Abstract

Many theories about the nature of the out-of-body experience (OBE) posit that while this state may be psi-conducive, it does not represent a genuine mind-body separation. These proto-psychological theories variously suggest that the OBE is either a dream that makes use of ESP, a perceptual jump in the memory system, a body-image hallucination caused by a threat to the ego, ego homeostasis, or a hallucinatory manner of dealing with and denying the threat of death. None of these theories can explain much of the phenomenology of the OBE, including its psychokinetic concomitants, the feelings of actually leaving and reentering the body, and the psychophysiological attributes of the experience. Some of the models are even self-contradictory. While simple separation theories are also beset by several problems, it seems unwise to conclude that OBEs are purely psychological experiences that may sometimes be veridical. (35 ref)