Alka A's Experience
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Experience description:

I was sitting at a table in my apartment studying. All of a sudden I felt like I was up on the ceiling looking down at myself just sitting there. It seemed as though the person at the table was motionless, and I, the person on the ceiling was a neutral observer. My consciousness had switched from being oriented in the person at the table to the neutral observer. I wasn't aware of having any emotions. It was as if I was standing there checking myself out with my arms folded across my chest, just thinking "Hmmm". Then I remember switching positions to another part of the room. I remember thinking at one point that it was odd that I was up there.... I got up from the table and went to study myself in the mirror for some reason. The "consciousness" on the ceiling moved around the room and I remember looking at myself in the mirror and then I was back inside my body. Time seemed to stop during the above. I have no explanation for the above. I WOULD say that I am an especially sensitive person--very artistic and musical and interested in philosophy, which I was studying at the time. One major interest that I have is in graphology/handwriting analysis, which I have been studying since I was a child. I am very good at it, and have been accused of being psychic by some psychologists, since I can describe people and explain them with great accuracy very fast....Don't know if I believe their assessment or not.

The above experience has made me very interested in religion, philosophy, holistic medicine, psychology, etc. My opinion, based on the described experience, is that consciousness is a separate thing from the body. This is quite clear to me. I think that there is some sort of universal intelligence that goes in and out of people. There may be just one such intelligent entity or there may be innumerable such entities, but whatever the case may be, it (the conscious observer/intelligence) does not need the body, it just uses it.

Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?     No      

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Yes     The experience was "seamless" and seemed so natural, that it seemed perfectly normal, so it didn't even seem remarkable at the time. I didn't know what it was. It is only in looking back at it that it seems clear that it was unusual. It has never happened since. Now we have a label for it (an OBE), which I didn't know at the time. But I still remember it even after more than 30 years...

What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?           I was just aware of the experience. It happened fast, I believe, and I didn't have much time to analyze it.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Almost.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes     I didn't have a form. I was just an "awareness."

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            My emotions were neutral.

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           No

Did you notice how your 5 senses were working, and if so, how were they different?          Uncertain            I appeared to see from my position on the ceiling, so I was aware of my position, and of seeing myself.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No       I was unaware of time. Space was no object. I could move without moving etc., from one place to another instantaneously.

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       I don't believe that "death" in the traditional sense exists. The body is just a shell. It has made me think about things, and I am perhaps more aware than I would have been. I was able to help my father die, I believe, because I told him about my experience when he was really sick and dying. I have told few people about the experience, since many people would think that I was disturbed I am sure. It did happen though.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         No      

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     I have been very careful to select carefully those with whom I have shared the experience. I have a friend that I have discussed it with--she is very open about all of this. She is a healing touch practitioner who can have OBEs at will. She once went to Vanderbilt, had an MRI there, during which she decided to not deal with it by having an OBE. They couldn't pick her up on the MRI, and they had to do the whole thing over....I loved this story!

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  I didn't have any. It seemed so normal that I didn't even question it at the time, which is weird.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      It is that I am aware that there is a lot more to life than meets the eye.......

 Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No