OBEs/Astral Projections

cotarded

Have you ever heard of the disassociative class of drugs (most are anesthetics)? In most people, these drugs are capable of producing autoscopy (the detached visual perspective) and a definite feeling of removal, not only from your body, but from your own familiar mental processes. All of these effects are generally associated with antagonism of NMDA receptors. (although there is a kappa something receptor implicated in the disassociative effects of salvia divinorum)
I'm not being pedantic here, I have experienced phenomena that sound similar in many respects to the experiences you have related here, from the use of an NMDA antagonist.
My point here is that you should investigate what anesthetics were used that caused these effects (ketamine, or some other NMDA-antagonist?), and keep in mind the possibility that an endogenous disruption of NMDA receptors or some other biological malfunction that causes the same end result could be the culprit here, before you interpret these experiences as incontrovertible evidence of dualism.

Lastly, it's ironic you mention schizophrenia... I read recently that the problematic dopamine hypothesis (more supported now by the fact it makes it easy for drug companies to pitch their case, than by actual research) may be at risk of being supplanted by the NMDA-receptor hypofunction hypothesis, which, IIRC, links a long-term mild disruption of NMDA function to schizophrenic symptoms (makes sense since the visible brain degeneration in schizophrenics resembles that present in animals subjected to repeated, high doses of NMDA-antagonists). Not to suggest you're schizophrenic; but that the same biological basis for nmda hypofunction may be slightly present in yourself, potentiating the effects of disassociative anesthetic agents and leaving you vulnerable to occasional induced (by meditation, etc) experiences. But this last paragraph is my own unfounded speculation (whereas the rest is fairly credible).

lates,
cotarded

Dayle Record

The last post is interesting. That could be close to the truth with me, since people who gravitate to mental preoccupations, might in fact do so because of physical disassociation, due to faulty neurochemistry. I have never been diagnosed with any sort of disorder, and I have been checked. However, five years after the meditation and "astral travel" experience, I did have a tbi. The effect of the tbi was to diminish all of these experiences.

In this thread I see that if anyone states they have any sort of anomalous experience, there will be an explanation, that the experiencer is having delusions.

Be warned, this thread is not about existential physics.

zoobyshoe

I'm confused by this statement. Could you rephrase what you mean??
I'm especially confused about this. What is this "warning" about? What does the term "existential physics" mean?

Dayle Record

I re-read the thread title, and I realize I don't have any scientific evidence for either OBE's or Astral Projection. So, my comments are irrelevant to this thread.

I coined the phrase existential physics to describe the attempt at personal, organic interface with the energies at large in the universe. These can be in my mind, or in a larger, possibly multi-dimensional field. Since this is very private research, and I am not funded by anyone, the answers I come up with are piffle, and derived existentially, experientally, and that is all there is to it. Tantric masters I talked with regarding Astral Projection and dreaming, stated that they were potentially dangerous, and a waste of time.

Ki Man

Well i haven't had a seccussful OBE yet but i've only tried once and it wasn't a very good try. BUT since that attempt i have been having more dreams, and they are a tiny bit more detailed than usual dreams. and i dont always dream, each week i only have 2 or 3 dreams, but since that attempt i've had a dream every night. i cant seem to tell whether its an active dream or normal dream, i am pretty awa re of everything, but i am not in control.

Dayle Record

http://neardeath.home.comcast.net/nde/001_pages/68.html

Here is an article that regards research into OBE's, and accidentally induced OBE's due to electrical stimulation of the right side of the brain. I think the organ was called the angular gyrus. I hope the link works.