Just in case you haven't seen it, it's at
http://www.gnosticweb.com. I've signed up for their Dreams and OBE course but I just haven't had time so far this month. I took their meditation course that for some reason made the practice easier. For years, it was real work constantly turning off thoughts, but after taking the course and still practicing, I don't know what snapped, but one day I just slipped into mindlessness. But I digress.
The courses are free and they are in the form of downloadable video instruction. There are a lot to explore on the site with fantastic forums, filled with worldwide practitioners helping each other out with each lesson. There is no religion involved, although they do have a section on Christian Gnosis but more as a way to show the historical beginnings of the religion, that was more about the practice of these mysteries and not dogma.
I've read several accounts in the forum of this hand that reaches to those who ask for help and help them out. It seems in this experience, the OBEer is in direct contact with a Guide. But there are plenty of warnings of other entities (not positive) willing to cause disruptions. So there's always good grounding work advised before the attempts. From the accounts, the golden arm is a powerfully positive Guide.
Furthermore, the course is also about letting go of fear, in that we OBE every night but remember those as dreams. But haven't delved too deeply yet. To me, for some reason passing away involves no fear but deliberate or spontaneous OBEs causes fear. One forum friend who I still keep contact with was shocked when she "woke up" to find two people standing in her room discussing her progress. She was so scared but did notice their distress in causing alarm before they disappeared. She tried to talk to her husband and kids but to no avail before she realized that she was out. She ran back to the room where she'd fallen asleep to see herself and then hurled herself back in. Good God!
I've posted about my NDE before and afraid to bore people to death about it. But after the experience I did try it on my own several times. And, yes!, with the help of Robert Monroe's books and his hemi-sync tapes. The first time it happened I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a jackhammer and I was so angry there was roadwork going on. The more I thought of the annoying sound, the lower it got. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I was snoring and making the sound! I never believed my sister, who I shared a room with as kids, that I snored. But it was awful :rofl: Freaky thing being wide awake, thinking, while listening to yourself snore.
There was no fear that time because I think I was still "in," but in the attempts of being out and walking around, I was too scared of what I might find or see. Though I know when it's happening through a dream there is no fear :crazy: