OOBE
by
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--"But you wouldn't believe the research that's been done on this whole out-of-body thing," said Diane, "going way back; and I mean way, way back! Apparently the ancient Egyptians believed in travelling out of their bodies when they died, that's why they stuffed their tombs with all sorts of things they might need on a long journey. Tibetan monks have been practising OOBE's for thousands of years, it all stems from part of their meditation process; and for the past thirty years or so, really in-depth hi-tech studies have been undertaken on the subject, in controlled surroundings in America." "Oh yes, whereabouts?" cut in Alan inquisitively. Perceiving a flicker of interest from her husband, who could sometimes be less than attentive when the subject matter of their discussions involved anything ethereal, Diane continued enthusiastically: "There's an Institute somewhere in Virginia that's been researching OOBE's since the sixties, and hundreds, or it might even be thousands of people there, have been monitored actually leaving their physical bodies. OOBE's have been around for -- well -- forever. Apparently twenty-five percent of all mankind remembers having experienced an OOBE at some time in their life. It's just that they don't realise it. Most people think they've just had a vivid dream, mainly about flying." Alan looked askance at Diane-- *** --"My dear, if you could prove it, and I mean scientifically prove it, you could make a fortune," said Susan, turning dramatically to look at Diane. "Think of it, the book, the film, magazine interviews..." "Sue, please," said Diane, cutting across her friend's verbal deluge. "I just want to prove it to Alan."-- *** --"Actually I did. I remembered a TV show that I saw years ago," said Alan. "It was about psychics or something. They wanted to find out if certain people really could tell what others were thinking. So they put someone in a different room from the psychic and asked them to write down a message or draw a picture, and the psychic tried to read their mind. Nobody got it exactly right, although some were very near. I think that guy Uri Geller, you know, 'Mister spoon-bender', was one of those who came closest." Diane frowned with uncertainty. "But my OOBE couldn't be tested like that, could it?" "Well, not exactly, but certainly a variation on that theme. You see I can write something on a piece of paper, in big print of course, in case you can't get up close. I then leave the paper on your desk in the study, just before we go to bed; and just to be on the safe side, in case you're sleepwalking or something and we don't know it, I'll lock the door and hide the key. Infallible, yes?"-- *** --"Left the message yet?" asked Diane. Alan had a grin all over his face. "Sure did, and you'll never guess it. You'll really have to see it to get it right." "Good. Well, I'm just about ready for the sack now, I feel really tired." Alan started to get undressed. "Okay, I'm just going to have a quick shower," he said, disappearing into the bathroom as Diane got into bed-- *** --"I wonder who on earth that is?" thought Diane. The man immediately looked around and stared through the window, straight at her. Diane felt a peculiar sensation – if she'd been in her human body the hair on the back of her neck would have stood straight up – and she backed away slightly. As she came to halt she heard a voice very close but couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from. "I'm Arthur. I'm his father," echoed the voice. "Or rather I was the father." Diane turned her head left and right looking for the source of the voice but couldn't see anyone, and although she felt a little anxious wasn't really frightened and decided to respond: "Who said that?" she asked tentatively. The voice answered but Diane still couldn't pinpoint its source; in fact, it seemed to be coming from inside her own head! "Me, in the room here." Diane looked back through the window into the bedroom at the man knelt by the bed. He waved at Diane! Then the voice sounded again, and now she was sure that it was coming from inside her head: "Have you just died my dear, you seem a little disoriented?"-- *** --"Well how's that for you Diane?" asked Arthur, gesturing majestically at the incredible sight before them. Diane was momentarily speechless. What she saw was better than any picture or film she'd ever seen, even those sent back from outer space. The curvature of the earth was laid out below them in bright, clear and vivid colours. Diane could see both Lands End in Cornwall and John o' Groats in Scotland, and in the distance to their left the rough coastline of Ireland; and directly beneath them the coastline of northern France. "Oh Arthur, It's absolutely spectacular," she gasped in wonderment. "The colours are so intense, the blues and greens, and the white of the clouds. Wow, is that really earth?" "Most definitely," he replied. "In fact, to be precise, earth 55BC; earth at the time of the Roman invasion of England. That's why the air is so clear. No real industry or pollution yet." "Roman invasion?" blurted out Diane with total astonishment-- *** --"Goodness," said Diane abruptly. "You know, I always thought that the soul, or spirit of a person, was created at the time of conception. Well, that's what they taught us at school anyway." "There are many belief systems on earth, whether it's this earth-time," he said, gesturing at their surroundings; "your own current earth-time, or hundreds of years into your future; and they all have their own way of explaining how and when people come by their spirit."-- *** "All this makes me wonder," she said thoughtfully; "why, of all the billions of people on earth, have I been given the opportunity to experience all this?" "I'm sure that eventually it'll be made clear to you Diane; but don't think that you're alone in your abilities in your own earth-time. There are thousands of people who have OOBE's and actually remember them. It's just that most of them don't talk about it much. I mean," he said with a wry smile, "just think, if someone had told you before you'd had your first OOBE that you'd experience a fraction of what you have recently; would you have unreservedly believed them?"-- *** --Diane beckoned him over seductively. "Come here you," she slurred. Alan walked over and sat on the bed as Diane struggled with the catch on her skirt. "You'll have to help me off with these clothes, I can't seem to manage when they're on me."
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About the Book
OOBE
"What is the Out Of Body Experience? An OOBE is a condition where you find yourself outside of your physical body, fully conscious and able to perceive and act as though you were functioning physically, with several exceptions. You can move through space (and time?) slowly or apparently somewhere beyond the speed of light. You can observe, participate in events, make wilful decisions based upon what you perceive and do. You can move through physical matter such as walls, steel plates, concrete, earth, oceans, air, and even atomic radiation without effort or effect. You can go into an adjoining room without bothering to open the door. You can visit a friend three thousand miles away. You can explore the moon, the solar system and the galaxy if these interest you. Or, you can enter other reality systems only dimly perceived and theorised by our time/space consciousness. Copyright © Robert A. Monroe.
The OOBE has also been linked to the more frequently documented Near Death Experience but without the implied threat of damage or death to the physical body. According to a 1998 MORI® poll, thirty per cent of British adults believe in OOBE’s; and of those, more than one in five says they have actually experienced them!
OVERVIEW
This plainly written story is centred on the busy lives of Diane and Alan Harris, an average thirty-something professional couple who have just moved from the hustle and bustle of London into their new home; an old stone-built farmhouse in the countryside of West Yorkshire, England. When out exploring their new village for the first time they buy a book on the OOBE at a garage sale held by two young boys; and from that moment on their lives are irreversibly transformed.
Halfway into the story the main characters experience their first joint OOBE but due to an unexpectedly hasty return, their spirits enter the wrong physical bodies! This apparent catastrophe requires the couple to, literally, step into each other’s shoes for a few days, and many dramatic, comedic and touching scenes unfold, including:
♀♂ Wife and husband make passionate unfettered love from each other’s physical body
♀♂ They both learn, first-hand, the pros and cons of being the opposite sex
♀♂ Each experiences their partner’s working day with quite unexpected results
♀♂ Many other remarkable role-reversal scenarios
During her many OOBE’s, Diane Harris, the main character in the story, experiences global travel, a sojourn into outer space, time travel back to 55BC and several visits to the Ether, a spiritual place on another plane. OOBE makes for easy yet compulsive reading as it roams between village life in rural Yorkshire, the business dealings of a North-of-England law firm and the day-to-day lives of -- ordinary people?
About the Author
Andrew Haughton was born in West Yorkshire, England, in the early nineteen fifties but had never heard of OOBE's – or for that matter showed any interest in the subject – until the early nineteen nineties. However, since then he has researched and personally experienced the OOBE phenomenon and now truly believes. He also believes that most people on earth have OOBE's, most nights, only they just don’t realize it! "There have been many scientific studies undertaken on the subject," says Haughton. "Some agree that it’s possible, some disagree, totally rejecting even the probability. However, for the moment, the majority of researchers seem indeterminate in their conclusions. I personally concur with the theories of the late Robert A. Monroe, who studied the subject for over thirty years and experienced and recorded innumerable personal OOBE’s; and through the Monroe Institute, located in Virginia, USA, documented the experiences of hundreds of others." Now that his Screenplay for OOBE is finished, Haughton is planning to write another two OOBE books. The next in this potential trilogy is "OOBE 2 - Coma©", centered on one of the original OOBE characters who is badly injured in an air crash and subsequently discovers what happens to ones spirit whilst in a deep coma.