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Out-of-Body Experiences and the Afterlife
Apr. 26th, 2025 11:15 amAfter much research, I conclude that Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) can also contribute to ideas about the Afterlife. People who have OBEs often experience other realms, one being the afterlife. In their OBEs, they have encountered angels and other divine beings. Meanwhile others have received divine wisdom.
Marilynn Hughes (Note 1), who researches OBEs and mysticism, has collected thousands of OBE accounts. She says that OBEs allow people to receive messages beyond ordinary perception. Hughes cites the Apostle Paul being caught up to the Third Heaven and the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey (the Isra and Mi’raj). Each brought back spiritual insights for their respective believers.
Meanwhile, in “Wicca For Life,” Raymond Buckland discusses Summerland where Wiccans (Note 2) go after death. He writes that he gleamed his knowledge from people who had either NDEs or OBEs. Buckland writes, “Many records of near-death experiences, speak of leaving the body, going toward a bright light – often times down a sort of tunnel – and seeing deceased loved ones there.” He adds that “Summerland – which outwardly, looks much like this land where we lived and breathed.” Most Wiccans believe that Summerland is a place of perpetual summer of lush meadows, deep woods, and babbling brooks.
Buckland states that Summerland came from Gerald Gardner, who took the name from Spiritualists. (Note 3) In “The Next World: Extraordinary Experiences of the Afterlife,” Gregory Shushan writes that Victorian and Edwardian mediums coined the term “Summerland.” The spirits that spoke through these mediums called their Afterlife, “Summerland.” Several stated that “the other realm is a place of ‘peace and plenty,’” and “the soul and consciousness are one.”
In “NDEs and the Afterlife in Ancient Civilizations,” Gregory Shushan describes the OBEs of shamans. In the “Rig Veda,” munis (Note 4) drink a drug to allow “the Gods to enter” and then they “mount the winds.” Other scholars such as Mircea Eliade suggests that beliefs about the Afterlife stem from various shamanic practices. These visionary practices include OBE journeys to the Afterworld.
In “Ecology of Souls (Volume Two),” Joshua Cutchin drives home this aspect of shamanism. He writes “Shamanism is a death discipline, focused upon rebuilding relationships with not only with our ancestors but the broader ecology of souls. Shamans in their journey do encounter other worlds. One can be the Dead and the Afterlife.”
In “Time Expansion Experiences,” Steve Taylor, who has studied time extensively, lists one of the laws of time. “Time passes very slowly in intense altered states of consciousness, when our normal psychological structures and processes are significantly disrupted and our normal ‘self-system’ (Note 5) dissolves.” He describes it as “stepping off a train and finding ourselves in a strange, panoramic landscape, where people enter a different “timeworld.’” When entering this ‘timeworld,’ they will visit other worlds including the Afterlife. Altered states of consciousness both transcend the boundaries and space of the self and time.
My brain injury has me go into fugue states where I experience what Taylor describes. I find myself in a different ‘timeworld’ where high-weirdness reigns. In that world, I have experienced various Gods and have come away with a different perspective of the Cosmos. I think that Polytheists could investigate OBEs to learn more about the Gods and the Afterlife.
According to Hughes, common traits of a prophetic vision are: (Note 6)
Sense of divine presence
The person feels an overwhelming transformative experience.
Clarity and precision
Messages or visions are specific and detailed.
Timelessness and universality
Messages or visions transcend time and place.
Transformation and healing
The experience reshapes the person’s understanding of the world.
Role of divine guidance.
Ancestors or spirits provide assistance and clarification.
Notes:
Note 1. Marilynn Hughes is a researcher in the field of OBEs and mysticism. She is the founder of The Out-of-Body Travel Foundation https://outofbodytravel.org/ , which details people’s experiences.
Note 2. Buckland refers to Wicca as the “Old Religion” as opposed to the “New Religion” of Christianity. For Buckland, Wicca is a “mystery religion” of initiation and oaths of secrecy. It is considered to be Neo-Pagan in its belief system.
Note 3. Some Wiccans claim that Summerland comes from the Celtic “Plains of Joy” (Mag Mell).
Note 4. Munis are considered to be long-haired ascetics who are sages and hermits.
Note 5. Taylor explains that “self-system refers to our normal sense of identity and all the normal psychological processes and functions that constitute it.”
Note 6. Marilynn Hughes, “Prophetic Journeys.” Out-of-Body-Travel Foundation. 2025.
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