The physical basis of out-of-body vision
The Journal of near-death studies 1993 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-1993-11-4-p257-260. (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Krishnan argues that reported clear, colorful vision during out-of-body experiences in darkness conflicts with normal dark-adapted vision and that existing cases are generally unverified, so future research should verify such claims to determine whether they involve hallucination or unknown physical perceptual processes. |
Abstract
Some time ago I suggested in this Journal some ways to advance our understanding of out-of-body vision (Krishnan, 1988).I would like to suggest three more strategies.First, a number of people who have had an out-of-body experience (OBE) spontaneously have claimed that when the experience occurred in conditions of darkness, they could see the environment clearly and in color, just as they could in daylight in the normal state (Green, 1968).That is not how we normally see in the dark.In total darkness we cannot see anything at all.But if there is just enough light to stimulate the photosensitive elements in the retina, they adapt gradually to the low intensity of light.It takes about an hour for the eyes to become fully dark-adapted, and even then we do not see objects in any detail or in normal colors.They may be seen as different shades of gray or they may take on a greenish or bluish shade (Vernon, 1971).Since out-of-body experiencers (OBErs) have not reported these characteristics of normal dark vision, the question arises whether they were hallucinating or using some unknown physical perceptual processes.The cases of OBEs in the dark that have been cited in the literature are not very helpful in deciding this question, because they generally do not seem to have been verified.Therefore, in future research it would be important to verify claims of clear out-of-body