Captured in a Kirlian photo, a human hand reveals the distinctive aura produced by all living things.
Carol Ann Liaros once worked at the Human Dimensions Institute in Buffalo, New York. There, she tried to teach blind people to “read” colors with their hands. She reports that a few seemed to make progress toward that goal. To her surprise, some of her subjects also learned to “mind travel” via OBEs. While fully relaxed, for instance, they pictured themselves flying to a friend’s house. There, they “saw” people and objects.
One woman described details as small as toys scattered on the front porch. A second subject said, “Awareness of my own energy field is developing…. I feel as though I can really see myself…. I seem to be able to almost see what is in a room. It seems that I really see it, although I don’t, and I am totally blind.”1
Captured in a Kirlian photo, a human hand reveals the distinctive aura produced by all living things.
Describing the technique of astral travel is simple. Whether the technique will work or not is a much more complex question. Experts in the field say that almost all OBEs are pleasant. Most travelers want to go again and again. Only a handful of people say their OBEs turned into frightening nightmares. These astral travelers tell of feeling pain, pressure, and terror.
Someone who seeks an OBE must be very relaxed. One good way to calm the mind is to meditate. Find a quiet room and lie back against some pillows. With eyes closed, repeat a special sound over and over. Words like “ommmmm” with lots of m’s seem to work well. Breathe deeply and clear the mind of all but that special sound. Give the process ten or fifteen minutes. Do not be upset if distracting thoughts creep into your mind. This is normal. Resolve to try again the next day. After all, no one learns to play winning tennis the first day out. Learning to meditate takes practice, too.
Psychics believe that OBEs are related to the body’s energy field—its aura. Kirlian photos show that all living things, plant and animal, produce distinctive auras. You may not have to depend on Kirlian photography to see an aura, however. Take a friend (let’s call her Nancy) into a dimly lit room. Ask Nancy to stand a foot away from a dark background. Face her from eight to ten feet away. Turn your head and look at her out of the corners of your eyes. With any luck, you will see her aura as a halo of bright light.2
Skeptics scoff at tests like this one. Auras, they say, are just clouds of water vapor. Colors appear, they explain, when light is refracted by the water droplets. What skeptics cannot explain is the fact that auras appear to vary with the subject’s health. Psychics even claim they can diagnose illness by the shape and color of someone’s aura.
Psychics claim they can diagnose an illness based on the color of the patient’s aura. Skeptics, however, argue that auras are just clouds of water vapor.
Anyone who seeks an OBE is advised to use meditation to calm the mind and body. This young woman is using yoga techniques as a way of gaining the necessary control.
Those who order themselves to see auras or go out of body are likely to fail. People who fear loss of contact seldom stray far from their bodies during an OBE. Other people worry that they will meet evil spirits. It is said that most people lose these fears as they glory in their newfound freedom. They often feel themselves soaring skyward, safe from all earthly cares. The goal is to empty the mind and leave it open to the OBE. Some people reach that point fairly quickly. Others take weeks or months to attain their first OBE.
A mandala is a geometric figure that leads the eye back to the center. Because staring at a mandala helps focus the mind and screens out distractions, it is often used as an aid to meditation.
Most of us never reach that point, for reasons no one can clearly explain. Even so, the effort is not wasted. Meditation does a good job of easing the stress of daily living … and that’s a worthwhile outcome all on its own.