Review: The Out-of-Body Experience: An Experiential Anthology

Review: The Out-of-Body Experience: An Experiential Anthology

Edited by Rodrigo Montenegro

One my facebook friends, Mr. Nélson Abreu of the IAC (International Academy of Consciousness) was kind enough to send me a review copy of this relatively new book, The Out-of-Body Experience: An Experiential Anthology, edited by Rodrigo Montenegro.

For people who don't know about the IAC, it's a non-profit, multicultural, and universalistic (i.e. not religious) organization dedicated to the research and education in "conscientiology" (the study of consciousness) and its subdisciplines, one of which is out-of-body experiences. They give classes all over the world, and their work is mainly based on the teachings of the late Waldo Viera (author of the hefty tome Projectiology) of Iguazu Falls, Brazil. One of the main things they teach is out-of-body experiences.

If you've been following my blog, you know how much I love OBE narratives, and this book is mainly just that: a collection of OBE narratives from a plethora of people from all walks of life.

Many of the OBE narratives come from people who have taken the IAC's OBE classes. Consequently, they often use IAC terminology. For that reason, many pages have (by necessity) footnotes from the editor, explaining various words, ideas or concepts from IAC. The IAC-speak is the only drawback to this book. I've written about this in book reviews from other IAC authors (Luis Minero and Sandee Gustus come to mind.) In fact, there are so many terms tossed around, the book's glossary of terms is 37 pages long! But don't worry: not all those terms are used in the book. The terminology is actually not heavy, nor confusing. It's tastefully done, and explained well by the editor's footnotes.

I've said it before: I never get bored reading OBE narratives because they bring back the excitement of discovery, plus I use them to train my subconscious (as explained in my previous blog post).

I especially enjoyed the narratives where there was verifiable evidence to suggest the OBE was "real" (i.e. more than just a hallucination). My favorite one involved a guy named Ron Smedts from the Netherlands. In his OBE, he floated out the window of his second-story apartment. Looking for proof that he was seeing the physical world from a non-physical perspective, he drifted down to the parking lot and tried to find his car. He couldn't find his car, then became disillusioned when he noticed that every car in the parking lot was white; a very unlikely scenario. But after he returned to his body:

"As I passed a window I glanced out and stopped in my tracks: I was shocked. Every car in the lot was entirely covered with a fresh and uninterrupted layer of pure white snow." (pg. 65)

I also really enjoyed a narrative from Jean-Pierre Bastiou, an 84-year-old man of Brazil in which the author met with his dead mother, who appeared young and radiant.

Now comes the surprise. The OBE narratives end on page 227. On page 228 is an article about Near-Death Experiences (contributed by Nelson Abreu, guy who sent me the book). After that is another article that explains the IAC's "projectarium" which is a special facility they set up for the purpose of inducing OBEs. I've always wondered what the IAC facilities were like; now I know. (I've never taken their classes.) These are special small spherical buildings, each of which is like the Monroe Institute's CHEC Units, but perhaps given more forethought.

I really enjoyed this book. As OBE books go, this one meshes well with my belief system. It didn't say anything I strongly disagreed with. For example, their whole concept of an "existential program," in other words, life-lessons and life-plans matches my beliefs rather well.

The margins are small and the font is small, which means there's a lot of content, but it's a quick read; not heavy at all. The book is a good size--336 pages--but a lot of that can be skipped, like the glossary, the index, descriptions of the IAC's programs, and so forth. There are a few grammar problems (especially "OBE's" vs. "OBEs") but all-in-all it was very well done and professional.

You won't find any "secret" teachings, stern warnings, superstitions, or esoteric nonsense. In fact, there weren't any OBE instructions or techniques. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining collection of OBE narratives that demonstrates the wide diversity of the out-of-body experience.

I give it a thumbs up.

Since this book is not available in amazon.com (at the time of this writing), I'll just mention that you can buy a copy directly from the IAC at the U.K. IAC's book store or by sending email to: california@iacworld.org. Hopefully in the future, it will be available for sale at: store.iacworld.org.

Bob Peterson
24 November 2015

Using OBE Narratives To Induce OBEs

Using OBE Narratives To Induce OBEs

by Bob Peterson

The last OBE book I reviewed was Boundless: One Woman's Journal of Her Out-of-Body Experiences by Anita Gamba, which was basically a collection of OBE narratives from the author and what she learned from her OBEs.

I never get tired of reading OBE narratives, even though I've read thousands with the same basic features. Why? I've said a few times in my blog that I read OBE books and use OBE narratives to program my subconscious. You can also leverage OBE narratives to increase your own OBEs.

Your subconscious is a powerful thing. It has much more control and intelligence than most people realize. It's not a mindless zombie waiting to be programmed. It is another part of you, a real living, breathing "you" who sits back behind the scenes and watches what you do.

But don't think of it so much as a process running in the back of your mind, even though it is. Think of it like a full grown dog who is holding your leash. It's very intelligent and has a will of its own. Even though it's still technically "you," it can think and act independently. It has its own motivations and desires.

The first important thing to realize is that your subconscious can pull you outside your body any time it sees fit. While the "conscious" you may need to spend hours carefully quieting the mind, relaxing the body and tricking your awareness away from the body, it's child's play to the subconscious. It can pull you out almost instantaneously. The problem is: it's not motivated to do so. That's where the programming comes in.

So how do you program your subconscious for OBEs? In many respects, it's like training a dog. There are several methods. One way (not applicable to dogs) is hypnosis. Another way is rewriting your self-talk / internal dialog; you know, the little things you say to yourself throughout the day, like "Man, I'm tired," or "I'm really bad at this." A third way is direct communication, and that's what I want you to start doing. It's not too different from the self-talk; it's blatant reminders to the subconscious. And since you are really one person, its will is your will. As long as your goals and its goals are compatible, it won't have a problem helping you out.

So here's what you do. Read a book or website that has a lot of OBE narratives. It doesn't matter which one; almost every OBE book has them. Gamba's book is a good example. Author Robert Crookall studied OBEs and wrote several books about it, and a lot of his books contain hundreds of OBE narratives, such as The Study and Practice of Astral Projection or Case-Book of Astral Projection, 454-746.

Just read OBE narratives one by one and as you do, perform these steps for each:

• Read the OBE narrative.
• As you read, imagine yourself doing the same things. So if the narrative talks about feeling the vibrations, imagine yourself feeling vibrations. If the person puts their arm through a wall, imagine you do the same. If the person walks through a wooden door and floats down a hallway, imagine yourself doing that too. If they did some flying, imagine yourself flying too. Imagine every little detail and aspect of the OBE, including exit and reentry.
• Next, silently tell yourself, "Yes! That's what I want to do!" Be exuberant.
• If you read a narrative that's scary or uncomfortable, think to yourself, "That really doesn't apply to me" then imagine yourself having a fun OBE instead, flying around, exploring the astral world.
• When you get to the end of the narrative, think to yourself, "Yeah, I'd like to have an OBE like that too."
• It helps to ask yourself, "Do I really want to do that?" Then answer, "Yes! That's exactly what I want to do. I'd like to have an OBE tonight, and I'll be fully conscious and remember everything!"

That's basically it. The important thing is that you imagine yourself out of your body, performing OBE actions, and stay focused on it for a while. Don't just brush it off with a "Yeah, that'd be cool." Use your imagination as much as possible, and use as much detail as possible because, like a dog, the subconscious doesn't think with words as much as it thinks in terms of your imagination. (Although the subconscious can understand words, much like a dog can understand words.)

Performing these steps can increase your OBEs dramatically.

One last thing: I recommend you also give yourself one last affirmation (or five!) before you go to sleep. Tell yourself, "I really should really have a conscious OBE tonight."


See you out there.


Robert Peterson
10 Nov 2015