Experience description:

I began having extremely intense contractions, when my doctor came into to check my centimeters his voice was very soothing and helped me become more focused on the self hypnosis process that we had been practicing for approximately three months.  In the middle of a contraction I was transported by nursing staff from my bed to a gurney in order to transport me into the delivery room.  It was during this transport to gurney that I began to feel as though I was floating above my body.  I could hear the conversations around me, but it was as though I was separate from my body and had no feeling of any physical experiences.  It was only when the doctor said "here comes the head" that I felt my self immediately drop back into my body and could feel the physical effects of birthing.

Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?     No            naturally childbirth with a focus on self hypnosis

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Yes     Not until I began reading more esoteric theology did I begin to be able to put words into my experience

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 felt detached from everything, yet like an observer I watched everything in detail as if I was floating above the whole scene

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   not dream like, it truly felt like I was there, but only as an observer.  I could see everything in detail, but it felt like I was above looking down on the whole experience versus having any physical connection to what was happening to my body

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Uncertain      I felt detached from any bodily experience and only felt like eyes starring down on a scene of a hospital delivery.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            A bit confused about why I was having this experience and yet knowing that was me giving birth yet somehow I was watching from above.  Mostly it felt exciting and exhilarating, never dawned on me to feel frightened only a bit confused about this strange and unexpected experience

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           The sounds or noises around me were the actual words being spoken by the medical staff attending to me when I heard anything.  Most of the time it was just visual experiences and only toward the end did I actually hear the words being spoken

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            Only the immediate surroundings of the hospital starting in the birthing room, the sensation of following the gurney down the hallway into the delivery room, the sense of floating above the operating table, and finally the voices when they began to see my child's head moving through the birth canal

Did you see a light?           Uncertain      Everything seemed a bit ethereal, meaning not quite real yet still hovering over what was really happening

Did you meet or see any other beings?           No      

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

only the sensation that when the dr said here comes his head that I intentionally thought I must get back into my body so I can be present for this moment of birth

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          Yes     the room was exactly as I had seen it from above, the voices I heard were the same.  My husband had said when they moved me onto the gurney he was afraid I was dead.  I always believed it was because they had moved me in the middle of a very intense contraction and that my body seemed rigid due to the contraction

Did you notice how your 5 senses were working, and if so, how were they different?          Yes     It seemed the only sense that was working was my visual and then at the very end some auditory

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes     both space and time.  I am not sure how long it was from the time the moved me until the time of birth.  For me the first point of cognitive recognition was when I heard the dr say here comes his head, then all my senses returned and I intentionally felt myself move back into my body

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

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?             Yes     I knew I had to move back into my body to be a part of this experience and to see and touch my child

Did you become aware of future events?       No      

Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the body?       Yes     Very intentional choice to return to 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      More of a curiosity of what happened and if I could ever attain this kind of experience again

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     More reading and research into psychic experiences

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       It has given me a more open mindedness to psychic experiences in all of us and the potential that we all hold within our minds

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Uncertain      I don't thinking at the time I felt it to be life changing; however, it definitely opened new doors to seeking spirituality on a different level than just organized religion.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     A few people, but only those who are of like minds

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Mostly just a sense of what just happened or did that really happen, initially.  As I read researched other stories of OBE I began to accept the fact that this had truly happened to me.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      It was all very wonderful.  At no time did I feel anything other than curiosity and wonder

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        Sense that moment I have always wanted to know more about what I truly experienced and why at that particular moment I moved into that state of being

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