What Is an Out of Body Experience?

You are lying down asleep, and your soul feels attached to your physical body by an invisible thread. Your soul floats away yet can view your sleeping body from above. Are there two of you? Are you two of the same? Out-of-body experiences can be quite a transformative and frightening experience, but what do they mean? Some argue they prove that we have a soul; others say they are just our neurons playing tricks on us. Below find out what causes this exhilarating and chilling phenomenon!

Four Types of OBEs

OBEs (out-of-body experiences) do not occur in the same fashion for everyone. The one most common aspect of these experiences is that they feel genuine in the moment. There are plenty of different scenarios that can cause this phenomenon to occur—four main categories or types of causes that can jumpstart an OBE.

1) Sleep: We spend up to one-third of our lives in slumber. Our bodies might be still, but our brain is still very much awake and working. If you experience an OBE during sleep, it most likely occurs toward the beginning or end of your sleep cycle when sleep is not particularly deep. Ex-ternal noise, stress, or sleep deprivation can also cause your brain to induce an OBE.

2) Near-death Experience: We've all heard of the “light at the end of the tunnel.” There is an au-thentic pattern among people who have had an NDE (near-death experience)—they feel like their perception of the world is altered and can view their physical body from a great height or simply outside of themselves.

3) Physical Exertion: There are accounts of extremely physical or tense situations causing our bodies to react in strange ways. For example, some people report having inexplicable, extreme strength and adrenaline rushes. Some believe they had an OBE after they exerted themselves past their physical limits under stress.

4) Medical Conditions and Medications: Many medical conditions and medications can in-duce an OBE. Most commonly, anesthesia is known to cause these experiences in many people before significant surgeries and procedures.

Are OBEs and Astral Projections the Same Thing?

Although OBEs and astral projection may seem like a very similar experience initially, there is one fundamental difference. To astral project, you need to make an intentional effort to separate from your consciousness towards another dimension or plane. Thus, astral projections take practice, intention, and spiritual maturity. On the other hand, an OBE is unplanned, and those that experience them feel both their soul and physical body still attached to reality.

An OBE is more of a medically recognized phenomenon that is the subject of many tests and studies, while astral projection is considered a spiritual practice.

Whether or not you believe that there is a soul, or if the soul and body can peel apart for a mo-ment, there is no denying that many around the world experience OBEs and live to tell the fright-ening tale!