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Do you think certain drugs can produce real OBEs? If yes, how?
Yes. As to how, let's see what science eventually throws up. The brain is an electro-chemical organ, all our experiences and memories have their roots in chemical interactions at the synapse – so any drug which results in / triggers the same effects as OBE experiences should produce an OBE experience.
Before people jump on this – I am not saying consciousness is necessarily an emergent property of the brain – just that the brain in and of itself works through chemical means. Consciousness could be separate, but chemical interactions would still be our method of experiencing the physical.
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Also, do you think that the fact that certain sounds recorded on CDs and drugs are able to produce OBEs prove that it is some type of hallucination? And if it isn't a hallucination, how do you think these products work?
If we take the definition of hallucination from the dictionary:
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[huh-loo-suh-ney-shuhn]
–noun
1. a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders, or by reaction to certain toxic substances, and usually manifested as visual or auditory images.
One might successfully be able to argue that consensus reality could be a hallucination.
That is, reality is forever experienced internally and
might have some shared 'external' manifestation which we can only ever know through our own personal interpretation (and the interpretation the physical brain has evolved to perceive).
I know this isn't what you meant, I'm just trying to make the point that what is or is not an hallucination is not a simple thing to determine to an absolute degree.
What would your criteria for OBEs not being a hallucination be? That such experiences could be shared between many in a consistent manner (such as external reality is)? That consciousness exists after physical brain death?
I believe binaural beat and similar technologies can produce OBEs through driving brainwaves to favourable states for such phenomenon to manifest i.e. moving ones focus from the physical to another point of consciousness.
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On the other hand, even if particular sounds or drugs produce hallucinations, that doesn't mean all OBEs are fake. So what's the difference between real OBEs and fake OBEs?
Ultimately, Is there, or does there have to be any difference? OBEs in essence are experiences on the spectrum of consciousness. If an experience is on a personal internal locale, or a potentially shared locale, it is still an experience on the spectrum of consciousness. I see no need to fracture any experience into any category – doing such things might make it a lot harder to experience anything as such beliefs bring with them expectations and preconceived notions which could stifle an experience before it happens.
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I am fascinated by astral projection, though I have not been able to achieve much success so far. These are just a few of the questions I am interested in as I continue seeking knowledge for my path....
Some people have detailed belief systems which require little personal proof on the nature of OBEs; others need a high degree of empirical proof to decide what OBEs are. Regardless of its meaning or truth, the OBE experience is something which can be experienced by anyone.
My advice would be to concentrate on reproducing the OBE experience and only then, through personal exploration of this state and open-mindedness, make your mind up on what the state actually is.