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tunnel (p < .05); (2) brilliant light experience (p < .001); (3) observation of a border or limit (p < .002); (4) a sense of some attachment to the physical body (p < .05); (5) a panoramic vision of images of dead relatives and friends (p < .05). The use of drugs and alcohol had a low incidence in this population. A study of marijuana users30 showed that 44% of the marijuana users had had at least one OBE. Our population is a lot older (mean age 45 years) than Tart’s, and the drugs reported used by our subjects were not classifiable, ranging from antihypertensives through vitamin pills and antibiotics. Only four subjects reported using psychedelic drugs (LSD and marijuana) at the time of the experience. Individual descriptions of the type of emotional stress totaled 74 reports. Striking were the themes of loss, mourning, and loneliness represented in 21 of the subjects; threats of death, including illness, being in a war zone, pre-surgery, and cancer in 20; marital and family problems in 12; and the remainder miscellaneous, including unspecified tension states. When the descriptions were reviewed from the point of view of those who had had one OBE only (n = 33) and those who had more than one (n = 41), 21.7% of the one OBE sample reported stress involving loss, mourning, and loneliness, compared with 34.2% of those who had had more than one OBE. Similarly, Eastman13 reports the sense of loneliness as quite frequent at the time of OBE and such findings may be seen to support theories that place emphasis on defensive methods of adapting to threat of loss or damage to the ego. A question was asked to explore why the individual wanted to have an OBE and revealed some interesting findings. Of 91 classifiable responses, 19 (20.9%) were simply interested for curiosity or fun, 21 (23 1%) were members of a psychical research or study group, 23 (25.3%) were involved in personal, existential explorations associated with major developmental stages, and in 28 (30.7%) the experience was entirely spontaneous and unexpected. Only 10% of the sample had previously attended workshops on OBEs and it was significant that approximately one-third of the sample had not expected in any way to have such an experience and did not admit at least to expecting or even knowing about such experiences.
B. NATURE OF THE EXPERIENCE
Table 2 summarizes a number of phenomenological features of the experience. The first six features, occurring in more than 50% of the subjects, do not show the more esoteric aspects described in the literature but describe a simple subjective