Why is OBE Important to You?

[anteus]

quote:Originally posted by Pe-

Hi, folks!

Once you opened the door of obes, there is no way back, you can not get enough of them. Could call it OBE-dependency [^]



I think you are simply not as patient as to take the lectures []

Have you read Robert Monroe's books?

You are right in one thing: it could be an escape - all time wondering on how to get out of the limits of the physical world. All of us have been out of this system for loooong times. Actually, there is no time, so the time word loses it's meaning, also ... []

Well, take care, and have a success with your life! [xx(]

Pe

P.s.: it was good to hear from a hungarian guy, but these thoughs lead you nowhere. If you allow me to tell you my opinion.

Dependency is a dependency???
How can you call dependency ok??
"If you can reach trance state, you will have a good sleep,
8 hours of good and well resting sleep in 2 hours."
But when do you OBE then???

"Yes, actually it does. But there is no limit of how much energy
you "waste". Here the "waste" word losts it's meaning."

Really??? How long can you maintain OBE without your body getting tired? If I OBE, I don't sleep.. If I sleep I don't OBE.
> It may pose risk. Why to take risks???
"What risk are you talking about?
Risk of ascension? [!]"
Dropping dead...
"I am sure that there is nothing can tell you the way it works, because you are blind, and you don't even want to hear about sight.
I hope you know how I meant it. "
Closing down that kind of perception seems to be a safe option.
Anyway I did't like the very clear too real "as if I were there forever" type of OBE like dreams... I had so long OBE, I was worried if I ever come back.
Snowy roads... Deserted cities, childhood scenes....
in better quality then "solid reality".
"I am sure that there is nothing can tell you the way it works, because you are blind, and you don't even want to hear about sight.
I hope you know how I meant it. "
I am not always "blind". I jump among darkness and light and watch the show. I am an experimenter.
I try to keep the old ways. How can you keep your foot on the ground?


I don't know how can anyone handle this... This was not  just not tought in the primary school.

Actually these journeies don't seem to be independent of usual reality. Anyone really met something independent of physical reality on astral??? (not desires/thought structures)
And can you prove it to me?

A.

[What Tha Phak]

anteus,

quote:Dependency is a dependency???
How can you call dependency ok??

you should try doing some more research.  Dependency is OK, you depend on so many things in your life, it is countless.  You depended on you mother as you were an infant to take care of you and as an adolencent depended on family income to support you.  But other dependencies are not "ok" like dtugs or alcohol.  It all depends on how you look at it.  Who ever said once you OBE you depend on it?  He probably means that once you experience it, you wanna do it again and again and explore more and more.

quote:I am not always "blind". I jump among darkness and light and watch the show. I am an experimenter.
I try to keep the old ways. How can you keep your foot on the ground?

How could you make ground breaking discoveries if you try nothing new...

quote:Really??? How long can you maintain OBE without your body getting tired? If I OBE, I don't sleep.. If I sleep I don't OBE.

Your body IS sleeping when you OBE, your mind is just more aware....

gotta go... my lunch break is over..

[sweet_celestial_sounds]

OBE is important to me because I can master another skill. I can have fun, and verify things that I want to verify- such as to whether there is life on other planets. Which planets? Where? It is a major part of my spiritual path. I like it. It is fun and interesting.

Celestial Sounds

[nstkd8]

hhmmmm... why is learning to have obe's important to me? The questions within me are endless, and I see the OBE as a TREMENDOUS way to seek answers! (not to mention... flying has GOT to be the COOLEST thing EVER!!! [])

[Makaveli]

I've had a few oobe's but I had little control of the but I now they were real.

1. Doing it a few times has proven life after death.
2. Knowing what it's like will help me advance more when I die cause I will be in a permanent oobe and I don't plan on reincarnating.
3. Learning.
4. Exploring, fun, meeting others.

[bomohwkl]

OBE is a way to PROVE for yourself the existence of soul and most importantly existence of consciousness outside the physical body.

The subsequent questions that follow are most interesting.

Why are we here in this physical body? We are spirit and what the need of physical body? Material possesion cannot enrich the spirit. Wisdom, knowledge and truth can enrich the spirit and bring it with you after you die physically. It is process that give a kick to find out the Purpose of the Universe.

http://www.thiaoouba.com

[PeacefulWarrior]

Does anyone OBE for a specific purpose, such as trying to communicate with someone who has died?  (I don't recommend this) but I wonder.

[PeacefulWarrior]

Does anyone OBE for a specific purpose, such as trying to communicate with someone who has died?  (I don't recommend this) but I wonder.

[goingslow]

This may sound weird and im not even sure it will work but one reason im doing it is to try and view a persons energy i know.

Ive read some of the articles about healing in the astral and i'd like to see if i can do energy work for someone better in that state.

[vesselinpeev]

OBE can help overcome fear of death and help confirm that we are immortal beings. While we should not get carried away by OBE because we are physical for a reason, they are a great tool for exploring and fulfilling human potential!

[Nick]

The most important reason would be spiritual growth. After that, knowledge, I guess.[8D]

[bomohwkl]

I was contacted in my OBE just immediately my grandmother passed away even without me knowing her just passed away. Interesting....

[PeacefulWarrior]

vesselinpeev:
I agree with you fully.  There is a VERY important reason that we have physical bodies in this life.

bomohwkl:
Would you mind sharing more about this experience.  Did she commuincate with you, etc.?

Regarding the importance of the body and not getting too carried away with OBE, there is this short article:
I Struggle to Stay In!
by Phylameana lila Desy
Vast numbers of individuals and clustering groups of people are seeking ways to experience out of body, never mind that several of these people seeking to be out of their bodies are actually seldom in their bodies in the first place - more than 50 percent of their energetic fields are hanging out in the ethers....

My personal experience is that for a major part of my life I had been out-of-my-body more than in it. And even now making conscious efforts to be more aware of my body and to actually be IN MY BODY continually I struggle with yanking myself back in. My spiritual nature is floaty. Grounding exercises help tremendously with maintaining a balance of our physical and spiritual bodies.

For years I thought that being out-of-body equated with being an enlightened or more spiritual being. I have since learned (urr...remembered) that I AM already a spiritual being. Being here on the planet means that I have this unique opportunity to be housed within a physical shell. Why discard or disdain the physical house? Without our bodies we wouldn't be able to enjoy the physical pleasures such as eating or sexual intimacy among many other physical sensations. After all, how could the spiritual body devour chocolate??

Out of body experiences done in a controlled fashion are safer and more fulfilling. Cherish your physical body as a place to return safely home to after the spiritual journey, not as a place to run away from.

[bomohwkl]

Yes, she did. And I had the most vivid and clearest vision of OBE with no difficulty going anyway I wanted. Thanks to my grandmother assistance.

[PeacefulWarrior]

Thanks for sharing that.  I think it's amazing how OBE can be used to help us communicate with those who have passed on.  In fact, I thnk it's the natural way this occurs and I think any other way or means to attempt to communicate with the dead can lead to deception.  I am thinking specifically of spiritual mediums and that kind of thing (like the movie Ghost and some of the new tv shows)

Anyway, I think this thread is great.

I have another question for people:
What practical aspects of OBE could be helpful to society as a whole?

Could/should OBE and other spirit practices be taught in school (university level)??  Maybe even just meditation??

[Illusory]

Between the ages of 9-12 years old I used to lucid dream 4-5 times a month on a regular basis.  The lucid dreaming experience was so fantastic and exciting to me, then I suddenly stopped doing it and forgot about it.  I don't know why I lost the ability it just happened.  

Recenty I found OOBE and have discovered that its fairly easy for me to do WITH the same excitment and rush that lucid dreaming had for me 20 years ago.

So I guess its getting me in touch with my youth and at the same time is a good chance for spiritual growth.

[^]

[PeacefulWarrior]

That's very interesting...you are not the first person who has told me that as a child you were more prone to lucid dream.  I wonder if we all lucid dreamed at some point but lost the ability as we got older.  Same for OBE.  

Children's "psychic" potential is so much higher than that of adults.  Sometimes, as a teacher, I ask children questions about if they see colors or have imaginary friends and the responses range from comical to jaw-dropping.

[PeacefulWarrior]

What's the Use of an Out of Body Experience?
Robert Peterson is an author and a pioneering out-of-body traveler. He has written three books on OBE. When he is not out of body travelling he likes to ride his motor bike and travel abroad. In this interview Robert gives us some clues on what to expect and what the benefits may be from "non-physical travel".

Text: The following is an online interview featured by Amazon.com.
Courtesy of Amazon.com, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Amazon.com: What made you decide to write Out of Body Experiences?

Robert Peterson: There were really three main reasons for writing the book.

First, my out-of-body experiences have changed my life dramatically, and in a very positive and spiritual way, and I feel that this world needs more positive, spiritual influences. I felt extremely indebted to Robert Monroe for his books that led me to this path, and if my book can have that positive effect on someone else, then it will be worth it.

Second, after reading scores of books that other people have written about the subject, I still felt that there were major gaps of understanding that needed to be filled in. Rather than rehash old material, I felt it was my duty as an experiencer to try to document what I've found that wasn't covered in other books.

Last, I felt that I had discovered some key factors that would allow people to leave their bodies too, and I wanted to make those public so that the out-of-body experience can be studied further. After all, the key to scientific study is reproducibility. If I can teach other people to induce the experience, then mankind as a whole can gain from their findings.

Amazon.com: Have you had any out of body experiences that left you with fairly concrete proof that you had left your body?

Peterson: Well, as I stated in the book, I tried for a while to obtain concrete proof that my OBEs were objective and not just hallucinations.

Unfortunately, most of my efforts to establish "proof" were done in my first few years of having OBEs, so I wasn't too coordinated or adept at it. Consequently, I didn't get as much proof as I wanted. I did have a few experiences that were convincing enough to me, but they wouldn't hold any water with the scientific community. Eventually, I decided that I no longer needed to prove anything to myself. I'd been doing it long enough to be convinced they were real.

I also decided that I could never convince the skeptics, because they are too closed-minded and can always come up with reasons to invalidate a test. Likewise, I knew that scientists wouldn't be satisfied unless my experiments were predefined tests done under laboratory conditions. So far, I haven't found anyone doing serious scientific study under those conditions, but I'd gladly be the first person in line to try to reproduce the OBE under laboratory conditions if anyone asks me to.

Amazon.com: Many accounts of out of body experiences seem to include the ability to travel instantly from one location to another, but your reports indicate that you haven't had much luck with astral flight and teleportation, which is a testament to your honesty. If you've managed to improve on this skill since you wrote the book, could you share some of your new experiences?

Peterson: Actually, I've gotten much better at "astral teleportation" since I submitted the original text for the book more than two years ago. Since I figured out how to do it, I've been able to transport myself to specific people and locations. Most of these experiences have been mundane and uneventful, and not very worthy of mention. The main problem is that most books over-simplify the process of mind-travel and don't give very good instructions. Unfortunately, I'm also at a loss for words as to how to describe the process. It's more than just thinking about a person or saying their name; it's most like pulling myself to that person with my mind.

Amazon.com: In chapter 14 you meet three other astral beings when you call for help from astral guides. Do you feel that these were other travelers, like yourself, or the spirits of deceased people, or do you think they were some type of creatures native to the astral plane you were visiting? Have you made contact with these or other beings since then?

Peterson: I've always been very cautious and reserved about "spirits" so in the past, I tended to try to experiment "on my own," in other words, without trying for too much contact. Lately I've been more confident and adventuresome, occasionally calling for help during my OBEs. So far it's worked well--I've felt gentle hands helping to tug me away from my body.

I've also heard some voices too during OBEs, but the strange thing is that except in rare instances, I never seem to see these helpers, they're always invisible. Perhaps it's because their vibrations are so much higher than mine. At any rate, I don't know if the helpers are deceased people or not, but they seem to be primarily residents of the astral plane rather than physical people who are also having OBEs.

Amazon.com: In chapter 10, you discuss one of the side effects of your journey into the realm beyond the physical--contact with "the small still voice within," and you reveal some of the astounding guidance you have received from this voice, which you describe as a link to your higher self. Do you have a more specific idea of what this voice is? Are there any other experiences you've had with your inner voice that you wouldn't mind sharing?

Peterson: I believe that my inner voice is my subconscious relating the thoughts of a "higher self" or "oversoul" back to me. I've had long talks with my inner voice, but most of the material is personal. I'm convinced that the majority of today's "channeling" is merely the same natural process of communication, but they make it out to be something more mysterious and mystical than it really is. I'm sure I could do the same sort of channeling, but I'm not interested. My interests lie elsewhere.

Amazon.com: There are people who would say, "So what? What good is an OBE?" Have your out of body experiences had a significant impact on your physical life, and can you argue that OBEs are more than just an entertaining experiment?

Peterson: Boy, you really touched a hot spot of mine here. I could ramble on for hours about that topic, but I understand your space is limited. Let me ask you this: Why does the United States Government (i.e. NASA) spend millions and millions of dollars on space exploration but not one penny on out-of-body exploration? Ask yourself this: Would you rather spend a few hours looking at pictures transmitted from the face of Mars by Pathfinder (as millions of people did in 1997), or would you rather stand on Mars yourself and view the landscape in person?

Although I've never done it, I believe it's possible through OBEs, if serious researchers can learn to induce and control the experience. Besides the obvious practical applications, such as finding lost children and solving crimes, there is an enormous potential for religious exploration and spiritual growth. With OBEs, we have the potential for changing our religious beliefs, which are mostly superstitions at this point, into true knowledge of the afterlife.

Amazon.com: Dr. Charles Tart wrote the forward to your book, and I noticed that you mention some of his works in your bibliography. Have you read the recently published Body Mind Spirit (another Hampton Roads book) that he edited?

Peterson: Charles Tart has always been a big hero of mine. I really loved the part in Susan Blackmore's book, "In Search of the Light", where she's going on about meeting the Charles Tart. Hampton Roads asked Tart to do the foreword to my book without my knowledge. When I first learned about it, I was in shock for days. I felt so surprised and honored that I was beside myself with excitement. I just bought Body Mind Spirit last weekend, so I haven't started reading it yet.

Amazon.com: You are a computer programmer, someone with a logical view of things, yet you seem to have a firm belief in the paranormal (things such as clairvoyance, telepathy, and precognition) tempered with a healthy skepticism. The general message of Body Mind Spirit (mentioned above) is movement toward a reconciliation of the rift between science and spirituality. As you seem to have bridged this gap on a personal level already, where do you envision things going if science breaks free of traditional dogma and begins to explore the paranormal realm in earnest?

Peterson: Good question! For nearly ten years I worked on the operating system of the IBM System/36 and IBM AS/400. Now I mostly do C++ programming for Linux and Windows 95. I'm still very logical and very skeptical, even when it comes to my own experiences.

Bridging the gap between science and the supernatural has always been one of my dreams (thus, Charles Tart being one of my heroes). I've always felt that if science and the supernatural can be reconciled, then many of the illusions that we live with (such as separation from loved ones when they die and various religious superstitions) will be eliminated. When science can seriously explore and establish facts on issues such as (1) the nature of psychic experiences and psychic powers, (2) the nature of the soul and afterlife, and (3) the nature of God, then perhaps we can agree on "what to believe" and do away with all the fighting over religious differences.

Maybe we can all agree that we are spiritual beings first and foremost (and that spirit transcends all race and sex boundaries), and we must work toward the spiritual growth of everyone. Maybe we can also learn to set aside our materialism for more spiritual pursuits. And if science can't establish these things as facts, at least OBEs can help each of us learn these things at a personal level.

[Vicky]

To learn, grow and to understand better the world we live in, to visit other dimensions, to meet other creatures, to travel and feel the wind, to become aware of life, to become better and cleverer

[jason]

freedom and knowledge.

[MeaghanEmily]

OBEs are an important part of self growth on all levels.  It allows you to explore different planes and come into conact with many different spiritual people.

[Kodemaster]

It's fun, it's fascinating, it's helped me grow spiritually, it's given me a completely different perspective on life and the universe, it's something I'm proud of that I can say I've done and not too many other people have, I like the feeling I get when I pass through solid objects and I've always wanted to fly.

[Kodemaster]

It's also helped me with my creativity.

[Phanuel]

I think that I have always had a sort of interest in things like psychic phenomena and the mystical/spiritual.  I've learned about dowsing, auras, lucid dreaming etc ... and so far, with the exception of lucid dreaming, all of my learning has been theoretical and not practical.  I am looking to gain some actual experience.

I, of course, would dearly love to gain spiritual wisdom and growth but I have to be honest in saying that a large part of my personal potivation lies in the prospect of having fun.  My interest in lucid dreaming is mostly fueled by the possibilty of being able to fly or turn effortless handsprings, teleport to wherever I might feel like.

I guess I just want to know that there is a sort of magic in the universe and not just believe it.

[Nick]

Spiritual growth and acquiring knowledge of the astral realms.