Dreaming, altered states of consciousness, and leaving the body are complex concepts that, remarkably, everyone has had at least some knowledge of. It is a known fact that every person dreams. On the other hand, the extended concepts of so called "out of body experiences" (OBE) and lucid dreaming have only recently, in the past 100 years or so, really come fully into mainstream conversation. Luckily today, people who would like to experience this state for themselves oneironauts (dream explorers) now have the great benefit of more objective and result based techniques developed from rigorous field work. These very subjective states are now more accessible for many more people than it ever was before. We will see how this opportunity came to pass by comparing two important texts that exemplify these two poles: Sylvan Muldoon’s book "The Projection of the Astral Body." (1929), a 1930's spiritualist understanding contrasted against a modern contemporary essay by Thomas Yuschak, “Advanced Lucid Dreaming.” (2006), on the use of legal, nonprescription supplements to induce awareness during dreams.
While ideas of lucid dreaming and OBEs have been around for very long time, in Western scientific parlance they have just begun to be truly quantitatively examined. Before undertaking an closer examination thought, it is important to define a little how the understanding of these states evolved over time. Before advances in psychology and sleep science begun to be developed, ideas about out of body experiences were mostly confined to occult and spiritual circles. Theories about it were frequently confounded with superstition.
Sometimes an OBE was understood as being connected with dreaming, sometimes it was thought to be a separate state. Today, modern research generally posits that an OBE is an advanced form of lucid dream, with “lucid dream” being the more useful term than OBE. A current definition of lucid dreaming is that it is a state of having clear, waking awareness during dreams; which may or may not include an apprehension of “being outside of one’s self”. The question of whether one is physically “leaving the body” or not, per se, has become a little less pressing than it was in the past. Lucid dreaming has been corroborated in the mid20th century by researchers such as Stephen LaBerge, Patricia Garfield and Paul Tholey. They verified sleepers are able to become aware during a dream and interact within it with all the while still retaining some memory about it happening. These researchers also refined techniques to induce them. As it will be seen, people previously mostly spoke of OBEs and dreams as states that were somewhat separate; this is no longer the case, as thinking is shifting towards thinking of them as one and the same kind of experience.
Sylvan Muldoon was a well-respected resident of a small town in Wisconsin, who happened to also be well known in the psychic circles as someone who long had regular occurrences of leaving his body. Asleep or not, he had numerous instances of having his awareness literally leave his body behind and travel throughout his home, town and a myriad of other places with virtually no restrictions imaginable. Muldoon would go onto collaborate with the psychic researcher Hereward Carrington about his copious OBEs in the now famous book, "The Projection of the Astral Body." Their book is full of terms such as astral body, aura, akashic field, and other references derived from then prevalent spiritualist Theosophic thought as expounded by Madam Blavatski, Charles Leadbeater and others. The style of writing is somewhat dated, but nonetheless, is full with vast experiences, idea, theories, and suggestions about how to accomplish an OBE. They make a seemingly honest attempt at objectivity by presenting different thoughts around sleep patterns and experiments while Muldoon was ‘out of his body”. Other writers had taken up this subject before, but none had covered so much theoretical ground while concurrently providing lengthy experiential knowledge as well. Before this, much of what previous was said hinged on second hand stories and speculation.
Thomas Yuschak’s book, “Advanced Lucid Dreaming.” (2006) is a text for those who already have had some dreaming lucidity and are looking to deepen their abilities. This is because they are finding that “the quality of the experience can vary greatly from dreamer to dreamer as well as from dream to dream.“ (Yuschak 10) Contrasted with the previous mentioned book, Yuschak quite simply provides a sampling of nonprescription supplements that promote “high level” lucid dreams and OBEs. There is virtually no discussion around astral bodies, projections, auras or anything resembling Theosophic spiritualist thought. After a brief review of the current available lucid dreaming techniques, Yuschack stated purpose is to introduce into the conversation neurochemical manipulation as a third possibility. While the author disavows the book as a true scientific examination, claiming only experiential knowledge; the kind of detail provided about neurotransmitters, sleep patterns, neurological dream theories, the blood brain barrier, and other in depth technical data, any reader surely must realize that this is a far different approach than what researchers 60 years ago had to offer.
A closer examination of these two texts reveals how far the research has come and what the new approaches have to offer oneironauts. Muldoon and Carrington spend a great amount of time discussing the astral body which they consider an ethereal double to the physical body.
Knowing its composition, traits and tendencies is of great value, in their mind, to anyone wishing to have an OBE. All living things are considered to have multiple subtle bodies, each one being of lesser density than the material one, kind of like Russian nesting dolls. The astral body of all people is said to wander during sleep, but the person who has an OBE is one who has an awareness of this phenomena. Muldoon claimed, “In ordinary cases, the detachment of the astral body from its physical counterpart is accomplished only with great difficulty, but in the case of dreams, great mental stress, and under certain conditions of occult development, the astral body may become detached and sent on long journeys, traveling at a rate of speed only less than that of lightwaves” (Muldoon 3). Other topics include kinds of dreams: falling, flying, flapping; willpower passive, active, and "cryptoconscious mind (subconsciousness); stress and its effects on projection.
Muldoon claims that frailty of health is an important factor in who is able to achieve an OBE, as the degree which one is "bound to" the physical body determines the ability to 'exteriorize' the astral. Fasting is talked about as a means to preparing the mind or body for projection. Suggestions are made about developing habits to impress a subconscious routine for projecting, imagining a certain place right before sleep for example – in hopes that a spontaneous projection would occur after time. Muldoon even offers a method that includes a suggestion for using thirst to affect the desire to exteriorize, which would work supposedly if during sleep one
is thirsty enough that desire alone might create stress to project the astral body. So as we can now see, most of these methods were put in place to create a mental environment conducive to spontaneously projecting, and the authors out right claim that conscious exteriorizing is actually quite rare.
Muldoon does draw correlation between dreaming and OBE, noting that they frequently occur together. His suggestion is to use dream imagery to induce an OBE, as he wants to get out of the body. He considers them two different things. Modern practice and research has not corroborated physical OBEs as an actuality, there has not been as of yet convincing data showing conclusively that a person has successfully travelled outside of their body and returned with verifiable information. The correlation between an OBE and lucid dreaming has not yet been fully accepted by the mainstream community, but is a common hypothesis for many clinical sleep researchers. As noted earlier, Yuschak holds to this modern theory that sees lucid dreams and OBE as being synonymous. (Yuschak 10) The contemporary approach is one of technique, how can one achieve this state; less about what exactly is this state.
Advanced Lucid Dreaming paints four broad categories of supplements: those that increase memory, ones that boost attention, others that heighten motivation and creativity, and a last group that lessens stress and improves the quality of sleep. Discussion centers around how these supplement either inhibit or promote important neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine during sleep. Decisions about using them; how much, when to take them, combinations, and safety issues. The suggestions are advised in the context of how the brain physiology interacts with them from a clinical point of view.
In addition to the updated theories about OBE and lucid dreaming, contemporary books like Yuschak’s have much more to offer than what was available in the early 20th century. Those early explorations were valid, useful, and necessary in order to bring these experiences to the light of day, but they also appear as if people were struggling to understand them. Present day oneironauts now have various chemical supplements to add to their list of techniques to use. Lucid dreamers can now increase the odds of consciously inducing an experience as opposed to hoping for one to spontaneously occur.
Yuschak, Thomas. Advanced Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Supplements : How to Induce High Level Lucid Dreams & Out of Body Experiences. Lulu Enterprises, 2006. Print.
Muldoon, Sylvan Joseph, and Hereward Carrington. The Projection of the Astral Body. London: Rider & Co., Paternoster House, E.C., 1929. Print.
LaBerge, Stephen, and Howard Rheingold. Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine, 1990. Print.
While ideas of lucid dreaming and OBEs have been around for very long time, in Western scientific parlance they have just begun to be truly quantitatively examined. Before undertaking an closer examination thought, it is important to define a little how the understanding of these states evolved over time. Before advances in psychology and sleep science begun to be developed, ideas about out of body experiences were mostly confined to occult and spiritual circles. Theories about it were frequently confounded with superstition.
Sometimes an OBE was understood as being connected with dreaming, sometimes it was thought to be a separate state. Today, modern research generally posits that an OBE is an advanced form of lucid dream, with “lucid dream” being the more useful term than OBE. A current definition of lucid dreaming is that it is a state of having clear, waking awareness during dreams; which may or may not include an apprehension of “being outside of one’s self”. The question of whether one is physically “leaving the body” or not, per se, has become a little less pressing than it was in the past. Lucid dreaming has been corroborated in the mid20th century by researchers such as Stephen LaBerge, Patricia Garfield and Paul Tholey. They verified sleepers are able to become aware during a dream and interact within it with all the while still retaining some memory about it happening. These researchers also refined techniques to induce them. As it will be seen, people previously mostly spoke of OBEs and dreams as states that were somewhat separate; this is no longer the case, as thinking is shifting towards thinking of them as one and the same kind of experience.
Sylvan Muldoon was a well-respected resident of a small town in Wisconsin, who happened to also be well known in the psychic circles as someone who long had regular occurrences of leaving his body. Asleep or not, he had numerous instances of having his awareness literally leave his body behind and travel throughout his home, town and a myriad of other places with virtually no restrictions imaginable. Muldoon would go onto collaborate with the psychic researcher Hereward Carrington about his copious OBEs in the now famous book, "The Projection of the Astral Body." Their book is full of terms such as astral body, aura, akashic field, and other references derived from then prevalent spiritualist Theosophic thought as expounded by Madam Blavatski, Charles Leadbeater and others. The style of writing is somewhat dated, but nonetheless, is full with vast experiences, idea, theories, and suggestions about how to accomplish an OBE. They make a seemingly honest attempt at objectivity by presenting different thoughts around sleep patterns and experiments while Muldoon was ‘out of his body”. Other writers had taken up this subject before, but none had covered so much theoretical ground while concurrently providing lengthy experiential knowledge as well. Before this, much of what previous was said hinged on second hand stories and speculation.
Thomas Yuschak’s book, “Advanced Lucid Dreaming.” (2006) is a text for those who already have had some dreaming lucidity and are looking to deepen their abilities. This is because they are finding that “the quality of the experience can vary greatly from dreamer to dreamer as well as from dream to dream.“ (Yuschak 10) Contrasted with the previous mentioned book, Yuschak quite simply provides a sampling of nonprescription supplements that promote “high level” lucid dreams and OBEs. There is virtually no discussion around astral bodies, projections, auras or anything resembling Theosophic spiritualist thought. After a brief review of the current available lucid dreaming techniques, Yuschack stated purpose is to introduce into the conversation neurochemical manipulation as a third possibility. While the author disavows the book as a true scientific examination, claiming only experiential knowledge; the kind of detail provided about neurotransmitters, sleep patterns, neurological dream theories, the blood brain barrier, and other in depth technical data, any reader surely must realize that this is a far different approach than what researchers 60 years ago had to offer.
A closer examination of these two texts reveals how far the research has come and what the new approaches have to offer oneironauts. Muldoon and Carrington spend a great amount of time discussing the astral body which they consider an ethereal double to the physical body.
Knowing its composition, traits and tendencies is of great value, in their mind, to anyone wishing to have an OBE. All living things are considered to have multiple subtle bodies, each one being of lesser density than the material one, kind of like Russian nesting dolls. The astral body of all people is said to wander during sleep, but the person who has an OBE is one who has an awareness of this phenomena. Muldoon claimed, “In ordinary cases, the detachment of the astral body from its physical counterpart is accomplished only with great difficulty, but in the case of dreams, great mental stress, and under certain conditions of occult development, the astral body may become detached and sent on long journeys, traveling at a rate of speed only less than that of lightwaves” (Muldoon 3). Other topics include kinds of dreams: falling, flying, flapping; willpower passive, active, and "cryptoconscious mind (subconsciousness); stress and its effects on projection.
Muldoon claims that frailty of health is an important factor in who is able to achieve an OBE, as the degree which one is "bound to" the physical body determines the ability to 'exteriorize' the astral. Fasting is talked about as a means to preparing the mind or body for projection. Suggestions are made about developing habits to impress a subconscious routine for projecting, imagining a certain place right before sleep for example – in hopes that a spontaneous projection would occur after time. Muldoon even offers a method that includes a suggestion for using thirst to affect the desire to exteriorize, which would work supposedly if during sleep one
is thirsty enough that desire alone might create stress to project the astral body. So as we can now see, most of these methods were put in place to create a mental environment conducive to spontaneously projecting, and the authors out right claim that conscious exteriorizing is actually quite rare.
Muldoon does draw correlation between dreaming and OBE, noting that they frequently occur together. His suggestion is to use dream imagery to induce an OBE, as he wants to get out of the body. He considers them two different things. Modern practice and research has not corroborated physical OBEs as an actuality, there has not been as of yet convincing data showing conclusively that a person has successfully travelled outside of their body and returned with verifiable information. The correlation between an OBE and lucid dreaming has not yet been fully accepted by the mainstream community, but is a common hypothesis for many clinical sleep researchers. As noted earlier, Yuschak holds to this modern theory that sees lucid dreams and OBE as being synonymous. (Yuschak 10) The contemporary approach is one of technique, how can one achieve this state; less about what exactly is this state.
Advanced Lucid Dreaming paints four broad categories of supplements: those that increase memory, ones that boost attention, others that heighten motivation and creativity, and a last group that lessens stress and improves the quality of sleep. Discussion centers around how these supplement either inhibit or promote important neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine during sleep. Decisions about using them; how much, when to take them, combinations, and safety issues. The suggestions are advised in the context of how the brain physiology interacts with them from a clinical point of view.
In addition to the updated theories about OBE and lucid dreaming, contemporary books like Yuschak’s have much more to offer than what was available in the early 20th century. Those early explorations were valid, useful, and necessary in order to bring these experiences to the light of day, but they also appear as if people were struggling to understand them. Present day oneironauts now have various chemical supplements to add to their list of techniques to use. Lucid dreamers can now increase the odds of consciously inducing an experience as opposed to hoping for one to spontaneously occur.
Yuschak, Thomas. Advanced Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Supplements : How to Induce High Level Lucid Dreams & Out of Body Experiences. Lulu Enterprises, 2006. Print.
Muldoon, Sylvan Joseph, and Hereward Carrington. The Projection of the Astral Body. London: Rider & Co., Paternoster House, E.C., 1929. Print.
LaBerge, Stephen, and Howard Rheingold. Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine, 1990. Print.