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Samwise
9th March 2016, 03:48 PM
Dr Alexander De Foe, the guy who recently edited and published the free ebook "Consciousness Beyond the Body: Evidence and Reflections" is trying to raise funds for some really interesting sounding research into OBE's. I've contributed to this, I think it's a great cause, OBE's are certainly worthy of more research than they have received so far. I feel that OBE's are kinda getting left in the dust in research terms and there is a dire need for some new research, and I kinda feel more could be being done here than just focussing on the lab induced autoscopy pseudo-OBE's, which I view as something quite distinct (while sharing some overlap) with a "real deal", full blown OBE. I grow a tad weary of neuroscientists claiming they have "proven" how OBE's occur, when in my view they haven't, or at least they are only seeing a small slice of the story. Speaking from my limited personal experience of OBE's, they certainly seem like a fascinating experience of consciousness to me and are worthy of more research attention, and from a variety of different perspectives. And this is where this research comes in, which to me looks to be taking things into an interesting and refreshing new direction.

Alexander has excellent credentials and experience with this in mind, including past research on OBE's, and the research will be conducted in a rigorous scientific manner. He isn't seeking much funding in the grand scheme of things, and needs around $8,000 to get this study of the ground (link to crowdfunding page is below).

https://startsomegood.com/openconsciousness

Alexander's ebook can be freely downloaded from here:

http://alexdefoe.com/2016/02/13/consciousness-beyond-the-body/

About This Project

In February 2016 I published an edited book titled "Consciousness Beyond the Body: Evidence and Reflections". The book explored the mind-body question. That is, can consciousness in fact exist without the presence of a physical body?

Although the question may seem radical to some, philosophers and parapsychologists have long had an interest in the insights that out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs) may provide into the nature of consciousness. Namely, some of the questions that have been asked include:

- Does one's consciousness continue after physical death?
- Is there an afterlife? (and, can we show this empirically, rather than resting on religious doctrine?)
- Is extra-sensory perception possible?
- What is the essential nature of Mind?
- I'd like to invite you to support a new research project that I have commenced to investigate the perceptual aspects of OBEs. My aim is to recruit individuals who can self-induce OBEs in which they reliably and repeatedly perceive and verify information that would otherwise have been impossible to ascertain by physical means.

While there have been numerous cases of veridical OBE perception documented in literature, never has a research study been developed to repeatably verify such perceptions beyond doubt (while also minimising research bias and false accounts).

The project

The funding will provide the resources to locate, recruit, and interview a sample of participants who report frequent realistic OBEs (i.e., at least 10 in the prior year). Qualitative research methods will be used to ascertain (a) how these individuals self-induce such experiences, and (b) the nature of their perception, more importantly, which aspects (if any) were verifiable post-experience.

This research will help paint a "map", if you like, of the OBE. At the very least it will provide new insights into taxonomies of altered states and demarcate the OBE as a unique type of experience in which one's perception is physically comparable (rather than 'astral projection' or 'soul traveling' which are imaginary states often conflated with traditional OBEs). The hope is that this preliminary research will lay the ground-work for researchers to have a much clearer understanding of how perception in traditional OBEs functions. With that knowledge in mind, a protocal for testing verifiable perception will be developed and published in a scientific journal.

Contributors will be kept in the loop about all updates as this research unfolds.

The researcher

Alexander De Foe earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Monash University. He has published his research in major parapsychological journals, and has previously been funded to pursue research into OBEs by the Alex Tanous Foundation for Scientific Research.

Thank you for your support.

CFTraveler
9th March 2016, 07:52 PM
Alex used to be a member here ages ago. I hope he's doing very well. If you're Alex, hello again, Idk if you still remember me.

Timothy
9th March 2016, 08:14 PM
Yep...I remember Alex, with good intent to help him in a crisis...I reached out and touched his life to damn near have frightened the hell out of him. An Australian as I recall.

I can't imagine that anyone could forget you CFT. ;)

Samwise
11th March 2016, 07:14 PM
No this isn't Alex, I'm just an acquaintance trying to do my bit to spread the good word. As far as I know he's doing very well and seems to be doing his best to move OBE research forward in a refreshing and interesting new direction, I have to say I'm surprised at the lack of support, thus far.

Timothy
11th March 2016, 09:41 PM
No this isn't Alex, I'm just an acquaintance trying to do my bit to spread the good word. As far as I know he's doing very well and seems to be doing his best to move OBE research forward in a refreshing and interesting new direction, I have to say I'm surprised at the lack of support, thus far.

Well sir, as a member herein this forum for 8 years now, I can tell you that the Admin/Moderation of this forum is Par Excellence .. above and beyond anything else that you'll find online...devoted, dedicated and knowledgeably well-rounded (no pun intended ladies) authoritative individuals not pulling down a dime for their heavily exacted voluntary support.

Furthermore, Robert here has ever been gracious to open this forum to all manner of parallel opportunistic ventures for anyone that would respectfully partake of Robert's personal digs herein. As I recall, for several years Robert has offered a collaborative venture from this website toward the sharing of like mindedness becoming ever more fruitful all the way around.

I mean...despite what it might seem as my friend, I assure you that a shoe string budget runs most folks that pioneer such ventures as is seen herein. It's a passion...and as passions go...they seem to work out more as a (hair pulling act to the point of baldness;) ) hole in the ground as opposed to piling currency that alleviates expences.

Welcome to A.D.'s Supportive Forum. ;)

"Self-Actualization is not for pussies." ~ GentleServe

susan
12th March 2016, 01:40 PM
Hi Samwise. I wish Alex all the best in his research. I realy do.
The thing is that I would have been realy interested in the beginning when I started to experience, to find someone who can prove to the world that Susan isn't away with the mixer. To be able to talk openly instead of feeling I need to be quiet about this.
In the beginning I tried talking , even during a meeting of strangers who were into all the new age stuff. This was a meeting about energies, card reading bla bla bla. When I mentioned what I experienced there was complete silence. A practicing school teacher said indignantly, " What on earth is the point of that?"
Another time during a holistic retreat week-end with Buddhist monks a visitor sitting beside me proceeded to tell a few of us that she 'Had Been Awakened'.( hearing a voice warning her of danger once) When I plucked up courage to bring my experiences up there was once again silence. The waiter turned round and couldn't stop looking at me and the woman said she thought that was a very dangerous thing to be doing . I felt I had just introduced a fairy story into a serious topic.
A person giving a talk on her experience working with Angels couldn't advise me as she knew nothing about this.
So you see in the beginning I was crying out for some kind of authorative figure to prove this was real , to back me up so I could share the wonderful experiences.
After so much negativity felt this forum gave me the chance to share and learn from like minded people and Roberts knowledge with practicing NEWS has been excellent.
I'm now at a content stage where I KNOW I'm on a journey and I don't need any approval from others telling me they believe or not.The public out there can be very conditioned and close minded.
So once again I wish Alex all the luck .