How do you tell an OBE from a dream?

Can you have one while sleeping? I'm afraid to talk about some experiences I've had because some people might think I'm a schizophrenia. I had one experience where it was either a dream or an OBE. I remember at the end after it I walked through my door and I saw my mom. It was just weird. Was it an OBE, or, could it have just been a dream, because, I just remember it being a reflection of reality, not reality itself. What was it?

[edit on 9-11-2008 by Frankidealist35]

How do you tell an OBE from a dream?

You'll probably get a bunch of different answers, since there isn't really a lot of agreement about what exactly an out of body experience is. And, without having actually had the experience there's not much people can do to relate to it...but lots of people are willing to try. My advice would be to not worry about the name so much as the experience itself.

Personally, I have experienced states ofa lucid consciousness in which I am observing what appears to the the room in which I went to sleep in. However, my point of observation is not from within my body. In these states, yes, I can "float" around the room and through objects, as well occassionally see "through" them. However, unlike usual "lucid dreams" that I have had, during these experiences I am unable to simply think things and have them instantly manifest. These experiences are usually also accompanied by an "exit" event, in which I perceive myself as forcing what feels like an "energy body" that matches the shape of my physical body...working it slowly and graudlaly out of my physical body During this process I am aware of both, and feel the weight of my body against the bed, to a limited extent move my arms, etc. They have also *always* been concluded with a "reentry" event . Though the "reentry" itself usually seems to be a "teleport" back to the body, apparently for having wandered too far or having been away too long...but whether I "teleport" back or "walk" back, the reentry experience invovles being aware of myself from the perspective of within my body, and gradually coming to "wake up" out of it.

If you'd like to call these experiences "OBE" then so be it. But the name isn't nearly as interesting as the experience itself.

Can you have one while sleeping?

Most of mine have occurred during the transition from sleeping to waking up. I would describe it an as "altered state" that is distinctly different from the state of sleeping or dreaming. It's simply a different experience. Just like being drunk is qualitatively different from being sober.

I just remember it being a reflection of reality, not reality itself.

I can't relate to this description. It doesn't match anything I've experienced.

Was it an OBE, or, could it have just been a dream

Well, read the description I gave above. Certainly you could "dream" of walking through a door, or you could be in an "OBE" state and also walk through the door. Walking through the door isn't enough information. Again with the drunk analogy, if I say "I opened a door and walked through the opening" is that enough information to know whether I was sober or drunk when I did it? It's the state, the awareness, the nature of the experience that is different.

Honestly, I don't really know if the experiences that I've described are the same type of experiences that others are calling OBE's. They might be. But they might not. Altered mental states are difficult to compare, and few people seem to describe them very well. In any case, I will say that my "OBE" experiences have a distinctly different set of qualities from my "dream" experiences.

Was your experience qualitatively different than "dreams" you've had?


[edit on 9-11-2008 by LordBucket]

reply to post by LordBucket

Was your experience qualitatively different than "dreams" you've had?

Yes. It was really weird. I felt like I was going through the physical world in my dream. Before I woke up I remember vaguely going back to my room and going to bed... but... I remember walking around outside of my house and it didn't feel like a dream.

I felt like I was going through the physical world in my dream. Before I woke up I remember vaguely going back to my room and going to bed...

Solely based on that description it doesn't sound like the experiences that I've had that I assume are what people are talking about when they say OBE. In mine, the senses have a distinctly different quality to them. Memory after the fact is distinct and clear...there's no hazy recall like with dreams. Also, like I said above, every time it's happened to me, without fail I've always had a distinct reentry and wakup. There's nothing vague about it at all.

I remember walking around outside of my house and it didn't feel like a dream.

Vivid dream? Lucid dream? Astral projection? Something else?

Again, these are all just names that people came up with to describe experiences. I don't know what an "OBE" is any more than you or anybody else. But the description of your experience doesn't match mine.

Just my 2c;

Had a few apparent OBE now and then, flying around room, flying around house, flying about in general - all very fun btw. The "quality" of the dream varys quite a bit, as does the state at the time of your own awareness so it can all seem a bit fuzzy.

To see if the OBE is a dream or not, IF at the time you are capable of shaping the dream, try to fly away from the setting the dream originates in. My personal best I think is about 1/4 mile being very generous, you will know it's a dream after this point as the reality of the dream rapidly breaks down.

(ie. it all gets a bit stupid) Hope this helps!

stringue
try to fly away from the setting the dream originates in. My personal best I think is about 1/4 mile being very generous, you will know it's a dream after this point as the reality of the dream rapidly breaks down.

Again...doesn't match my experience at all.

You say "the setting" as if to imply that it might be anything other than "aware of my body, and in my bedroom." This is where my experiences start. There's no "dream strangeness" to it at all. I'm in my bedroom. It's not the environment that's different, it's my awarness and perception of it.

Next...a quarter mile? Personally I've only ever made it out my front door once, and usually I can't make it out of my bedroom. Five, ten feet is typical.

Finally..."reality breaks down" has never happened to me. That sounds like a dream to me, or what I've read some from some descriptions people are calling "astral projection." Personally, when I "get too far" I'm snapped back to my body instantly. I can try to go out again, but each time it's sooner and closer before I get snapped back, and after two or three times at best I can't get out again at all. But at no point do I ever see anything that isn't still there when I "wake up" and start walking around.

My description was generic, how are your experiences different? I have had many "OBEs" where the dream originates in;

"what appears to the the room in which I went to sleep in"

Are there any others out there where your OBE is in your room? A significant number of my own odd dreams originate here, I have also had what
you describe as

"exit event" ... "limited extent move my arms, etc."

terminating the dream on many occasions. Based on what you wrote I can relate to my own remembered dreams. These are dreams! just try your hardest to control the dream and move away, no matter how real you believe it to be - if you move away your brain just can't cope and starts making up stuff showing its a dream before it folds and you wake up.

(chickening out from an OBE and forcing yourself to wake up doesn't count)

stringue:
My description was generic, how are your experiences different?

...in all the ways that I described in the post you're responding to?

To recap:

1) You implied that you've had experiences that started somewhere other than where you were sleeping. I never have. All of mine have always started at, ended at, and stayed in the general vicinity of my body. This is not true of my dreams at all.

2) Your description of casually flying around town and a quarter mile down the road doesn't match my experience. During my OBE's, motion is somewhat slow and travel far from the body doesn't work for me. This is very different from my dreams, in which flying around is trivial. Also, what you described as happening when you go too far is different. Me, I snap back to my body. You described it as "reality breaking down."

3) No "shaping." Like I said, during my OBE's I'm unable to "think" things into existence. I can't imagine a pink elephant and have it appear. However, I can do this in my lucid dreams.

Although, now that I re-read that, it's possible by "shaping" you meant "able to choose what you do." If that's what you meant, again there's a difference because all of my OBE's have been "lucid." It's very much like waking consciousness...I can choose what I do and think about things, unlike dreams which are only very rarely this way.

4) "Reality breaks down." "ie. it all gets a bit stupid" I've read about this, but I've never actually experienced it myself. At least...not in experiences that I would refer to as OBE's. In mine, the world around me is basically the same as it is when I come out of it. The only differences are a matter of awareness and perception. For example, I've "fallen into myself" because there's no physical body to stop motion. Vision isn't limited by direction, so left/right doesn't exist. Light isn't necessary to see, so once I walked partway through a wall and stopped, and my vision was limited to the inside of a 2x4. But then, I've also experienced "area awareness" so that I was visually aware of everything in a radius around me, in three dimensions instead of two, almost as if everything was made of glass. But, in all of these experiences, never have I seen anything that wasn't still there when I came out of it. Reality never "broke down" I've simply experienced different perception of what was already there, just not limited by the eyes ability to see.

So again...at a quick glance, I'd say we appear to be describing different sorts of experiences. What you're describing sounds to me more like what I've read people describe as "astral projection" but it's difficult for me to say for sure, since I haven't really ever experienced that.

if you move away your brain just can't cope and starts making up stuff
showing its a dream before it folds and you wake up.

Again, that's not how it is for me.

(chickening out from an OBE and forcing yourself to wake up doesn't count)

To me it seems not so much like "chickening out" as "running out of gas." It's like getting tired and not being able to keep it up.


[edit on 9-11-2008 by LordBucket]

How do I tell an OBE from a dream?

When I'm OBE--my head fills funny. And there is an accompanied 'buzzing' that isn't exactly audible-hard to explain. It is a sick feeling, I'll tell you. I don't like to OBE at all.

When I'm dreaming--I'm not noticing that my head feels 'funny'. I can feel pain when I'm dreaming--for instance if I am dreaming I am getting stabbed.

I hadn't cause to focus about this before. I haven't OBE'd alot. I also do not OBE on command, or attempt to OBE on purpose.

I have had oobes for the last 20 years and I can tell you they are very real
and there are several different ways they can occur.
u2u me sometime, I'll be glad to help you out.

This is an area I have quite a bit of experience in, and will explain to the best of my ability what the difference to me between the two is.

Astral projection/OBE: usually end up rolling out of bed from a sleep paralysis state, feel as if im going to fall off bed, float to floor, open my eyes and find myself in my bedroom. Occompanied by a large train like sound, multiple chattering voices, or other loud noises. Feeling of falling, floating, or other ways of leaving the body.

Lucid dreaming: not usually in my bedroom, dependent on the dream. I find it to be more random as to what is occurring. When I realize I am dreaming I still stay in the dream, whereas astral/obe I am where I went to sleep at. Lucid dreams seem more fictional, products of the mind, while astral/obe seem a bit closer to our world.

During both I tend to do reality checks such as lifting objects with my mind, or flying through walls. The OBEs are much more defined whereas the lucid dreams sometimes are much harder to remain lucid. When I exit my body from rolling out, it feels as if I am really awake just able to control every aspect of the world. Lucid dreams feel as if I am dreaming, and you know you are in a dream. Both have similar end results, but to me they have certain distinct feelings unique to each experience.

I prefer astral projections/OBE, either by rolling out of my body or falling through the bed. Sleep paralysis is usually the signal that I am able to separate, but I do not open my eyes until I am sure I am outside of myself on the floor. At first, I used to "swim" through the air, sometimes even being so disoriented that it feels almost like you are in zero gravity. After practice, you can move much faster, further, and with less effort. Usually my house looks the same in the astral, although occasionally the air tends to be shimmering with what looks like tiny specks of light, really beautiful.

To me, the astral comes natural and the lucid dreams are more learned. I recognize dreams quite often and by using reality checks I am able to enter into a lucid dream. Astrally, I have to find myself almost between wake and sleep, and let myself fall or roll out of my body. Sleep paralysis is a common occurrence, and sometimes is pretty damn intense. When falling through my bed, occasionally its too intense and I wake up from the falling sensation. This is why I would rather roll out, its more controlled.

Any other questions feel free to ask. Sadly, I havent had a OBE in over a month, but have been getting some pretty crappy sleep lately as well though, so hopefully things come back soon. As for dreams, I keep a dream journal and usually remember most of my dreams at night. Practice makes perfect, and good luck with your journeys.

[edit on 9-11-2008 by deadline527]

HugmyRek
OBE
there is an accompanied 'buzzing' that isn't exactly audible-hard to explain.

Yes, I experience this too. I would describe it as "vibrating," and it happens while I'm "in body" but in a mental state such that I'm able to leave it. It continues through the exit process, goes away away once I'm out.

deadline527
Sleep paralysis

This one not so much. Sleep paralysis I tend to associate with possible abduction scenarios. When I've left my body on my own, I'm still able to move my physical body even when my "energy body" is partially out, though doing so tends to pull me back in.

Like I suggested earlier in the thread...different people seem to experience these things differently. When somebody says "OBE" I'm never sure if they're talking about the same thing as I am. So far HugmyRek is the only person to give a description that seems similar to what I've experienced.

HugmyRek
I also do not OBE on command, or attempt to OBE on purpose.

I'd really like to...but unfortunately my success rate is so low that I rarely try anymore. I worked on it semi regularly for a year or two, but I was only ever able to lie down in a fully conscious state and do it on purpose once. All the others I've "realized" I was in a suitable state in the early hours before waking up after a night of sleep.



[edit on 9-11-2008 by LordBucket]

Originally posted by Frankidealist35
Can you have one while sleeping? I'm afraid to talk about some experiences I've had because some people might think I'm a schizophrenia. I had one experience where it was either a dream or an OBE. I remember at the end after it I walked through my door and I saw my mom. It was just weird. Was it an OBE, or, could it have just been a dream, because, I just remember it being a reflection of reality, not reality itself. What was it?

[edit on 9-11-2008 by Frankidealist35]

Dreams and obe’s in general are similar. They both happen in what people call the astral plane (though it is possible to have obe‘s in different "dimensions"). We visit there every night after we go to sleep. The difference between them is due to our psychological state at the time. When we dream, we are seeing what our own mind (usually the subconscious) and imagination is showing us, a type of hallucination. Though for various reasons, at times we can be much more lucid and begin to see what is really there, but still all mixed up with dream images to greater or lesser extent (as in lucid type dreams) which also gives these experiences a "dreamlike" quality. This place has different laws of physics than the 3 dimensional world, being able to pass through solid objects, defy gravity etc. Another difference being that what we imagine can appear real to us. Though it is possible to experience this place very consciously, the same as when we are awake, and see what it is really like. Then it can look very similar to our physical world, because it is very similar. Sometimes difficult to tell the difference. It is a very real place.




[edit on 10-11-2008 by Cogito, Ergo Sum]

reply to post by Frankidealist35

There is definitely a lot of disagreement -- and it can be hard to talk about an experience like that. Like-minded friends are often your best bet. I've had lucid dreams and false awakenings in the past. Most of the time, however, I was aware that it was a dream and that the landscape around me was clearly not familiar, i.e.: it was astral and created in my brain. When the false awakenings happened, I wasn't quite aware that it was a dream but things in my room would be so clearly altered that, upon awakening for real, I knew that I'd been dreaming. OBE's, however, are just weird. If you have both a lucid dream and an OBE in a relatively short time-frame, you'll definitely know the difference. I only started having OBE's this year, when I began working out and volunteering. I would come home and my body would be so incredibly tired and I'd feel my physical self going to sleep despite being mentally conscious and concentrating on the television. It was at these points that I felt an intense tingling in my head and neck, and my "astral self" hitting the bounds of my human shell. (Sorry if this sounds weird and new-age-y... really the only way to describe it though. I'm actually not that swishy.) After a couple of experiences like this, I began researching on the internet and learned that this was actually the beginning of a potential OBE. I also learned some techniques to facilitate the process to its completion. When I'd get home from the gym or my volunteering on the weekends (Habitat for Humanity for seven hours takes it the hell out of you), I'd get into some comfortable pajamas, get under a blanket, turn the TV on low volume, lie on my side facing the couch back, and close my eyes, making sure to pay attention to hearing the television. Soon, when I felt my body going to sleep, I'd remind myself to stay lucid and start to imagine spinning into the couch. The first time, I had absolute lift off and just rocketed out of my body. Sometimes I'd fly out, sometimes I'd literally get up off the couch and stand up. The first time was most memorable. I was in the exact same apartment, except the TV was off and my two dogs were no where to be found. I could feel the ground under my feet, and suddenly, I thought I'd make for sure that this was "real" by flying. And I flew -- did flips around the room in the air, and actually "hit my head" on the wooden couch arm. I could feel the reverberation inside my skull, but it didn't hurt. I could feel the rug burns on my chest when I would lose altitude and skim on the floor. Weird. Throughout this, my vision was very blurry and fuzzy, and things were generally dark... almost sepia or grayscale. I'd repeat this several times throughout the nap. Strangely, as my experiences increased, I began to conjur up people -- faceless people, but people nonetheless. Also, I would get paranoid during the experiences, because I'd hear voices on my patio or see figures talking to each other through the blinds. I began to ask myself as I would watch and listen if I was being irresponsible in my OBE revelry and that I should definitely wake the hell up and make sure there were no sketchy strangers on my deck. After waking up, I'd realize that they were really never there. Later when this would happen and paranoia would set in, I'd try to convince myself that this had happened before and I was never in any danger -- that this was part of the experience. However, it got harder and harder to prolong experiences, and eventually, to get out of my body at all. Lately when I try to do it, it feels like I'm full of molasses and it's too hard to pull myself out. I'm not sure if anyone has had an experience similar to mine -- I would love to hear about it. I hope this has shed some light on your question.

For me, when I have an OBE I always feel myself leaving the body.

Generally I will also see my body in real time and place too. Either upon departing or the returning. (And yes, there is the silver cord. For some reason I only see it when in the astral dimension though.)

Dreams have a totally different quality to them than OBEs.

everyone's different so u cant really base someone Else's experience on how it will effect you, in other words you have to find out for yourself, your experience wont be the "exact" same as others. Basically, you can only take notes and generalize.