OBE´s are a very interesting phenomena which has had a lot of attention in the past several decades. There are increasing numbers of books and internet articles that address this topic and it seems that more & more people are reporting them. However, there are states of consciousness that occur both before and after the actual release of the astral body. Some of the strange phenomena that occur in the pre- and post OBE states manifest quickly and, consequently, are at times difficult to study. Those who are keen enough to observe the events as they unfold, while maintaining 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.
Lepak compared the waking state of the body & mind, which are 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 used during the day to work on a number of different problems that everybody encounters. That is not to say that it does so continuously, however, as everybody daydreams for a certain period of the waking day. Such daydreaming can represent, in a sense, a change of focus, i.e., by the analogy, a shift 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.
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. 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 most known as the state before falling asleep. It can 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, short burst of dreams lasting only one or few seconds.
Another form of the 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 known about. In this article this state may be called "OBE-inducing hypnogogic state".
In the dream inducing 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 dream inducing hypnogogic state:
The hypnogogic state leading on to the dream state is characterized by dreamlets. These dreamlets can be the type termed as "random pictures". These short dreams serve to remove inner obstacles, such as problems 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 random 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 his/her level of awareness. In many cases they may not be recalled at all.
The OBE inducing hypnogogic state:
Now this hypnogogic state has no movie screen like dreamlets as the state before, but is characterized by colors, different types of light like the sun or moon and by composed sounds like music, thunder, buzzing, nature. To get to this state the continuous chain of thoughts (on which the dreamlets are based) has to disappear and be replaced by a focused observation without getting you personally and emotionally involved. By doing this correctly you can observe pictures, increasing in colour going into deeper states. These pictures are comparable to the dreamlets, but more static, and still changing as in a slide show. If you see landscapes, they are passing as if you were sitting inside of a moving vehicle. In order to enter the state of 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 other dimensions of consciousness.
Lepak compared the waking state of the body & mind, which are 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 used during the day to work on a number of different problems that everybody encounters. That is not to say that it does so continuously, however, as everybody daydreams for a certain period of the waking day. Such daydreaming can represent, in a sense, a change of focus, i.e., by the analogy, a shift 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.
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. 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 most known as the state before falling asleep. It can 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, short burst of dreams lasting only one or few seconds.
Another form of the 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 known about. In this article this state may be called "OBE-inducing hypnogogic state".
In the dream inducing 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 dream inducing hypnogogic state:
The hypnogogic state leading on to the dream state is characterized by dreamlets. These dreamlets can be the type termed as "random pictures". These short dreams serve to remove inner obstacles, such as problems 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 random 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 his/her level of awareness. In many cases they may not be recalled at all.
The OBE inducing hypnogogic state:
Now this hypnogogic state has no movie screen like dreamlets as the state before, but is characterized by colors, different types of light like the sun or moon and by composed sounds like music, thunder, buzzing, nature. To get to this state the continuous chain of thoughts (on which the dreamlets are based) has to disappear and be replaced by a focused observation without getting you personally and emotionally involved. By doing this correctly you can observe pictures, increasing in colour going into deeper states. These pictures are comparable to the dreamlets, but more static, and still changing as in a slide show. If you see landscapes, they are passing as if you were sitting inside of a moving vehicle. In order to enter the state of 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 other dimensions of consciousness.