The Spontaneous Transcendental Out-of-Body Experience: A Beneficial Absorption Response to Threat.

The perceived out-of-body experience (OBE) is a state of altered consciousness in which one has the impression of being consciously separated from the physical body. The location of this presumed disembodiment can be perceived as being either somewhere on Earth (often, but not always, in the vicinity of the physical body) or in some otherworldly place (such as having ventured into a paradisiacal or hellish environment). The latter can be referred to as a transcendental perceived OBE, which might also be qualified as a near-death experience (NDE) when it occurs during presumed life-threatening or near-death situations, and is the focus of this theoretical discussion. This paper postulates that such an experience, when spontaneous, is frequently initiated as an adaptive absorption response to brain-interpreted danger or threat and is meant to increase the probability for physical survival and wellbeing. The paper further suggests that the phenomenon accomplishes this by boosting the will to live and survive as a brain-induced simulated scenario with purposeful and beneficial psychological and physiological effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]