Tampa B's Experience
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Experience description:
I was 15 year old and had just arrived home from school at around 3 p.m. My parents generally worked until about 6 p.m., so I was alone. I went into my bedroom an sat down at the foot of my bed. I laid backward on top of the covers with my hands behind my head and my feet on the floor. I had an ceiling-mounted light fixture in my room and I was just staring up at it for a second. The light was turned on. The next sensation I remember was a sort of paralysis. My body felt extremely heavy and I felt like I was sinking into the bed. It was a sensation of falling very slowly. I wanted to sit up to stop, but I couldn't will my body to move. I wasn't afraid, but I was confused. From this point forward, it is very hard to describe the sensation, but I'll do the best I can. My consciousness (for lack of a better word) started to shrink down to a point in the center of my chest. I could see portions of my body but they seemed very large. I was not seeing myself from the perspective of my own eyes. It was more like seeing my self from the perspective if a insect sitting on my chest. Then I started to rise. I was looking up, and I could no longer see any part of my body. My visual field started to seem much more normal and I was again staring directly at the light fixture above me and slowly moving toward it. The light was a single bulb (probably 60 watt) with a 1950's style smoked glass cover. It had fairly intricate paisley-like designs that I had never noticed before then. I kept rising slowly toward the light until it seemed like I was inside the bulb. It was incredibly bright, but not painful to look at. I remember thinking, "this is really strange." However, there was no fear and I wasn't confused anymore. The emotions were not extremely intense, but they are hard to describe. After what seemed like 1-2 minutes, my consciousness was back to normal again. I was in the exact same position as before. However, it was now dark in my room and outside. I looked at the clock, and though I don't remember the exact time, it was around 9 p.m. About six hours had passed. I was starting to assume that I fell asleep and had a really strange dream, except for what happened next. I stood up and walked out into the kitchen. Both of my parents were there. The immediately began yelling at me and asking where I had been. They thought I hadn't come home from school, and had been calling all my friends' houses looking for me. I didn't understand why I was in trouble and told them I was just taking a nap in my room. They didn't believe me, and said that both of them checked my bedroom and I wasn't there. My mom said she looked in my room earlier and I absolutely wasn't taking a nap in there. This is when I got frightened. I started trying to rationalize it, because I knew my parents were not lying. I said, "the light was off, maybe you didn't see me." My dad told me that the light had been on all evening, and he had just gone into my room again and turned it off right before I walked in the kitchen. When he turned off the light was exactly when I 'woke up' or 'returned' or whatever. For him to have gone into my room and turned off the light, he would have to have been no more than 3 feet from me. There is absolutely no way that he could NOT have seen me lying there on top of the covers with my feet on the floor. I told them about what I had just experienced, but they didn't believe me. They were both angry and I remember they grounded me, but I don't recall for how long. I talked to them again about it a couple of times over the years, but they didn't really remember the event. I'm sure they thought it was just some wild story I came up with to cover being late, and they never gave it any more thought.
Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience? No
Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Yes The sensations are difficult to
describe. I can describe the basic event, but it always seems to fall short of the way I experienced it.
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? Altered physical and visual sensations
at first. Later, as I was rising and in the light, it was just like normal first-person perception.
Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body? Uncertain I can't say for sure. I don't know exactly what I experienced.
What emotions did you feel during the experience? I was initially confused and startled. Later I was curious. The sensation was peaceful,
but I wouldn't describe any of the emotions as overwhelming.
Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises? Just a slight humming/buzzing as I neared and entered the light.
Did you see a light? Yes
Did you notice how your 5
senses were working, and if so, how were they different? Yes After the initial "shrinking" feeling, all senses worked normally.
Did you have any sense of altered space or time? Yes About six hours passed in a period that felt like seconds or minutes to me.
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 did feel like I was contained within the light bulb, and really couldn't go any further.
Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience? Yes Yes, but I don't necessarily attribute them to this experience.
How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices? I'm less skeptical about people who describe extraordinary events then I think I would have been.
Have you shared this experience with others? Yes But, only my parents and later my wife. All were skeptical at best.
What emotions did you experience following your experience? Anger at my parents for not believing me. Confusion over what happened.
What was the best and worst part of your experience? The experience itself was pleasant. However, never knowing what exactly happened to me has been mildly disturbing over the years.
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