Help fund OBE research

[Samwise]

Alexander De Foe, the guy who recently edited and published the free ebook "Consciousness Beyond the Body: Evidence and Reflections" is trying to raise funds for some really interesting sounding research into OBE's. I've contributed to this, I think it's a great cause, OBE's are certainly worthy of more research than they they have received so far.

https://startsomegood.com/openconsciousness

Alexander's ebook can be freely downloaded from here:

http://alexdefoe.com/2016/02/13/consciousness-beyond-the-body/

About This Project

In February 2016 I published an edited book titled "Consciousness Beyond the Body: Evidence and Reflections". The book explored the mind-body question. That is, can consciousness in fact exist without the presence of a physical body?

Although the question may seem radical to some, philosophers and parapsychologists have long had an interest in the insights that out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs) may provide into the nature of consciousness. Namely, some of the questions that have been asked include:

- Does one's consciousness continue after physical death?
- Is there an afterlife? (and, can we show this empirically, rather than resting on religious doctrine?)
- Is extra-sensory perception possible?
- What is the essential nature of Mind?
- I'd like to invite you to support a new research project that I have commenced to investigate the perceptual aspects of OBEs. My aim is to recruit individuals who can self-induce OBEs in which they reliably and repeatedly perceive and verify information that would otherwise have been impossible to ascertain by physical means.

While there have been numerous cases of veridical OBE perception documented in literature, never has a research study been developed to repeatably verify such perceptions beyond doubt (while also minimising research bias and false accounts).

The project

The funding will provide the resources to locate, recruit, and interview a sample of participants who report frequent realistic OBEs (i.e., at least 10 in the prior year). Qualitative research methods will be used to ascertain (a) how these individuals self-induce such experiences, and (b) the nature of their perception, more importantly, which aspects (if any) were verifiable post-experience.

This research will help paint a "map", if you like, of the OBE. At the very least it will provide new insights into taxonomies of altered states and demarcate the OBE as a unique type of experience in which one's perception is physically comparable (rather than 'astral projection' or 'soul traveling' which are imaginary states often conflated with traditional OBEs). The hope is that this preliminary research will lay the ground-work for researchers to have a much clearer understanding of how perception in traditional OBEs functions. With that knowledge in mind, a protocal for testing verifiable perception will be developed and published in a scientific journal.

Contributors will be kept in the loop about all updates as this research unfolds.

The researcher

Alexander De Foe earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Monash University. He has published his research in major parapsychological journals, and has previously been funded to pursue research into OBEs by the Alex Tanous Foundation for Scientific Research.

Thank you for your support.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

Sounds like a fantastic project that the world could benefit from. If I was far enough along to do so reliably I would volunteer to be a validator. Will read the book and see what it has to offer.

[Xanth]

I'm not convinced there's anything good that can come out of this...

This research will help paint a "map", if you like, of the OBE. At the very least it will provide new insights into taxonomies of altered states and demarcate the OBE as a unique type of experience in which one's perception is physically comparable (rather than 'astral projection' or 'soul traveling' which are imaginary states often conflated with traditional OBEs). The hope is that this preliminary research will lay the ground-work for researchers to have a much clearer understanding of how perception in traditional OBEs functions. With that knowledge in mind, a protocal for testing verifiable perception will be developed and published in a scientific journal.

He's ALREADY got a huge bias as to what he's going to find before this study even begins.
While it's intriguing, I haven't found a study which hasn't shot itself in the foot before it begins because of biases of the researchers getting in the way.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

There is something good that can come out of this. Yes there is a clear bias here as it seems that the goal here is related to actions in the real time zone. This isn't surprising as it is the best chance of getting any kind of recognizable validation.

We shouldn't expect revolutionary answers, however, in my mind one conclusive validation is going to be more valuable than anything else that might realistically come from this. Most people I speak with don't care about the revolutionary answers or anything like that. People are only interested in the question "is it real", the amount of times that thread is posted here is a strong indicator that this is true for a wider audience than just New Zealand.

Xanth, I have seen you challenge the concept of what it means for something to be real here almost every time the question comes up and I do the same. I find that most people are unwilling to engage in any meaningful discussion without that basis in science - it always falls into the bucket of ghosts and conspiracies.

One might legitimately argue that these people aren't ready to embrace a larger view; I think some of them might be if legitimate studies existed to prove the effort is worth while. I can't see any other single factor beyond validations being a bigger motivator for people to learn about consciousness, we need it.

[Szaxx]

It's materialism that gets in the way. If it can't be measured then it can't exist.
So a young couple are full of love....
Challenge the materialists to measure this love without any half baked bull they typically spew.

They can't and know it is real, this is where the bias needs to be pointed. It's formless yet experienced. Just like the art of projection...

[desert-rat]

There are a number of other astral projection forums . You might repost this on some of them.

[Samwise]

I personally feel that this is a really refreshing and exciting direction to be taking OBE research in, and I doff my cap to Alexander for trying to give it a go. He is no fool, he has a PhD in experimental psychology, has had his own OBE type experiences, and is in contact with many of the more well-known and well-travelled members of the OBE community. The potential findings of the research could also open more interesting paths up. I'm a bit down on how little support or interest his research has garnered, but I've done my best to spread the word...thanks for the tip desert-rat, I shared this on a few other forums.

Szaxx, can't love measured in some sense?? As in circulating levels of oxytocin, prolactin and dopamine?? I agree we can't really describe love well, but being "in love" still has a biochemical component which can be measured.

[desert-rat]

I have a forums list on s.f. , its in the links sec. its a members only part of that forum.

http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/