How OBEs Changed My Life - Part 2

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 2. Click HERE for part 1.

Death is an illusion

When you’re out of your body, you can visit dead relatives. In my first book, I wrote about an OBE where I met and spoke with my dad after his death. Since that time, my perspective on death has changed. I know that my dad is still very much ´alive¡ in the astral world, because I met him there. I know that when he died, he left his body behind for good, and that his physical body is no longer a part of his life.

Every Memorial Day, my mother goes to the grave sites of dead relatives. She goes there to remember the dead, and maybe to pray. I never go with her to visit graves, and because of that, she probably thinks that I’m uncaring, unfeeling, or maybe not sentimental. One time she asked me if I ever go to visit my dad’s grave site. ´No,¡ I told her. I don’t need to visit the site of his dead physical body for several reasons.

First, he’s not using it anymore. He doesn’t have any sentimental attachment to that body anymore. The act of visiting his dead body probably doesn’t hold any special significance to him; besides, I’d much rather visit him than his grave. Second, I don’t need to be at his grave site to remember him, think about him, or pray for him. I know in my heart that anytime I need or want my dad, he will come to my side. Sometimes I feel his presence by my side when I’m not even thinking about him. ´Hi, Dad.¡ I try to tell him in my mind, ´How’s it going? What else have you learned over there?¡ Maybe it’s my imagination, but I even seem to receive a reply in my head, ´I learned that there’s a lot more to life on your side than I ever imagined when I was there. Isn’t every day Memorial Day?

Death is a friend

Death is a friend because it teaches us that every day is precious. We are only given a limited number of days, so we should use them wisely. My brother Tom once said that “Every day above ground is a good day.”

I'm not afraid to die because I've seen that my consciousness is not dependent on my physical body. Every time I have an OBE I am reminded that my time is running out, and eventually I'll have to leave that body for good.

Many people who have near-death experiences experience a “life review” where they relive their entire life. During the review, they find themselves thinking about the consequences of their actions and how other people felt toward them. I try to view everything from the perspective of an end-of-life review. How are my actions affecting other people? What am I learning from this experience? Am I making someone's life a little bit brighter or darker? How will this look on my spiritual scorecard?

My dad had many stories locked inside his head, about hunting and fishing trips and his time in the air force. He always talked about publishing his stories in a book. He even had a name for his book: Sojourn, a word that means a temporary stay. When he died, I expected to find a half-written book, or a box full of notes and stories. Instead, I found nothing but a title page. He never wrote any of his stories, so the book was never published. He had an opportunity to give the world a message, tell some stories, make someone happy for years after his death, but he never did. We all have that opportunity too. What will you do with your opportunity?

Often I ask myself, “When I die, what will I leave for this world?” Something worthwhile, I hope. Since you don't know when you'll die, when is the best time to accomplish your dreams? Now.

Why do we spend thousands of dollars to bury someone's physical body in a fancy box with a beautiful wood finish and plush interior? Once you're dead, you won't be needing that body anymore, and you won't be using that fancy box it's in. As far as I'm concerned, it's a huge waste of time and money. I don't care what they do with my body when I die because I won't be using it anymore. I'd rather see my body put to some productive use: Donate the whole thing to science! Don’t try to keep it from decomposing. Return my body to the food chain where it belongs. Leave it in the woods so some bear or wolf can have a feast, or throw it into the ocean and feed it to the fish. I'd rather give my body back to nature. In Tibet, it's customary to set dead bodies out in the sun so that vultures can eat them. They call it a sky burial.

What if people misunderstand me?

People are always questioning my motives for sharing my experiences. They ask me, “Is it true? Are these experiences real or are you just a fiction writer?” I assure you that my experiences are real and that my writing about them has been to help other people understand and explore. I don't want money. I don't want fame. My writing is meant to give people new hope for spirituality in this universe, because I have experienced it directly and wish others could too. It is meant to ease the pain of losing someone close who has died, because I have seen them myself and so can you. It is meant to inspire hope that there is an afterlife, because I have been there myself, and so can you.

I hope that my writings give hope to those who need it. Maybe it can help someone discover their higher purpose, or find a way out of depression. I mentioned that we have all chosen to come to this Earth for a spiritual purpose. We must all learn to rise above our Earthly ruts and glitches because they are so petty when compared against the world of the spirit. If I can inspire that hope and spirituality in only one person, it will all have been worth it.

Conclusions

Bridging the gap between science and the supernatural has always been one of my dreams. Since my childhood, my heroes have been people who have tried to breach that gap, like Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Monroe, Charles Tart, and Otto Schmitt. I've always felt that if science and the supernatural can be reconciled, many of the illusions that we live with (such as separation from loved ones when they die, and various religious superstitions) will be eliminated. When science can seriously explore and establish facts on issues such as (1) the nature of psychic experiences, (2) the nature of the afterlife, the soul, and spirits, and (3) the nature of God, then perhaps we can agree on “what to believe” and do away with all the fighting over religious differences. Maybe we can all agree that we are spiritual beings first and foremost, and we should all work toward spiritual growth. Maybe we can also learn to set aside our materialism for more spiritual pursuits. And if science can't establish these things as facts, at least OBEs can help each of us learn these things at a personal level.

Bob Peterson,
24 December 2024

If you have ideas for blog articles related to astral projection and out-of-body experiences, send me an email: bob@robertpeterson.org.

If you like my work, visit my website, robertpeterson.org, where you'll find lots of other free OBE advice and links.

Return to the index of my blog articles