I think I had an obe but need some clarification.

[Enix]

I woke up this morning with little sleep. 2 or 3 hours later I was tired and had to go back to bed. I knew It wouldn't take long cause I was pretty exhausted mentally and physically and it felt great to rest. I think I was on my side. I noticed hearing some audible voices which I haven't heard in a while but used to here fairly frequently while drifting to sleep. I wasn't afraid of this cause it seemed neutral and could have been a number of things. What was most interesting was just before sleep I noticed a black symbol or image with a white background. (I think it was in a square) and I only saw it for a moment. I took notice of this because I had read C.G. Jung for the first time just before bed, and I knew he was an expertise on symbols and mandalas. I wasn't reading about this specifically though.

Anyway I was obviously in a slightly different state of mind than usual. I rested again and next thing I knew I felt a kind of disconnection kind of sideways and up (diagonal)  I think I became slightly aware of this and without over thinking allowed it to occur. I was like no way I'm floating above my bed. I was surprised at the casualty of the experience. I didn't search for an astral body but I didn't see one. I was just floating consciousness. I actually felt almost exactly like I do in waking life. My room was an accurate depiction of my room although I didn't observe it in detail, I know the shades were shut as they were when I slept. I also noticed the brightness from the shades because I wanted to explore and it was encouraging seeing the daylight.

I believe the first thing I tried (with a slight nervousness, kind of like being on a roller coaster) was going through the floor.   I think might have shut my eyes. (if that's possible  )  I noticed the darkness lasted a little long for a thin floor but this was my first conscious attempt going through matter. That's probably not true but this is the only time I remember doing so. Next thing I know I'm back in my body, but something was different. One of the times It was like I was body on bed but couldn't move, but it wasn't paralysis. Maybe I was floating directly above my body, I don't know, or dreaming. I knew something was going on so I attempted to obe again and did so with hardly any effort at all.

I tried to go through the ceiling but couldn't. For some reason I started going in a clockwise circle about 2 times (like I was stuck in my room) before going back in body again.This time  I could move, but there was a book or two on my bed that wasn't there before, I opened the book and it had a picture section in the middle. A beautiful girl, she was naked in one of the pictures. I realized this wasn't real which made me question the obes. Shortly after this I woke for real.

Ive got a few questions relating to this, I would like you guys to tell me whether you think this was a true obe?

I always hoped that while in obe great visual experiences were perceived. I thought I remembered hearing comments on this before. I have never been a visual person, visualizations were hard for me and Ive wondered before whether my actual sight was dimmer than others. Honestly Ive thought of the world as kind of dim from a visual objective standpoint, although I love nature.

Would my lack of visual perception be transferred into the astral?
Do you guys see heightened visual perception while astral traveling?
Does the perceived experience vary based on the individual?
Are there different kinds of obes?

Also is it normal to be limited in movement while obeing, especially at first?

[Psilibus]

In my opinion you were successful. Don't create doubt in yourself. YOU experienced it and YOU remembered it. Once you are out your must focus on your surroundings. In my opinion that helps hold you there. Distractions will send you back. I like to get away from my body as soon as I can or it seems to draw me back quickly. Once you feel the pull of your body (this will become familiar) it is pretty much a done deal for that moment. Try to become familiar with how your body and mind are feeling when this occurs. It will become familiar. Do you have a particular technique you are using? If so then stick with it. If not you may want to read up on what sounds likely to work for you. Others on this website may help you better than I with that.
You probably couldn't pass through the ceiling because you anticipated solidity. You will learn that you can fly, walk, run, teleport and pass through anything (including the Earth itself) once you have broken some of the preconceived notions of your physical self. There are no limits other than your imagination initially. I would encourage you to pursue the astral realm but I personally think exploring self control will suit you best and make you most comfortable with the whole precess overall.

DON'T find your self thinking "oh it was just a dream". That will kill your aspirations. DON'T talk about this with anyone you don't trust or feel will not understand. There is sooooo much misleading information out there.

I will watch this post to see what others say and will pipe in if necessary.

Congratulations and don't stop now. Enjoy the adventure. Post your new discoveries here please.

[Enix]

Thanks psilipus, Ive heard others on this site and once in a book talk about how chances of obes can be pretty high by waking up with only partial sleep, staying up for an hour or two then going back to bed which is what I did.

I'd like to try a technique so I can have colntrole over obe's and do them more often though. Ive only tried the rope technique a couple times. Where you imagine climbing down a rope on an out breath after tensing and relaxing muscles. It felt great being in the trance state but unfortunately when I'd get to a certain state things would become too different or I'd get so deep into it that I'd snap back out.

I'll definitely be doing techniques in the future again though. I think it should be easier to accomplish now that Ive had an experience with it. I won't have nervousness or second thoughts. Plus I'll know what to expect. I'm kinda glad the experience was so casual because it'll help me relax and be calm the next time I try.

[NZ Traveller]

Definitely an OBE. Congratulations. I had an almost identical experience my first time however, I was trying and it sounds as though you were not. Interesting.

The voices you heard were your helpers or guides. For some reason they must have thought it a good idea to help you exit. I met mine on my very first outing and they were very helpful. They were concerned about my reaction to the whole experience. When I said that I felt great, they disappeared and true reality appeared.

Now sight in the astral is an unusual sensation. Right now i am looking through my eyes and i see my hands typing and the side of my nose just to the right of my left eye and vice versa through my left eye. But in the astral i saw none of this lol. No nose, hands nothing. Later when i got better i was able to study my hands and body and only then did i notice that they are there but on a different frequency...they look like they are surrounded by a bluish grayish haze.

I have noticed aura's of people and objects are easier to see in the astral. Colors are quite vivid as well if you are prepared to take the time out to study things like flowers and tree's etc. I have seen some amazing color combinations in the astral especially with flowers.

I cannot comment on how anyone else perceives the astral realm but i would imagine that it would be similar.

Yes there are different kinds of OBE's.

These are some of the ones i know of:

Conscious - Actively initiated and directed.

Forced - Pulled out without your initiation or permission. Can be good and bad. Good one are when your guides have an important message for you. Bad ones are when someone or something is trying to invade your body.

Future - Travels to future time

Past - Travels to the past

Local - Conscious travels in your bedroom or around your house

Green filter - These are usually not fun. They are unique because of the green hue to the light and as yet i havent had a good experience with them. Just back out if you have one of these.

Astral Attack - I have been attacked in the astral and it spilled out into the physical. I have not as yet read anything in this forum about astral attacks but it has happened to me. It began as a forced exit - then it turned ugly. So much so that I had trouble getting myself to wakeup. Each time I thought i was awake, I was not. Very scary and frustrating. The details of which I will not disclose here but if anyone has an experience similar to this and they want advice, ask me then.

When moving through walls be aware that you may not always arrive where you expect. Going through the roof in my house has landed me 5 years in the future in a house i did not know but would eventually move into. All details to the letter. So, be sure about you destination. If you end up somewhere else then your helpers must need you to pay attention something in this place and time. It may be more important than what you planned to do.

Good luck

[Enix]

Thank you that was helpful. I knew the voice could have been a guide. Lately Ive been putting such little thought into paranormal experiences, even I'm always been trying to learn more about them.  In part because I don't want something like an audible voice to scare me or give more power too it. From now on I'm gonna work within a very structured format. All this Happy Sappy New Age stuff is great but I think it gives the false impression to some people that caution is unnecessary. It's great that there are so many detailed books on such a variety of subjects. But as a result of this I think some people prioritize things incorrectly and skip some fundamental exorcises. Being so carefree with such little structure can be a danger in today's world which I found out when I ended up in the hospital.

I'm fairly confident based on some clue's that I was native American not too many lives ago. Ive always had a respect for nature, someone told me I have a native american spirit guide, I use primarily the right creative side of my brain like most the natives, and I felt a native american energy like it was mine this one time I went crazy. Experimenting in such a setting around nature with others who had an understanding and respect for life is a far cry from today's world. I think I ran too far with it at some point, became hyper sensitive with little control of my own mind and became crazy.

  One of the times during the obe (probably while going in circles) I tried to open my physical eyes to get back in body. I thought I heard something say I thought you wanted this. Confident and calm, Ive heard this voice before. Unfortunately based on my recent way of doing things I Knew it could be in my head, (imaginative) and even leaned towards this intentionally.

  I lost my passion for metaphysics not too recently in part because of these dramatic experiences. Also because previously I was wanting to know just how much of it was real. I know its real and possibilities are nearly endless aside from some structural laws. It seemed pointless though, difficult and uncertain. I also wasn't sure just how far we could go, only that were very capable. Ive finally gotten motivation back thanks in large part to Franz Bardons book Initiation into Hermetics. Ive connected to this book in a way I never thought I'd connect to a book. Its inspired me and I think I can continue with an end goal of personal transformation. 

I'm sure astral travel will come natural to me if I continue my journey with conviction. Its also an exercise later on in the book. I'm also going through practical psychic self defense by Robert Bruce just to be safe.