Beyond the Body: An Investigation of Out-of-the-Body Experiences

Beyond the Body examines reported out-of-the-body experiences through psychological investigation and psychical research. Susan Blackmore considers accounts in which people seem to perceive the world from outside their physical bodies, alongside claims about astral projection and the possibility of consciousness separating from the body.

The book assesses the evidence for these experiences without assuming that they demonstrate survival after death. It places personal testimony, research findings and competing interpretations alongside questions about perception, imagination and consciousness. First published in 1982, it became an early statement of Blackmore’s critical approach to a subject often presented in spiritual or occult terms, and includes references for readers wishing to follow the wider psychical-research literature.