What Was it That Was Leaving Me? An Unusual Out-of-Body Experience (OBE)

Abstract

This paper is a narration of a unique experience, that which is arduous to circumscribe as an out-of-body experience; ambiguously to-be called a fractional out-of-body experience or a partial autoscopy. It was an experience in the presence of observers who were naive of what the individual was experiencing. This experience has surely helped the individual plummet into imagining the existence of an form beyond the body; the existence of a soul; that which is conscious; that which can think like the mind; that which resides within the body and that which can detach from the body when death advances. There is a possibility of it being a neuro-psychological or neuro-parapsychological experience; an experience whose actuality is grim to prove or construct in third person, but certainly subsists for the experiencer; the experiencer being myself.

Key Words 

Out-of-body, Experience, Soul, Consciousness

The experience of being out-of-my body

It was a beautiful day; I was with a few friends sitting on the over-head water tank of my 6 storied building, approximately 90 feet high. This place was our regular hangout, as it always felt great to be up there, as the view till today is always amazing. I was 18, with an eagerness to enjoy and explore life; with an enthusiasm to do things that would defy life, but the least I knew that this day would change my perception of life forever. As we chatted, jokes filled us with joy and play, which somehow lead us into trivial games; games that one should never play. The over-head tank is laden with water-pipes and has a large water-pipe approximately 2 inches thick, that runs along the tank, where one could attempt to balance on it; an insane thing to do at such a height, but definitely gave a feeling of achievement if completed. It was not something new that I was doing, as I had been repeatedly doing it whenever I would go up there and therefore was confident about completing it without tripping over.

Excited and with my adrenaline all pumped up, I challenged my friends that I would complete the walk in one go and I decided to attempt the task, not knowing what I was about to experience. Over-confidence made my strides wider and faster, and with everyone cheering, it heightened my confidence and inadvertently my ego. While balancing on the water pipe, I missed a step and slipped, I lost my balance and at that point I felt my body fall off the water tank; I felt my body being pulled away from the tank and with nothing there to cling on to, I knew that it was the end; I was aware that my body would fall 90 feet to the ground and death was approaching. My confidence and ego was shattered as my legs left the ground and my hands precipitously moved around to grab whatever came my way, but all that I felt was nothingness. That moment resulted in an experience where in a flicker of a second a life review began; my past flashed in front of my eyes and I saw images as one would see it in a personal scrap book; my life story in frames flashing in front of my eyes.

As my life review began, I somehow felt being detached from my body and lost sensation of being within it; a feeling of weightlessness. I felt as if I was rising rather than going down. My life review stopped and I could see myself in a form emanating out of the body from the face till my chest and at that moment I felt someone grab me and pull me to the ground. It was my friend who did this as part of his reflex and therefore I owe my life to him. I was back again in my body when I hit the ground and passed out. All of a sudden my eyes opened and I saw all my friends staring at me, all perplexed. It felt as if I had just woken up after a long night sleep, to see my friends looking at me. The frightful feeling of falling didn’t seem to exist and at that moment I felt a feeling of joy and happiness; a feeling as if I had learned something.

As I woke up, my friends asked me what happened, but I did not know where to begin or rather I could not put it into words; I was confused. I asked them how long did I pass out, and they said that it was just a few minutes, but for me the whole episode seemed to have lasted for almost half an hour. The trip, the fall, the review, the experience of the departing form, all of it happened in just a few minutes, but for me it seemed like a long period. As I narrated this experience to my friends, they laughed and joshed about it. It was a personal experience, a beautiful experience where I defied death. If that was my soul, it was definitely nimbler than my body, and in case I would have fallen, that form would have taken off from my body. It was my experience and I felt no one and neither did I see anyone; all that came as a flash in front of me was my past in the form of images.

It seems that my nimbler form exists within my body and knew the limitations of my body as I felt it ripping out of my body, for it knew that my body would not survive the fall; a mutilated body is definitely no place to reside. The moment I was held and pulled back, it realized that my body is safe and it pulled itself back, putting me into a deep sleep. It is an experience that bought a significant change in me; a change that has made me fearless of death; changed my perception of death. I have been very reluctant to share this experience, but my endeavors to understand the existence of a non-local soul or consciousness or mind has made me more open towards sharing it. The vividity and richness of the experience still persists that only I as the experiencer could experience.

Conclusion

My out-of-body or fractional out-of-body experience fortified the feeling of the presence of a form that resides within me; call it my soul, consciousness or mind. Based on this first experience, it can be said, but not concluded that this form that resides within me is aware, it thinks and sustains. This event could be easily passed-off as a neuro-psychological or neuro-parapsychological event associated with the dysfunctioning of the brain, where the brain in mental shock could possibly result in such an event. But for me as the experiencer this event will always remain phenomenal until proven within the realms of scientific explanation. It is definitely a difficult experience to understand and explore from a scientific perspective, but surely a vivid experience that made me realize the beauty that lies within; for it remains as my experience and therefore is purely my opinion. 

Contzen Pereira, Ph.D. Independent Scholar, Mumbai, India. Email Address: contzen@rediffmail.com, contzen@gmail.com

 

Cadence

Introduction
I have had many meditative experiences.  Some I documented, many I did not.  After my experiences, I have had and probably always will have many questions.  I will share one here that I titled Cadence.  There could be many rational explanations for what I experienced but I choose to keep an open mind rather than judge a thing.  For me, I find that once I have judged a thing, I have limited the scope of its potentiality.  I don't like the idea of limited potential.

Meditative Vision
Into the depths of the darkness of the void I traveled with my consciousness. No sight or sensation to guide me, just this sound that seemed both within me and outside of me. For long moments I drifted with one foot in two worlds. Before long the entirety of the Multi-verse appeared in my field of vision. No longer had I a physical body but rather a strand of energy consciousness that comprised my being. In the heart of the Multi-verse did I appear to be and then with lightning speed, it began to grow distant. So distant, in fact that the Multi-verse itself seemed to be one tiny pinprick of light in a vast canopy of pure darkness.

To the very edge of the Multi-verse I had somehow traveled and within this space of pure darkness all I saw were thin wisps of blue lightning that appeared now and then without any sound. The peace and the stillness were palpable, peaceful and awe inspiring broken by this beautiful cobalt blue streaks of light. A voice spoke with such a richness of tone that reverberated throughout the whole of my being but there were no words to recount. Being so used to using words, I sent out a thought, “Where are we?”

“We are outside of both space and time as you know it,” said my companion in a wave of feeling interpreted by some understanding I had lost touch with.

“Why am I here?” I sent back to my seeming companion still awestruck at the blue light flickering now and then in the pristine darkness of the void.

“You wanted to explore and so you have come,” my unseen but very much felt companion conveyed.
“Who are you?” I asked so very curious.

“I am the Omega or the Alpha but words and names mean nothing here in this place. Be not so concerned with words,” my companion said.

Contemplating the tiny dot of light in my field of vision, I asked, “Are you the Creator of that?” I indicated focusing on the tiny pinpoint of light that was the Multi-verse.

“I am and I am not,” my companion said.

“Well if you are not the creator then who is the creator of the Multi-verse?” I asked still so very curious.

“The Elohim created the Universe that you know and the Multi-verse that houses it,” the presence answered in response feeling sympathetic to my questioning.

Thinking carefully about the fact that if the Elohim created the Universe and the presence referred to the Elohim as separate from it, I assumed he may have had a different creator. I asked then, “Who is your creator and where do you come from?”

My companion said, “Come, I will show you.”

We traveled, I sensed, as I felt a strange movement as in slight changes in barometric pressure on Earth. I asked about the “traveling” and received in response that we were traveling not within a dimension but through dimensions. After a short time the void of pure darkness was replaced with a light. Glowing pink living light filled my field of vision. A sight my mind could not interpret but for the color and a visual beating with the same cadence as a human heart. A slight motion to the right of the pink light was a blue light and again with a visual I could not interpret or put to words but the same beating and cadence. Another turn and there were more colors that I could interpret but the rest I could not. I felt completely at peace but surrounded by these fields of pulsing light. I asked again, still so very curious, “This is your Creator?”

 Instead of a direct response to my question, my companion said, “The time for thinking is done. Notice the beating of your human heart so very far away back on Earth. Notice how the cadence is the same as it is here and feel it. There are no words but there is feeling, so feel it. Tune into the cadence and know the answer to your questions. The time for words and thinking, the time of questioning and answering is done. It is time now to feel,” the presence said again without a single word.

And the rest was lost in translation and I fell from that place in my consciousness. I opened my eyes and saw a single candle flame dancing on an altar. It was my own back on Earth comprised of sacred things to me. I stared at the flame for a time trying to understand and I heard a faint whisper, “There are no words, there is only consciousness.” I blew out the candle.

Conclusion
I can conclude nothing from my vision with certainty.  Perhaps I simply have a very imaginative and creative mind, maybe I connected with something or maybe everything I saw, felt and seemingly "heard," was just symbolic of what was happening at this point in my life.  I note this experience occurred before my kundalini experience.  In fact, I had many of these types of experiences before my kundalini experience.  Maybe they are related?  Honestly, I do not know.  The feeling during the experience was beautiful and peaceful.  So, maybe I just suspend the desire to judge or label it and leave it at that?

 

© 2016 Jaie Hart

Rev. Dr., J.L. Harter, see Bio Section for more information.

The White Hot Light That Burns (without hurting)

Introduction:
I had a personal experience with Kundalini back in February of 2013. Having read about the experiences of others with Kundalini, nothing could have prepared me for my own experience. It occurred unexpectedly and was life changing in ways I am still only discovering. I was skeptical of the experience even though I had read about it. I am a skeptic, no more. The experience is real, the life changes that followed were truly in my best interest and I’m truly grateful to be able to finally recount it in this way. I’m sharing this experience here for others who may be curious.

A Beautiful Memory:
I was never certain that I believed in Kundalini experiences. I've read about them off and on for over 30 years since I took an interest in life before lives, rather than life after life. I guess the journey began for me some time ago with what was termed for me as a "spontaneous past-life memory." That event lead me on a quest for over 30 years. I didn't have a teacher, a guru or spiritual wise one to guide me in my search for answers to all the questions I had about some pretty amazing experiences I can recount over the whole of my life. At some point during my journey, I picked up meditation. I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe it was the promise of peace, calm and even greater self-understanding. Did it bring me that? Yes, I suppose it did. Some 14 years or so after experience an Near-Death-Experience during pregnancy, and following some pretty tiring and trying life experiences, I just started. I started meditating out of desperation to find calm, peace to reconcile disappointment, anxiety, heart-break and this weird sense of knowing that none of the experiences I've ever had were anything to be concerned about.

The Experience:
After about 5 years of nightly meditation of at least 30 minutes, something changed. I began my nightly routine as I usually did. I cleared all of the negative energy from my being merely breathing in each of the colors of light of the rainbow. It began with a deep beautiful purple light extending into the core of my being, followed by blue extending further out to my entire home, then a deep emerald green encompassing the entirety of my city, then a beautiful sunny yellow to encompass all of the united states, then a beautiful brilliant orange to encompass the Earth, a deep magenta/red expanding into our galaxy, I brought in a beautiful golden color when I imagined the entirety of the Galaxy and then beautiful opalescent white I as I extended the light into the void and beyond. I stayed there for the longest time, it seemed. When all thought of my own existence dropped away, I heard a faint pure tone. I could not tell you the key but it was beautiful. I felt then a vibration that seemed to start in the very Earth and move up into my body. I breathed gently and slowly to stave off the thinking part of my mind that prickled with a feeling of something supernatural about to occur. Just then, the vibration seemed to swirl in a clock-wise fashion physically about me. I stayed with the feeling and allowed myself to remain present. Another tone came faintly, at first, into the edges of my consciousness. Another pure tone, I also could not describe by note. It harmonized with the first tone but was higher in pitch. I stayed present with the sensation of swirling, not one tone now but two and then I felt a white hot burning in the very base of my spine. It did not hurt but the more I felt it, the more I felt the swirling, felt the tones vibrating and a hissing sound became apparent. I sat with the feeling not knowing what was happening, trying with all I had in me to keep my thinking mind partitioned. Then the third and final tone, even higher pitched than the other two began and it blended in beautiful harmony. The white hot burning sensation began to move up my spine. It moved slowly to the middle of my back but the higher it rose, the louder the hissing was.

I noticed I felt a sensation of pressure now along with the white-hot burning that did not hurt, the swirling, the hissing and the beautiful tones that I just wanted to become forever lost in. I willed myself gently now to just stay present for the experience and the feeling moved into the space behind my heart. The intensity of feeling, hearing, sensing grew and grew and then the white hot burning moved again to the back of my throat. I involuntarily sat up very straight and aligned my neck because I knew it was going there next. The white hot burning moved into my neck and it stayed there for the longest time. My throat felt warm and tingling and the other sensations continued. The white hot burning moved seemingly into the very center of my brain and I could feel it there and the moment I did, the colors burst into my inner vision like fire works. The most memorable ones where the beautiful purple and orange colors, burgundy and blue, blinding white and golden light. I could feel this light in a way my words will not do justice. It was alive both inside of me and outside of me. I stayed with the feeling enjoying it so much. I could feel the tears falling as I very emotionally began to feel pure joy. The white hot burning sensation began to move again and I thought of the crown of my head and I had an urgent thought to will the crown of my head to open to allow the energy to come all the way through me. The feeling of energy was so intense that this was something I really felt I had to do as if my very life depended upon it. In my mind, with all of these colors flashing, the heat of the white hot burning sensation filling me fully now as if it were 100+ degrees there in my room on a cool February night and finally I could collect the thoughts, OPEN, OPEN, OPEN.

I felt the energy rushing through me like a white hot raging river but it was gentle as much as it was forceful and the colors and feelings just continued to explode. I felt bliss. I felt love. I felt absolutely wonderful. As the last drops of that white hot energy sailed away through the top of my head, I was left in this dreamy, comfortable space of pure peace, calm and silence. I could physically feel the pressure of the energy all around me and I could not stop crying. When my normal and logical senses began to return, the thought occurred to me to just be very grounded. I held a small stone my youngest daughter had given me. A simple rock we found on the beach that had been perfectly tumbled smooth in the waves. I imagined feeling so very connected to the Earth. It helped with the very drunk and giddy feeling the energy left me with. I had to get outside and so made my way down stairs and stood barefoot on the cold concrete just staring up at the stars feeling so very connected. No longer able to fight my logical mind, I thought - is THIS what a Kundalini experience feels like?

The Aftermath:
The weeks that followed brought me frequently interrupted sleep as the energy would often surge at night while I was sleeping, waking me up with that feeling of overheated and swirling or pulsing. It would pass fairly quickly and I'd fall back to sleep, only to be awakened again in an hour with the same sensation. It passed in intensity and still comes at times even though 3 years have passed. The things that followed were interesting. In the physical world, there was recovery to do. Things I thought I wanted no longer worked. I gave up a challenging position I worked long and hard to get that no longer suited me. I changed my perspective on much. I met my life partner after that as well and well, I nearly had a nervous break down. It was not harsh and overly painful but clear...clear in that I felt the impetus of change upon me and new I had to follow my intuition. I had ignored it for far too long.

Conclusion (or New Beginning):
I became much more intuitively sensitive. Things got my attention more clearly than before. The experience of my NDE coupled with a Kundalini experience has left me feeling so strange at times. The things I once loved to do, to strive for and to agonize over just no longer served me. I had to let go of so much because the thought of carrying animosity or even trying to made me sick. I forgave a lot, became much more gratitude focused and all the energy seemed to calm within me. I could feel people differently than before. No matter what they said to me, I could feel the origin of the feeling behind their words at times. It was a bit strange and at times left me feeling both very connected and yet also a bit isolated and sometimes confused. My Kundalini experience occurred in 2013. Following that experience and a near nervous breakdown, I was medicated for a couple of years and that got me through the worst of it. I don't recommend that route though as it is a long and arduous journey out of it. Today, today things are so much better. I am peaceful and accepting and have given up my spiritual quest. I learned that I hold the answers I seek. If my NDE and the Kundalini experience brought me this, well, I'm just grateful. I have enough and I now finally realize, I am enough. For the first time ever, I am comfortable in my own skin even if the bulk of my world and responsibilities feel a bit limiting at time. At some level I realize that I have the life I always wanted, the perfect existence for me and I'm still just so very grateful.

In a way, I am still recovering and discovering exactly what that means. For the rest of my life I will be integrating the experiences of both my NDE and Kundalini experience and I welcome every breath and step with much gratitude.

© 2016 

Dr. J.L. Harter, Editor see bio section for more information.