Out-of-Body Experiences
by Samantha Lee Treasure
As you may already know, I've taken a long break from my blog (and a lot of things in life) to focus, mainly, on a new book I've been writing. Sorry! I'm coming back, slowly.
Today I'm reviewing Out-of-Body Experiences by Samantha Lee Treasure. The subtitle is Explorations and encounters with the astral plane. The copyright is 2025.
The author, Samantha Lee Treasure, has been a Facebook friend of mine for many years. She sent me an earlier draft of the book many months ago, and I read it, albeit, in a rush. I wrote a blurb for the book that said, "Both wildly fun and informative. This book expertly walks the razor edge between scientist and experiencer. I loved it!" Today, having re-read the final in-print version, I stand by those words.
In fact, I have to say that this book is one of the best OBE books I've ever read in my life, and without further ado, I'm giving it a rare 5-star rating. Let me tell you why.
I know I've said this before for several other books, but this one is truly unique in the genre. I've always admired people who adeptly bridge the gap (chasm?) between science and spirituality. People like the late Charles Tart, Janet Lee Mitchell, Dean Radin, and Susan Blackmore. Samantha Lee Treasure falls into the same category. And like a true scientist, Treasure has done her (extensive) research and cites her references--TONS of them--for people who want to do further research.
Treasure is a life-long experiencer and has traveled the world to explore the out-of-body experience to study how it compares in various cultures and traditions, from old-world to the most modern, and how it compares to her own experiences. And she does it expertly, tapping into cultural experts like shamans and witches, as well as experts in the subject from past the present, like Robert Monroe, Sylvan Muldoon, and Anthony Peake. And what has she found? Plenty! Plenty that cannot be found in any other OBE/AP book. And it's not only fascinating, it's relevant.
Where to even begin? Let's begin with a quote I loved:
"As neuroscientist Anil Seth concludes, 'We're all hallucinating all the time, including right now. It's just that when we agree about our hallucinations, we call it reality.'" (pg. 44)
The book contains very few OBE induction techniques, but it does have lots of interesting observations, insights and hints related to OBE induction. Here's an example:
"Embodiment, or over-embodiment, can be a learned cultural trait. I always wondered why it was that people swore that mental practices such as mindfulness and visualization, and physical practices like martial arts and yoga seemed to lead to more OBEs (as well as lucid dreams), and now I had my answer: these practices can strengthen embodiment." (pgs. 62-63).
And strengthening embodiment is somehow key to dis-embodiment. Here's one induction technique she does include:
"Ukrainian astral projector Pasha has also felt vibrations in his eyes as a result of his 'ten-second tunnel' technique which he outlines here: 'In the morning, after awakening, you have just a few seconds to realize that you have woken up. With your eyes closed, consciously gaze into the darkness behind your closed eyelids, shifting your focus from the top of your nose to the horizon. And you still see this tunnel. Calm your mind and consciousness, and allow yourself to enter inside.'" (pgs. 88-89)
Treasure talks about how nutrition influences OBEs and other sleep experiences. For example:
"For example, for two women, cutting out gluten stopped their sleep paralysis; for another, cutting out coffee had the same effect (although she had nightmares instead." (pg. 68)
She also dives into the teachings of L.Ron Hubbard (and his scientology) and his "exteriorization" through "auditing". Chapter 11 talks about the teachings of Paul Twitchell (and his Eckankar) and Eckankar's modern leader, Harold Klemp, and how the organization has changed over the years. Very eye-opening! Other chapters talk about various secret societies, shamanism, and occult traditions. She also talks about the relationship between witchcraft and OBEs, and evangelical Christianity, even referencing Marilyn Schrock's book Wake Up Church.
She also taps the knowledge and wisdom of other friends I've known many years, like Caz Coronel and my favorite author, Jurgen Ziewe.
She talks about supplements like mugwort, galantamine, l-aspartic acid powder, and l-theanine.
There's also a personal side to this book. In chapter 9 Treasure talks about a thing she calls her "Future Tokyo Experiences." These are unusual OBEs similar to the OBEs described by Robert Monroe in Journeys Out of the Body, in which it seemed like he was in a real physical location (locale) seeing and sometimes acting through the eyes of a real person.
What's most fascinating to me is that she describes being in a big shopping mall that's connected to a hotel, with tunnels and such. The place seems to have a sense of permanence and she visits it many times. This is STARTLINGLY similar to my own dreams in which I also visit a shopping mall with an attached hotel. It made me wonder: Were we both visiting the same non-physical place? I've been in that shopping mall hundreds of times in the dream state, although never really "conscious."
Perhaps this quote sheds some light:
"The explanation that seemed to fit the most was that this world that I'm currently writing from was a simulation, and that the place I was returning to in my OBEs was the real world." (pg. 137)
Chapter 10 addresses the subject of "Alien Contactees" and Treasure taps her own experiences as well as experts like Preston Dennett and John Mack. What surprised me is that she did not talk about the extensive comparison I did between OBEs and alien abductions, in chapter 24 of my second book, Lessons Out of the Body. You can read the chapter at this link. Perhaps she hadn't read it? It is out of print and hard to find.
Here's another subject that you won't find in any other OBE book: Treasure traveled in 2024 to the Republic of Tuva, a former Soviet republic, to discuss "Sunezin Travel" whose shamans teach their own unique kind of out-of-body experience. She compares these to OBEs in other indigenous cultures and other shamanic traditions.
I've read a lot of really good books on OBEs and some of them give pretty good histories of the topic. Anthony Peake's book The Out of Body Experience comes to mind. But Treasure brings to light things I hadn't read before. For example, she talks about how Harriet Tubman had OBEs:
"In 1879, Tubman's biographer, Sarah Bradford writes: [Tubman] imagines that her 'spirit' leaves her body, and visits other scenes and places, not only in this world, but in the world of spirits..." (pg. 244)
Treasure also talks about a modern trend called "#Shifting" in which people are starting to pre-program out-of-body experiences and lucid dreams. Many of them choose a pre-programmed visit to a Harry Potter or Hogwarts scene. This reminds me of the 1980 movie I just watched for the first time, "Somewhere in Time" (Starring Christopher Reeve and Jayne Seymour.) It's not a new concept, but it's, shall we say, "Trending."
I can't overstate out much I enjoyed this book. The book is about 300 pages. It is very well-written, organized, and edited. I only found one small mistake in the book. I give it 5-stars out of 5. One of the best books ever read about out-of-body experiences.
Bob Peterson
08 July 2025
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planning to review, so don't expect a quick turnaround.
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