Suddenly, I was walking down the stairs. My legs were making the motions of walking down each step. Then, somehow I realized that I could just glide down the stairs-hovering about two inches above them with very little effort! It was amazing! I could see that I was transparent, wearing some type of white gown that was luminescent. I then looked in the living room and did not find my son. I looked in the kitchen, he was not there. I then "floated" down stairs to the basement and there he was, with one chubby little leg in the dirty cat litter box! I watched, horrified, as he attempted to wiggle his other chubby little leg into the cat box.

Suddenly, I heard a female voice saying "Lynne!" I woke up with a start. I was back in my bed! I was temporarily confused. How could I be in my bed when I was just two floors down, in the basement? Who just called my name? It absolutely shocked me. Then I thought of my little boy and I quickly ran down the stairs, looking in the living room and the kitchen (and feeling all the while like I had just done this!) Then, I went into the basement. There he was, teetering over the old, dirty cat's litter box, just ready to climb in! Luckily, I was in time to stop him. It would be years before I would hear and understand the term "OBE", so I did not know what to make of this experience. I just knew something very strange, yet very wonderful had happened.

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

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Yes

It is very difficult to describe the reality of the experience without making it sound like a dream state. Because most people do not have these experiences, the only context they can put this type of information into is what they already know. Since I was in that "in-between wake and sleep state" it is easily assumed that this was just a vivid or lucid dream. But I know that it was much more than that. This definitely was not a dream. I remember dreams very easily. Dreams have a different quality, even the more lucid dreams are easily recognized as dreams. I know this was a different state of consciousness, and it was very "real."

At the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?          Uncertain

I was very concerned for the welfare of my son, who was just barely two years old. It was about 0630. I could hear noise coming from his bedroom. I was in that sleepy in-between wake and sleep state. I briefly thought he had gotten out of his crib. I was very worried that he may have hurt himself and that he should not be up alone, because he was too little and could get into something and injure himself. I was so tired from working a very long and late shift at work, that I had a great deal of difficulty fully waking up. I was struggling to open my eyes and felt a tremendous sense of guilt that I was unable to wake up fully. That is when this experience occurred.

What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?           VERY alert, fully conscious and thinking like normal.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Not at all like a dream. Everything was exactly as it is in reality, except that I had discovered my own "astral" body.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes

Somehow my consciousness traveled to the basement inside this wispy white, very graceful, "duplicate" astral body. I could then "view" my son crawling into the cat's dirty litter box.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I was horrified to see my little toddler ready to crawl inside this dirty litter box! Then, I suddenly found myself "waking up" with a start in my bed. At first I was very confused. How can I still be in bed, when I was just in the basement? How did I get back here...better yet, how did I get down THERE? What is going on here? That is when I ran down the stairs to the first floor, then to the basement, all the while feeling like I had just done this all. When I discovered that my son was in fact in the basement, just ready to crawl into the dirty cat box, I was astounded! After stopping him, I actually found myself asking this two year old if mommy "was just down here a minute ago."

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           Yes. Just before waking up in my bed, (after returning from the "astral" journey to the basement), a feminine sounding voice from outside of my body and to my left exclaimed rather urgently "Lynne!" That voice is what woke me up with a start.

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?           Yes

Only the light that seemed to emanate from my own see-through body. It was a soft white kind of glow from the inside going out.

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Uncertain

The voice that called my name and woke me up. I sensed that this was a protective kind of  "entity" that was assisting me. I could not see or perceive anything else about this entity.

Did you experiment while out of the body or in another, altered state? Yes

Yes, I went to find my two year old son. But this was just an extension of the concerns I had while trying to wake up to see if he had gotten out of his crib. I do not remember searching his room or crib. I had no idea where I would find him. I "looked" in the living room and then in the kitchen and finally, "floated" to the basement where I watched my son trying to figure out how to crawl inside the cat's old litter box. It was a large litter box with a dome shaped lid. The lid was already laying next to the box. After a short time, he had gotten one cubby little leg inside and was trying to swing the other one in without falling. He was very unsteady but seemed very determined. I did not attempt to interact with him. It seemed that somehow I knew I could only observe. However, I was very horrified at what I was observing!

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          Yes

Immediately upon waking up, after letting go of the confusion from just being in the basement a second ago, I ran back to the basement, where I did in fact find my little son. (all the while feeling like I had just done this) Prior to the OBE, I had not even considered that he would be in the basement or near the litter box since he had not yet "discovered" on his own that we had a basement and I had forgotten about the old, dirty litter box being down there.

Did you notice how your 5 senses were working, and if so, how were they different?          Yes

I could see very well-in fact I wear corrective lenses, and I could see well without them! Hearing, not sure other than my name being called out which woke me up. Could not "touch" anything it seemed.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes

I was not sure when I woke up what had just happened. When I arrived in the basement a minute later, my son was just getting ready to crawl in the cat box, but was still standing outside of it. In the "vision" he was actually crawling into the cat box, and already had one awkward little leg inside, and was ready to get the other one in too. It seemed like I had appeared in the basement minutes or seconds into the future, just in time to see him going into the box. When I arrived in the basement the second time, I was able to prevent him from crawling inside. Although he could have crawled in and out  and back in again.

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes

Special knowledge...well, what do you know?, we are more than our physical bodies! I keep a very open mind. Before this experience, I was unaware of what an "OBE' was, in fact, I had heard about it quite some time later and only then could describe this as an "OBE." Before then, I had no name for this experience.

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?             No

Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the body?       No

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         Uncertain

Possibly some psychic dreams and a couple of waking psychic experiences. The dreams seem to tell me things about people I would not normally know. I dreamt that my boss was fired and two weeks later she was fired. This dream was fascinating. In the dream my boss was my "owner" and I was a black slave. I was in the office, but I had chains around my ankles. I was being told by a co-worker that our boss had been fired. I suddenly felt this over-whelming sense of freedom. I then opened a door and walked out onto a beautiful beach. I was a tall, young black woman now running on the beach trying to get onto a large wooden ship with huge white sails. I could see two ships already too far away in the ocean. I suddenly knew I would never see my dear husband and two little sons again because they had made it onto the ship that I missed. I could "see" them in my dream memory. I was remembering a time when we were all together. They were happy and smiling. I was so deeply sad because I knew I would never see them again and that I would never again see my true home called "Island in the Sun." No one at work ever expected that our boss would be "let go." There were no signs or rumors at all. It was quite a shock. I did tell one co-worker about the dream and we just laughed. My co-worker was as shocked as I was when this dream came true. I also dreamt of a co-worker having a small tumor in her right middle ear that was becoming a health problem. I told her about the dream and she was absolutely shocked because she had never told anyone at work about the tumor. She had been thinking about seeing the doctor again.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes

Knew there is much more to life than what can be "proven."

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes

Has opened my mind to appreciate these types of experiences as real, even though science may not be able to explain or prove it...yet.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes

Not everyone is open to it. Many people just think it's a dream.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Shock, confusion, wonder and awe.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best - found my son before he injured himself. Worst - some people think I'm a little weird I suppose. I am careful who I talk to about these experiences. It's not so much because of fear for my own reputation and credibility, but more because of the sense of responsibility I have about this.

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

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    None.  Keep up the great work!