Hi everyone.
This is my first post on this forum and i'd like to introduce myself. Firstly I must say that i really admire the folks behind astralpulse, as well as the many other sites which seek to further this education and help people. I have benefited immensely by reading all the posts on the forums, and needless to say, the knowledge imparted is precious.
I'm a young computer scientist, just migrated back from the US to India...my home.
A few days ago i had a confusing experience that i would like to share and get some perspective through the more experienced people here
I recently got into researching in the occult region. It began when I got hold of a book by Dr. Brian Weiss ( about past life regression ).
And ever since a few months i've been avidly reading up everything that seemed interesting. My personal favorite however, is the work of Mr. Monroe. It is the most objective/analytical/("scientific"?) work in all the readings i have done till now ( which I admit is not too impressive )
Anyhow, I have been doing the Gateway experience since about 4-5 weeks and up until now i have only reached the third installment of the discovery series....i believe it's called advanced focus 10.....in which we're introduced to the concept of REBAL.
Two days back, I was feeling tired in the evening and decided to take a little nap. Needless to say, anytime I take a nap nowadays, it's invariable that the last thought in my mind is about trying to astral project.
Now this experience was a little confusing as I apparently "projected" inside the dream. The following that takes place is entirely in the "dream" i was having.
I "wake" up in the dream because of some disturbance....probably someone opening the cabinet in my room. But i was in a dazed state. Now I remembered that many authors say the best time to project is when you wake up after a few sleep cycles. Since in the dream I was groggy i rationalized perhaps I should try. So i lie down. Now I must remind that this is my recollection..i am not clear on the order of a few things.
So I lay back down. For a while I perhaps did some relaxation exercises while laying down in the "dream". I dont remember. The next thing I remember is that I suddenly saw a blue ball decorated by red, a tiny ball, suddenly fly in my head towards the back. And I felt as if i twisted my head a full 180 in a vertical manner to follow the ball. I remember being stricken by the suddenness of its appearance and the clarity and sharpness with which i was percieving it, since i had apparently closed my eyes in my dream. And up until now i have never had such a clear perception of any object since i've been doing these tapes.
There again might have been a time lapse between the next event. I don't remember.
Then the vibrations started. The were odd, but somehow It was something like I would have expected it to be. Kind of like a constant wave of "electricity?"/energy. I remember rationalizing in my dream that Mr. Monroe said this is the point of no return. And then there are quite a few minor details....i tried moving my hands, etc, and then finally projected. I saw my mom in my room and my sleeping body. However the room was awkward in many senses. I remember trying to rationally try and bring my mom to attention by doing something awkward, thumping my body, making sounds etc.. then to my surprise i saw she did notice me and was smiling. I then suddenly felt very happy and child like, seeing her motherly smile, and had an urge to try and fly out which I did. I "flew" in a straight line for a few hundred yards, then suddenly stopped and got a little fearful/doubtful, and that was the end.
I hope it wasn't too confusing.
Now the queries that i'm having are....was this an astral projection or lucid dream?
1. I don't think this was a normal dream because I still remember a lot of details of the dream. I generally do remember my dreams more than other people I have come across, but not in this detail, and more importantly, not in a set and logical order of events.
2. I remember rationalizing........logically taking decisions by remembering what I had read....seems unlikely that it would be so in a dream.
I also have reservations as to whether it was an AP, because :
1. I've read that the vibrations are something you've "never" felt before. But when i did have them, though they werent anything i had felt like as such, I was nonetheless not all that surprised by the way they felt. I sort of thought, "hey, this is definitely what an electricity current would feel like if it were to flow through me" .That leads me to think, perhaps this was simply a lucid dream in which i made the vibrations myself, building perhaps upon the memory of past small shocks we all inevitably get through electrical appliances.
2. After i was "out" it was easy for me to move about. I could also see everything like we do in C-1. No extra colors...no "greyness". Plus, when I wanted to fly out, i could do it very naturally. Now i think mr. monroe himself took quite a while to fly. And an inexperienced APer like me moving about and flying off in the first AP withought any problems.....
I AM confused though, and I sincerely hope I haven't bored off too many people.
Any views on this experience will be helpful to me.
Thanks all..
Good job. Whether it was an AP or LD I don't think is too important. What's obvious is that the Gateway is working for you (isn't it a neat program?).
As awesome as the Monroe books are, I suggest not comparing your progress and experiences with his. I believe this will hold a person with potential back. Your obviously moving forward, but if you start to expect certain things, you may block the unexpected things from happening, or discard them when they do. And it's the surprises that seem to be the some of the best things of non-physical experience.
I say this because it's a problem I ran into a while back. Take everything as a learning experience.
And keep doing Gateway and posting your progress. :)
From the report that you posted it Does appear that you had a genuine OBE.
However, nobody except you can really be sure.
Perhaps if you experience more OBEs then you will be able to definately determine if this experience was an OBE or a dream.
In any case it appears that you are 'on the right track' and Will have more OBEs.
Keep trying.
Grey