Later that same day I walked down to the Charles River.  On my way I passed a pond in a local park, filled with large goldfish (carp).  As I walked at the edge of the pond, all the goldfish came racing towards me....breaking the water and clustering around the edge of the pond.  It felt as though my body was radiating some kind of energy that the natural world picked up on and responded to directly.

I was unable to sleep.

I began to leave my body at different intervals for seconds or minutes at a time.  Days and nights passed.  I remember very distinctly hearing Navajo drums and songs and feeling drawn towards a particular SPOT on the planet.  I pored over maps and found the spot. 

It was Canyon de Chelley in the center of the Colorado plateau in the Four Corners region of the Southwest.  I had a long experience where I perceived a war in heaven in which I was somehow involved.  Terrifying streams of some future aircraft passed over me, which produced terrible anguish.  My hands shot out rays of energy which were able to participate in this war in heaven.  I perceived what seemed to be the TREE OF LIFE and rose to the peak of it.  It was filled with all manner of creatures and birds.  I finally was released from this long exhausting struggle and found myself in a golden body of light.

Months later I was able to travel to Canyon de Chelley and found peace there.

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

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Yes     There were many aspects of the experience that were felt rather than understood on the intellectual level.

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?           The initial out of body experience was ordinary enough until AFTER it had occurred.  It was then that I became aware of it's strangeness.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   More myth like than dreamlike.  I would have to say that the experience was MORE REAL than dream.  Indeed MORE REAL than ordinary reality.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes     I looked like myself from outside myself.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Initially awe.  Great uncertainty followed.  And unbearable sadness after having seen what I took to be a true picture of life on earth.

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           I heard Navajo drums and singing.

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?    Yes            I described the TREE OF LIFE above...there was a sensation of timelessness, of rising to a place outside of time...eternity....there was also a period of the experience in which I had an encounter with an entity which fitted the common medieval representation of the devil.  A loathsome creature which initially caused me great terror but which subsequently only caused me to feel pity.

Did you see a light?           Yes     The golden light described above was all-pervasive.

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Yes     Yes, the "devil" as described above.  Also at the end of the long struggle I was certain of the presence of golden beings who stroked my forehead and calmed me.  These I relate to the ancient descriptions of angels.

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?          Yes     I would say that all senses were magnified extraordinarily, and that there existed another sense which I would describe as pure receptivity...on the emotional level.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes     As described above I experienced places that were OUTSIDE of time.

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes     I became terrified of nuclear annihilation and a sort of lock down police state on planet earth.  I (foolishly) became convinced that I could somehow avert this disaster by my actions....this I can only describe as a kind of prophetic madness that I suffered and (thankfully) recovered from

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?             Uncertain      I did have a sense of boundary....there was a certain point where I met the "devil" described above where I felt that I dared not go further, nor did I desire to.

Did you become aware of future events?       Yes     As described before I was drawn to Canyon de Chelley and eventually arrived there.

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     My whole life is interpenetrated with co-incidence, knowledge, fortuitous events that I cannot really account for.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I love being alive and am grateful for every second that I breathe.

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       Yes.  Positively.  I am a free person now, aware of myself and my responsibilities.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     Hard to say.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Described above

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best......total freedom