Gary
B's Experience
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Experience description:
On a night in the fall
of 1977, when I was 9 years old and attending the 4th grade in a catholic
school, where my family were also members of the church parish, after going to
sleep at my usual time of 9 o'clock, I noticed at some point that my eyes seemed
to be open and I was staring very closely at the patterns in the popcorn
ceiling. Something about the perspective seemed odd - I noticed I was so close
to the surface of the ceiling, and I noticed this my perception turned over to
look down at my bed where I saw myself asleep under the covers. I didn't have
any particular feeling about seeing myself there, kind of of how you might feel
if you were looking down at your feet and focused on your big toe. Yep, there
it is.
I floated backward from
the perspective of looking down at myself up through the ceiling and through the
roof of the house. I then was looking down upon the cedar shingles of the
roof. I continued to move sideways and up noticing my mother through the large
bay window in my parents 2nd floor bedroom. She was sitting on the bed doing
the crossword and watching Johnny Carson. Again there was no particular emotion
as I continued to float upwards, now soaring a few hundred feet above the house
and surrounding fields. I could still see the light from the window of my
parents room and then I turned my focus to going places.
I remember thinking
about the mountains. Snow-covered mountains. There was a blur for a moment
then I knew that I was now in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I saw a mountain
home in the snow with a covering of snow on the roof. I moved toward it and
then went into the side of the cabin-style home. I saw a woman walking from the
kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee towards a man sitting on a sofa. She sat
down as I passed by and then out the other side of the house. I moved all about
the mountains. Through the trees, inside of the trees, inside of the cells of
the tree. Over the mountains, through the mountains, into the rock, through the
caves and underground water pockets.
I thought of the ocean
and then there was a blur and I was at the beach moving again all over the sand,
from up high from seemingly inches away from the sand and then into the sand and
under the dunes and then into the ocean and down through the sea. At some point
it occurred to me to go under the ocean down into the floor of the earth at the
bottom.
I went under the ocean
and down into the center of the earth and through the earth. When I was in
areas where there was no real light, like at the bottom of the ocean, I was
still able to see, but it was a more subtle kind of vision. I probably was
seeing in this same way when I was out where there was light, but it wasn't
apparent that my vision was different until I went into the cells of the trees
and into the rocks and down under the ocean.
The way I have written
this may make it all sound very fast, but there was much exploring into the fine
details of things and it was a peaceful and relaxed pace. It was just that if I
thought of something new to focus upon, I was almost instantly transported
there.
Any
associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the
experience?
No
Was
the kind of experience difficult to express in words?
No
At
the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening
event?
No
What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?
My
mind was very quiet during the experience. There wasn't a lot of mental chatter
going on. I was feeling very peaceful and serene. I was curious and I was
freely observing what I was seeing, but without much of any judgmental thoughts
about what I was seeing. I was seeing and perceiving with my whole being what I
was experiencing and strangely enough it didn't seem strange to me to be doing
what I was doing and going these places and seeing these things.
Was the experience dream like in any way?
No.
It was not like any dream I had ever had before or since. My general take is
that what I experienced was not a dream.
Did
you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?
Yes It seemed like I had a form, but it was more of a clear energy body and
I noted more of a shimmery outline where the edges of my form would have been.
What emotions did you feel during the experience?
Curiosity. Joy. Exhilaration. Serenity. Peace.
Did
you hear any unusual sounds or noises?
None
other than a sort of clicking sound that I noted upon rejoining with my physical
body at the end of the experience.
LOCATION DESCRIPTION:
Did you recognize any familiar locations or any locations from familiar
religious teachings or encounter any locations inhabited by incredible or
amazing creatures?
No
Did
you see a light?
No
Did
you meet or see any other beings?
Yes I saw my mother reading the paper on her bed as I left the house. Later
in the experience I had saw a couple sitting down for coffee at a couch in a
cabin in snow-covered mountains. I briefly noted them as I moved through the
cabin from one end to the other and continued on my way.
Did
you experiment while out of the body or in another, altered state?
Yes
The
closest thing to an experiment came when I thought to go into and then under the
ocean, down into the floor of the earth beneath the ocean. From there I was
inspired to move through and to experience and explore the molten core of the
earth.
Did
you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience
that could be verified later?
No
Did
you notice how your 5 senses were working, and if so, how were they
different?
Yes Sight was not limited by the normal degree of vision, feeling was
not isolated to what what you normally could hold in your hand. You could, for
instance, feel the whole side of a mountain, or a stretch of beach. All the
senses were expanded in this way.
Did
you have any sense of altered space or time?
Yes The sense of space was very different from normal, because all I had to
do was think of a location, no matter how distant and their was a slight sense
of a blur and then I was there. I don't think it would have mattered if I had
focused on the other side of the world or one of the moons of Saturn. It didn't
really seem to take any time to get anywhere that I focused upon.
Did
you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or
purpose?
Yes I noticed a sense of feeling connected to everything else. I understood
that connection in a much deeper way than philosophical. I was experiencing it.
Did
you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?
No
Did
you become aware of future events?
No
Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the
body?
Yes There was no real sense of emotion about returning to my body at all.
It was similar to the way that I had focused on other things that I had seen.
When I focused back on my body, I returned to it, briefly just outside of it
then slipping back in, clicking into place.
Did
you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience
that you did not have prior to the experience?
Uncertain I can't say whether my gifts of perception were initiated by this
event, though I doubt it. However, most of my what would be called exceptional
perception experiences did occur after this time, though I do recall some
earlier experiences.
Did
you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?
Yes A sense of being more than my body. More than just this personality.
The sense of time and space being an illusory perception. The sense that there
is life and consciousness beyond our experiences in these physical bodies.
How
has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices?
Career choices?
I am
sure that this experience and others like it, have influenced my spiritual sense
of connection to the universe. I studied art and I am a lifelong student of
consciousness. It has helped me to see that there is more to life than the rat
race. We are bigger than all of that.
Has
your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?
Yes It was a powerful experience that has always been there since informing
my perspective on things, decisions etc.
Have you shared this experience with others?
Yes Some are fascinated. I think it has inspired some others to look more
deeply into such things - read a book, try some exercises, etc.
What emotions did you experience following your experience?
Excitement, happiness, and joy. I was very curious to learn more by further
exploration.
What was the best and worst part of your experience?
The
sense of freedom was thrilling. Perception was wider, not limited by the usual
physical organs of sense, and traveling under the earth, through the oceans,
under the ocean bed itself and through the center of the planet itself was
probably the best part of the experience.
Is
there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?
It
was interesting to me that during the travels into areas where it would normally
be too dark to see with physical eye, there was no real problem seeing things.
Even when I was within the very rock of a mountain, it was as if there was some
additional alterations of time/space, in that size, whether fantastically large
or extremely small I would be able focus there and see whatever there was to
see. I could have entered an atom or an apple had I decided to go there, and
when I was in the areas that would have been devoid of light, I became aware of
another more subtle level of light emitted from the matter itself.
Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life,
medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?
Yes I went on to study meditation for many years and I learned how to
achieve more than I would have imagined possible even after this initial
experience.
Did
the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively
describe your experience?
Yes