A Question Concerning OOBEs - I've been thinking..., page 1

reply to post by Whine Flu

I have been wondering if the astral form that we take on during these experiences are actually a seperate form of ourselves

Hello. I'd like to be the first to point out that nobody likely to respond in this thread is really in a position to know the answer to your question. However, if you'd like to entertain speculation...

I personally suspect that these other forms are coexisting with the physical form, and not separate. Our consciousness simply seems to be somewhat limited as to how much it's able to focus on at once.

Your consciousness is "wearing" a physical body, an astral body, and others. Those various bodies exist whether or not you're actively paying attention to them, but with proper focus it's possible to shift your focus amongst them. That's basically what's happening when you have an OOBE. "Out of body" is a somewhat misleading name, because you're not really "leaving" your body at all. You're simply adjusting your focus from one body to another. But even that is a misleading way of describing it...because the bodies are not "separate." They're more like different octaves of the same musical piece.

or if they require our living physical body
to have the abilitiy to manifest.

I suspect not. Though I am less certain whether the restriction applies in the other direction. I suspect an astral form can exist without a physical form, but can a physical form exist without an astral form? Maybe. I'm not sure.

If the latter is the case, then what implications could this have on an afterlife?

Well, your latter case was that a physical form is required. If so, then I think that would tend to be contrary to the idea of an afterlife...but it would depend. Do you think of your various bodies as "you" or are they temporary forms simply "worn" by your consciousness?

[edit on 28-12-2009 by LordBucket]