I'm a newbie here. Not sure if this is OBE or AP...

[letlovein42]

Last night I drank nearly a whole bottle of wine from 6:30-8:00. I fell asleep around 8:30PM, and around 1:30AM I was having a dream of walking around my neighborhood when all of a sudden I don't know if I was awake or still dreaming but I heard my younger brother in the next room snoring very loudly, and I remember thinking very deeply' I wish I could go in there and wake him up'. Again, I'm not sure if I was consciously awake when I was thinking this; but next thing I know, I hear my brother gasp really loudly then scream. He said, "Jenn, what do you think you're bonking funny or something". So I got out of bed and I said what?! He said I was messing with him, he said I went in his room and tapped him on the head. I of course told him that I was just dreaming about him when he woke up screaming....

Now, I have had at least 5 times in the past where I've experienced what they call "sleep paralysis".

I've done my research, and most OBE and AP experiences are classified as "hallucinations". I feel like I'm losing my mind, am I schizophrenic or is it really possible that something else is going on here?

Please don't say I was sleep walking while drunk. I had the 9.0% alcohol bottle of champagne starting at 6:30. I had already been sleeping for at least 4 hours.

[missym]

Sounds like an OBE to me! It's weird though because I rarely hear of people being able to interact with people while they are in the OBE state. I've tried countless times to awake somebody when I'm having an OBE and since they are in a different plane although I can see them I can't interact with them. Don't think you're losing your mind though it is a gift if these things happen without even having to try! It is definitely not schizophrenia

[mikaixx]

Don't think that you have schizophrenia! Like missym said, it is a gift. I especially think it's a gift if you and your brother can communicate like that. It does sound like an OBE.

If you have had sleep paralysis, that is a good place to start consciously trying to AP. That is how I started exploring out in the astral plane! Good luck, don't think you're crazy cause you're not!

[roman67]

Hello and welcome Letlovein. Good to see you here. I don't think people are able to interact with others in their OBE's.

[Mystiquemushroom]

Hello and welcome Letlovein. Good to see you here. I don't think people are able to interact with others in their OBE's.

I think anything is possible : D

[|Anthony|]

"I've done my research, and most OBE and AP experiences are classified as "hallucinations". I feel like I'm losing my mind, am I schizophrenic or is it really possible that something else is going on here?"

They say the same for lucid dreaming, but psychologists like Dr. Stephen LaBerge and of course all that LD have proven its normal dreaming during NREM/REM. Dr. Charlies Tart is in the area of OBE research. There was another female but I forgot her name.  As for the OBE...some believe its a highly advanced lucid dream or it is some form of conscious shift out of body. Usually those that right away say "hallucinations" without even linking it to possibly being a LD are the secular skeptics that dont want to hear anything that might indicate life continuation after death or the mind being complex to the point of questioning if design is indicated. I say that as someone with no religion or religious interests myself (although I'm not atheistic).

I would also NOT recommend using alcohol as a way to induce lucid dreams or out of body experiences. There are natural techniques/methods and if at very least over the counter legal supplements that might occasionally aid in LD/AP (Galantamine + Choline) if taken maturely and responsibly.

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/
http://dreamstudies.org/2011/01/06/the-neuroscience-of-lucid-dreaming/
http://www.near-death.com/tart.html

Anthony--