An out of body experience also called as OOBE or OBE is an experience in which a person has a feeling of leaving his body and observing himself and the world from outside his body. Out of body experiences are also referred to as astral projections. Studies have shown that about 10 percent of the population experiences an out of body experience once in his lifetime. It can occur to anyone and at any situations. The majority of the people experience an out of body experience while they are sleeping, resting or dreaming. Others may experience it when ill or while under the influence of an anaesthetic.

Some people may experience an out of experience when drugged or medicated. A person may also experience it when he is near death. Such cases are referred as Near Death Experiences or NDE’s. Recent surveys have reported some cases in which motorcycle riders experienced an out of body experience. They found themselves floating over the motorcycle observing the own body and still continued to ride. All out of body experiences don’t occur spontaneously. Some people get them induced as desired by using various techniques. They even make a note of the things they undergo while experiencing an out of body experience.

But the experiences of the people who have undergone induced out of body experience are different from those who have undergone spontaneous out of body experience. The majority of the people who undergo induced out of body experience feel that they are still in a body but a body, which can be altered according to their wish. But most of the people undergoing spontaneous out of body experience find themselves disembodied. That is they feel that they are outside their body and looking at their own body from the outside world. Researchers are still going on to find out why some people experience an out of body experience. Some of the researchers suggest that an out of body experience is nothing but a simple illusion, which is brought about by an abnormally functioning brain. While others suggest that it is mediated by the area of the brain called the angular gyrus.

Some even say that an out of body experience may be experienced as the consciousness and body are separate entities and therefore can exist without each other. Some people consider an out of body experience a psychological phenomenon. They say that the people may be creating or building up the experiences from the previously learnt things or stored memories. For instance a person may have watched a medical program and when he is hospitalised he may experience the same things that he had watched. Each person experiencing an out of body experience has a different point of view. Some people say that they feel light and peaceful while other say that they get afraid as they think that they are dying and will never return to their body.