What Happens at an Out-of-Body Experience Workshop?
An out-of-body experience workshop gives participants a structured environment for exploring the states of consciousness commonly associated with OBEs.
Rather than trying to force an out-of-body experience, a good workshop teaches you how to recognize changes in awareness, become comfortable with unusual sensations, work with fear or expectation, and experiment with techniques traditionally associated with separation from physical awareness.
At The Quantum I in Bentonville, Arkansas, Beyond the Physical Body is a two-day experiential workshop combining instruction, reflection, group discussion and professionally developed Hemi-Sync® audio exercises from The Monroe Institute.
What Is an Out-of-Body Experience?
An out-of-body experience, or OBE, is an experience in which a person perceives their awareness as existing somewhere other than—or extending beyond—the usual perspective of the physical body.
People describe these experiences in many different ways.
Some report floating, movement or a sense of separation. Others experience unusually vivid imagery, vibrations, a change in spatial perception, awareness during sleep, or the sensation of observing from a different point of view.
Not everyone interprets these experiences the same way.
At The Quantum I, you aren't required to.
The interesting question is not simply “Was I really outside my body?”
It is also:
“What can I discover by becoming more aware of how consciousness behaves as my ordinary physical reference begins to change?”
What Do You Actually Do During an OBE Workshop?
During Beyond the Body, participants progressively explore states associated with deep relaxation, expanded perception and reduced physical reference.
You will learn about experiences including hypnagogic imagery, sleep paralysis, vibrations, floating sensations, lucid dreaming, changes in body awareness and the early stages of perceived separation.
You will also explore practical techniques for separation, stabilization and navigation.
Between audio exercises, there is time to journal, ask questions and compare experiences with the group.
Will I Definitely Have an OBE?
No—and that isn't the measure of whether the workshop was successful.
Some participants experience dramatic changes in perception. Others notice subtle changes in awareness. Some recognize phenomena they have experienced for years but never understood.
There is no single correct experience.
One of the most valuable things you can develop is the ability to recognize the threshold states leading toward an OBE rather than becoming so focused on the final outcome that you miss everything happening along the way.
What If I've Had Strange Experiences While Sleeping?
People often begin researching OBEs because they have experienced sleep paralysis, vibrations, buzzing sounds, floating sensations, unusually vivid dreams or sudden awareness while their body remains asleep.
Learning about altered states of consciousness can provide a useful framework for observing those experiences without immediately deciding what they mean.
Do I Need Experience?
No.
Beyond the Physical Body is designed for people who are completely new to the subject as well as meditators, lucid dreamers and people who have experienced spontaneous OBEs.
The only useful starting point is curiosity.