Lehal Library

3. The Incredible Mind-Split Exactly what departs from the physical body and brain during an OBE? How does this happen? What, if anything, is left behind to watch over the sleeping physical body? What safeguards and protects die continuing integrity of the original copy of mind and memory during an OBE? Many people, not surprisingly, are fearful of attempting projection because these questions have not been satisfactorily answered. Half-baked theories, assumptions, stories, legends, and myths abound. Two early OBE researchers and authors, Sylvan Muldoon and Hereward Carrington, attempted to deal with the subject of the commonly felt perceptions of duality — of being in two bodies at the same time, during an out-of-body experience — in their book, The Projection of the Astral Body. Muldoon stated that the physical brain receiving two sets of perceptions at the same time caused dual perception. He considered that one set came from the physical body and one from its projected double, via its silver cord connection. The sense organs of me physical body, Muldoon surmised, must continue to function even though me physical body was left empty after the projected double made a conscious exit. For some reason, Muldoon and Carrington did not consider the possibility that consciousness could continue to function in both bodies at the same time. They assumed the physical body was left as a mindless shell during any OBE. This observation, I believe, comes from the very real perception that every projector has of separating from their physical body during a conscious-exit projection. This empty body assumption, like a lot of early research and books on OBE and related fields, became source material for all researchers and writers that followed in their footsteps. This error in observation has been continually propagated ever since. It is today almost universally accepted that the physical body is left empty, unguarded, and exposed during any type of OBE. Many people even believe their essential spirit or soul leaves their physical body during a projection. These beliefs, quite understandably, raise real concerns about safety and integrity during an OBE. If the mind and spirit did actually leave the physical body empty during an OBE, it would be logical to assume that this empty body could easily be vulnerable to outside interference. The possibility of psychic attack, or even of possession, would be reasonable concerns. Over the last hundred years or so, the above empty body assumption has generated many beliefs, legends, and rituals: watcher beings, astral sentinels, and astral guardians, plus the perceived necessity for shields, magical wards, and rituals. One person I spoke to stated vehemently that all projectors must first wash in consecrated saltwater men bind themselves in iron chains to protect their supposedly empty body during a projection-or risk possession and soul damage or worse. Because these issues have remained clouded for so long, many projectors and would-be projectors worry a great deal about what might happen if they cannot find their way back to their body, or if their silver cord were to break or become damaged, or if they were unable to get back to their bodies, or accidentally became locked out of it in some way. They worry about returning to find their physical body already occupied by an invading spirit, entity, or demon — or even by another projector, for that matter. The experience of consciously separating from the physical body and leaving it behind can be extremely vivid and convincing. The experience of existing and operating remotely and independently from the physical body is also very distinct. But empty body perceptions do not allow projectors to perceive the underlying mind-split effects at work, because successfully remembered conscious-exit projection allows for only one side of a projection experience to be remembered... from the projected double's side only. If a projection is unsuccessful, the memories retained come solely from the physical body's side — all shadow memories (OBE memories) are lost. It is necessary to have memories from both sides of a single projection experience before the mind-split can be perceived for what it is. Only then can the mechanics and dynamics of the projection mechanism be truly appreciated and understood. The integrity and safety of the physical body and of its original copy of consciousness, mind, and memory, are never jeopardized during OBE. As I will show in the coming pages, the physical body is never left empty while it lives. 16