Review: The Odyssey of the Soul

by Franck Labat

Today I'm reviewing The Odyssey of the Soul by Franck Labat. The subtitle is Experiments on the Edge of Consciousness. The copyright is 2024. The book is 313 pages with great margins and font size, which means there is a lot of great content.

Full disclosure: Franck has been a Facebook friend of mine for many years. The author even sent me a signed copy of the book all the way from France, I'm sure at considerable cost.

Credentials

The first question I always ask about a book is: Who is the author and what are their credentials to teach out-of-body experiences (OBEs)? Franck Labat has been a steward of the Astral Projection community for many years. Some of his accomplishments include:

• He sponsored William Buhlman to come to France to teach out-of-body classes. The Buhlmans even stayed at his house.
  
• The book is endorsed by William Buhlman who contributed this quote to the front cover: "I highly recommend "Odyssey of the Soul" to all explorers of consciousness."
  
• The foreword to this book was also written by Buhlman. In fact, Labat quotes or cites Buhlman many times throughout the book.
  
• Labat was friends with (the late) Akhena, one of the greatest OBE teachers of our time. She's known to some as "The William Buhlman of France." Akhena's book Out of Body Experiences was so good I gave it a 5-star review back in 2014. Franck brought her to my attention more than 10 years ago and helped to promote her work. Labat's book even contains a photo of he and Akhena.
• In his "most unusual contact experience" Labat had a veridical OBE in which he and Akhena met in a shared experience that was later verified by both. The book contains his full OBE narrative. Akhena's book also contains her version of the narrative, but Franck's name was changed to protect his anonymity.
  
• He's well read and has attended OBE classes at The Monroe Institute.
• In 2024 he sponsored me to appear in a popular French podcast in which I had a live English-French translator.
  

Basics

What I liked most about this book is that Franck Labat shares lots of amazing "aha"-type hints and insights. He pays attention. He tells you what's most important when it comes to inducing OBEs, and often in a matter-of-fact way. For example, he says things like:

"I carry out my exercises because it's by persistence that you get results." (pg. 46)

That matter-of-fact statement is so simple and yet so important. Here's another example. When he speaks about fears and our belief system, he says:

"It's important to understand that as long as we're in a reality where form exists, we can be confronted with our own illusions at any moment. If we wish to explore the continuum of our consciousness in an objective way, we must consider our beliefs and not be afraid to question them." (pg. 74)

Again, very true, and yet so important to know. Same for this quote about something many people overlook:

"Out-of-body experiences are a great tool as long as you use them properly. But it's not the most important element in life. Remember, we're in this physical reality for a purpose. Spiritual alchemy, the transformation of defects into qualities, the quest to become better--these are what's most important." (pg. 95)

Narratives

If you've been following my blog, you know how I love OBE narratives. It shows the author's level of experience, and I can usually use them to tell actual OBEs from fiction.

The first third or so of the book contains a lot of Labat's OBE narratives. They're very honest. Later, he also gives narratives from lucid dreams, so you can compare the two in the author's experience.

The rest is about the practice. Here Labat goes into the prerequisites for OBE exit techniques, such as keeping a journal, optimizing the environment, setting goals, energy work, chakra stimulation, and relaxation. He goes into good detail about kundalini and various types of meditation.

Labat also provides several techniques, including a new hybrid technique that he calls "Neon Body Technique: Energetic Activation". It's not like exit technique switching, as taught by Michael Raduga who bounces from one technique to the next until successful. It's more of a progressive energetic meditation technique, escalating from (1) energy body stimulation to (2) chakra stimulation, to (3) kundalini stimulation. Kind of like leveling up or shifting from first gear, to second gear, and into third.

Labat also dives into the topic of Mudras, which are hand and finger gestures designed to promote the circulation of energy.

He gives plenty of best practices with regard to developing OBE skills.

Tailor your practice to Time of Day

First, he breaks each day down into sections, recommending different practices to different times of day, with concrete examples: What to do when you wake up, mid-morning, afternoon, evening, before going to bed, and in the middle of the night. 

As Labat says:

"Each moment of the day offers unique opportunities to explore OBE practices according to your natural cycle of energy and awareness." (pg. 165)

He describes what each is the most "ideal time for." For example, in the middle of the night is the "ideal time" to practice Wake Back to Bed (WBTB).

One of the most valuable things about this book is its approach to the OBE that tailors the practices to each person's needs. He gives several approaches to this, most of which cannot be found in any other book in the genre. 

Tailor your practice to your Astrology Sign

This doesn't appear in any other OBE/AP book: Labat gives suggestions on how to approach OBE practice based on each astrological ("Sun") sign. So Libras might want to focus more on "Deep relaxation and meditation techniques focusing on balance and harmony" whereas Scorpios might want to focus on "Exploration of mystical or transcendent themes, perhaps incorporating power symbols or archetypes" and so on. (pg. 169) So if astrology is your thing, this is a great reference.

Of course, personal experimentation plays a big part in figuring out what works best for you. But that's not the only approach. 

Tailor your practice to your Psychological Profile

He also suggests you adapt your practice to your psychological profile. He suggests different approaches for:

• Analytical and logical people
• Intuitive and creative people
• Emotional and empathic people
• Pragmatic and down-to-Earth people
• Adventurers and experiencers
• Introverts and reflective people
• Anxious and stressed people
• Determined and focused people
  

Tailor your practice to different days of the week

This is yet another approach: You treat each day of the week differently. For example, Thursdays are good days to explore new techniques or areas. Each day is assigned a unique approach.

OBE Techniques

Labat also gives several OBE techniques, as well as lucid dream techniques. This is not just a rehash of the same techniques in other books. Some are unique to the genre. For example, his "Awakening Technique" comes from the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, which is kind of like everyday "Presence" or "Mindfulness". For example, throughout the day, take the time (often) to stop and observe your surroundings. Pay attention to your hands, objects, and everything around you. It's important to develop a habit of this (so do this at least 21 days). Be present. Observe reality.

The key phrase that keeps running through my mind is "Situational Awareness." Train yourself to stop several times every hour, (also maybe whenever you change rooms or settings) to really observe what's going on around you. Look at the things that surround you. Be present. Be aware. This might be a dream!

He also gives techniques such as the Target Technique found in several books, including Buhlman's.

One of Labat's favorite techniques is simply to use affirmations. They're simple and effective and he uses them in many different circumstances. For example, as you fall asleep, repeat an affirmation like "Now I'm out of body" at least 50 times or until you fall asleep. For some people, it can be a very effective technique. (I talked a bit about this in my article Kissing Your Way To an OBE).

When it comes to using affirmations, Labat stresses three things:

1. A strong intention
2. Knowing that it's going to happen immediately
3. Having no doubts

He also says:

"Repeating your affirmations over and over again in a state of deep relaxation is akin to hammering a nail into the unconscious." (pg. 183)

He also gives lots of example affirmations.

Funny story: After I read this, I gave it a try. When I went to bed one night, I started repeating one of Franck's suggested affirmations. After about 7 affirmations, I fell deep into a normal sleep. But oddly enough, I kept repeating the affirmation. Throughout the entire 90-minute sleep cycle, I could still hear my subconscious still repeating the affirmation in the background. It was like a public address system was constantly announcing it in the background of my otherwise normal sleep. It was beyond weird! When I came out of deep sleep and hit the hypnopompic state, I was still repeating it! I guess I was doing something wrong! It wasn't the effect I wanted, but that was only my first try.

Labat also talks about self-hypnosis and autosuggestion with some great insights. For example, if you're a woman, repeat your affirmation in a man's voice. If you're a man, use the voice of a woman. Or use some other "voice of authority" like they do in television ads. You can also vary the speed of your affirmations. These little tricks can make your subconscious pay more attention to the affirmation. Again, it's an innovative trick that's unique in the genre.

He also talks about the all-important visualizations, but again introduces some unique innovations. For example:

"A little trick to increase the sense of immersion in the image [is] by imagining what's behind you while visualizing what's in front of you. This has the effect of encompassing us fully in the imagined environment." (pg. 190)

See what I mean? This is innovative. These are all subtle, but can be big game-changers.

Labat also gives suggestions to help you remember your OBEs.

The book also contains several meditation techniques, such as various breathing techniques, counting breaths, walking meditation, and so on.

The book has sections for:

• Problem solving (such as falling asleep too quickly)
• Essential oils (such as lavender oil, mugwort oil, olibanum oil, etc.)
• Sound and light technologies (with specific examples)
  

I loved this book. I'm giving it a rare 5 stars out of 5. Though he's French, Franck Labat's command of the English language, grammar and spelling are way better than many OBE books written by native English speakers. It's an excellent blend of out-of-body narratives, OBE techniques, and tips. Most importantly, it's innovative.

Bob Peterson
26 November 2024

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