"It's been a long time since I wrote an OBE book review. It's not because I ran out of books to read. It's because I've been focused on other things. Part of the problem is that this book was difficult to read, and I mean that in the literal sense. The contents were good, but the font/typeset was so small I had to wear reading glasses (aka "peepers" or "cheaters") in order to read it. It was micro-font.

The book was 174 pages long, and each page was on thick, high quality paper. But if it was a normal font, it might have been 250 pages. So I was struggling to read every page, and therefore reluctant to go back to it; I'd put it down and not pick it up again for weeks.

I know I've said this in many other book reviews, but here it comes again: this book is fascinating and different from all the rest. If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I'd describe the book as "A philosopher's struggle to find life's meaning in the light of his OBEs."

The author, Jim Willis, is a good writer; he's authored 11 books, so he has great grammar, spelling, organization, and thoughtfulness. He doesn't waste your time.

Willis comes from a Christian background. Before he retired he was an ordained Christian Minister for more than 40 years. He wrote sermons and shouted the messages of Christianity at a pulpit in front of congregations of church-goers. And then, in 2013 or so, he started having out-of-body experiences, and needless to say, it caused him to do a lot of soul-searching, and his soul-searching is reflected heavily in this book. In a good way. OBEs are where the spiritual rubber hits the spiritual road! And that fascinates me. For example, he writes:

"If an argument about the existence of God hinges on proof texts selected from a Bible that is said to be without error, then all someone has to do is show that the Bible contains some discrepancies, and the argument is over. God simply ceases to exist. In other words, I wasn't preaching about God anymore. I was preaching about an inerrant, infallible Bible. In my theology, the Bible had taken the place of God." (pg. 50)

He's one of the first Christians I've ever read who pointed out a discrepancy in the Bible, one I had never heard before (and I've heard many):

"And language changes and cultures evolve. I find it fascinating, for instance, that the opening chapters of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, describes paradise as a forest-like garden of Eden. Sixty-six books later, in Revelation, the Bible's final book, paradise is described as a magnificent city." (pg. 133)

Rather than interpret OBEs through Christian-colored glasses, he started doing research, some of which was science-oriented, but much of which was in other spiritual traditions. So yes, there are a few quotes from the Bible in this book, but Willis also talks open-mindedly about Buddhism, Shamanism, and other spiritual traditions. He talks about spirit guides, past lives, and other "new age" beliefs. He also cites Robert Monroe and William Buhlman. I've got to admire a Christian who is as open-minded as Willis. So many religious believers, especially Christians, are not. I applaud Willis for being open-minded and doing the hard work.

Willis is level-headed. For example, he's quick to point out that:

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"If OBEs constitute a scientific event as well as a metaphysical phenomenon, they will stand up to scrutiny. Indeed, they must stand up to scrutiny or they are not worthy of our study." (pg. 36)

He goes on to cite various scientific research and fundamentals of quantum physics, referencing, for example, one of my favorite non-OBE authors, Dr. Dean Radin, chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Science (IONs). (If you haven't read Radin's book Entangled Minds, you definitely should!)

In many of my book reviews, I complain that there are not enough OBE narratives, so readers have no idea the author's level of experience: Are they nut jobs (or "nutter" as they say in the UK), an inexperienced "book-knowledge-only" author, or have they actually been there? Thankfully, Willis has ample OBE narratives and explains exactly what his OBEs are like. Thank you, Jim Willis.

For example, he gives an OBE narrative from August 11, 2014, in which he finds himself on Martha's Vineyard trying to talk to the President of the United States (at the time, Obama). In another narrative, he describes flying directly into the Sun to "burn away all my impurities" He not only made it, he "enjoyed every second of it."

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His narratives clearly point out that, like me, he's met various spirits and even the "invisible helpers" I wrote about. He even struggles with what to call them because nomenclature can be brutal to Christians: One person's "Angel" is another person's "Spirit" or another's "Higher Self." Choose your words carefully because each term is "loaded" with positive and negative connotations for the believer!

"Unseen angels," the Bible calls them in the book of Hebrews. The "Spirit Guides" of shamanic traditions. Our 'Higher Self.'" (pg. 61)

I can really relate to Willis because in some ways we're a lot alike. We're both old guys. Like me, he lives (or lived) on a properly in the middle of the woods, embracing nature. Like me, he questions everything, including our perceptions. Many years ago I wrote an article that compared OBEs to NASA: Why are most ordinary people convinced that the planet Mars is real? They've never been there (in-the-body that is!), so all they've got to base their beliefs on is anecdotal evidence: photographs and videos, all of which could easily be faked. Willis makes a similar analogy, except with England, since he'd never been there.

Near his home is a "Medicine Wheel" that he thinks might have been a sacred place for Native Americans who once lived there, and possibly a "vortex." Many of his OBE narratives involve traveling to the medicine wheel and witnessing rites, ceremonies, and spiritual lessons there.

I was pleasantly surprised when one of his narratives described beings I've seen myself. Here is his description:

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"There I met someone, or something, that is very difficult to describe. It's not a 'being,' as such. It's more like a pillar, or tube, of light. It seems bright and, in contrast, I seem dark. (I guess anything would appear dark next to that light.)" (pg. 97)

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In the past I've described them (verbally) to friends as looking like a giant, human-sized Coleman Lantern filaments floating a couple feet in the air. And I believe these beings are the basis for descriptions of "Angels" in the Bible.

Any self-respecting fundamentalist Christian would say "See? See? Being of Light? That's how the Bible describes Lucifer!" And yet, in my experience, these "angels" go out of their way to help people and perform sacred missions, often with unconscious and unaware astral travelers in tow to use as unwary tools of their trade. But I digress; that's a different topic for a different day.

I was disappointed that Willis never addressed "The Elephant in the Room," and that is: Why do many (at least fundamentalist) Christians think out-of-body travel is a trick of the Devil, evil, or even "Witchcraft," which is forbidden in the Bible?

Or the other, even bigger Elephant in the room: Willis talks about meeting and interacting with various spirit guides and spirits, even giving them names, like his spirit guide, Sobuko. But the Bible strictly forbids consorting and talking to spirits. How does he reconcile that?

This is definitely an excellent book if you want philosophy and conjecture with regard to out-of-body experiences. It's a search for meaning and answers. It's brutally honest and dripping with self-doubt. He asks all the right questions, and he treats opposing views fairly. And he comes up with excellent conclusions. For example:

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"You inhabit all realities. It's only your five sense that create the illusion that this one is all there is." (pg. 91)

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Then he argues his point by citing various theories of quantum physics, such as that we may be creating our reality simply by choosing from probable outcomes and collapsing the wave-forms by observing them. But how does that lead you to Ultimate Meaning, to "God"? That's a difficult question to answer. But he struggles to do so.

If you're looking for OBE techniques or tips, this book is not for you. There are no exit techniques in there. Well, he almost does. Willis offers some practical advice and breaks it down into several pages of instructions, which he summarizes as:

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1. Make the Decision

2. Stick to it (Don't give up!)

3. Develop a System

4. Focus, Focus, Focus!

5. Stay Calm

6. Keep a Journal

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He also suggests:

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• Learn to find stillness: Stillness of heart, stillness of mind, stillness of body.

• Learn to staying grounded

• Try to slow down your heartbeat.

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He's also quick to point out that he's not always successful in getting out-of-body. He writes:

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"I fail to still my mind as often as I succeed. Maybe even more often. It's a constant struggle." (pg. 125)

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I feel your pain, Jim! 

You may be wondering: What does all this have to do with the quantum akashic field? Not much. Aside from a few small attempts to relate OBEs to quantum physics, there's really very little in the book about the "Akashic Library" or quantum mechanics. I'm not sure why so many authors try to relate OBEs to quantum physics: both William Buhlman and Michael Raduga did it, but neither did it justice. If you want a good discussion of how all this relates to quantum physics, go back to Dean Radin's book "Entangled Minds" which I mentioned earlier.

I enjoyed this book a lot and give it 4 stars out of 5. It's more philosophy and conjecture than I wanted, too light on techniques, but worth the money."

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Bob Peterson
February 21, 2023

robertpeterson.org