Experience description:

My experience occurred at night.  Earlier that day I had had an involved 5 hour surgery.  During the night I found myself in a place that was completely black.  There was no light of any kind, no noise or sound, nothing.  It was warm.  I had a sense or a knowing that I was completely alone.  I also was out of body.  I had wanted for some time to be able to leave my body, so I was very happy to be out of my body.  When I was in this warm void space, I laughed and laughed.  I was delighted to be out of body.  The darkness did not frighten me.  I felt completely safe.  I was simply enjoying being free of my body.  It felt as though I had been there for hours but I awoke and checked the clock.  It was exactly 15 minutes past the time when I had checked the clock before falling asleep.    I closed my eyes again and went right back to the void.  Again, I had the same happy feelings and was greatly enjoying being out of body.  Again, it felt like a very long time had elapsed.  Again, I awoke and checked the clock.  Again, exactly 15 minutes had passed since the last time I checked the clock.  This cycle continued to repeat.  In total, I awoke 8 times after spending exactly 15 minutes each time out of body in the void.  The entire experience lasted 2 hours.

Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?      Yes    It occurred the night after I had had an involved 5 hour surgery.  I was on morphine.

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?    I was in a mind awake, body asleep state.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?  It felt unreal and strange.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?   Yes    I had no form at all.  I was completely formless and invisible, blending into the blackness of the void.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?         I felt giddy, joyful, delighted and extremely happy.

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?         Nothing except for my own laughter.

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?         No     

Did you experiment while out of the body or in another, altered state?         No     

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? No     

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?     Yes    The experience consisted of 8 intervals of 15 minutes each.  Each of the intervals felt like hours and hours.  I was surprised each time I awoke to find that only 15 minutes had passed.

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?         Yes    That I was completely alone and out of my body.  I was formless.  I felt pure joy.

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?          No     

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         Yes          Actually, I had an extreme paranormal experience about 2 weeks before the event.  I had been to a spiritual gathering in which a 'Remembering' exercise was done to help us remember our true nature as spirit.  We spent the evening partnering with other attendees.  We sat knee to knee, palm to palm and stared into each other's eyes.  This went on for some time, perhaps 90 minutes to 2 hours.  I felt giddy after the event (which is not normal for me:  usually I am very grounded).  The next day, I was able to see heaven in all things.  I could see the fabric of which everything was made and I saw that everything was made of this same sparkling energy.  I also could hear what I call spirit radio.  I could hear messages coming out of the thin air.  I could not sleep.  I would close my eyes for a couple of hours a night but my thoughts raced and I never really fell asleep.  This went on for over two weeks.  I went to see a spiritual counselor because I was concerned that I had had a psychotic break.  She told me that people having mystical experiences often worry that they've gone psychotic.  The experience ended when I had to go the mall to buy pajamas for my upcoming surgery.  I noticed when I got home from the mall that the awareness was leaving me.  By the next morning, it was gone.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?     Yes    I have more courage.  I didn't mind being completely alone in pure darkness.  I felt very safe there.

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?   I already had awakened 2 years before this occurred, so this experience enriched my spiritual journey.  Soon after this experience I left the church.  Organized religion seems primitive and confining to me now.  This experience strengthened my faith in life after death.  I also found myself being much more humane and understanding in my work as an environmental regulator.

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

Have you shared this experience with others?       Yes    I share experiences such as this with others who are awakened.  They find it interesting and believable since their spiritual understanding is similar to mine.

What emotions did you experience following your experience? Amazement and wonder and delight.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?          The best part was finally getting to experience the out of body state.  I loved it.  The worst part is that I can't seem to repeat it.  I would like to develop out of body travel as a skill but have not been able to.

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience? I wish I could experience it again.

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

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?           Yes    The primary element of my experience was being out of body in the void.  I have not encountered any other experiencers of the void.  I tried to research it and all I could find was something by Deepak Chopra which said that the void is a place beyond the fifth dimension.  He called it the womb of the universe.

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.       Not that I can think of.