Definition

Noun: A dissociative experience in which a person perceives the world, including their own physical body, from a location outside their physical self. It is characterized by the sensation that one's consciousness, mind, or self has separated from the body and is observing it from an external point of view.

Usage

The term is used to describe a specific psychological or phenomenological event. It is often discussed in contexts related to neurology, psychology, spirituality, and accounts of near-death experiences. - It is typically used as a countable noun (e.g., an out-of-body experience). - It describes a subjective, first-person experience.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• The term can be abbreviated as OBE in informal or clinical writing.
• It is a core concept in the study of autoscopy (seeing one's own body from an outside perspective) and heautoscopy (a more complex experience involving the double of one's own body).

Variants and Related Words

• Dissociation (n): A mental process of disconnecting from one's thoughts, feelings, memories, or sense of identity.
• Astral projection (n): A spiritual or esoteric concept often used synonymously with OBE, suggesting the conscious soul or "astral body" travels outside the physical body.
• Depersonalization (n): A feeling of being detached or disconnected from one's self, which can be a component of an out-of-body experience.

Synonyms

• Exteriorization
• Autoscopic experience

Related Phrases

• To have an out-of-body experience: The standard verb phrase used with this noun.
  • He claimed to have had an out-of-body experience during the accident.
• Out-of-body state: Sometimes used to describe the ongoing condition during such an experience.
  • The subject described being in an out-of-body state for several minutes.

Noun

1. the dissociative experience of observing yourself from an external perspective as though your mind or soul had left and was observing your body