I guess this would qualify as an encounter with higher beings....although on the physical plane.My first post was about meeting my spirit guides, though at the moment Ive never really had an obe or at least I dont remember any. I cant hear my guides speak or see them yet, but I can feel them and every night I do an active meditation with them ,sort of like tai chi .... they guide my hands and move my body with gentle pushing and Im getting the idea that they are trying to make me aware of my energy body,now things have changed a little My hands dont get moved around and I am absorbing energy waves,creating balls of gold energyIn my hands(I can see the energy when I close my eyes)Its kind of weird I cant visualize or create pictures in my minds eye but when I do this energy stuff I close my eyes and I see very definate colours and some shapes.when I open my eyes I see what appears to be fairly faint milky white,blueish flame comiming from my hands and body and also see something resembling heat waves at certain places in the room.A few weeks ago I was doing a meditation with my guides with closed eyes and realized I was looking at the tip of a reddish gold sword I focussed on the sword a bit and found it to be a two handed sword then I realised I was holding it though it was weightless and couldnt be seen with the physical eye I was holding the handle with my left hand and my right hand was being guided up the sharp sword end...giving me an idea of its length.And now lately I have been doing standing meditations with my guides and though Im standing still I get the feeling of moving forward and backward and side to side do you reckon this is like a loosening of my astral body? I dont know what that feels like so maybe someone reading this can tell me I often wonder why I am being shown these things as I have said before I feel like there Is a big puzzle for me to solve....... your thoughts??