International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
January 2, 2019
Enrico Facco, Edoardo Casiglia, Benedikt Emanuel Al Khafaji et al.
38 citations
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) induced through hypnosis provide a controlled way to study the phenomenon. In 15 highly hypnotizable people, OBEs were evoked either as an imaginative task while resting or under hypnosis. Brain activity was recorded with EEG, and participants completed a questionnaire about their experience. The hypnotic OBEs produced stronger feelings of altered state, positive affect, and focused attention, along with decreased beta and gamma brainwave power in the right parieto-temporal region. These findings suggest that hypnotically induced OBEs can serve as a useful experimental model for spontaneous out-of-body experiences.
Enrico Facco, Edoardo Casiglia, Benedikt Emanuel Al Khafaji et al.
preprint
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) induced through hypnosis (H-OBEs) produce stronger phenomenological changes than those induced through imagination alone. In 15 highly hypnotizable participants, H-OBEs led to significantly higher scores on the Altered State, Positive Affect, Altered Experience, and Attention subdimensions of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory, alongside a decrease in beta and gamma band power in right parieto-temporal brain regions. These findings suggest that hypnotically induced OBEs may serve as a useful model for studying genuine OBEs, involving altered multisensory integration in right parieto-temporal areas.
Death Studies
January 1, 2021
Luciano Pederzoli, Eugenia De Stefano, Patrizio Tressoldi
A retrospective analysis of 44 reported death experiences between incarnations from 36 participants during hypnotic life regression sessions found that these experiences closely resemble classic near-death experiences. Using the Italian Near-Death Experience Scale, most reports fell into the 'Affective' category, particularly feeling joy and seeing a bright light, and the 'Transcendental' category. The most common 'Paranormal' experience was feeling separated from one's body. 18% of total scores met the threshold for identifying true near-death experiences. Whether these accounts reflect actual experiences or learned narratives remains uncertain.
Sage Open
October 1, 2015
Patrizio Tressoldi, Luciano Pederzoli, Patrizio Caini et al.
Hypnotic inductions can trigger real out-of-body experiences (OBEs), allowing researchers to interview participants during the event. Six participants described an intermediate entity called a "subtle body"—a white, silvered cloud around the physical body with enlarged hands and feet that moves quickly like flying, though with a vague sense of attrition when passing through walls. This subtle body connects to the physical body by a brilliant white link, sometimes described as a silvered string, while no visible links connect it to the "psychic body" (the self or I-identity). Both bodies can move forward and backward in time without a sense of time. These descriptions align with Vedanta philosophy and Theosophical tradition.
Patrizio Tressoldi, Luciano Pederzoli
During hypnosis, five participants experienced out-of-body states and tried to describe images located hundreds of kilometers away. On average, participants correctly identified 46.7% of the images, while two independent judges correctly identified 66.7%, compared to a 25% chance probability. Their reported experiences shared common features: a disembodied sense of self that could perceive and move by will alone, without physical eyesight, in a timeless three-dimensional world. The validity of these reports is discussed, weighing whether they reflect genuine out-of-body experiences or prior knowledge by participants or the hypnotist.