Managing anomalous experience : meaning making and the OBE.

Murray, Craig and Wilde, David and Murray, Joanne (2009) Managing anomalous experience : meaning making and the OBE. In: Psychological scientific perspectives on out-of-body and near-death experiences :. Nova Science, New York. ISBN 978-1-60741-705-7

Abstract

A variety of anomalous experiences, including the out-of-body experience (OBE), have been reported in the research literature as enhancing, rather than indicating poor mental health. Within this chapter we report on our qualitative, phenomenological research which sought to investigate the experience of an OBE and its resultant after-effects. The findings from this work reveal how participants managed such experiences. Experients perceived their OBEs as occurring at times of personal significance and these were inextricably linked with participants’ lives beyond their point of occurrence, playing an adaptive role in response to difficult life events. The process of integration was helped or hindered by the varying reactions from others to the disclosure of the OBE. We conclude that the idiographic nature of the present work is instrumental in highlighting the subtle personal and social factors that influence how the OBE is managed and integrated.