Out-of-Body Experiences : Explorations and encounters with the astral plane

"Samantha Treasure's groundbreaking book stands as probably the most comprehensive review of the out-of-body experience yet published." - Graham Nicholls, author of Navigating the Out-of-Body Experience The Out-of-Body Experience (OBE) is a fascinating phenomenon that has captivated the scientific and spiritual world. This comprehensive guide takes a fresh look at these enigmatic occurrences, including why they happen, how to make sense of them, as well as how to pursue or avoid these experiences. An experiencer of OBEs herself, Samantha Lee Treasure has dedicated over a decade to better understanding these extraordinary events. This illuminating guide is the culmination of this research, taking a holistic approach which draws together neurology, psychology, anthropology, parapsychology and religion. Her research has taken her from interviewing Korean and Siberian shamans, to participation in neuroscience experiments, fieldwork with the religious movement Eckankar, a year interviewing alien contactees and attendance at various workshops and retreats marketed within the growing spiritual marketplace. Based on experiencer interviews the author has conducted since 2015, the book will also explore how astral projection changes over the course of an episode or lifetime, taking into consideration generational, cultural, and biological differences. For example, utilising her background in medical anthropology, Samantha Treasure explores the links between OBEs and sleep paralysis and dreams, interviewing both experiencers and specialists. This book will also aim to reclaim OBEs from their growing commodification within social media and the wellness industry and will challenge definitions that privilege certain types of experience or narratives. While including evidence for their potential as a healing or spiritual tool, the author will also include the voices of experiencers and researchers who think otherwise, exploring their rationale while avoiding either sugar-coating o