just wondering...

[SnakeDoctor]

has anyone else ever laughed at, or asked if they were on drugs when you told a family member about your first OBE?

[Stookie]

lol
Thats why I don't talk about it with my family. I kinda like having a secret life no one understands... except the good folks here at the AP.

[Blazewind]

I'm with Stookie.  I just don't talk about it all that much with many people.  I feel quite alright talking with you folks on the message boards about and I have a few like minded friends who I can talk about it with.  Other than that, I don't even try.  I made the mistake once of mentioning it once while having coffee with my mother, who has always been into "new age" interests.  I was telling her about how I am trying to learn phasing, and trying to project from a mind awake, body asleep state.  She looked at me with the strangest look on her face and said simply... "Why?" in the oddest tone, as though she thouhgt that that was an insane thing to be trying to do on perpose.

[Novice]

Ditto to the others.

My husband used to joke that it only took 2 signatures to commit someone for 48 hours of psychiatric review...I'd rather not test that!   

I discuss this stuff with only 1 other person (not hubby) and here. Otherwise I keep my mouth shut. 

[owenp185]

I told my faimily about projection and they think im going crazy. If i could instantaniously pull them out of body they would understand how cool it is. I told my friends about lucid when we were drunk and they thought im freakin up 2 but they prob forgot the next day.

[Brolyson]

This is an important subject, dealing with the interaction of those in your life. Not just your family, but co-workers, friends, and anybody else who happens to be in your life.

What is important is how you are aware of others awareness. This heightened awareness of others reflects how you can proceed in communication/interaction with other person(s) in your life whether it be family, friends...ect.

The question is, how high is your awareness of self, and how aware are you of others awareness of truth?

This is why you observe others first, to see how they interact, how they communicate. Don't pass judgment on anyone, it's "unhealthy". It's obvious this subject to many (outside a community forum and to close trusted friends) is quite touchy, but those, like family, we should expect to understand has to be relied on for support...

Especially Mother...right...Not for me. My Mother was quite shocked when I started changing my views on life, she is still under the impression of the church and so has a limited hight of awareness being gained throughout her life movement. I'm helping her as much as I can, which means as much as she can help herself.

I now go about my day helping the lost in any way I can, always guiding them in ways of self discovery, making life a bit more interesting while I'm in their presence. But it doesn't happen very often, for most people who interact with you in life keep the communication limited and very unpersonalized. Common gestures rule the waves of many, so when the opportunity comes for you to share truth and guide those in need using your personal experience as truth, then you will know when is the right time to speak to those in need, to those who seek truth.

Peace,

Jeffrey

[Awakened_Mind]

I generally only feel comfortable talking about it with people who I begin relating to in a spiritual way. It's not something that often comes up as topic of conversation otherwise. Some people I think just aren't ready to hear it, so telling them prematurely can have a negative impact on their thought of it.

-AM

[David Warner]

AP Friends,

Good question here and this deserves input from me. Its never easy relating experiences of this nature to the generalized public, close friends or family members.

I had a tough time with my wife in the begining but she has come to understand the positive that derrives from these experiences and how it pushes me to being closer to our religion and faith. Being a better person, making a difference in the community and helping others.

Getting back to it, I personally don't think one should go out screaming from a mountain top "I leave the physical body" and think they have some special secret identity. Because, we know everyone can project that we are multidimensional beings. But I do think when confronted, hold your ground and show by example the positive influences of this awareness.

One has to lead by example and demonstrate the positive usefullness. Just because one person can't see, touch, or taste the spiritual level (astral, mental etc) doesn't mean they are wrong either but need to keep an open mind when confronting with this information.

If the person doesn't respond or care, then you don't waste the energy trying to communicate to them.

Thats my perspective.

Tvos

[Clarky]

I told my friends about the OBE's I have and they basically laughed at me.  The problem with me is I suffered really bad with social anxiety and depression at the time which to be honest seems to be what sparked my first OBE's off but didn't help in trying to convince them that these OBE's where real.  When I told my mum and dad, they said 'what do you mean have you seen a ghost?'.  I said no, basically when you go to sleep there's a certain point where your body turns paralysed just before you dream.. well I've been waking up as this is happening and then I can sit up and wonder about my room and house whilst my body is asleep'.  My dad said 'you mean your sleepwalking?' and laughed.  I just gave it up as a bad job and I've never mentioned it again.  The only place I talk about them now is on-line on forums like this one.  It seems the more OBE's I have, the more I want there to be an afterlife just so I could prove to them that I wasn't bonkers after all.

[Dimitis]

i have only met about two people i can really talk about this with, my gf and her dad, who is a very spiritual person...my parents just think im a little strange but understand my ways.  I am also greek orthodox, but being into the other reality only positively influences my life.  If it comes up it dows..but I dont just spring it onto others...they might not be ready. 

[3-mortalit33]

I've only told my father and my brother. They seem to believe that it's possible and that I'm telling the truth. Even though I don't feel comfortable talking about it, I still share some of my experiences with them.

[PeacefulWarrior]

I generally only feel comfortable talking about it with people who I begin relating to in a spiritual way. It's not something that often comes up as topic of conversation otherwise. Some people I think just aren't ready to hear it, so telling them prematurely can have a negative impact on their thought of it.

-AM

I too feel more or less comfortable talking about AP to people, but I usually couch the conversation in terms I think they understand or relate to.  I rarely use the term "astral projection," for example, but instead use "out-of-body" or "spirit travel."  Regardless, some people are going to consider you crazy but there are a lot crazier things going on in the world such as the killing of others of ideologies, diamonds, etc.

[Awakened_Mind]

Well some people haven't experienced it yet so they don't believe. That's fair enough. I'm not sure whether it was AP/OBE'S/RV that made me swing to a spiritual persecutive, but I'm not in agreement with people who use science all the time as a compas through the unknown. Sometimes you have to go with your gut, no matter what perspective you take.

-AM

[Synergy]

For years when I was a child, I kept my experiences to myself, especially with my dad's background.  He had studied 3 years in the cemenary to become a Catholic Priest, but then decided it wasnt what he wanted, and left to start a family.  He still retained much of the strict Catholic beliefs though, and I thought he would not understand.

When I was older, in my teens, I finally did tell my parents.  To my amazement, my Mom had numerous odd experiences as well (but no OBEs) She had what i can only call a form of 'spontaneous' remote viewing that happened on its own, and she couldn't control where she was 'viewing'.  She had also seen the spirit of her Grandfather fully materialized  when she was 6 yrs old.   Even more astonishing though was my Dad's account of an OBE... which to me sounded more like an NDE actually.  He described floating over the houses and toward the sky, and when he approached the sky he heard a voice saying 'why are you here, you have to go back'  In light of that, he still incisted upon the dangers of OBEs (possesion etc)  Contradictory to what he warned for me, he told me how in the cemenary they were taught how to meditate and attain altered states of consciousness.  So I guess the religious leaders keep the secrets to themselves and dont want the general population knowing how to attain enlightenment on their own! I also have an aunt who has had OBEs, I only found out in recent years.

Anyway, most of my friends do not know even to this day.  I do have alot of online friends who I can confide in though.  I dont think any of my local friends here would understand.  They would most likely think I am crazy

[Awakened_Mind]

My first experience of an OBE happened spontaneously. I remember walking out into the backyard the same morning and feeling 'in love' with my backyard. Well it wasn't really with anything in particular I just understood very deeply and felt 'at one'. It only lasted a few seconds and at the time I understood. "Much seeking is done after the experience because in the experience you have all the answers".

I brought it up after a while to a mate and he informed me it was known as "astral projection", he wasn't a hardcore spiritualist but he knew the terminology. Never projected himself. Anyway there was only one person who I though might have any idea about the subject in depth. She was an old friend of my mums but they hadn't spoken after a fallout for at least 18 months. I was sitting on the couch thinking about how I would bring it up to mum and she rang 'out of the blue'. So began my journey inward.

-AM

[Embodied Words]

I guess I must be pretty lucky, because most of the people I've told about APing took it seriously and seemed to have an interest in it. One of my best friends lost her mom to cancer a few years ago, so the chance that she might be able to communicate with her mom through astral projection of course made her instantly want to try it. I even got my mom into it. ^.^

I've only had one person tell me it's stupid and a waste of time, and that was my ex gf's mom. Oh well, her loss, right?

Z?

[Awakened_Mind]

Some people are afraid of change.

-AM

[Embodied Words]

Well, in their defense, most of these people have never heard anything like this. And it is much harder for adults to believe in something new when their whole life they've been taught something else. I'm not angry at them, I do feel sorry for them though.

[Awakened_Mind]

That's cultural conditioning.

-AM

[Embodied Words]

Hmm. Aaaaah I dunno what to say.

[Sisyphus]

dont talk to anyone about it.  Told a m8 about it and he just went "hrmm ok" and changed the subject.  So now i "talk"  to myself about it...probably not healthy

[Embodied Words]

Well, I guess that's another good thing about this website. If this whole thing is just a product of you being insane, at least you know there's a whole bunch of other insane people out there. Unless of course you're so insane that you're imagining this whole website in your head. ::raises eyebrow:: Ya psycho.