Out-of-body Exploring: A Beginner's Approach - Softcover

Dennett, Preston

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1571744096 ISBN 13: 9781571744098

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Co, 2004

Synopsis

If you have wanted to have an out-of-body experience, but were intimidated by books on the subject, Out-of-Body Exploring is for you! This is an entry-level-to-expert book--everything from what OBEs are, to how you can have your own anytime you want.

Preston Dennett began his explorations beyond the physical body nearly twenty years ago in an attempt to contact his deceased mother. Thousands of OBEs later (OBEs lasting anywhere from a few seconds to several hours) he turns his attention from mastering the art to helping others.

Out-of-Body Exploring includes Dennett's initial forays into expanded consciousness, sharing the techniques he experimented with, and discussing the people and sights--both strange and familiar--that he encountered along the way.

Plus, he offers tips on how to go reliably out-of-body, and how to control and maintain this enhanced level of awareness for extended periods.

This is a guidebook to a whole new world. Why wait any longer to explore it?

About this title

About the Author

Preston Dennett is a leading UFO researcher and ghost hunter, and has authored five books and more than eighty articles covering the full range of the paranormal. A frequent media guest, his research has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and he has taught classes on out-of-body experiences across the U. S. He lives in Canoga Park, California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

OUT-OF-BODY EXPLORING

A Beginner's Approach

By Preston Dennett

Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.

Copyright © 2004 Preston Dennett
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-57174-409-8

Contents

Acknowledgments, 
Introduction, 
1. Early Out-of-Body Experiences, 
2. The Desire Body, 
3. Experiments on the Astral Plane, 
4. Further Astral Experiments, 
5. People and Animals on the Astral Plane, 
6. Food and Sex on the Astral Plane, 
7. Mantra Experiences, 
8. OBEs and Healing, 
9. Meetings with God and My Higher Self, 
10. High-Level Out-of-Body Experiences, 
11. OBEs and Psychic Powers, 
12. How to Have OBEs and What to Do When You Succeed, 
13. Questions and Answers, 
Epilogue, 
Sources and Recommended Reading, 
About the Author, 

CHAPTER 1

Early Out-of-Body Experiences

My first big surprise was how easy astral travel was. Once I started doing theexercises outlined in the literature, I immediately experienced lucid episodes:I was able to become conscious while asleep.

From the beginning, it became clear to me that out-of-body experiences and luciddreams were inextricably intertwined.

The out-of-body experience (OBE) can be simply defined as a condition in whichindividuals perceive themselves as existing outside of the physical body. Theyreport leaving their physical bodies during which time they are able to fly,walk through walls, visit distant locations.... The lucid dream can bedefined as a dream in which the dreamer is able to maintain full wakingconsciousness and sometimes control the dream environment.

Most out-of-body explorers agree that lucid dreams are, in reality, out-of-bodyexperiences. Some feel that they are an inferior form of OBE, others feel thatthey are superior. Some feel that they are the same phenomenon exactly, the onlydifference being the percipient's interpretation.

The main difference between the two, I think, is that with out-of-bodyexperiences, you perceive the environment outside of you as being externallycreated and independent of mental influences. In lucid dreams, your environmentis internally created, and is composed of mental projections.

However, this theory runs into a major problem, because as all out-of-bodytravelers know, the astral dimensions are extremely responsive to thoughts, andwhile out of body, it is very easy to slip into a finer dimension and createexquisitely detailed and lifelike mental projections.

In fact, as you advance with astral travel, it becomes clear that physicalreality itself involves the same phenomenon of mental projections. Despite itsseemingly fixed reality, the physical world is in fact composed of mentalprojections. Thus the concepts of internal and external become blurred.

Still, there are differences. I have had both lucid dreams and out-of-bodyexperiences. I have astrally projected from a lucid dream, and I have had out-of-bodyexperiences that evolved into lucid dreams. I have had out-of-bodyexperiences that contain some mental projections, and I have had lucid dreamsthat seemed to be totally real. I have also had experiences in which I honestlycannot tell the difference.

As I became more proficient at out-of-body travel, I finally discovered whythere is so much confusion. But in the beginning, I tried not to overanalyze myexperiences and just went with the flow.

According to Robert Bruce, advanced astral traveler and author of AstralDynamics, "A lucid dream is a genuine type of OBE, although the dimensional gatetraveled through to achieve it is best thought of as being internal" (Bruce, p.322).

Robert Peterson writes, "The scenery is 'artificial' in a lucid dream, but is'real' in an OBE.... Regardless of what OBEs and lucid dreams are, I believethey are two separate phenomena.... I do believe that occasionally peopleconfuse one experience for the other, and granted, it's very difficult to tellthe difference in some cases" (Peterson 2001, pp. 201–205).

William Buhlman writes, "One of the best ways to initiate an out-of-bodyexperience is to become aware or lucid within a dream" (Buhlman 1996, pp. 27,182). In fact, during an out-of-body experience, he was told that lucid dreamscan be considered a higher form of OBE, as they take place in a highervibrational dimension, meaning the astral dimensions.

Writes Vee Van Dam, "[A] lucid dream is the equivalent of a projection" (VanDam, p. 68).

In any case, the two are so similar that it can be very confusing for the noviceexplorer. This was true in my case. Although I was able to initiate OBE's afteronly a few tries, attaining lucidity was a long and arduous process. Only bycombining intense effort, will, and desire was I able to become lucid in thedream state. My early experiences were invariably brief, and I had little or nocontrol over my actions. I had already had several lucid dreams before I had thefollowing experience in which I moved beyond the lucid dream state and closer tothe out-of-body experience.

Could I Be Dreaming?

I wake up, and it's completely dark. Not even darkness—I can't see anything atall. Nor can I hear or feel. I have no sensory input whatsoever. I amfascinated, and think, "Could this be a lucid dream?" As soon as I think this, Iremember the rule, "If it could be a dream, then it is."

At this realization, knowing that I am asleep in bed and yet totally conscious,I become overjoyed. This is intensely different from anything I have everexperienced. Suddenly, I feel a wave of tiredness and start to loseconsciousness. I recall that LaBerge [author of Lucid Dreaming] recommendedspinning to maintain lucidity. So I try to spin. I feel a very peculiarsensation of a sideways spiraling motion, as if I were a washcloth beingsqueezed. I feel myself folding into myself, rolling and rolling, and then Ilose consciousness. (July 31, 1987)

Finally, I was getting closer. I still was unable to maintain my awareness forany length of time. My experiences therefore remained brief.

Trapped in a Dark Box

I wake up from a dream. I realize that even though I am fully conscious and wideawake, for some reason I cannot see, nor cry out. I know I am lying asleep inbed, and yet I am totally awake. I realize I am lucid, and am fascinated by thefeeling of having no sensations whatsoever. It feels like I am in a dark box (mybody), but I can't feel it at all. After about twenty seconds, I wake up, amazedand excited. (November 21, 1987)

These two experiences are neither lucid dreams nor out-of-body experiences. Iwas neither dreaming nor was I out of body. These are the types of experiencesthe beginner can expect. If you keep up your efforts, however, you will berewarded with something less ambiguous.

The following experience occurred immediately after I lay down on my bed duringthe day, just for a short rest. I consider it my first real OBE. I was 22 yearsold.

"I'm Doing It!"

Suddenly, I feel my body become extremely heavy. This is followed immediately bywhat feels like an electric shock pulsating through my body. I am totally unableto move or cry out, and my body feels like it's hollow and there is a waterfallflowing through it. It feels like I am touching a live wire. I recall Monroe'swarning that you might feel a vibration. I'm thinking, "Vibration? That's theunderstatement of the year!" I'm sure I'm being electrocuted.

Suddenly, I feel a strange "whoosh!" I am up in the air flying. I zoom out of mybedroom, across the hall, and into the bathroom. I grab the counter and realizeI am out of my body. I am ecstatic and say to myself over and over, "I'm doingit! I'm doing it!"

I feel a huge wave of tiredness sweep over me, and I fall back into a series ofdreams. Upon awakening, I know that I have finally had a genuine out-of-bodyexperience. (February 7, 1988)

Around this time, more and more of my dreams began to reflect physical feelingsof heaviness or vibration. This feeling usually marked the early stages of anOBE. I wrote down every experience in a journal that I also used to record mydreams, which, according to many books on the subject, are often half-rememberedOBEs.

"Hypnotized"

I am lying in bed, convinced I am awake. My sister walks in and says she's goingto put me under hypnosis. I think she is being ridiculous. However, she startssaying, "You are getting sleepy ..." when suddenly, my whole body, butespecially my head, begins vibrating like I'm being shocked with electricity. Iam unable to move and don't understand what is happening to me. I am convincedthat I am already awake, and it never occurs to me that I am dreaming. (February12, 1988)

Around this time, many of my dreams and lucid dreams began to exhibit strongfeelings of sex. Later I learned that lucid dreams and OBEs are integrallyrelated to sexual energies. At this time, however, I had no idea that sex wouldbecome such a big part of many of my experiences, so I was, needless to say, alittle overwhelmed.

Someone Lies on Top of Me

I'm lying in bed with my blanket over my head when someone walks in the room andto my surprise, lies on top of my body. I am sure that I am awake, but for somereason I can't move. I am wondering who would crawl into bed with me and why. Ifeel a sudden wave of sexual energy, which becomes so strong I wake up.(February 19, 1988)

Although feelings of bodily heaviness are an indicator of an imminent out-of-bodyexperience, it doesn't mean that you will have one. Often, I found myselfrationalizing the feeling as something mundane.

A Heavy Weight

A sudden heaviness in my body wakes me up. I am convinced that I am awake in bedwith my eyes closed. I can't understand why I feel so heavy, and I'm thinkingthat someone must be lying on top of me. I'm trying to think who would do such athing. I try to move, but I am completely paralyzed. I struggle to break free ofthe paralysis until I fall asleep. (March 3, 1988)

Again, I failed to recognize the heavy feeling, and simply assumed that I wasawake. Although I failed to realize that I was sleeping, I was in fact totallylucid.

I began to dream about eyes, usually with bizarre details or injuries. More andmore mirrors appeared in my dreams, with my reflection being somehow different.This seemed to follow the same general pattern as OBE writer PatriciaGarfield's. If you see your reflection in a dream, it is a sign that you haveactivated your astral double. Another dream cue that hounds me mercilessly isthe appearance of celebrities.

Every week, another celebrity would visit me in a dream. I would always beshocked. And although I've had more than a hundred dreams involving celebrities,never once have I recognized this as a lucidity cue.

Nearly every dream contains bizarre elements which I believe are sent from one'sHigher Self to ignite lucidity, to make the dreamer realize that he/she isdreaming. Recognizing these clues is a key to becoming lucid and then going out-of-body.

However, most of the time when I became lucid, it was spontaneously. I was nowat the stage where I could transfer waking consciousness into the dream state.However, I was not able to gather my mental faculties to a degree where I couldthink critically. I continued to rationalize bizarre details—and to wallow inconfusion when I couldn't.

My Alarm Clock Is Ringing

My alarm clock is ringing and wakes me up. I get up to turn it off, but for somereason, I can't seem to do it. I'm having trouble moving and seeing. Suddenly, Irealize that I'm standing up in bed, and I can't seem to open my eyes. I can'tbelieve what I'm doing, and I'm wondering what is going on. Why can't I open myeyes? Why am I standing in my bed? Why can't I move? I wake up to my alarm clockringing. (July 20, 1988)

I continued to work on achieving the out-of-body state. This led to more andmore bizarre false awakenings and confusing rationalizations.

I Fall Asleep on the Kitchen Floor

I wake up and realize with shock that I have somehow fallen asleep on thekitchen floor. My head is stuck under the bottom of one of the cabinets, and ittakes me a while to pull myself off the floor and stand up. I finally do, but Iam very disoriented and confused. I just can't understand how I could havefallen asleep on the kitchen floor. I can't seem to remember even going tosleep. I would never go to sleep on the kitchen floor.

Still confused, I walk back into my bedroom. I feel so tired that I can hardlystay awake. With a great effort of will, I am just able to make it into bedbefore I fall asleep. Instantly, I wake up for real. (February 9, 1989)

No matter how much I desired to go out of my body, I didn't seem to be able todo it at will.

I was still doing the various exercises. These included relaxation drills,visualizations, subconscious suggestions, and memory exercises. What worked bestfor me seemed to be a combination of intense willpower, desire, focus, andintent. Only by obsessing myself with the subject was I able to generate out-of-bodyevents.

Out of Body!

I feel a huge flood of awareness. I am suddenly totally awake, and yet I knowfor sure that I am lying asleep in bed. I immediately surge out of my body. I amamazed at how easy it is. I am standing next to my bed, and I know for a factthat my physical body is still asleep. It is nighttime, and everything is verydark. Otherwise my bedroom looks normal. I'm having some trouble seeing, but myawareness has never been sharper. I know that I am out of body, and I am eagerto try some experiments. I try to move, but feel like I'm trapped in molasses. Ilook around me and am shocked to see the figure of a man near the doorway.Although I can barely move, I am just able to reach the man. I grab him by theshoulders and shake him. His presence jolts my awareness and I am wondering ifhe realizes that I am out of body, or if he knows that he is. I shake him to tryto wake him up. I am buzzing with excitement. I can feel chills racing up anddown my spine and am at the verge of losing control of my emotions. I am just sohappy to finally be out of body. The emotion is so powerful that I can't focuson anything else. I lose awareness. (July 15, 1989)

I had achieved the out-of-body state several times, but still had little or nocontrol. I couldn't move. I couldn't see. I couldn't control my emotions. I feltlike a child who had to learn everything from scratch. The process was slow andfrustrating, but extremely exciting. To the chagrin of some of my familymembers, I talked of nothing else. I'm sure that they thought I had gone off thedeep end. Perhaps I had, but I sure was having fun.

I wasn't at all surprised that some people had difficulty accepting these typesof experiences. I could barely accept them, and they were happening to me!

Most advanced astral travelers believe that everyone goes out-of-body everynight. At first this seemed absurd to me, but as I began to remember more andmore of what happened to me at night, I realized it was true. We may think weare asleep, we may not remember, but the reality is, all of us are very busyevery night. The following disconcerting experience made me realize that we doin fact go out of body every night; we just don't remember.

Out of Body and Scared!

I am suddenly conscious. I struggle to get my bearings. I feel like I've justwoken up and I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I look around and realize Iam standing next to my bed. My first thought is I must be sleepwalking. But Ireject that theory instantly, because I am having a lot of difficulty seeing.Everything is very dark and blurry. I feel a wave of lucidity, and realize witha shock that I am out of my body. I am standing next to my bed, and lookingdown, I think I can just barely make out my physical body underneath theblankets.

I am suddenly overwhelmed by an awful wave of terror. I am mortally afraid thatI have just died and will never be able to get back into my body. This is not sofun anymore. Totally freaked out, I dive back into my body. I feel a strangephysical sensation of buzzing and stretching. The feeling gets very strong,almost overpowering, and suddenly, I wake up. (July 23, 1989)

As I lay there in bed, I had the strangest feeling that something very importanthad just happened. But even as I thought about it, I felt the memory of theevent leave my mind. I was confused. What had just happened? Where I had justbeen? Why was I lying awake in the middle of the night? I knew I had forgottensomething, but what?

As if on cue, the memory of the event came rushing back to me. I wassleepwalking—no, I was in bed, but I was awake and standing. I was out of mybody!

I was shocked to realize how close I had come to forgetting the wholeexperience, and it convinced me forever that there are a vast number of eventsthat occur to us at night, and of which we have no conscious recall.

I am convinced that critical thinking is essential to becoming lucid and havingout-of-body experiences. By keeping a constant awareness of where you are andwhat you are doing, you carry this attitude into the dream state, and hopefullynot only remember what you are doing, but become aware of it while it ishappening. For many people this is easy, and I did eventually learn how to do itpretty well, but at this point, I was still a beginner. Although I hadexperienced a few out-of-body experiences, most were still pre-lucid dreams,often with those pesky false awakenings, such as the following.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from OUT-OF-BODY EXPLORING by Preston Dennett. Copyright © 2004 Preston Dennett. Excerpted by permission of Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Co
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1571744096
• ISBN 13: 9781571744098
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176