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An intermediate
position between the two extreme interpretations - true relocalization of
the mind vs. mere hallucination - is that the OBE is a particularly
powerful altered state of consciousness which both induces a subjective
impression of mind-body separation, and greatly enhances the person's
clairvoyant psi capacities. Experiments such as Tart's were not designed
to distinguish between this hypothesis and the «projection» idea, but
other studies have attempted to address this distinction.
In the mid-1970s, Dr. Robert Morris and his colleagues conducted an
interesting experiment with psi researcher Keith Harary as subject. Like
Miss Z, Harary - at the time a psychology student - seemed able to
voluntarily induce an OBE. His kitten, enclosed in a cage and constantly
filmed, was to act as a biological detector of Harary, who would attempt
to 'project' his consciousness into the cage from a distant room. Indeed,
it was found that the kitten's agitation - its movements in the cage - was
significantly reduced specifically at the moments at which Harary had been
instructed to project his consciousness into the cage. Over time, however,
the kitten's "baseline agitation" decreased, and its reactions
to Keith Harary seem to have declined - perhaps as it became habituated to
the experimental conditions (i.e., being locked in a cage!) |
