How OBEs Changed My Life - Part 1

by Bob Peterson

Recently a woman named Janice asked a very good question on the Astral Projection - Techniques group on Facebook. She asked:

"How has Astral Projection changed your life?"

That's an important question, and a very deep one. In fact, it's so deep that I dedicated chapter 17 of my second book, Lessons Out of the Body, to the topic. The chapter is titled "The OBE Outlook on Life" which is how I got the name for my blog.

Thanks to Janice, I decided to release the entire chapter as a series of 2 articles in this blog. This is part 1.

There are a lot of good uses for out-of-body experiences. Solving crimes and finding missing children are good applications. Astronomers can use OBEs to explore the vast reaches of outer space. Oceanographers can use it to explore the depths of the oceans. Physicists can use it to explore the smallest sub-atomic particles, which could lead to new theories regarding the origins of physical matter, energy, and non-physical realities. Some people claim that the United States government is already using Controlled Remote Viewing for spying. Perhaps some day, FBI, CIA and NSA forces will have teams of astral travelers dedicated to reconnaissance. Maybe they're already using the OBE technique but not telling us.

The most important application for OBE is to further our spiritual growth. With it, we can learn about ourselves, such as who we are and why we are here in this physical world. We can use it to explore the afterlife, or to learn the true nature of God, or to learn the deeper meanings in our lives. My OBEs have changed my outlook on daily life. They've taught me to view life through a new perspective, a perspective based on non-physical life rather than physical life.

Life is a school

A good writer doesn't waste words. Every sentence has an important meaning and implication toward the outcome of the book. Likewise, a good movie or television show doesn't have any wasted scenes. Every scene has a bearing on the outcome of the movie, and usually every “minor incident” has an implication of something greater in the story. And so it is with life. I believe we are all actors and actresses on the stage of life. We are temporary visitors to this planet, passing through this world on a very short journey. We're here to learn, to teach and to grow spirituality through experiences. When we are asleep, we spend hours writing and rewriting the screenplay and creating the scripts for our lives. When we're awake, we act out the scenes. So I view every moment as an important event in life. Everything we experience has a higher purpose, a deeper meaning.

We can gain insight into this by asking ourselves questions and trying to understand the meaning behind the events in our lives. What lesson am I supposed to learn from this experience? What lesson am I teaching? How will this experience make me grow?

Nothing in life is meaningless. Even the negative things in life have their place. The frustrations we sometimes feel are there for a reason. Usually the most frustrating events in our lives are the best indication of the lessons we are supposed to be learning.

The violence and loss we sometimes encounter have a higher meaning. I don't presume to know all the answers, but I still believe it all has a purpose.

Self-identity: you are not your body

When you are out of your body, you are a ghost or a spirit. When this hits home, you realize that we're all just spirits, temporarily inhabiting physical bodies. You no longer think of yourself as just the physical body. Your physical body is just an expression of your true self, your soul. You recognize that the needs and desires of your physical body are different from the needs and desires of your soul. Your body is just a tool you are using. Instead of thinking in terms of statements like “I am hungry,” you start to think in terms of “My body is hungry.” You are no longer a slave to the physical body and its whims. You can brush aside the complaints of your body with a “get over it” attitude.

Likewise, everyone else is also a spirit, so it doesn't make sense to judge people by the color of their skin, their gender, their weight, their looks or any other physical attributes. Spirit transcends all of these boundaries. You also realize that if you hurt another person, you are hurting yourself.

A greater reality

Every day most of us get up early in the morning, go to work, come home tired, eat, watch television, then go to bed. Sometimes, we interact with people. Throughout our mundane existence, we walk around with blinders on, seeing what we want to see and believing what we want to believe. We see ourselves as trapped inside a physical body, and we measure our own success by the physical possessions we own. Most of the time, we fail to recognize the spiritual world that surrounds us.

There is only one reality, not many, but it’s a multi-dimensional spiritual reality with many worlds. We are surrounded by spirits and angels. Every cell and every object is permeated with the light of God’s being. If you take a deeper look, it seems as if our "reality" is no more than a daydream held in God’s imagination.

We're never alone

Out-of-body experiences have taught me that we are never alone. Even when I am alone in my bedroom, when I leave my body, I may be surrounded by spirits and helpers.

Privacy is an illusion

Because we are never alone, and these spirits can read our thoughts, there is no such thing as privacy. Privacy is an illusion. I’ve had many OBEs in which I found myself in someone’s home, witnessing their private lives. There are no secrets in the spirit world. Once you realize that, you learn to live your life with more pure and spiritual thoughts.

Don’t judge others

After a few OBEs, you start to realize that most other people are operating from a very limited physical-body point-of-view, and they don’t have the perspective you have. You realize that from our limited physical-body point of view, we simply don’t have enough information to make judgements about other people. You don’t know their belief systems, motivations or the lessons they are learning. You learn not to judge other people. This isn’t anything new; Christ taught it two thousand years ago.

Physical objects lose their glitter

When we use out-of-body experiences to take a look behind the scenes of life, we start to view physical objects as transient. We begin to see that physical objects are only temporary, and sooner or later we have to give them all up. The only thing we take from this lifetime is our experiences.

When we own a physical object, we should keep future owners in mind. I'm a wood worker. When I make something out of wood, I know that it has a limited lifetime. I see physical objects as shallow and unimportant, so I try to give the object a deeper meaning. For example, I once made a box for nicknacks and I gave it a spiritual value as well as a physical value by engraving the following motto on it:

Focus:
Will... to accomplish your dreams
Heart... because love conquers all
Mind... The answers are within
Soul... The real you lies beyond your body.

When we own physical objects, we are borrowing them from Mother Earth. My wife and I love to travel, and I've been to a lot of archeological sites to see the remains of ancient civilizations: ancient cities in Egypt, Italy, Greece, and ancient Mayan cities like Tikal. It's amazing to see how a thousand years can crumble the mightiest civilizations into dust. Mankind has labored for thousands of years to build physical objects, but they're all just temporary, and therefore not as important as the things we keep inside: our thoughts, feelings, lessons, joys and loves.

Most people are familiar with a saying that's so materialistic it's funny: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” There are people who believe this. I'd rather spend money traveling, meeting people and learning lessons than buying physical things.

(To be continued)

Bob Peterson,
10 December 2024

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