Problem 7: My OBEs are too short
by Bob Peterson
In this article I continue my series of articles designed to help you solve out-of-body experience problems. The previous articles in the series are here:
- Problem 1: Nothing Happens
- Problem 2: I Just Fall Asleep
- Problem 3: The Vibrations Just Fade
- Problem 4: I Get Scared and Chicken Out
- Problem 5: I Can't Get The Vibrations
- Problem 6: Stuck in Sleep Paralysis
In this article I'm trying to solve another common problem: out-of-body experiences that are too short.
For me, there's nothing more frustrating than spending multiple hours in bed inducing an out-of-body experience only to have it end after 3 or 4 seconds. It feels like all that time is wasted.
So how can you make your out-of-body experiences last longer? Here are some tips and tricks you can use:
The Problem
To induce an OBE you need to disengage or disconnect from your physical senses (through relaxation and sensory deprivation), and guide yourself into what I call an alternate "Story of Experience." Basically you use imaginary sense data to trick your brain into "derailing" your normal sense-based in-the-body story of experience. Once derailed, you let go of the imaginary sense data and automatically transition to a story of experience based on non-physical data.
The problem with too-short OBEs is that the brain sometimes puts itself back on the rails by reconnecting with the body's five senses to return to that story of experience.
The solution is to keep it distracted from the physical senses.
Engage your non-physical senses
- Touch things
To make your OBEs last longer, first, make a habit of touching things. Touch the walls. Touch the ceiling. Touch the lamps or whatever else you see. It doesn't matter what you touch, just that you touch things. Author Michael Raduga calls this Palpation. Examine things with your sense of touch.
- Rub your non-physical hands together
If there's nothing close by, try rubbing your hands together and feel that sense of friction between them.
- Touch your arms or face
Your physical hands have a large number of nerves dedicated to the sense of touch, and so does your face. So squeeze your non-physical arms with your non-physical hands. Examine how they feel in your hands.
- Peering into things
Again, I'm borrowing this term from Michael Raduga again. Engage your non-physical sense of sight by examining something closely. Look at your hands and try to see every hair and joint, and look at the color of the skin. Look at the walls and try to see every fine blemish or bump in the paint or wall. But be careful:
- Keep your eyes closed at first
If you're too close to your physical body, trying to open your eyes can sometimes cause your physical body's eyes to open. If you can maintain focus there may not be a problem. But if your focus is weak, your sense of physical sight can re-engage and send you back to your physical body. So it's always best to keep your eyes closed until you're at least 15 feet/5 meters away from your body, then open them. Sometimes it's not a problem especially if you start seeing with your non-physical eyes (through your closed eyelids) before you even leave your body. But it's a trap you should avoid if possible.
Direct your internal monologue
I believe your "story of experience" is directly related to an area of the physical brain called the right temporo-parietal junction (or rTPJ) which compiles the sense data and formulates your idea of what's currently happening to you. That's the thing we're trying to "derail."
The left side of the brain has a corresponding area (the left temporo-parietal junction or lTPJ) that resides in an area of the brain that's responsible for language. Among other things, I believe the lTPJ is responsible for your "inner monologue," the ongoing story or narrative you tell yourself about your experience. This is basically the language-version interpretation of your current "story of experience." Let's just call this your "monologue of experience."
The important thing to remember is: these areas of the brain talk to each other. Your interpretation of what's happening to you is based on both your rTPJ's "story of experience" and your lTPJ's "monologue of experience." And each affects the other.
One of the most important concepts I got from Carlos Castaneda's books is his suggestion to "Stop the inner dialogue" (I would say monologue) as both a meditation technique and to basically make magical things happen in your life.
Affirmations are a way to change your inner monologue to fit a desired outcome. Author Jane Roberts/"Seth" might suggest you simply alter your inner monologue to make changes in your life. For example, losing money at a casino (as a rTPJ story of experience) can turn your inner monologue (lTPJ) negative: "I never win." But changing your inner monologue to be more positive ("I win.") can also alter your experience and help you actually change your reality to be more positive.
So during your OBE, occasionally inwardly remind yourself, "Wow, this is really happening. I'm really out of my body," and so forth.
Curb your emotions
Nothing can end an out-of-body experience more quickly than getting too emotional and letting your emotions run amok. If you get too happy or too excited, or even too scared, your OBE can end in a heartbeat. I've found it's always best to try to be a dispassionate observer: Just experience it and watch what happens with emotionless curiosity. Tell yourself you'll have time after the OBE to get excited.
Curb your fantasy
In the past I've cautioned against playing "what if" in the non-physical world. The slightest fantasy can send you back to the sleeping state and you'll start an ordinary dream. In my first book I called this the "Fantasy Trap." So during an OBE, avoid all hypotheticals and stick to what you see, hear, and feel.
Ignore Your Physical Body
Whatever you do, don't think about your physical body. Stray thoughts like "Gee, I've been out a long time...I wonder if my body is still alright" can send you careening back to your body instantly. So train yourself to focus on what you can see, and try not to think about your physical body.
Reset, reboot and retry
I've been a computer analyst and programmer my whole life, and in computers there's an old saying: If it doesn't work, reset, reboot, and retry. Sometimes computers run out of memory or other limitations, and they need to be rebooted before they'll cooperate. (They've gotten much better over the years). This saying can also apply to OBEs. Sometimes you may need a lot of tenacity and patience.
So if you get sent back to your physical body prematurely, don't move and just re-engage the same imaginary sights or sounds that got you into the OBE state before you got kicked out. Sometimes this can seem like a fight: You induce an OBE, step three steps and get sucked back in, but instead of giving up in disgust, you don't move and try the technique again, induce another OBE, step five steps, and get sucked back in again. This can go on for several iterations before you get far enough away from your body to have something significant happen. So be persistent and keep trying until you make significant progress.
Bob Peterson,
21 February 2022