in relation to OBEs © copyright Alfred Ballabene, Vienna, 2000 |
The influence of age to OBE abilities.
An influence of age for OBE abilities neither was observed nor could be deduced from correspondence or direct reports. In several letters for instance first OBEs were reported at an age of 5 years. Statistic does not show any preference for an age (sorry, I have lost the source of literature).
What may be important is not the age but a process which may be in correlation with the age. It are the emotional basic conditions. These conditions may be trained all the years or may be reduced by a boring and uneventful life of people in progressed age. But these effects are discussed in an other part here.
Blood pressure and heart beat frequency favoring trance techniques.
By the time I got a lot of information, which lets me come to following conclusion:
Low blood pressure favors trance techniques. Additional slow heart beat
was reported as well from friends of mine who had good dispositions for
OBEs (using trance techniques like "floating out"). The latter fact is
clear when you consider that heart beat frequency is a factor of triggering
the blood pressure. The low blood pressure of daytime decreases further,
if one goes in deep relaxation.
I can imagine that a very low blood pressure (additional reduced in
deep relaxation) leads to a diminished oxygen (O2) supply of
the brain. (A shortage of O2 leads to hallucinations in high
mountain regions as reported by mountaineers.) In contrary to mountaineers,
who are very active, in the case of relaxation combined with low blood
pressure other mechanism of brain reaction are triggered, namely such ones
which are related to hibernation (see: [1], [2], [3], [4] ). By means of
various techniques the orthodox Hatha Yogis aim at similar but more extreme
effects than OBEers using trance techniques. Thus the out of body experiences
are not identic with common observed brain reactions by shortage of oxygen,
like in the case of mountaineers or divers.
It is a matter of fact that blood pressure increases with progressing age. I think that's the reason why trance techniques are often reported by people under 30 or 40 years, while older OBEers prefer other techniques.
Literature:
1) Young, J.D-E. and E.Taylor:
"Meditation as a Voluntary Hypometabolic State of Biological Estivation".
News Physiolog.Sci., 13 (1998), pp.149-153
2) Benson,H., M.S.Malhotra, R.F.Goldman, G.D.Jacobs and P.J.Hopkins:
"Three case reports of the metabolic and encephalographic changes during
advaned Buddhist meditation techniques."
Behav. Med. 16 (1990), 90-95
3) Wallace, R.K. and H.Benson:
"A wakeful hypometabolic physiologic state."
Am. J. Physiol. 221 (1971), 795 - 799
4) Kothari et al.:
Am. Heart J., Vol. 86 (1973), pp. 282-284
Brain conditions
It's a matter of fact that the body has to have a well defined ground state in order to make OBEs possible. Such body conditions are relaxed muscles, comfortable posture, optimal temperature etc. Like for the body certain brain conditions are necessary as well. Such facts as to keep away sensory disturbances, introversion and brain waves of the alpha, theta and delta frequencies are well known.
I want to inform
you about less known facts - you have to train emotions, vitality and the ability to see inner visions.
It may very well be that by doing this you might increase levels of certain transmitters/neuromodulators like serotonin, endorphins or anandamid.
That's the reason why OBEers often are sensitive and as well erotic (so they mostly don`t speak about). Monotony
is the death of OBE abilities.
The pre-disposition of sensitives
Sensitives have a pre-disposition for OBEing. Who is a sensitive?
letter 334
"Do you
think there are certain typical characteristics for sensitive people?
Like, sometimes forgetting things, being "absent" a lot, generally having
lots of energy .. Ive read in some books and wondered."
Yes, Eva, there are some typical characteristics for sensitive people. I will give you a short list made by Reichenbach, who did some research at that field at the end of the 19th century:
Of course there are individual variations. On the whole, however, these are typical marks. Are you a sensitive?
they avoid crowded places
in an inn they prefer to sit at the side or in a hook
they like to walk at the side of a way, but never in the midst
they are introverted
they like day-dreaming and are sometimes absent minded
they like blue colors and dislike yellow
they dislike long touches for instance when shaking hands (except the person is loved)
they do not like to look more than instants into a mirror
they prefer to sleep at the right side or to lay at the front side
Alfred Ballabene, Vienna, Austria, Europe, 2000