happening in the dream. out of body dream experiences are often described as the highest form of self-hypnosis or meditative practice. During this phase, you can deeply reflect on problems, travel to distant places, relive memories, and revisit places you’ve been.
Esoteric Explanations for out of body Journeys
It is inaccurate to describe an out of body state solely in scientific terms or give it a purely theoretical definition. While the state undeniably exists, the outer body experience meaning varies depending on whether we look at it from a scientific or esoteric perspective. Modern individuals should strive to accept not only their own views but also those of others.
Esotericism doesn’t fully explain when or how someone leaves their physical body and embarks on a journey, but it offers insights into the out of body experience meaning from a spiritual perspective. The general understanding is that one’s astral projection—which may be called the soul, consciousness, or something else—travels outside the body. This journey can take you to the physical world, dreams (yours or others’), or other astral realms, which are plentiful according to esoteric belief systems.
If a person consciously initiates an out of body experience, they will go where they need to. Such experiences could also be initiated to seek answers to personal questions, visit the dreams of a loved one, or observe what’s happening in the real world from an external perspective. Incidentally, it’s believed that everyone, regardless of their beliefs or abilities, experiences an out of body state right before death.
Scientific Explanations for Out of Body Experiences
In April 1975, Keith Hearne, a researcher at a British university, conducted studies that provided evidence for sleep phases involving conscious out of body exits. He demonstrated the concept of lucid dreaming and how a person’s behavior could remain conscious while their physical body was resting in bed. The subject, Alan W., claimed he could sleep while still «doing something». He was tasked with remembering a specific pattern of eye movements and repeating it while sleeping. Hearne recorded the event, and the subject’s eye movements matched the planned sequence while Alan was in deep sleep.
Subsequent studies confirmed the occurrence of out of body experiences during lucid dreams. Researchers from other universities have replicated these experiments with minimal deviations. For example, in 2008, the Max Planck Institute ran an experiment using three devices to track brain activity and overall bodily state. The experiment revealed heightened brain activity (around 40 Hz) between wakefulness and REM sleep. This activity was concentrated in the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for consciousness. All findings were documented and used by other institutions studying sleep phases.
Another compelling theory suggests that out of body experiences resulted from the evolution of human consciousness. Physically, a person may be asleep and calm, but they may be observing real-world events, like seeing what their friends are doing, or experiencing lucid dreams that feel as real as waking life.
Society’s View on the Out of Body State
Out of body experiences are described by people who claim to have seen their bodies from an external viewpoint. Given that most people believe solely in the tangible world and science, they often consider such experiences with skepticism. Some argue that experiences of «seeing the body from outside» are merely dreams, while others assert that the phenomenon is not real at all.
However, out of body experiences are genuine, and since the early 2000s, scientists have been conducting experiments to explain them. Although no definitive theory exists, the number of skeptics is shrinking as research progresses. Some even believe that the ability to have conscious out of body experiences is an attainable skill that people can achieve through daily practice.
What Is the Phase?
According to the latest observations, lucid dreaming and out of body states are dissociative phenomena. In lucid dreams, you can observe and engage with a problem-solving environment, while in an out of body state, you can both observe and alter reality according to your needs and desires.
The term «phase» or «phasic state» encompasses all dissociative phenomena related to similar practices, though they are often referred to by different names, such as:
- out of body experiences
- Awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings in a dream
- Sleep paralysis
- Incubus-like experiences
- False awakenings
In essence, all these experiences represent the opportunities provided by REM sleep. During REM sleep, processes are triggered in the brain’s awareness centers, allowing the conscious mind to function separately from the resting body.
In the phase, the body continues to rest, but the brain and consciousness remain active and capable of performing certain tasks. For example, people use the phase to:
- Travel to any point in space and time
- Observe others from an external perspective
- Watch their lives unfold
- Seek information on any subject
- Engage in psychological self-recovery
- Cultivate creativity
- Undergo rehabilitation, especially after brain injuries
To fully utilize the out of body state, it’s essential to master methods that allow you to enter the appropriate state. It doesn’t matter if you believe in scientific experiments or esoteric definitions; the phase is undeniably real, and phasic states are simply different ways to harness REM sleep for personal purposes. Whether a person wants to find an answer to a question in a lucid dream or get a bird’s-eye view of Hawaii, the phase can allow them to do it.
Why out of body Experiences and Other Phasic States Should Be Unified
Out of body experiences and other phasic states should be unified because they are intrinsically connected. Each phasic state occurs during deep relaxation when the brain is disengaged from reality but still capable of using accumulated knowledge and imagery for continued activity.
During REM sleep, the brain is active enough to recreate lifelike images that may seem real. Lucid dreams emerge in this state, and out of body experiences allow the consciousness to dissociate from the physical body. Combining all these phenomena into a single category helps deepen our understanding of how the brain works, especially concerning altered states of consciousness. Whether the soul is leaving the body or the brain is creating these sensations, the phenomena stem from shared neurophysiological processes.
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