Bad --> How Many Skeptics Have Had OBEs?

Miss_Kitt

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M
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This is a sincere post by a committed skeptic. I have had some weird stuff happen in my life--many involving migraine, some involving night terrors, and some involving chemicals I will swear to my kid I never took--but I've never had an out-of-body experience.

I've always thought they sounded interesting, and I read a post by a newcomer who described the one she had while in labor. It occurred to me to wonder how many of you (the JREF / Skeptical community) have had them, and what were they like?

So, this is a poll for my interest's sake, and I'd love to have those that have had them put down a description. Given their rate of occurance in the general population, it will also be interesting to see how common they are in a group that is unlikely to be "looking" for such an experience.

Thanks for you time and interest, Miss Kitt
 
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I messed up somehow...

There was supposed to be a box appear that let me add my questions so there was a poll? Apparently I misunderstood the instructions.

Oh mighty Thread-gods, please remove this embarassment and let me try again...

Humbly, MK
 
I have had a drug induced one on salvia in which my body seemed to be teleporting into different seats in a room while my main body was visible in the chair I was in. I had 2 other people there that confirmed I never left the chair.

This however is debunked by the fact that they said I rambled on the entire time, and in my experience the *me* in the chair was catatonic and not talking. Apparently I talked about how behind the scenes, the entire universe was built upon ducks on treadmills.
 
I had one episode of depersonalisation/derealisation while under a lot of stress. It was terrifying. I could behave perfectly normally, even go to work etc, but I was floating somewhere above and behind my head watching myself.

Luckily it passed after a few days.
 
I learned to induce OBEs and visit known places (that soon changed to weird dreamlike places). I've had false awakenings when I was certain I sat up in bed only to wake up and find out it was a dream.

A narrow bed usually helped me have more of those experiences. They are fun, but I see nothing supernatural in them.

What also helps is bromide cough medicine which relaxes the muscles and seems to impair my sense of proprioception. Easy to get to a floating sensation.
 
I have had OBE's. The spontaneous ones were mostly peri-sleep. I can also induce them, but it's not pleasant as it gives me vertigo.

Linda
 
Many a years ago when i still smoked cannabis once in a while(so, 10 years ago or so)
 
I had one with a concussion. A year back.

I was skiing and went headfirst into a snow bank. It was an interesting experience since I felt myself floating away and seeing myself as I floated away.

If I was coherent I'd probably say: "Aww damn...I lost Pascal's wager." but I was too busy being dizzy and confused after that.
 
A long time ago, when I was <= 6 years old, I had what could be termed an OBE in which I floated above the place where I lived and could move about unencumbered by gravity. What I remember most about it was how vivid it was, and how pleasurable it felt. I later learned to understand it as some kind of lucid dream, possibly brought on by illness and/or medication for illness. I occasionally have lucid dreams when on medication, but none as vivid or pleasurable as the one I recall from childhood.


M.
 
I had what I thought for years was some kind of OBE as a child. A sensation as I was sleeping that I floated above my own body.

Then my sister told me, many years later, that she'd been screwing around and had lifted me up in the air and back down, gently, as I slept. We shared a bed back then. She was 16 and I was 6. But the joke backfired on her, as I hadn't (as far as she knew) woken up, nor had I run screaming to mama about it.

So, no.
 
I once had an OBE as part of a sleep paralysis episode, where I suddenly seemed to be outside my body, clinging to the wall of the bedroom. I then seemed to float across the ceiling and look down at myself asleep in bed. Even though I understood that this was a particular type of hallucination, the experience still freaked me out for a while afterwards. It was 5 years ago now, but I still recall my utter confusion when I woke up and realised I'd just had an unreal experience which was, at the time, indistinguishable from reality.
 
I've never had an out of body experience. I did have an experience where I briefly felt like my perception was floating slightly above my body and looking down. This was shortly after taking pseudoephedrine.
 
fls -- Tell me, oh She-Who-Seems-to-Be-On-Every-Thread that I'm interested in, and is so damned cool! --you can really induce them? I've never been able to. (Admittedly, it has been years now since I've tried to.)

Is it somewhat like self-hypnosis, rhythmic breathing and such to get the limbic system all fired up? Oxygen deprivation followed by relief??

Color me curious, Miss Kitt
 
I've only had one "proper" OBE, despite having ingested various recreational drugs in younger days. It was at age 17, brought on by high fever and dehydration during an infection for which I probably should have been in the hospital. While sitting on the toilet I left my body, left the house, turned the house upside down with my mind, came back in convinced that I had accidentally done something terrible, apologized to my mom for destroying the house, and laid down on the couch to continue watching live coverage of air operations during the first Gulf War.

The combination of severe illness and war anxiety resulted in my worst hallucination ever.
 
YourSpleen said:
I had an OBE while I was lucidly dreaming, so I am not sure if it counts.
Click to expand...

Sure it counts. Studies say that it is especially frequent to have OBEs when one is Lucid Dreaming.

It has happened to me many many times.
 
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