Early Out-of-Body Experiences

My first big surprise was how easy astral travel was. Once I started doing theexercises outlined in the literature, I immediately experienced lucid episodes:I was able to become conscious while asleep.

From the beginning, it became clear to me that out-of-body experiences and luciddreams were inextricably intertwined.

The out-of-body experience (OBE) can be simply defined as a condition in whichindividuals perceive themselves as existing outside of the physical body. Theyreport leaving their physical bodies during which time they are able to fly,walk through walls, visit distant locations.... The lucid dream can bedefined as a dream in which the dreamer is able to maintain full wakingconsciousness and sometimes control the dream environment.

Most out-of-body explorers agree that lucid dreams are, in reality, out-of-bodyexperiences. Some feel that they are an inferior form of OBE, others feel thatthey are superior. Some feel that they are the same phenomenon exactly, the onlydifference being the percipient's interpretation.

The main difference between the two, I think, is that with out-of-bodyexperiences, you perceive the environment outside of you as being externallycreated and independent of mental influences. In lucid dreams, your environmentis internally created, and is composed of mental projections.

However, this theory runs into a major problem, because as all out-of-bodytravelers know, the astral dimensions are extremely responsive to thoughts, andwhile out of body, it is very easy to slip into a finer dimension and createexquisitely detailed and lifelike mental projections.

In fact, as you advance with astral travel, it becomes clear that physicalreality itself involves the same phenomenon of mental projections. Despite itsseemingly fixed reality, the physical world is in fact composed of mentalprojections. Thus the concepts of internal and external become blurred.

Still, there are differences. I have had both lucid dreams and out-of-bodyexperiences. I have astrally projected from a lucid dream, and I have had out-of-bodyexperiences that evolved into lucid dreams. I have had out-of-bodyexperiences that contain some mental projections, and I have had lucid dreamsthat seemed to be totally real. I have also had experiences in which I honestlycannot tell the difference.

As I became more proficient at out-of-body travel, I finally discovered whythere is so much confusion. But in the beginning, I tried not to overanalyze myexperiences and just went with the flow.

According to Robert Bruce, advanced astral traveler and author of AstralDynamics, "A lucid dream is a genuine type of OBE, although the dimensional gatetraveled through to achieve it is best thought of as being internal" (Bruce, p.322).

Robert Peterson writes, "The scenery is 'artificial' in a lucid dream, but is'real' in an OBE.... Regardless of what OBEs and lucid dreams are, I believethey are two separate phenomena.... I do believe that occasionally peopleconfuse one experience for the other, and granted, it's very difficult to tellthe difference in some cases" (Peterson 2001, pp. 201–205).

William Buhlman writes, "One of the best ways to initiate an out-of-bodyexperience is to become aware or lucid within a dream" (Buhlman 1996, pp. 27,182). In fact, during an out-of-body experience, he was told that lucid dreamscan be considered a higher form of OBE, as they take place in a highervibrational dimension, meaning the astral dimensions.

Writes Vee Van Dam, "[A] lucid dream is the equivalent of a projection" (VanDam, p. 68).

In any case, the two are so similar that it can be very confusing for the noviceexplorer. This was true in my case. Although I was able to initiate OBE's afteronly a few tries, attaining lucidity was a long and arduous process. Only bycombining intense effort, will, and desire was I able to become lucid in thedream state. My early experiences were invariably brief, and I had little or nocontrol over my actions. I had already had several lucid dreams before I had thefollowing experience in which I moved beyond the lucid dream state and closer tothe out-of-body experience.

Could I Be Dreaming?

I wake up, and it's completely dark. Not even darkness—I can't see anything atall. Nor can I hear or feel. I have no sensory input whatsoever. I amfascinated, and think, "Could this be a lucid dream?" As soon as I think this, Iremember the rule, "If it could be a dream, then it is."

At this realization, knowing that I am asleep in bed and yet totally conscious,I become overjoyed. This is intensely different from anything I have everexperienced. Suddenly, I feel a wave of tiredness and start to loseconsciousness. I recall that LaBerge [author of Lucid Dreaming] recommendedspinning to maintain lucidity. So I try to spin. I feel a very peculiarsensation of a sideways spiraling motion, as if I were a washcloth beingsqueezed. I feel myself folding into myself, rolling and rolling, and then Ilose consciousness. (July 31, 1987)

Finally, I was getting closer. I still was unable to maintain my awareness forany length of time. My experiences therefore remained brief.

Trapped in a Dark Box

I wake up from a dream. I realize that even though I am fully conscious and wideawake, for some reason I cannot see, nor cry out. I know I am lying asleep inbed, and yet I am totally awake. I realize I am lucid, and am fascinated by thefeeling of having no sensations whatsoever. It feels like I am in a dark box (mybody), but I can't feel it at all. After about twenty seconds, I wake up, amazedand excited. (November 21, 1987)

These two experiences are neither lucid dreams nor out-of-body experiences. Iwas neither dreaming nor was I out of body. These are the types of experiencesthe beginner can expect. If you keep up your efforts, however, you will berewarded with something less ambiguous.

The following experience occurred immediately after I lay down on my bed duringthe day, just for a short rest. I consider it my first real OBE. I was 22 yearsold.

"I'm Doing It!"

Suddenly, I feel my body become extremely heavy. This is followed immediately bywhat feels like an electric shock pulsating through my body. I am totally unableto move or cry out, and my body feels like it's hollow and there is a waterfallflowing through it. It feels like I am touching a live wire. I recall Monroe'swarning that you might feel a vibration. I'm thinking, "Vibration? That's theunderstatement of the year!" I'm sure I'm being electrocuted.

Suddenly, I feel a strange "whoosh!" I am up in the air flying. I zoom out of mybedroom, across the hall, and into the...