Case reports suggest that the conscious self can part from the physical body and see it from the outside. The subject may be clinically dead, yet later is able to recall events happening at that time. Astral projection, or out-of-body experience is often a component of near death experience, but it has also been shown to occur in healthy people. Cross cultural studies show a belief in astral projection in 51 out of 54 cultures. Surveys of their incidence in various populations indicate that between 10 and 25 percent of people have experienced this phenomenon. The most common characteristics reported are a distinct sensation of distance from the body, heightened awareness and extended powers of perception.
Professional researchers have sought proof that some life force can leave the body. In 1965 - 1966 Dr. Charles Tart of the University of Virginia tested businessman Robert Monroe, who was asked to project his non - physical being from one room to another and report what he saw. Out of eight sessions, he apparently managed to astrally project twice, accurately reporting objects in the other room, and the way in which they were displayed. In the 1970's Dr. Karlis Osis of the American Society for Psychial Research tested an OBE (Out of Body) adept, Ingo Swann, who was on many occassions able to describe objects that were out of his range of vision. Osis also tested school teacher Alex Tanous, who affected sensitive vibration detectors while he was astrally projecting. While these tests were not completely conclusive, they were extremely suggestive that OBE's were taking place.
Dr. Robert Morris of the Psychial Research Foundation carried out some interesting experiments with researcher Stuart Blue Harary in 1973. Harary tried to make his astral presence known to his cat while he himself was wired up to various devices in another building. Physiological measurements indicated the OBE was a distinct state, and changes in the behavior of the cat did suggest that it sensed something at the time of the experiment. Astral Projection has long been associated with sages and yogis, and twentieth century writers have claimed such experience. In a classic text, The Projection of the Astral Body (1929), an American named Sylvan Muldoon provides a record of his OBEs from the age of 12. Skeptics have claimed such experiences are reconstruction of memories, hallucinations or particularly lucid dreams. Yet these theories cannot account for the ability of OBE subjects to report events that occurred while they were unconscious.
