Imagination · “Feel It Real”
OBE Affirmation & Target Technique
Induce a conscious out-of-body experience by saturating the mind with a single OBE-affirmation and fixing attention on a specific destination (‘target’) away from the body.
After a wake-back-to-bed window, drift toward sleep repeating “Now I’m out of body, now!” with real intent. Pick a target spot in another room and pour your attention/desire into moving toward it, away from your body. Stay calm through vibrations and keep intending the motion.
What it is
William Buhlman’s core induction is verbal and intention-based. Rather than complex visualisation, he has people repeat a single, present-tense affirmation of being out of body until it floods the drifting mind, paired with the Target Technique: choosing a specific spot to move toward (another room, a familiar object) so attention is pulled away from the body rather than fixated on it.
He found the affirmation/target approach works even for people who report poor visualisation.
The Method
A. The affirmation.
- Lie down at sleep onset (best after a wake-back-to-bed window — wake after ~4–6h, then return to bed).
- As you drift, repeat a short present-tense OBE affirmation with feeling and expectancy — Buhlman’s examples include “Now I’m out of body, now!” and “Now I have a conscious out-of-body experience, now.”
- Let the affirmation become the only thing in mind; mean it, don’t just mouth it. Keep the body relaxed to the edge of sleep while holding the verbal intention. B. The Target Technique.
- Beforehand, pick a specific target location — a doorway, the next room, a known object across the house.
- As the affirmation takes hold, shift all attention to that target and to the desire/feeling of moving toward it, away from the physical body.
- If imagery is weak, do a felt “walk-through” toward the target — repeat it until internal imagery begins to form and a sense of motion/separation builds.
Source & Lineage
William Buhlman is an OBE educator long associated with the Monroe Institute. He laid out the affirmation and Target techniques in Adventures Beyond the Body (1996) and developed them across decades of workshops and a large informal survey of experiencers.
His lineage is the modern Western OBE stream (Monroe), with an emphasis on simple, repeatable verbal intention over elaborate ritual.
Common refinements
Reciting mechanically — the affirmation must carry genuine expectancy and desire.
- Staring at the body / waiting to “feel separation” — fixation on the body blocks it; use the target instead.
- Quitting at vibrations or noises — Buhlman treats these as signs to continue and intend movement.
- Too much arousal — excitement wakes you; stay calm and let it unfold.
- No WBTB — attempting at the start of the night is far weaker than after late-night REM.