How the Buddhist Map of Sensory Transition Supports Lucid Dreaming and Out of Body Experience (OBE) Induction via the Hypnagogic State

 

This article summarizes the order of sensory shutdown and reactivation during key transitional states such as death, sleep, hypnagogia, lucid dreaming (WILD), rebirth, and fetal development. It combines insights from Buddhist teachings, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, with scientific understanding of sensory development and experience.

Shutdown of the Senses During Death and Sleep

In Buddhism, the death process is described as a gradual shutting down of the senses—the five physical senses. The typical order of shutdown during death is:

1. Eyes (vision) lose function first.
2. Ears (hearing) follow.
3. Nose (smell) shuts down next.
4. Tongue (taste) closes.
5. Body (touch) sensations diminish.


The sleep process follows a similar but less complete pattern, where vision fades first and touch is the last to go.

Reversal of the Order During Bardo and Rebirth

According to Tibetan Buddhist teachings, the sensory shutdown order during death reverses during rebirth or the bardo (the intermediate state). The body sensations reactivates first, followed by taste, smell, hearing, and finally vision. This reverse order symbolizes the consciousness reconnecting with the physical senses and external world, preparing for a new lifetime.

Fetal Sensory Development

In fetal development, the senses activate in a biological sequence consistent with Buddhist teachings. Touch is the first sense to develop and become functional, starting around 8 weeks gestation. The vestibular system develops alongside touch, providing a sense of balance and movement. Taste and smell follow next, with the fetus responding to chemicals in the amniotic fluid by the second trimester. Hearing develops around 18–20 weeks gestation, allowing the fetus to perceive internal and external sounds. Vision is the last sense to activate fully, since the fetus is in darkness and the eyes are not used for external input until after birth.

Sensory Changes During Hypnagogia and WILD

Hypnagogia, the transition from wakefulness to sleep, exhibits a sensory shutdown pattern similar to death and sleep. External senses fade in the order of vision, hearing, smell, taste, and finally touch.  Next, when entering the dream state, the bodily sensations activate first, eg, vestibular sensations—such as vibrations, floating, rolling, swaying and spinning—often become prominent very early into the dream state, as the body's balance system becomes highly sensitive. And the vision comes in last.

During Wake-Initiated Lucid Dreaming (WILD), practitioners maintain mental awareness as external senses shut down and then internally reactivate subtle sensory awareness in roughly the reverse order: body sensations, hearing, and finally visual imagery. Vestibular sensations are usually easier to notice than visual images early in hypnagogia, providing useful cues for sustaining consciousness.

 

"Turning On" in Dreams

While the physical eyes close during sleep, the dreaming mind begins reactivating the senses in reverse order—much like the process of entering the bardo or being reborn. In the dream state, tactile and vestibular sensations typically emerge first, while visual imagery appears last. Understanding this sequence of sensory shutdown and reactivation allows us to work with it strategically. During hypnagogia, sensations such as vibrations, floating, or swaying often arise before any visual elements. If we remain aware at this stage, we can anchor our consciousness to these early bodily sensations to induce an out-of-body experience—even without visual input. After separation, we can engage the sense of touch to stimulate and stabilize dream vision—for example, by rubbing our hands together and closely observing their texture. In essence, we enter the dream world through the doorway of touch, into a space of darkness or formlessness—then bring luminosity to that emptiness by activating the visual sense.

Summary of Sensory Shutdown and Activation Orders

Shutdown during Death and Sleep:
Eyes → Ears → Nose → Tongue → Body (Touch)

Reactivation during Bardo and Rebirth:
Body (Touch) → Tongue → Nose → Ears → Eyes

Fetal Sensory Development:
Touch → Vestibular → Taste & Smell → Hearing → Vision

Hypnagogia Shutdown:
Vision → Hearing → Smell → Taste → Touch

Hypnagogia / WILD Internal Reactivation:
Body Sensations (including vestibular) → Hearing → Vision

Understanding the ordered sensory shutdown and reactivation across these states offers valuable insight for spiritual practitioners, lucid dreamers, and those studying consciousness. It highlights the fundamental role of bodily awareness as a bridge between waking, dying, and dreaming experiences and how to employ this knowledge to induce lucid dreaming or out of body experience.