Marc N's Experience
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Experience description:

For the previous three years I had been experiencing periodic episodes of sleep-paralysis. At first, the episodes were quite frightening because the sensations were all foreign to my understanding and I had not yet learned of sleep-paralysis. Eventually I became comfortable when experiencing sleep-paralysis (SP) as long as I kept my eyes closed. The waves of energy were quite enjoyable after learning that I could end the experience at will by willing to move my fingers.

Until the early morning of today, I had never had an out of body experience (OBE) that I was certain of. My sleeping cycle was disrupted and so I was quite tired, but couldn't sleep for long when I tried. For that reason I began laying in my bed listening to the radio. As I listened to the radio I entered SP. I hadn't an SP episode in a few weeks, and so it came a surprise. Since I'm comfortable with SP, I allowed it to continue, as I experienced the waves of energy, buzzing, and ringing sound that I could hear only in my right ear. After a few minutes the SP would end without my willing it to. After a few minutes of laying in bed, I would experience another SP episode. They came whenever I would rest, as the have in the past. When the SP would happen I could also listen to the radio. Whenever I enter SP, I close my eyes because of some frightening things that happened in the past when I kept them open.

At some point I realized that I couldn't hear the radio playing anymore and wondered why. I'm not exactly sure if I had been experiencing SP before that and assumed it had ended on its own, or if I had fallen asleep, I'm just certain that I had been listening to the radio and then couldn't hear it anymore. After about a second of recognizing that I couldn't hear the radio I felt as if my upper torso had slid off my bed (futon) and that I was about to fall on the floor. I couldn't move and assumed that I was about to crash onto the floor in a SP state. Then a second after being in that position I felt the rest of my body slide off the bed in a fluid motion. But the freaky thing is that I didn't sense an impact with the ground, but instead felt myself accelerate upwards and away from my bed. I thought I kept my eyes shut because of the SP, but I'm not sure now if I would have been able to open them if I chose to. I felt as if I was flying in a void. The motion was very fluid and continually towards the same direction and upwards. Flying horizontally like superman, but I couldn't sense that I had a body. It sounds absurd, but I just knew I was in that position. As I was flying my body would roll to the right, even out for a few seconds, then roll to the right again. All the while I flying towards the same direction. It wasn't really flying because I couldn't feel my arms, gravity, the wind or anything. Just the acceleration of movement. It was such a great sensation and I kept wondering what would happen next. I couldn't hear, smell, feel, see anything. For the entire experience I was completely conscious and realized when flying that what I was experiencing was on OBE. After less than a minute of the flying I became concerned that the experience might entail danger, at which point I said in my head, "goodness protect me. goodness guide me." Almost instantly I was back in my bed and opening my eyes.

There was not any break in my consciousness. I don't recall feeling that I traveled back to my body, heard any sounds, but just that I was instantly back. Since I think my eyes were shut, I don't recall any imagery, but because this is my first OBE, I'm not sure if I would have been able to see reality with them like I can in SP. I'm sort of disappointed after reading accounts of OBE's on this site that I didn't open them, but I'm so scared to open them because of experiences in the past. Why I said "goodness protect me. goodness guide me.", I'm not really sure. I was an atheist all my life until I experienced SP and now I find myself learning more and more about spirituality and possibilities in that sense. I now wonder if saying that protected me from something that would have eventually happened, the experience ended on its on, or if I scared myself out of it. I believe in science and logic, but the more that I experience strange things like SP and now this OBE, I wonder just was reality is. Perhaps that is why I said such things.

I'm so grateful to have found such a site on the Internet. I read a few summaries of peoples OBE's, but, sadly, none of them were like mine. I thought I'd contribute to help out others and perhaps myself in the future.

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?           Completely conscious. No less so than in everyday waking life.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   It was not a dream, or dreamlike, other than the fact that I knew what I was experiencing couldn't happen in normal reality.

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

It was if I was only consciousness, but had position without substance.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Bewilderment at the initial sensations until I realized I was experiencing an OBE. Then I felt intrigue and amazement and just focused on the vividness of the sensations. I eventually wondered what the end result of the experience would be and that is when I became concered for myself. I didn't sense danger, or anything bad with the situation, I just got nervous at what would happen next.

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           I heard no noises when experiencing the OBE, but could hear noises when experiencing sleep-paralysis before it.

 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? NoDid 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

I could not smell, taste or hear anything for the entire experience. I could not sense touch, but only acceleration of movement. I did not see anything, but that might have been because I had my eyes shut. I'm not sure how OBE's work because this was my first, so I don't know if one can control their eyelids, or if it matters in such a state. All I saw was darkness, so either I was looking at my the backs of my eyelids, in a void of nothingness, or in a space that had no light to shine on things that were around me. I hope that makes sense.

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

I thought I was in a void, but I can't verify this or know why I think it. Perhaps the sensation of flying and the fact that I was colliding with anything led me to think I was in a void.

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?       Uncertain

After flying for a while I became concerened at what would happen next. At which point I said to myself, "goodness protect me. goodness guide me." After that I was back in my bed, but I did not decide to return, it just happened.

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

Now that I have experienced something so strange, and atypical to my understanding, I wonder more about spirituality and life after death. I was an atheist of a number of years until I began experiencing SP and now I'm not sure what I am. All I know is that I am seeking out spirituality more and more. I thought that when I would die it would be just like before I was born, that is, I wouldn't feel or be anything. After this experience, I am not so sure.

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       It just happend less than 12 hours ago, so there hasn't been enough time for it to have affected my life choices.

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

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes

I told my mother about it, just as I told her about my SP episodes. She was amazed at it and said I was going to make her jealous, lol. Although, I never would tell anyone about this stuff before since it is so freaky.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Happiness after the experience, along with some intrigue.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The best was realizing that I was flying after falling out of mody body, and that the vividness of the experience was so real. The worst was becoming concerned at what the experience would entail next.

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        Although this is the first out of body experience I know that I've had for sure, as I was fully conscious and it happened less than 12 hours ago, I might have one many years ago when I was going off of mild anti-depressants and sleeping medication. At that time I went cold-turkey off them and experienced what I now know was sleep paralysis with hallucinations. I also think that I might have had an out of body experience because I recall being able to fly to any part of the universe I wanted to and at any speed, but I never felt myself come of my body. I thought it was just a very lucid dream state, but it might have been OBE. I need to read more on OBE's before I will have a better idea. The reason I don't open my eyes during sleep paralysis, although I'm comfortable with it and enjoy the feelings, is that when I went off the medication I had my first SP episode. It involved me laying in my bed, waking up and feeling surrounded by an evil presense, opening my eyes and seeing a black void/cloud/evil entity standing in my doorway, then I cloded my eyes and pretended to be asleep when it jumped on my chest. Because of that, and what I read online afterwards, I will probably never open my eyes during SP or any freaky experiences like the one this morning.

 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 experience happened so recently, and I was so conscious and focusing on it, that I can recall every aspect of it with complete clarity.

 Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    Since my experience was so minimal compared to most others', the questionnaire was more than enough for it, and I think it would be good for most others.