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1. About Out-of-Body Experiences
The out-of-body experience (OBE) is a central and compelling feature of many near-death experiences (NDEs), offering a unique glimpse into the possibility that consciousness may transcend the physical body. Whether viewed through the lens of neuroscience or spirituality, OBEs challenge conventional understandings of the mind-body connection, raising important questions about the nature of consciousness and its potential independence from the brain. For those who experience it, the OBE often leaves a lasting impact, providing comfort, insight, and a profound sense of connection to a reality beyond the physical world.
2. Greg Burkett’s OBE
In 1978, Greg Burkett was returning from a three week vacation in northern Wisconsin. His family had rented a cabin in the woods with two private lakes. While his family slept in the cabin, Greg always slept alone in his tent in the woods. He spent most of the week wandering in the woods, fishing and meditating. During this time, he would have spontaneous astral projection experiences. The following is an example of one of his astral travels in his own words.
My brother was driving the car as we headed south on highway 45. I was suddenly seized with the knowledge that I was leaving. I simply knew I was leaving this world – period.
I thought I might be going up or vertical. I began to disengage from all I was attached to: my friends, family, the place where I grew up, everything. As I thought of each thing, I let them go.
The last thing I remember giving up was the concern that I might seriously startle my brother by disappearing. I wondered how he would explain my being gone.
Then everything changed. The world changed. I no longer had use of my mind. Try as I could I could not form a thought.
I saw the world with eyes that were not eyes of man. I perceived directly and realized that I had seen the world through words which led to only relative knowledge.
I laughed out loud as I saw each thing as it was. It was pure joy. Everything was alive with the shiny energy of God; a total flowing and pure expression.
I have no idea how long this went on but when I turned my attention back to my body I noticed it was in some type of shock. There was a knot in my stomach and I was trembling.
I told God that I could not take it any more. The experience subsided and I vowed to return as soon as I could.
I never mentioned this experience to anyone for three years. I began to read books to find out what it meant.
I simply abide in the present now and now and now.
Beginning in late 1994, I began to become aware of moments when my mind was unusually quiet. Most often in the evening before I went to bed. All thinking would be gone and I would simply remain aware. It seemed the room was “full” of this silence no matter what was going on. There was only contentment. No questions, nothing to say.
3. An Analysis of Greg Burkett’s OBE
Greg Burkett’s experience is an unusual OBE. Instead of traveling through the physical world, it is mostly about a deep change in consciousness. He does not describe floating above his body or visiting faraway places. Instead, he says he entered a completely different state of awareness where normal thinking stopped and he experienced reality directly. This experience has important similarities to both traditional OBEs and the mystical experiences reported during some NDEs.
The setting may have helped prepare him for the experience. Before it happened, Burkett had spent three weeks mostly by himself. He slept alone in a tent, meditated, fished, and spent long hours in nature. These kinds of activities can help people reach deep states of relaxation and awareness. Many people who report spontaneous OBEs say they had been meditating or thinking deeply beforehand. Even so, Burkett’s experience happened unexpectedly while he was riding in a car, not while he was meditating.
One of the most remarkable parts of his experience is his complete certainty that he was “leaving this world.” This feeling is very similar to what many people describe during an NDE. Instead of feeling afraid, he naturally began letting go of everything connected to his earthly life. He released his family, friends, hometown, and personal attachments. This gradual letting go is much like the surrender many NDErs describe before entering the deepest part of their experience.
Unlike many OBE reports, Burkett does not say that he looked down at his physical body or traveled somewhere else. Instead, he describes a dramatic change in how he experienced reality. He says he could no longer think with words. Instead, he understood everything directly. Many people who have NDEs describe something similar. They often say that words cannot fully explain what happened because knowledge comes instantly, without thinking or reasoning.
Burkett also describes seeing everything as “alive with the shiny energy of God.” This is similar to many NDE accounts. People often say that all of creation seems connected, full of life, and filled with a divine presence. Instead of seeing separate objects, they experience everything as part of one living whole. Burkett’s laughter and overwhelming joy are also common in mystical experiences. Many people describe deep happiness, freedom, unconditional love, and a powerful sense of understanding.
Another interesting part of his OBE is the difference between his state of consciousness and his physical body. When he focused on his body again, he found it shaking and apparently in shock. Similar physical effects have sometimes been reported after especially powerful OBEs and NDEs. This suggests that the body and the person’s state of consciousness may not always return to normal at the same time.
Burkett’s experience also had long-lasting effects, which is another feature shared by many NDEs. He kept the experience to himself for several years before looking for books that might help explain it. Many people stay quiet at first because they worry that others will not believe them or will misunderstand what happened. His experience also seems to have changed him permanently. Years later, he says he can naturally enter deep states of inner silence where thinking stops and only peaceful awareness remains. Lasting changes in spirituality, meditation, appreciation for the present moment, and less attachment to everyday concerns are among the most common long-term effects reported after both OBEs and NDEs.
Overall, Greg Burkett’s experience fits within the larger group of spiritually transformative experiences (STEs). It does not include some of the classic features of an OBE, such as seeing his physical body or traveling through other places. However, it strongly resembles the mystical side of many NDEs. Its main features are the feeling of leaving earthly life, completely letting go of personal attachments, the end of ordinary thinking, direct awareness of reality, overwhelming joy, a sense that God fills everything, and lasting changes in consciousness that continued for many years.
