Can OBEs be scientifically explained or are they evidence of a soul?

  • Thread starter MaxDestiny
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Led
In summary, the conversation revolves around a forum member's experience with an out-of-body experience (OBE) that occurred during a traumatic seizure in their childhood. They share their story and the perspective of their sister who witnessed the event. They also discuss the diagnosis of childhood epilepsy and the possibility of the OBE being a result of the seizure. Some members suggest that the OBE may have been a false memory, but the original poster maintains that their experience was real. The conversation ends with well wishes and a discussion about the nature of OBEs.
  • #1
MaxDestiny
I joined this forum for one reason, I was researching an experience I had brought on by a traumatic seizure as a child. There was a thread (now locked) on OBE's. I wanted to shed some light on OBE's from someone who had experienced the phenomena.

My story:

When I was about eight years old we lived in an old white two-story farmhouse. I slept upstairs and shared a room with my older sister(10 years old at the time) I had fallen asleep in my bed(which was across the room and kitty cornered to hers) while she was still up reading in hers.

The first thing I remember was opening my eyes and seeing my sister staring down at me screaming my name and in utter panic. I could see her very clearly but I could not move at all. My eight year old mind (which had probably seen way too many scary movies for my age) deduced that obviously my head had been cut off and this was why I could not move and what was causing her to panic. She runs downstairs to alert my parents and I'm left like someone in a waking coma to stare at the paint on the ceiling. I'm helpless and deeply frightened and was made even more so when she left. I do not remember my line of sight shifting but my next recollection is my mother lifting my body off of the bed. I even remember what she said, she was telling my father I felt like dead weight. My father was standing there in his underwear and holding a chainsaw(my hysterical sister had made them assume an intruder was hurting me) I am watching these events unfold as if I was maybe five feet away and facing the scene. I was staring at my own body knowing I wasn't even in it. All in all I may have been out of my body two minutes at the most.

WHAT MY SISTER SAW:

My sister heard a noise over my side of the room and assumed I was jumping on the bed. She turned to yell at me stop and saw me violently flopping all over the bed like a fish out of water. She ran to me and saw that my eyes were rolled up in the back of my head. Only the whites were visible to her.(This has traumatized her quite a bit as well) Then she starts screaming and my story began.

FOLLOW UP:

Remember from my perspective I'm deathly still and staring at the ceiling.Later my sister is puzzled by my account as from her perspective there was no way I could see anything with my eyes rolled up in my head.Then I witness the scene unfold where I am lifted from the bed. Next recollection is being carried into my father's truck and being held,while my mother contacted our local physician. I am now back in my body and trying to gain control of it. I am trying to ease my parents fear and tell them I'm ok now but I can't seem to get my tongue out of the damn way. I am unintelligibly mumbling trying desperately to communicate and after what seemed like hours but was undoubtedly just a few minutes I regained all my motor functions and could communicate.

DIAGNOSIS:

After brain scans and catscans and who knows what other kinds of tests I was determined to have a form of childhood epilepsy. The type I had was only brought on by loss of consciousness. I was only in danger of another if I went to sleep. I had to take one Phenobarbytol in the morning(in case I napped) and two at night. This controlled it completely. I only had one other full blown seizure(at a babysitters one morning when I forgot my pill and dozed off) and this did not lead to an OBE. At the age of sixteen I had grown out of it.

WHY DID MY OBE HAPPEN:

Why the first seizure and not the second? My assumption is this; the first seizure was a complete shock to my system, not to mention my hysterical sister and my own debilitating fear. The second seizure; I felt it coming on I knew it was happening but was too late to mentally stop it.(I should note here that I had had many onsetting seizures that I felt coming on and was able to rouse myself before it became full blown)

CONCLUSION:

While the mind and the body are inextricably linked they can be separated,and can exist independently. Anyways this is my story. I just thought I would share it and shed some light on a subject that not many of you have experienced for yourselves.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
There are threads here that explain that these types of seizures make a person *think* they had an OBE. It's been replicated by testing.

It does sound like an extremely scary event, I'm glad that you are doing better. Welcome to the forum!
 
  • #3
Easy for you to discount what happened to me,but I don't think I saw and heard what I saw...I know I did. And thanks for the welcome.
 
  • #4
MaxDestiny said:
Easy for you to discount what happened to me,but I don't think I saw and heard what I saw...I know I did. And thanks for the welcome.

I don't think Evo is discounting anything. It sounds like you understand as well that the OBE experience is in our minds, and not a physical thing where you or your spirit actually leave your body and fly around. That is pretty easy to show in experiments.

I'm glad that your siezures are controlled now. Must have been very scary for you to go through.
 
  • #5
MaxDestiny said:
Easy for you to discount what happened to me,but I don't think I saw and heard what I saw...I know I did. And thanks for the welcome.

That's actually a pretty bold thing to say... People who have false memories implanted of them are 100% absolutely SURE that the memories are real. There's an interesting book called The Invisible Gorilla that has a chapter based around this. They mention the Bobby Knight incident where a player says he was choked by Knight, and assistant coaches had to separate them, while Knight said he does not remember that. The player was 100% sure that he was choked, and 100% sure that others stepped into break them up. In the video, the player was choked for a few seconds and released, nobody stepped into break them up. But he was 100% sure before viewing the video that assistant coaches had stepped in.

This is one reason why eyewitness testimonies are so dangerous. People can be absolutely SURE they saw something that never happened. Even when This has been demonstrated experimentally. http://www.skepdic.com/falsememory.html has a few references if you'd like to follow up.

But perhaps even more interesting (even if not more scientific) than the experimental evidence is anecdotal evidence. Read up on the Ronald Cotton case. A woman was raped by a man, and she decided to memorize everything about the man while this was occurring, so she could accurately describe her assailant to the police. When they showed her a lineup, she was absolutely, 100% sure that Ronald Cotton was the person who did it, and he was convicted on her testimony.

DNA evidence exonerated him 11 years later. They co-authored a book together, and here's their story: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29613.../t/she-sent-him-jail-rape-now-theyre-friends/

So, bottom line is, your memory of what happened cannot be trusted as much as you think it can. Especially when you're having a seizure, which is a time when your brain isn't operating properly to begin with.
 
  • #6
Haha false memories...geez people...there's scepticism and then there's just obstinance. There is a soul and you people are fooling yourselves. You all think science can answer all your questions. What science believes today is discredited tomorrow, taken as the gospel next week and disparaged in a months time. Science is the guy that knows just enough to let his ignorance get him in trouble. If you choose science as your god you will find him to be a very fickle deity indeed. My consciousness left my body, no fluke of the brain can project your vision where your eyes are not.End of story.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #7
You didn't read the rules did you? You can post annecdotes, but you cannot make conclusions of a supernatural nature. Also, you cannot make crackpot claims, as you have done.
 
  • #8
MaxDestiny said:
Haha false memories...geez people...there's scepticism and then there's just obstinance. There is a soul and you people are fooling yourselves. You all think science can answer all your questions. What science believes today is discredited tomorrow, taken as the gospel next week and disparaged in a months time. Science is the guy that knows just enough to let his ignorance get him in trouble. If you choose science as your god you will find him to be a very fickle deity indeed. My consciousness left my body, no fluke of the brain can project your vision where your eyes are not.End of story.

Well, you do know about the simple experiments that can show that OBE is not physical, right? Just have the experimenter put a test word on top of a high shelf before the subject goes to sleep. Fly around the room all you want, you will not be able to read the test word and report it upon waking. Science is based on experiments.
 

FAQ: Can OBEs be scientifically explained or are they evidence of a soul?

What is a childhood seizure?

A childhood seizure is a sudden, abnormal electrical activity in the brain that can cause convulsions, loss of consciousness, and other symptoms. It is a common neurological disorder that affects children under the age of 16.

What is an OBE (Out-of-Body Experience)?

An OBE, or out-of-body experience, is a sensation of being detached from one's physical body and experiencing the world from an external point of view. It is often described as a feeling of floating or flying and can be a result of various factors, including medical conditions such as seizures.

Can a childhood seizure really lead to an OBE?

Yes, there have been reported cases where a childhood seizure can trigger an OBE. The exact cause of this phenomenon is not fully understood, but it is believed that the abnormal brain activity during a seizure can disrupt the body's sensory perception, leading to an OBE.

Are there any long-term effects of experiencing an OBE during a childhood seizure?

There is currently no evidence to suggest any long-term effects of experiencing an OBE during a childhood seizure. However, it is important to seek medical attention and proper treatment for the underlying cause of the seizure to prevent future episodes.

Can a childhood seizure be prevented from causing an OBE?

It is not possible to prevent a childhood seizure from causing an OBE, as it is a result of the seizure itself. However, proper management and treatment of the underlying condition can help reduce the frequency and intensity of seizures, potentially reducing the likelihood of experiencing an OBE.

Similar threads

Replies
26
Views
1K
Replies
5
Views
1K
Replies
6
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
24
Views
2K
Replies
6
Views
3K
Back
Top