Lucid Dreaming vs. Astral Projection

[ButterflyWoman]

My husband is curious as to how you can tell the difference between a lucid dream and an OBE. He accepts that the notion of leaving your body is ancient and pretty much universal, but having done neither, he questions whether the perception of being "out of body" is actually just a particular kind of lucid dream.

I've achieved limited lucid dreaming (still working on it), and I've done the OBE but only in my sleep, never consciously, and I rarely remember it (I can tell when I've been "out and about" in my sleep, though, by the lack of dream memories and the way I feel in the morning, hard to describe, but I do recognize it). So I'm not really in a position to answer this question. All I can say at this point is that there's a wholly different "quality" between a dream - even a lucid one - and an OBE.

Anyone care to explain more to me (and him, though he doesn't read here). I'm actually intrigued now. I'm sure they're not the same, personally, but how DOES one tell the difference?

Thanks. :)

[CFTraveler]

Actually, both dreams and OBEs are projections, it's just that different aspects of the mind are used, and the terms phasing and OBE involve exiting the body (or the perception of) vs. dreaming, which involves no exit whatsoever.
The only way to tell the difference is when:
The OBE is to the RTZ and some sort of validation has been achieved (as many of our experiencers here have)
The OBE is to sections of the astral where information is given that can be validated
The projection is to the Akashic records and validation can be achieved.

Since projections can range from the ultra-lucid to the dreamlike, it is very hard to categorize them, which is why we (at least I) categorize them from exit symptoms. If you had an exit, you left your body. If you didn't have an exit, you dreamed. If you passed out and missed the exit, but went through walls and can verify what you saw (like what your neighbor's dress or something like that) then it was an OBE with click-out.

Since OBE and other types of projections are essentially subjective experiences with the possibility of objective content, it's necessary to 'draw a line' when categorizing, and move it when it no longer serves it's utillity.

[ButterflyWoman]

Excellent. That's very clear. Thank you. :)

[Triot]

Notice the level of clarity in sensing. Re-entering the body it diminish.
In this realtime zone there is no mistake of what just happened.
I experience it as being more awake than now. Play with turning
it around alittle... what if the physical plane is the dream, and
projecting is waking up from it. Like the ghost in the machine
returns to familiar ground. :wink:

[rtky]

There is a short chapter on that in Robert Bruce's TREATISE ON ASTRAL PROJECTION, p22-23.

Rob