An out-of-body experience (or OBE, or OOBE) is characterized by subjective perception from a vantage point outside of one¹s physical body. It is sometimes associated with near-death experiences. An OBE may be contrasted with astral projection, which does not require the perception of one's own body from the outside. Astral projection does not typically posit that one's consciousness or soul is actually traveling through our day-to-day physical reality. An OBE may also be contrasted with dreaming, lucid or otherwise, by the intense perception of being awake and aware of the reality of the experience.
Not every OBE has exactly the same aspects, and it may be that there are several different types of OBE that have different causes and meanings. Some observations can be made based on collections of firsthand accounts of "spontaneous" OBEs - those that were not part of a planned program to induce the experience. In the great majority of cases, the subject reported being asleep, on the verge of sleep, or having been asleep shortly before. A fairly large percentage of these cases refer to situations where this sleep is not particularly deep (due to illness, noises in other rooms, emotional stress, exhaustion from overworking, frequent re-awakening, etc.).
In some cases, the feeling of being outside the body is something that is suddenly realized after the fact; they see their bodies almost by accident. In other cases, they either will themselves out of their bodies or find themselves being pulled from their bodies (these are usually preceded by the feeling of paralysis).
The OBE is not generally long; on the order of a minute or so. Those who experience OBE may note that the subjective experience is much longer than the objective time passing. The OBE may or may not be followed by other experiences which are self-reported as being "as real" as the OBE feeling; alternatively, they may fade out into a state self-reported as dreaming, or they may wake completely.
The OBE is sometimes ended by a fearful feeling of getting "too far away" from the body. Many of these OBEs end with a feeling of suddenly "popping" or "snapping" back into their bodies.
Some people experience spiritual epiphanies; others experience a general feeling of peacefulness and love; still others experience fearfulness and anxiety. Finally, some experience only the OBE itself, with no direct spiritual experience. (source)
