ABSTRACT
Psychologists and others have become particularly intrigued by what are commonly referred to as altered states of consciousness, more technically known as dissociative states. There is very little evidence one way or another for supposing that genetic/other biological/hereditary factors might predispose a person to dissociative reactions which may take many forms. The paranormal is not a coping strategy, and these people are not practising denial or adopting defence mechanisms. There is clearly a conflict between those who adopt what some modern researchers regard as a traditional spiritualist or paranormal interpretation of the OBE in which the spirit or 'astral body' actually leaves the physical body, and those who see it all as a product of vivid dreaming or an over-heated imagination. The possibility that we should consider any kind of 'objective' paranormal explanation is often ruled out automatically, surely a denial of an open-minded, truly scientific espistemology.
