Geoff M's Experience
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Experience description:

I was taking an afternoon nap. I was sleeping but becoming conscious. I opened my eyes and found what I saw to be extremely disorienting.  

It was as if the room had flipped up on end; the wall directly across from me with a dresser and mirror had somehow become the floor, and all the other walls and ceiling had adjusted accordingly, i.e., the ceiling was now a wall directly in front of me and the other walls were all standing on end except for the wall behind my head which was now the ceiling. In other words I found myself looking down at what had been the wall directly across from the foot of the bed. What had formerly been the floor was now a vertical wall behind my head. 

I raised my head and gazed at this peculiar scene for a moment but could find no logical way to resolve this alteration of my perception and sense of direction. I decided to simply lie back down, close my eyes and start over, hoping things would simply be normal again when I opened my eyes. 

But as I gave myself the command to rest my head back on the pillow I noticed my head did not feel as it normally does during the lowering back down procedure. Instead my head felt very distinctly as if it were floating or wafting slowly down towards the pillow. It was a feeling of weightlessness. I felt as though I had no actual muscular control of the process.  

It was then I realized I was out of my body and instantly understood that my detached condition also accounted for the skewed perspective of my surroundings.  

At that moment I began to feel a very pronounced fear. The moment I felt fear my "astral" head retracted very rapidly back into my physical head, as did my "astral" back and chest, literally slamming me back into my physical body.  

I believe my eyes were closed and probably had been during the entire experience. I laid there for about 15 minutes allowing the fear to subside and trying to collect myself even as the emotional impact of the experience continued to wash over me. The fear was gradually replaced by awe. I regretted my panic and wished I could have remained calm and done a bit of exploring.

 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?           Normal as a day at the park.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Not really. It was just like I was awake but my physical perception was extremely unusual.

 Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes     I did not see myself, but I could definitely feel myself just like we all do normally, or so it seemed. I could feel my "astral" body and didn't even suspect anything was different at first, until the movement felt distinctly different.

 What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Fear, stupefying awe. I was stunned.

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            Unusual visual orientation, though no loss of clarity. Movement felt very different.

 Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes     Apparently I had lost my normal sense of direction, and couldn't perceive objects as having their ordinary positions relative to the earth.

 Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    No      

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     Involved in, but not privy to the actual situation, though my "will" was followed by my "astral" form, only in a different way. What I thought was simply lying back down as one normally does was actually a return to the body.

 Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No      

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     Felt I had gained some verification of the independence of the personality from the physical bio-mechanism.

 How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       I have shared the experience with certain friends in order to give them some possible relief from the fear of personal extinction.

 Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes     No longer afraid of personal extinction. I now know I will continue beyond the destruction of my physical vehicle in some form.

 Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     Some have appreciated it. Some just aren't ready to open their minds to such possibilities.

 What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Gratitude, inasmuch as I felt I had been assisted in this experience by "helpers" who had loaned me the energy and alertness to perceive this situation, which I believe we all have every night, but just don't have the conscious energy to retain the memory in most cases.

 What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best was grasping the enormity of the experience for its amazing implications about our existence. Worst was the fear and subsequent regret at not being able to explore it more. Though I had another OBE later in life that was much more calm and illuminating.

 Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        No.

 Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No       I had another OBE later in life that was much more calm and illuminating. It began, again, simply as a recovery of my self-conscious, linear mind during a trip through the vastness of space. I thought of myself consciously, and using the actual words, as "pure awareness". I perceived myself as a golden orb that was traveling very rapidly through unimaginable distances. I then came to a house and dropped through the roof to see a young couple in partial shadow asleep on a bed. I could observe the street below through their window as it was well lit by a streetlamp. I did not recognize the two on the bed, but as I began to sink slowly towards the male I remembered it was me! The return to the physical was not nearly so jolting as the first experience.

 Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes     The questionnaire is very thorough.

 Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    None and, I think, none.