A feeling of your consciousness leaving your body is an out-of-body experience (OBE), which some may also describe as a dissociative episode. People who've had a near-death experience frequently mention these episodes.
Within their physical body, people usually feel their sense of self. From this vantage point, you can most possibly see the world around you. Yet you may feel as though you are outside yourself during an OBE, looking at your body from a different viewpoint.
What actually happens during an OBE? Does your consciousness leave your body, actually? The experts aren't completely positive, but they've got a couple of hunches that we'll get into later on.
How does an OBE feel?
What an OBE feels like, precisely, is difficult to pin down.
According to reports from individuals who have encountered them, they normally include:
A sensation of floating outside of your body
An altered world outlook, such as looking down from a height
The impression that you're looking down from above at yourself
A feeling that what is going on is very real, very real.
Usually, OBEs occur without warning and generally do not last for very long.
You may be more likely to experience OBEs if you have a neurological disorder, including epilepsy, and they may occur more often. But an OBE is going to happen very rarely for many people, maybe maybe once in a lifetime.
Some figures indicate that the sensations associated with an OBE have been encountered by at least 5% of people, although some say that this figure is higher.
Is it the same as astral projection?
OBEs are referred to by some people as astral projections. But between the two, there are some main differences.
Typically, an astral projection requires a concerted attempt to send your consciousness out of your body. It typically refers to your consciousness moving toward a celestial plane or dimension from your body.
On the other hand, an OBE is normally unplanned. And your mind is said to actually float or hover over your physical body instead of travelling.
OBEs, or at least their sensations, are largely accepted and have been the subject of several studies within the medical community. However, astral projection is deemed to be a supernatural activity.
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Would be cool to experience an astral projection though. I could watch over some people as they sleep