ABSTRACT
The out-of-body issue is inextricably linked with that of survival, that is, the continuing existence of the self in some form after death. Indeed, for many the out-of-body experience/near death is an indication – if not actually a proof – that somehow humans survive bodily death. The very idea that death is not the end, that we are not all destined to the extinction of our selfhood is extremely potent, and besides being the ultimate hope of so many religions was originally the raison d'etre for much parapsychological research. Until his Himalayan experience, M. Manning seems to have taken a rather ambivalent attitude to the phenomena he appears to have generated. He suggested that the incidents may well have arisen from his own subconscious rather than from some spiritual source. J. Kmetz initially believed that the effects were paranormal, but further tests with the equipment showed that similar results could be achieved by non-psychic means.
