Experiences in the Etheric and Astral Body







OBE
Related Phenomena
© copyright 1997 by Bob Lepak ([e-mail])
and Alfred Ballabene ([e-mail])












Disclaimer! Trance methods,
meditations and OBE techniques can be dangerous for
psycholabile persons and persons with psychological
diseases. Further awakened inner forces can get out of
control by peoples with great problems and uncontrolled
fears. Any attempts to perform methods as described in
these articles are done by own risk!





Abstract



This article is written
in two parts. In the first, we focus on the hypnogogic
state and differentiate between the common and OBE
inducing states. The primary focus is on the latter. In
particular, we discuss the occurrence of various acoustic
and visual sensations, several theories for OBE's,
specific visual sensations that may initiate OBE's and
present examples of each. In the second part we consider
In-the-Body-Experiences (IBE's). We discuss and present
examples of partial body separation, the awakening of
inner sight, the sensing of voices and ectoplasm.







Part 1
PRE-OBE
PHENOMENA
(The
Hypnogogic State, Sensations and Explanations)

INTRODUCTION

OBE´s are very interesting phenomena which have received much
attention in the past several decades. There are increasing
numbers of books and articles that address the topic and it seems
that more people are reporting them. However, there are states of
awareness that occur both before and after the actual
dissociation of the astral body. Some of the phenomena that occur
in the pre- and post OBE states manifest quickly and,
consequently, are difficult to study. Those who are keen enough
to observe the events, while maintaining such pre- and post- OBE
states, can provide useful information regarding their causes.
The objectives of this article are to discuss the nature and
possible causes of pre- and post-OBE phenomena.

Considerations from a Practical Point of
View

Lepak compared the waking state of the body and mind, which
are involved and focused on one´s daily routine, to that of an
automobile engine. Like the engine, consciousness seems to
operate efficiently within a range of frequencies during the
waking state. The ego consciousness can be utilized during the
day to work on a number of problems that everybody encounters.
That is not to say that it does so continuously, however, as
everybody daydreams for a certain proportion of the waking day.
Such daydreaming represents, in a sense, a change of focus, i.e.,
by the analogy, a change in frequency. Such changes in awareness
are also noted when entering the borderline state before sleep,
prior to an OBE, or as one is slipping into a meditative state.



A BRIEF PHYSIOLOGICAL EXCURSION

Hyperarousal
and Hypoarousal States

This is the nomenclature for two states which, in an imprecise
way, may be called ecstasy and deep relaxation, respectively.
Both of them can lead to OBE's, though the way in which they are
induced is nearly contrary. Both states, hyperarousal and
hypoarousal, are accompanied by different prestates, though they
may lead to the same end stage ("Kipp phenomena"). In
this article only prestates of hypoarousal brain activation (the
shift of consciousness in the direction of relaxation and sleep)
are dealt with.

Sleep, hypnosis, meditation, trance and OBE are associated
with the hypoarousal side of consciousness. Although these
different states of consciousness share the hypoarousal state,
they are different in respect to neurotransmitters and other
substances regulating neural activities.

The
Hypnogogic State

The hypnogogic state is commonly known as the state before
falling asleep. It may also occur when the person is overtired or
is drifting away in meditation. A frequent characteristic of the
common hypnogogic state is the occurrence of dreamlets, i.e.,
short dreams lasting only one or few seconds.

Another form of hypnogogic state is that which initiates OBEs.
This other kind of hypnogogic state is often neglected in
literature either because it is more difficult to be aware of or
it is less common. In this article this state may be called
"OBE-inducing hypnogogic state".

In the common hypnogogic state several brain functions
decrease, such as logical thinking and the remembrance of the
actions of the past day. The hypnogogic
pre-OBE state differs. Consequently, this may lead to three
different states :


The dream
state
The
clairvoyant state
The OBE
state.





The
difference between the common and the OBE-inducing
hypnogogic state



type
common hypnogogic state
OBE-inducing hypnogogic state


quality
psychic
non psychic


contents
action
no action


appearance
shadow like
colorful, bright


awareness
reduced
alert


emotions
emotionless
highly emotional, euphoric




1) The common (dream inducing) hypnogogic state:

As mentioned, the hypnogogic state leading to the dream state
is characterized by dreamlets. These dreamlets are frequently of
the type termed as "calming pictures" (the German
technical term is "Beschwichtigungsbilder"). These
short dreams serve to remove inner obstacles, such as problems
left over from the day, which would otherwise have "alarm
quality" and, as such, be nonconducive to sleep. They may be
remembered as a series of seemingly disconnected dreams. To the
contrary, some of them may indeed be serially related, although a
person´s ability to see the connections may be limited by
various factors of awareness. In many cases they may not be
recalled at all.

Examples:


"Already tired and lying in
bed I recalled the events of the evening and I got
uncertain, if my car was locked. Suddenly I saw my car on
the street side and a policeman standing aside. My fear
vanished." (BAL) "
I am in my kitchen and notice that a friend came in. He
and I noticed that some repairs were needed on the walls.
We replaced several wooden beams and he left. " (BL)




2) The OBE inducing hypnogogic state:

This hypnogogic state has no movie-like dreamlets as the state
before, but is characterized by colors, different sources of
light like the sun or moon and by composed sounds like music,
etc. To achieve this state the continuous chain of thoughts (on
which the dreamlets are based) has to vanish and be replaced by
an alert observation without getting you personally and
emotionally involved. By doing this you can observe pictures,
getting more and more colorful with deeper states. These pictures
are comparable to the dreamlets, but more static, though still
changing as in a slide show. If you see landscapes, they are
passing as if you were sitting in a car. In order to enter an OBE
you have to stop this "movie" or "slide show"
and arrest the pictures. Now the brain is "empty"
enough to receive information from transcendental dimensions.

Examples of the process of breakdown of semantic brain
organization

The following examples demonstrate in which way and how
abruptly the hypnogogic prestage can change to a completely
different form of consciousness:


"Once in the late morning,
when I still stayed in bed, a sheet of newspaper appeared
in my inner visual field. I was very curious to read what
information was written in this "inner
newspaper" when parts of the columns vanished.
Keeping my concentration on the rest of written
information, the whole newspaper suddenly disappeared and
instead I stood on a bridge in the center of a park. I
stood there with full body awareness and everything
seemed real. Down at the bridge were flowers on both
sides of the way and behind them trees. It was
fascinatingly real. I moved a few steps, when suddenly
everything changed again and I found myself lying awake
in the bed." (BAL)


It is interesting to observe the process of decreasing logical
associations, when you fall into a deeper state of relaxation:

"I heard spoken words, being broken into uncoordinated
syllables. At another time I heard a beautiful choral started by
about five persons, but again after some words the choral
dissociated into uncoordinated single "songs". I was
not really aware of my state, but instead, thought there might be
some drunken people in the street. After a while I awoke and
noticed, that everything was calm." (BAL)


"A few days ago, in the
hypnogogic state, I saw a rectangular sheet of paper,
with some words written on it. The sheet changed
periodically, every two or three seconds, like a slide
show. I fixated on a sheet in order to come to a higher
state of awareness (increasing concentration by fixating)
with the hope of subsequently entering a lucid dream.
However, the words started to lose syllables. In place of
the syllables were points or periods. After two or three
more sheets were exchanged, the last one contained only
points. The serial of sheets looked approximately like
the following:
I SAW WORDS IN BLACK LETTERS, WRITTEN ON A WHITE
SHEET OF PAPER TH. WORDS LOST ON. OR TH. OT.ER
LET.ER. FIL.ING TH. SPACE WIT. DOTS
. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


"After the last sheet was
gone the background of the eyes became black. I do not
know how much time passed, when suddenly the kundalini
arose. It felt like a rare kind of gymnastic, with my
body as movable as that of a snake. I liked this. The
kundalini arousal lasted for several minutes. After the
kundalini waves had ceased I "awoke". But it
was a false awaking, as I registered afterwards."
(BAL)





ACOUSTIC SENSATIONS AND VIBRATIONS

Acoustic inner perceptions can be of different origins. For
that reason they may be classified into three groups:


Voices
Songs, chorals, instrumental music
Noise and tones


Voices which are heard in OBE-prestage can be of a
transcendental character or hypnogogic. If
these voices are transcendental they never lead to OBEs. Such
voices heard in this state are frequently indicative of
low inner energy (i.e., overtired).

Songs, chorals, and instrumental music are signs of a higher
level of consciousness. As such, they are often indicative of an
incipient OBE.


"In one case I heard a
distinct, low intensity, ringing sound. On some occasions
I have heard music which seemed to come from a distant
location. It was very much like a choir but of a quality
I am unable to describe. It is perhaps the most beautiful
music I have ever heard and the effect was to deepen my
relaxation." (Lepak)


Noises and tones can be hypnogogic. They may be experienced in
various ways. These other kinds of sounds are of great interest
for OBE-ing.


"There are other sensations,
most notably sounds, that I have noticed. Some of them
may seem rather strange at first regard. The nature of
these sounds may be linked to one´s own personality,
experiences and associations. In one case, at the
culmination of the intense vibrations, I heard a sound
that I instantly associated with a paper bag being slowly
torn. In fact, while it was happening, I was able to
rationalize that it reminded me of a lightweight bag,
very unlike a grocery sac. The analogy of the tearing
paper with the release of the astral body is obvious.
Under the same conditions I once heard a loud bell, like
a fire bell at a school." (Lepak) "I once heard a buzzing sound and
wondered what someone was doing flying an ultralight
plane at this hour." (Lepak)





VIBRATIONS AND SOUNDS RELATED TO OBE'S (THEORIES)

In this section we discuss some possible interpretations
regarding the origin of various sounds, vibrations and associated
body-dissociation effects.

The fact that sound perception very often leads to OBE's or
other exceptional states of consciousness has been observed in
the past. Hence, many shamanistic and mystic techniques have
developed which were based on acoustics. Sound-techniques have
been of high importance for shamanism, mystic aspects of all
established religions, as well as witchcraft, magic and yoga.



Materialistic Interpretations of
Vibrations and Kundalini

From the different materialistic models explaining the origin
of sounds and vibrations only the model of Bentov will be dealt
with in this article.

"Micromotion of the body as a
factor in the development of the nervous system", by Itzhak
Bentov in: "Kundalini, Evolution and Enlightment, ed. John
White, Anchor Books, New York, 1979, page 316-339



"As an analogy a seated
subject can be represented by a mass on a spring : the
spring is the spinal column and the mass is the weight of
the upper part of the body. Upon the ejection of blood
from the heart, this mass is set into motion and starts
oscillating at its natural frequency when the person is
in a deep meditative state." (Bentov, p. 319).



"The regular movement of the body
indicates that a standing wave is set up in the vascular system,
specifically in the aorta. When the left ventricle of the heart
ejects blood the aorta, being elastic, balloons out just distal
to the ventricle. Under these conditions, a pressure pulse
travels down along the aorta. When the pressure pulse reaches the
iliac bifurcation, part of it rebounds and starts traveling up
the aorta." (Bentov, p. 312-322).





Vibrations are reflected at the skull or inner
surfaces of the brain. Resulting frequencies are in the
range between 7 Hz and 12000 Hz. Reflected vibrations are
enhanced and focused, resulting in locations having
different energy densities, stimulating special areas of
the brain.



The emotional and visual sensations caused by overtones and
Bija Mantras (nasal sounds) are explained in this way as well.
Acoustical sensations are explained physically by direct sensory
perception via the auditory system. The physical theory includes
all kinds of frequencies - felt or heard - since it states that
slow rhythms (as caused by the heart beat for instance) are
transformed in the head to vibrations in high frequency ranges.



Esoteric Mechanistic Interpretation

According to the esoteric mechanistic interpretation the
subtle body gets out of alignment with the physical body,
resulting from desynchronization of both bodies. The degree of
dissociation depends on the amplitude or strength of vibrations.
The amplitude of vibrations can be increased actively by
imagination. The final step of body separation is done by will or
by automatisms induced by autosuggestions before, or at the
beginning of, the OBE-dissociation procedure.



Spiritual Interpretation As Provided by
Theosophy And Yoga

According to theosophy and yoga philosophies, sounds and
vibrations are side effects, caused by a spiritual force called
kundalini. Kundalini is a kind of force or power inherent to
every human. Kundalini is "awakened" and active in
spiritually developed persons, as is taught in theosophy and
yoga. (see kundalini faq and
Kundalini-Resource Center. Kundalini Faq see: E. Kreutzer in
Spirit WWW [link of Spirit WWW is in the Index of Ballabene´s
OBE and Astral Pages]).

An additional aspect of these philosophical considerations is
the chakra postulate. The chakras are whirls of energy at the
surface of the subtle body, considered to be centers of higher
energy transformation, which regulate incoming and outgoing
energies ( see many articles about Chakras
in the WWW, you best start your search in the Spirit WWW,
link at the top of the index page ). When a chakra is
energized by Kundalini you can hear sounds and have light
perceptions. The sounds become higher in frequency with higher
chakra location along the axis of the body. The color of light
changes as well with chakra location: it changes from Red
(Mulhadhara Chakra) to ---> Orange-Yellow (Anahata Chakra) and
to ---> Bluish-White (Ajna Chakra). See Leadbeater .

Kundalini experiences published so far tend to describe
highlights similar to "cosmic consciousness". However,
in most cases, experiences are less divine but nevertheless very
interesting for basic understanding. Kundalini does not seem to
be a privilege of "developed" people. Altogether a wide
range of experiences can be undergone in the waking state as well
as in trance or sleep.



Significance of Different Frequency
Ranges for OBE and Esoteric Mysticism

General Considerations:

On the scale of vibration frequencies different qualities of
sensory perceptions can be experienced:


Frequencies from 4 Hz (cps) to ca. 200 Hz: tactile
perception -- etheric OBE-ing, mediumistic phenomena.
Frequencies in the acoustic range: sound perception --
astral OBE-ing
Frequencies in the higher acoustic range: sounds and
light perception -- mental OBE-ing


1) Frequencies in the tactile range: 4 Hz (cps) - ca. 200 Hz

Concentration and imagination on vibrations in this range can
be used for actively induced subtle body loosening in the way of
"stepping out of the body". From 16 Hz upwards the
tactile range is overlapping with the range of deep sounds.

2) Frequencies in the acoustic range: 16 Hz (cps) - ca. 20 000
Hz Deep sounds, still in the frequency range of sensed
vibrations, facilitate etheric OBE-ing (see above). However, the
higher the frequency increases, the more the amplitude of
vibrations diminishes. Finally, at some point, the dissociative
effect will be too small to get the etheric body out of
alignment. With higher frequency rates the state of consciousness
becomes astral. The perceived sounds are no longer "natural
sounds". They begin to manifest in other ways, changing to
composed sounds, like concerts, chorals and songs, or simple
laughter and screaming. This inner music has nothing to do with
cosmic or astral sounds, but is of hypnogogic origin and
indicates a kind of border line before entering the astral state.


3) Frequencies generating inner light perception: Frequency
range of higher sounds

A frequency range higher than the acoustic one, or overlapping
with higher sounds, seems to cause inner light perception. These
frequencies have nothing to do with light frequencies, but they
stimulate parts of the brain, causing the above mentioned light
perception and further euphoric feelings and altered states of
consciousness.These sound and light experiences can be considered
as border phenomena, perceived between physical and subtle
consciousness, and are not yet astral.

OBE's starting from this state can often be classified as
traveling in mental spheres or other high-planes travelings. For
mental traveling the inner state of consciousness has interesting
qualities. The state is mentally dominated. The word
"mental" in mysticism has nothing to do with thinking.
It is a kind of clear, strong, inner sight, without disturbances
by thoughts. In mental traveling (mental OBE's) you sometimes
find yourself in planes which shine in a splendor of light.
However, the mental plane is not heavenly in the Christian sense
because, despite all the glamor, the state may be lacking in
love.

Examples of Experienced Vibrations and
Sounds with Subsequent OBE'S


"By and by, I became aware
that the swaying motions I registered originated from the
beginning of body separation. I became more and more
conscious. I began to hear a high rushing like the sound
of wind. I was wrapped in darkness. After a short while
in this state I felt myself sink down and I registered
that breathing was irregular. Without any black out in
consciousness I slid back into the body." (N) " Lying on the floor I relaxed, when
I heard a rumbling, which developed to thunder every time
when relaxation became deeper. At these moments I was
alarmed to waking state, thus shifting periodically
between being deep relaxation and wakefulness. The sounds
oscillated in this way for about 5 minutes. Subsequently,
I succeeded in stopping this oscillation and was left
with a continuous rumbling, which was superimposed by a
higher-frequency buzzing. Unfortunately this state did
not seem to be deep enough for trance because, after some
time, the rumbling vanished and I became fully awake. The
intended body separation was not accomplished."
(BAL)
"In the evening, lying on
my back, I actively relaxed. Suddenly I heard
explosion-like sounds and was alarmed. Reflecting upon
this situation, I remembered what different sounds could
accompany floating out of the body, and I relaxed again.
The explosion-like sounds started again in chaotic
sequence. After some time the sound developed to a
drumming, like that of rain. Now I felt ready for OBE-ing
and toward that purpose I tried to sit upright with my
subtle body. Then I stood up and walked across the room.
Unable to see anything I became aware that the eyes of my
subtle body were closed and, therefore, I tried to open
them. But tiredness made my eyelids heavy (note: the
state of physical body was transmitted to the subtle body
by repercussion) and soon I felt so tired that I accepted
being pulled back into my physical body. Back in the
physical body I heard the drumming again and felt an
intense circulation of energy, producing a euphoric state
of mind. Shortly afterwards I fell asleep." (S)
"One morning, feeling
comfortable in my warm bed, I decided to sleep longer and
turned aside. Shortly afterwards, however, I heard a
roaring, which seemed to be outside of me. Next I felt
myself loosening and then separating from the physical
body. I realized that I had no control of my subtle body
because my double turned head down in a looping motion
and slid head first into the floor. This experience
frightened me and instantly I was pulled back." (SH)

"Commonly, this relaxed
state of awareness comes over me suddenly, and it feels
as if all the muscles in my body relax at the same time.
It actually seems like things get quieter at that moment.
The change is so profound that I instantly take notice.
It´s a wonderful feeling. In fact, it feels exactly as
if vibrations have slowed down inside of me. I become
more aware of what is happening inside and out. My senses
seem heightened and sometimes I can feel pulses of energy
move up and down my body like waves of water. I feel like
I am floating inside my physical body, as if I were on
water. Often the pulses are weak to moderate. Sometimes
they are strong. At other times they are barely
noticeable. During this stage my physical sensation of
the body disappears but I am always aware that I am
resting within it and that conditions favor an OBE.
However, I often hold this state for some time to observe
what is happening in more detail. But there are other
times when this stage passes very quickly." (Lepak)
"There is a set of
sensations that I have been aware of since fourteen years
of age. It is commonly reported by others in OBE
literature as a rushing or wind-like sound. My version is
rather typical. The vibrations become quite intense and,
usually in an abrupt fashion, build up in a
crescendo-like manner to the point where it is almost
painful. It seems that my entire body and mind are
engorged with the noise and vibrations. At this point
paralysis has set in. It is from this state that the OBE
starts. But, I am often able to maintain this state of
rapid vibration and still think clearly. Sometimes I can
even control the resonance, making it move up and down or
spread evenly throughout the body. This is reminiscent of
awakening kundalini in the body. Notably, I have found
that I can help control or even break this state by
moving my eyes or jaw back and forth. These sensations
are fairly well known in OBE literature. In my case they
occur at the end of the relaxed state." (Lepak)
"A few times, upon
returning, I have had some interesting experiences. Once,
I felt an extreme jolt in the back of the neck. I was
quite aware of this happening as well as the painful
muscles I had for the next few days. Another time, I
heard a soft, explosive sound when returning."
(Lepak)





VISUAL SENSATIONS

Hypnogogic Visual Sensations


Visual perceptions in the hypnogogic state can be classified
into the following main groups:


Unstructured colors
Spots of light or foggy shapes developing into tunnels
Structured pictures in the form of objects or landscapes



The first kind, unstructured colors, is a well known prestage
of OBE`s. This state is very often followed by blackness and
thereafter by inner awareness and sight. The second and third
kind of hypnogogic visual "perceptions" can be used as
an OBE-inducing technique.



OBE Techniques Starting with Hypnogogic
Visual States:

colors, mosaics:


do nothing except looking actively at the colors in order
to hold your level of consciousnes and awareness (see: OBE-methods based on relaxation with
inner body awareness) .
try to change the mosaics into a curtain, which you
can open afterwards to step into an OBE-landscape (see: OBE inducing methods based on
visual techniques).


foggy shapes


Foggy shapes Try to change them into landscapes in the
dawn and make them more colorful afterwards (this is a common technique for
visualisation).
Try to form the fog into a circle which you try to
change to a tunnel ("tunnel
method", see: OBE inducing methods based on
visual techniques).


structured objects, landscapes


Objects: Try to purposely select suggestive objects which
you can use as doors to OBE-landscapes; for instance, doors,
windows, tunnels, paths, etc. (this
is a technique using border symbols and is similar to the
"tunnel technique").
Landscapes: Try to make them 3-dimensional and focus
on body sensations and your presence in the landscape. (method of "projecting" see: OBE
inducing methods based on visual techniques).


The OBE´s following the hypnogogic state cannot be
interpreted as a continuation of the hypnogogic state. The OBE´s
are as distinctly different from the hypnogogic state as sleep is
different from the hypnogogic state.



Some typical visual experiences which
lead to OBE's


"I lay on the floor and
relaxed. After some time I heard a sound like a water
fall. Somewhat later the sound ceased and I began to see
colorful landscapes passing in a movie-like fashion. Some
time later it became dark and I felt elevated upwards by
a kind of wind, by which I was swayed to and fro.
Subsequently, I had the feeling of being carried away by
the wind, still in my original prone position. All of a
sudden I felt as if I were set down and I was able to
see. I I slid along the street of an unknown village
where I started a sightseeing tour. Though in my everyday
life I might have felt lonesome there, I instead felt
rather euphoric." (BAL) "Lying on the floor I tried to fall
into trance, using a step by step method:

1) relaxing
2) inducing heaviness of the body and limbs
3) listening to my blood pulsating in the blood
vessels
4) feeling warmth
5) distracting my awareness from the body towards
inner space.

I began to hear a rushing.
Thereafter the rushing vanished and I saw very colorful
mosaics attracting my attention. After a while the
mosaics disappeared and it became dark and silent and
very peaceful. Then I heard the laughing and screaming of
many children. Initially the sounds were faint as if far
away; then they seemed to be approaching. When they
seemed to be very close, I had the impression of
dissociating from my physical body. In the lying position
I drifted through a short tunnel, which I could not see,
but of which I had a spatial feeling. When I had passed
the tunnel, all of a sudden, I stood in a meadow. In full
sunny daylight I saw a swimming pool just in front of me.
Meadow and swimming pool were crowded. I went to the
swimming pool to have a better look and there I saw a lot
of people splashing and diving through the clear
water." (BAL)





Part 2
IBE's AS SIDE
EFFECTS OF OBE's
(IBE's = in
the body experiences)

In IBE´s you are still in your physical body, but the inner,
transcendental, senses are partially or totally active. As you
are still within the secure shield of the physical body , this
state enables you to learn step by step the rules of "the
other world".

PARTIAL BODY SEPARATION

How It Feels

Partial body separation is the experience of getting your arms
or feet out of the physical counterparts, floating above their
physical originals, or, after having performed some automatic
movements, and you later realize that it was not your physical
limbs which moved.

How It May be Explained

When consciousness is gradually shifting towards the etheric
body, i.e., less bound to the physical body, the etheric body
gains increased independence. All these experienced partial body
separations seem to be exclusively etheric phenomena as opposed
to astral. This may be explained by the following esoteric
hypothesis: the etheric body is bound to the physical body by a
force similar to magnetism. For that reason the etheric body
cannot easily depart from the physical body as it may often be
pulled back again. This causes states of dissociation and
repercussion. However, the astral vehicle is not bound to the
physical body by such a force, but only by the identification
with it. Identification commonly has no intermediate phases but
does exist. It is a hop or drop mechanism with subsequent
reentry.

Occasions When Partial Body Separation
May be Observed

Two situations provide such experiences:


Body separations by will : Spontaneous movements of the
subtle body as a result of starting separation by an act
of will.
Over tiredness - Uncontrolled movements of the subtle
body resulting from fatigue or exhaustion.


Frequently, sensations associated with partial dissociation
are observed when actively stepping out of the body by trance
technique, imagination processes or during false awakening. In
such situations you usually have a perfect sense of touch with
your subtle body. The subtle body feels "normal" in all
respects, with no discernible differences compared to the
physical body. This real-like body feeling is what often makes
OBE´s so impressive.

In the state of over tiredness, partial body separation is
observed as well. The recognition of these movements is rather
faint. In most cases you become aware of the event one or two
seconds afterwards. Then, as you rapidly become more cognizant,
you get shocked awake and, some seconds later, you fall into the
same drowsy state as before. You have no chance to turn this
situation to an OBE by will.

Examples of Partial Body Separation


" The paralysis was gone and I
became aware of two bodies, physical and astral. I felt
light but did not rise upward. Then I began to move my
legs with ease as if I were peddling a bicycle. After
many seconds I stopped and put them down again. Then I
lifted my head and shoulders, leaning on my elbows.
Looking around I saw that everything had a mild glow.
Suddenly I realized that I had been moving my astral body
rather than the physical. Then I lay back down and
realigned the two bodies." (BL) "While relaxed and concentrating I
decided to move my etheric arm. Slowly, I managed to lift
my left hand and arm up over my chest. Then I put it back
at my side." (BL)





THE AWAKENING OF INNER SIGHT

The awakening of the inner sight is in some way similar to
aura-seeing. First, the dark room gets somewhat brighter and then
you begin to discern objects as grey shapes, which gradually gain
more color.


"Typically, during the
relaxation or vibration states, I have noticed that
everything in the room seems to be giving off its own
light. It's never overwhelming but bright enough to see
by. The lighting of the room most resembles a moonlit
night at full phase. Usually, the color is a soft blue or
green. One time, in the relaxed state with eyes closed, I
found myself looking at three rows of four lights. Soft
and green, I slowly became aware that I was moving my
attention from one to the other, left to right, in each
row. By the time I was near the end of the second row I
felt the vibrations commence. Perhaps this was a way of
getting to that point. Once, while maintaining a mild
vibration, I had my eyes closed but was careful to make
observations. In front of me, with eyes still closed, I
could see a swirling tunnel of blue mist. At the far end
was a small, dark opening. The scene was spellbinding and
it was superposed over the normal room fixtures. I
managed to gain a clear focus on the scene three times,
especially the dark opening." (Lepak)




VOICES

Situations in which you may hear voices:


In hypnogogic states
In cases of over tiredness
In ecstatic or near ecstatic states
In false awakenings


Hypnogogic States

Voices have often been reported while in the hypnogogic state.
They may seem to come from various places in the vicinity.


"In some instances I have been
aware of voices at a distance. One time they were in
another part of the room. At another time they came from
outside the house about twenty feet above the ground. I
listened as carefully as I could but details were
impossible to pick out. But, in both cases, they simply
seemed like ordinary conversations between two or three
people, the kind you might barely hear as you passed them
on a busy sidewalk." (Lepak)


Over Tiredness

Voices heard when overtired are told to have their origin in
earthbound spirits. You may hear insistent words or phrases
lending good advice. Conversely, you may hear somewhat negative
feelings or suggestions conveyed at times.


"Someone was standing next to
the bed and holding my left arm. He was applying a gentle
pressure in the upward direction. To someone next to him
he said, " When he´s ready. " " (BL)


False awakening

The words you hear during false awakenings are vocalized by
"persons" (dream persons or spirits?) whom you can see.
They are often polite orders to continue sleeping. Sometimes
these "persons" are speaking with each other in a noisy
way.



ECTOPLASM

Ectoplasm is common in spiritualism but not during the OBE
prestage. Some of the OBE-ers, however, have mediumistic
tendencies and abilities. In such cases, in addition to
ectoplasm, different poltergeist phenomena may occur.

The ectoplasm is considered to be a very dense form etheric
matter. It streams out of some preferred parts of the body like
the mouth, nose, ears and even the pores. It flows down slowly as
if it has a honey-like consistency.


"Sitting in an armchair and
starting trance, I usually had considerable saliva
production. Therefore I used to sit with my head hanging
down and with open mouth. When deeper in trance I felt
something cold flowing down the right edge of my mouth
down to the chin. I was somewhat confused about that
until I could see the origin of this sensory feeling. It
was a broad stream of grayish color, slowly flowing down
like old, partly crystallized, honey. In the grayish mass
were black, crystal-like spots. At the edge it seemed to
evaporate like steam." (BAL)