Experience description:

I was floating in my sensory deprivation tank which is just a large, water-sealed box that contains water with Epsom salt dissolved in it so that you can float face-up. The water is about 92 degrees Fahrenheit so that I do not feel hot or cold and the tank is very dark so that I can see nothing. I fell to sleep while floating (which often happens to me) and I awakened after sleeping for about an hour. When I awakened, I was very alert and aware and I sensed a strange vibrating energy all around me. I had felt this strange vibrating energy on previous occasions in the tank, but this time I decided to test my ability to exit my physical body. I was easily able to leave my body. I felt a tingling sensation in my facial area and in my genital area as I left my body. I got to about 2 feet above my body (as best I could tell; it is dark in the tank and I cannot see anything). I felt as if I had no body, arms, legs, etc. I decided to re-enter my body and then I could again feel my body, arms, legs, etc. I decided to leave my body again and I had the same exact experience that I just described. I again re-entered my body since I felt that I was not yet ready to take this experience any further at this point. I unfortunately have not been able to repeat this experience as of yet.

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

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Yes     I felt my facial area and genital area tingle as I moved out of my body with complete lucid awareness. Then it was as if I was a point of pure thought without any body and its associated limbs.

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 very conscious and alert. It was definitely not the kind of non-lucid, fuzzy awareness that I often experience while dreaming.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Only in the sense that I was able to float through space.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes     Unfortunately I was unable to see anything since it is very dark in the sensory deprivation tank.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Astonishment at such an unusual experience

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           The vibrating energy did seem to make a kind of low level buzzing sound

Did you notice how your 5 senses were working, and if so, how were they different?          Yes     I noticed that the sense of touch had seemed to vanish.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No      

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes     I had a sense of understanding that our minds can exist separately from our physical bodies.

Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the body?       Yes     I was somewhat uneasy about such an unusual experience and so I deliberately decided to re-enter my body.

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         Uncertain      I had a fuzzy memory of a very special and unusual dream that I had the following night.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I now felt very confident that our minds are separate ultimately from our physical bodies.

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       I have become more interested in learning how to separate from the body so as to better understand more of our true nature.

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

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     Most were only mildly interested. One person seemed to find it very interesting.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  A greater sense of wonder at our true nature and how we might further explore that.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The best: the sense of freedom and wonder.    The worst: fear of the unknown.

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         Yes     In dreams, I seemed to have re-experienced the vibrating energy.

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes