Ballabene's OBE and Astral Pages

Sounds in OBE Pre-states

Because of many questions and confusion I first want to mention that you can enter an OBE state without accoustic sensations, though sounds very frequently are observed.

Example and how it develops

"I was at my house taking a nap (during the day) (it only happens during the day). I felt a strange feeling throughout my whole body, right down to my toes. I felt numb, and paralysed. It started from my feet, and it was trying to work its way up to my head. When this strange feeling got to my head, i heard weird ringing/buzzing noises, and i swear i felt some sort of tugging in my brain. I got scared for some reason, i wanted to just go with it (which i could have, it seemed to be all up to me) but i hesitated. It felt like i was dying in my sleep. I desperately tried moving my body, and doing anything i could to wake myself up. I finally was able to wiggle my toes..."

Theoretic thoughts

In OBE pre-states sounds of different origin can be experienced. These sounds are of different character as well - and that's the point how we can discern them. It's necessary to make thoughts about the different origin, because these sound qualities give us information about the special state in which we are and how the situation has to be handled.

Before starting a detailed discussion let us have a short overview of the tree qualities and sources:

Hypnagogic sounds

Physical and kundalini sounds (vibrations in the audible range)

Voices of spirits

Hypnagogic sounds

The state before falling asleep is characterized by hearing composed sounds and by short visions or dream sequences. The sounds which you may hear in the hypnagogic state I have called composed, because usually these sounds are complex like music and voices. Simple sounds may occur as well but in contrary to Kundalini sounds they are of short duration like a bang for instance.

Don't be alarmed by hearing voices in the hypnagogic state. These voices you may compare with dream voices, because they are of the same origin.

Hypnagogic sounds can be regarded as a sign of an OBE pre-state. The hypnagogic sounds can be the element ofm a pre-state for OBEs in the sense of "stepping out" and "false awakening".

Physical and Kundalini Sounds (vibrations in the audible range)

A very remarkable feature are those sounds, which I call "kundalini sounds". They are of different kind but always monotone, never changing to music or melodies or like that. The qualities of these sounds may range from a rushing to roaring up to sounds in the upper frequency scale like whistling.

The source of these sounds is not yet identified. Several theories, however, are existing:

The heart beat as source and triggered reflections causing higher frequencies. May be there are additional physical sources.
Imagination of sounds whose signal is transported by nerves to the ears and there made audible
Sounds whose origin is thought to be found in an activated kundalini, which is judged as a cosmic-spiritual kind of energy

May be all sources of sounds in the listing above are existing.

This kind of sounds, may be regarded as a sign of a successful OBE pre-state, but this time the OBEs are related to the methods "trance technique" or "floating out of the body".

For further information see:
Kundalini Arousal And Vibrations In OBE-ing
and
OBE Related Phenomena

Voices

I have observed 4 perhaps different sources of voices:

voices of hypnagogic origin
voices in the state of false awakening
voices of (mostly) earth bound spirits
clairvoyant received astral plane voices

Well, as I believe spirits do exist - but they have nothing to do with OBEs. Commonly an OBE practitioner may meet spirits at an other plane quite as you meet people at the street (the OBEer himself/herself is a spirit in this moment).
In several situations, however, people are haunted in IBE states (being in the body but with astral awareness). The origin of these unwellcome experiences are not OBE attempts, but the origin is found in a mediumistic disposition of this person. In common these mediumistic people have experienced these ghost contacts already before their OBE attempts, but often they have misinterpreted the situation or have ignored the signs. After starting OBEs and in consequence after making more thoughts about "side effects" or what ever might happen in deeper states, and after reading in literature they get the idea that they might have had ghost encounters. In the first reaction these people are very frightened, not because of any harm they had, but because of the breakdown of their previous paradigm of a controlled world and for second because they are entering an unknown region. Of course the term ghost or spirit immediately will be associated with horror movies and in consequence the fear increases.
No reason to be afraid - it's not like in the movies!

This is a sentence of a letter of Kristine:
... Cause one of my friends thinks the place where she works is haunted & I drove by it once & could have sworn I saw a woman inside after hours, but the weird thing was that, at least I thought, she was see through. It really freaked me out to think that there are ghosts among us.

My respond:
It's only your fantasy which lets you freak out or you mix ghosts with the demonic horror products of the movies. Ghosts can not do any harm, they are like clouds....

The voices have nothing to do with OBEing and are not judged as a typic OBE pre-state, but are a sign of mediumistic disposition, which latter facilitates OBEing however.

OBE Letter 514:
HERES WAT HAPPENS,,,IT USUALLY STARTS WEN I FIRST WAKE UP OR WEN IM REALY TIERD AND AM GOING TO SLEEP,,,I START TO FALL ASLEEP AND THEN I WAKE UP AND REALIZE I CANT MOVE.
NOW THIS IS NOT STRANG TO ME CAUSE I NO ABOUT THE PARALISIS AND WAT IT MEANS AND WAT IS GOING ON WEN IT HAPPENS BUT, AFTER THE PARALISIS KICKS IN STRANG THINGS START GOING ON AROUND ME LIKE FOR INSTANCE, ONCE I HERD THE RADIO PLAYING A SONG BY A BAND I NO, BUT I DID NOT NO THE WORDS TO THE SONG THAT WAS PLAYING, SO I WAS LISTENING TO THEM THINKING THAT IS WAS MY GIRLFREIDS BROTHER IN THE OTHER ROOM PLAYING HIS RADIO OR SOMTHIN BUT THEN I STARTED TO HERE BANGING ON THE WALLS ALL AROUND ME VERY LOUD AND ON THE WINDOWS (IM GETING CHILS JUST TYPING IT). THEN I STARTED HEREING HORABLE SCREAMS AND MONES AS IF I WAS SAROUNDED BY EVERY LOST SOUL IN HELL OR SOMTHIN. I MEAN IT WAS THE MOST HORABLE SOUND A MAN COULD HERE. WELL I WAS LAYING THERE WITH MY GIRLFREIND AND WAS SCARED AS HELL AND TREID TO MOVE MY FINGURE TO TAP HER TO WAKE HER UP BUT FOUND THAT I WAS IMOBLE AT THE TIME. WELL THE BANGS AND SCREAMS GOT LOUDER AND LOUDER AND THEN SUDANLY IT ALL JUST STOPPED SUDANLY,,,I MEAN VERY SUDANLY,,,AND AS SOON AS IT DID I INVALANTARALY SAT UP IN THE BED, SWEAT PORING FROM MY HEAD, GASPING FOR AIR. I REALIZED THAT I HADE NOT BEEN BREATHING THE HOLE TIME THIS WAS GOING ON, BUT DID NOT REALIZE IT WHILE IT WAS HAPPINING . AND TO ADD TO THE SRANGE THINGS ABOUT THIS EXPERIANCE THE NEXT DAY I HERE THE SONG ON THE RADIO AND I SHIT U NOT I NEW THE WORDS TO IT. THE WORDS I HERD THE NIGHT B4 WERE THE RIGHT ONES BUT NOONE WAS REALY PLAYING THE RADIO OR ANYTHING...

Finally a kind of survey by means of a letter, which includes a variety of different sounds.

OBE Letter 414 The first question has to do with sound .... I read about sound on your page and can't find anything about what I hear ...

1. I tend to hear a very low hum, like a fog horn. It can be very annoying to the point that it hurts my ears and overwhelms my thoughts. It drove me crazy to the point that I would intentionally distrupt my efforts to stop it. I decided one night to put up with it. The sound got so intense, that I didn't think I could hold on .... I then heard in it a loud bang, whereby everything went quite. When the bang hit me, I felt a shock go thru me ..... then I left my body. It was worth the annoyance to my ears ... Although I was sucessful in travelling that night, I still don't know what the sound is and why. I remember as a child hearing it, but at that time, it was like waves, sand moving, and every once in a while I still hear that. I think the waves/sand tones is the blood running thru my head ... that's what I think but again I'm not sure.....

2. The other sounds I hear are adult voices, whispering, and children voices. This one kind of floors me because all of a sudden I realize I'm hearing them and then once I realize that, I can sort of pick up what their saying. I can make out the words, but of course with the whispering I can't always understand them. What could this possible be ... Angels?? Spirits?? I'm awake and not in a state to leave my body when I hear them.

3. I also hear someone entering my room. Many times I thought my daughter came in to the room and when I interrupt my process, I realize no ones there ... so weird ... It's like I hear muffled foot steps, a shuffle. What can I say....

.....to your questions, I will try to give you answers as good as possible:

ad 1)
The loud hum are mechanical vibrations in the low acoustic range. Independent how these sounds may be explained, they are triggering OBEs.
You can find some further hints in:
OBE Related Phenomena

ad 2)
I have heard these voices of children and adults several times. They have nothing to do with voice hearing of earth bound spirits. They are of different origin and are a good OBE sign. To give an example of my own:

I heard these voices of a crowd of people, while still being in my body. Then I floated through a hole in the wall (may be this was a kind of a short tunnel travel) and in the next moment I was in front of a crowded meadow and a great swimming pool behind. It was totally real like as in normal life. I moved around, and heard these voices, identically in the sound as I heard it before when still in the body, but now around me. Then I left the bath and walked along a street, which led to wooded mountains several miles ahead.

ad 3)
These noises seem to be typically for the state of "false awakening".
Additional material you will find in:
False Awakening

Alfred Ballabene, Vienna, Austria, Europe, 2000