Carl R. Green - Amazing Out-of-Body Experiences

Are You Out of Your Body?

Imagine you are floating freely through the sky. You feel weightless. Suddenly, you look down and see your body lying far below. You are attached to it by a thin, silver cord. Is it a dream, or are you having an out-of-body experience (OBE)? Throughout history, people all over the world have spoken about their OBEs. They claim to travel great distances or through walls. Do such astral voyages truly occur? Scientists say no, but some still believe. Authors Carl R. Green and William R. Sanford explore the debate and let you decide for yourself.

About the Author

Carl R. Green and William R. Sanford are the authors of more than one hundred books for young people. They bring over sixty years of teaching experience to the many projects they have created.

Thanks to science, many of natures great mysteries have been solved. Do you want to know about earthquakes or earthworms? Theres probably an expert somewhere who can answer most of your questions. But wouldnt this be a boring world if we knew all there is to know? Perhaps thats why people want to believe that the mind does possess mysterious powers.

In this series, youll learn about these mysteries of the unknown:

• The Mystery of Fortune-Telling
• Astonishing Mind Powers
• The Mysterious Secrets of Dreams
• Amazing Out-of-Body Experiences
• Discovering Past Lives
• Sensing the Unknown

Do such mysteries truly exist? Some people say yes, others say no. Once youve studied both sides of the debate, you can decide for yourself. Along the way, keep one important thought in mind. In this field, it is often hard to separate the real from the fake. It pays to be skeptical when setting out to explore the mysteries of the unknown.

In 1828, first mate Robert Bruces ship was six weeks out of Liverpool, England, sailing westward. He thought he knew everyone on board. So whoor whatwas this apparition in the captains cabin? The strange man was calmly writing on a slate. Shaken by the sight, Bruce hurried to tell the captain.

The captain rushed to his cabin. He found the slate, but the stranger was gone. Chalked on it were four words: Steer to the Norwest.

Bruce swore he had not written the message. To prove it, he wrote the same words. His handwriting did not match. The puzzled captain tested his crew with the same results. Was there a stowaway on board? A search of the ship proved fruitless.

The captain studied the message. With the wind at his back, a course change would cost him little. He gave the order to steer to the northwest. Three hours later, a lookout spotted a ship wrecked on an iceberg. Quickly, the ships boats rescued the stranded crew. Bruce watched as the survivors climbed aboard. One man caught his eye. He felt sure it was the stranger he had seen in the captains cabin!

At the captains request, the man wrote Steer to the Norwest on the slate. Bruces mouth fell open when the captain turned the slate over. The writing on both sides looked the same. I only wrote one of these, the man said. Who wrote the other?

The tale the man told was simple enough. He had fallen asleep on his stranded ship a few hours earlier. When he woke, he told his shipmates that help was on its way. He even described the rescue ship in exact detail.

This story relates to an age-old mysterythe out-of-body experience, or OBE. The shipwrecked man seemingly left his body and traveled to the nearest ship. There, his body double had chalked a message that led to his rescue. Why didnt he speak to Bruce? No one knows. OBEs do not obey the rules that govern daily life.

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are close cousins of the OBE. In a typical NDE, the Reverend J. L. Bertrand died and then returned to life. Bertrands NDE took place back in the 1800s. He was climbing in the Swiss Alps. Feeling weary, he told the guide to take the other people in his group on to the top. As he lay in the snow, he found he could no longer move his arms and legs. His head ached with the cold. A thought popped into his mind: I am freezing to death!

All at once, Bertrand felt himself leave his body. Looking down, he saw himself lying in the snow. He felt as though he were floating, held to that distant body by a thin cord. Soon, he was high enough to see his fellow climbers. As he watched them, the guide sneaked a chicken leg from the lunch pack. Bertrand felt very sad that the cord still tied him to his old life.

Moments later he saw the returning climbers find his body. The guide rubbed Bertrands pale face and arms, trying to start the blood flowing again. Bertrand felt himself being pulled downward. With a silent scream, he passed back into his body. In that instant, he knew he was alive once more. He sat up suddenly and scolded the startled guide for stealing the chicken leg.

History is full of stories of OBEs and NDEs. Perhaps one day we will solve the puzzle of what they mean and how they happen. For now, we can only say that the mind hides its secrets all too well.

The Reverend J. L. Bertrand looks down on his body, which he left lying in the snow during a near-death experience. As his NDE progressed, he felt sad to find that he was still tied to his earth-bound body.

Researchers who study the mind have worked hard to define terms used to discuss out-of-body experiences (OBEs). Here are a few of the key words:

astral travelAn older name for an OBE, still favored by psychics. During astral travel, the astral body is said to journey outside the physical body. Some psychics claim they can go astral traveling any time they wish.

auraAn ever-changing energy field that psychics say surrounds a living plant, an animal, or a person. Psychics claim they can diagnose illness by the shape and color of a persons aura.

body doubleThe spirit body that leaves the real body during an OBE. Body doubles are also called astral bodies or doppelgngers.

extrasensory perception (ESP)The ability to send or receive data without using the normal senses. ESP powers include clairvoyance, telepathy, and precognition.

near-death experience (NDE)The feeling of having died and left ones body, only to return to take up ones life again.

out-of-body experience (OBE)The feeling of leaving ones body to travel near and far. During OBEs, people claim to travel as invisible energy bodies or as body doubles. These body doubles pass freely through walls and fly through space.

Olga Worrall, alone and afraid, went to sleep with her bedroom light on. About an hour later, the British housewife awoke to see her husband standing by her bed. Although she knew he was away on a trip, she did not feel frightened.

Put out the lights! he seemed to say. Olga did as she was told. Then she went back to sleep.