Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) have been reported since the Bronze Age and registered orally in the folklore and mythologies of ancient societies. What does science know about it today? This presentation will look at the current knowledge gathered in the field since the onset of the 1st laboratory experiments to contemporary theories explaining OBEs. We will further examine research limitations in the field from a phenomenological and neuroscientific standpoint, looking at ongoing experiments made by the Sleep Consciousness Insitute (SCI) and the challenges that researchers face in studying this phenomenon. More so, we will look at the impact that the development of an OBE science would have on society, looking at the psychological shifts OBE produces on out-of-body experiencers.

​

The lecture aims to provide you with a general but deep insight into the nature of OBEs. Looking beyond the current explanatory models of OBEs, we will examine common phenomenological aspects associated with OBEs as well as the understanding stemming from research in the lab with gifted subjects, which provide novel insights into OBE and models supported by SCI to explain such experiences. The lecture aims to clarify why such an experience can be considered a natural phenomenon and, although spiritual, a physiologically prompted occurrence reported throughout history. We will be looking, among other things, at:

​

🔹OBE throughout history and the advent of OBE research.

🔹Pioneers of OBE Laboratory Research.

🔹Phenomenology and neurophysiology of OBEs.

 

Beyond exploring both established and emerging findings, this one-hour-and-a-half lecture will delve into many open questions that remain unanswered by the scientific study of OBEs exploring their meta-psychological aspects:

​

🔹 Are OBEs brain-generated illusions, or do they offer an experiential insight into the nature of consciousness?
🔹 What neurophysiological mechanisms underlie that state itself?
🔹 Can OBEs be voluntarily induced and controlled?
🔹 Do OBEs enhance cognition, resilience, growth, empathy, or creativity?
🔹 How do OBEs compare to lucid dreaming, near-death, or psychedelic states?

🔹 Are OBEs similar to dissociative states?
 

Our challenge in answering these questions is not just to understand OBEs within existing models of consciousness but also to consider whether they challenge or expand those models. Could indeed OBEs reveal something fundamental about the nature of self-awareness, perception, consciousness or even reality itself?

​

Each webinar session is limited to a specific number of participants to ensure a more personalized and interactive experience. Join us for this exclusive journey into OBE, which will include 30 minutes of questions and answers led by a neuroscientist and sleep medicine specialist.