26/06/2011:
Me and family went to my in-laws' on the previous day for a sleepover. Stacey and my youngest son slept in the spare room on the upper floor of the house, and my other two kids were on the floor in their grandparents' bedroom. Initially I was supposed to sleep with my partner and youngest son, but I couldn't get comfortable so I opted for the sofa in the living-room downstairs. I fell asleep around 1.30 am and woke up at 5.30 am to use the toilet. A few minutes later, I went back to the sofa with the intention of entering the Phase. The hypnagogic state was marked by glimpses of unhuman faces engaged in virtual surroundings. Soon, I was completely paralysed and a mild pressure in the chest area was felt. Hissing and rushing noises ensued before I turned to my left side and floated out of my immobile body.
I had tunnel vision that can be best described like seeing through binoculars in reverse, where the rim was silvery and kaleidoscopic. As I motioned through the air, I turned to see my body on the sofa. It wore the same pyjamas and looked like me peacefully asleep. I tried to touch it, but, despite feeling a hand go right through, none was seen. This made me realise that I appeared to have an invisible body at that stage. I looked around and noticed that the house interior - despite being devoid of colour - appeared accurate (as far as I could tell). I drifted upwards, going through the ceiling, in order to explore what was on the upper floor. A flurry of black and grey patches invaded my field of vision until black was all I could see. I stopped in my tracks and demanded light, but to no avail.
I felt stuck for a brief moment before it crossed my mind that I was having a Mode 1 OOBE - where conscious awareness theoretically separates from the body and is free to explore the physical realm or a level of reality closely associated with it - and that I might be embedded in some wall or enclosed in a large physical structure. I shifted upwards a little more and got a close-up of my youngest son's face. His eyes were open but he didn't look at me. As I floated away from the bed, I saw my partner, apparently asleep and cuddling the little boy. Apparently I had been seeing inside the mattress prior to my decision to move upwards. My tunnel vision was gone but the environment was still devoid of colour.
The manifest reality was eerily still and silent despite displaying no apparent anomalies in its structures. It gave me the impression that it wasn't a proper reality, as the atmosphere conveyed the notion of a lifeless blueprint. I wanted to explore the surroundings further, but, the experience was cut short by an emerging darkness and the sensation of giant hands gripping my torso. I removed thick fingers from my ribs with ease before regaining physical awareness in the vibrational state. I heard voices and thought of them as being hypnopompic hallucinations. I let the vibrations dwindle until I could only perceive an internal pulsatile hiss and my head resting on the cushion.
I decided to make a swift attempt to re-enter the Phase getting up without straining the muscles. This led to a separation into a more colourful and brighter ambient setup. I heard people moving upstairs and I wondered if my family was getting ready to go out. I glanced at the sofa and realised that my body was missing. I wondered if I had just got out of bed instead of 'out of body' so I decided to test this by touching a black drawer unit nearby which, in actuality, holds my in-laws' DVDs. It's surface was firm, but, when I pushed my fingers through it, the solidity gave way. I could sink my whole hand into the unit as though its make had magically changed. This was all the confirmation I needed to reassure myself that I was in the Phase.
The front door was open and I walked out. I felt the brick wall of the house with my hand. It seemed to be made of stone at first, and then, I was tearing chunks away from it like it was gooey cake. The external world had a surreal quality to it. It looked like a playground painted by Salvador Dali. As I walked down the road, I witnessed more aspects of metaphysical reality or properties of a Mode 2 OOBE. The more I explored, the more my mind accepted the madness. A vagueness began to creep in as I was loosing lucidity. The experience was now a non-lucid dream where my friend Mark, who lives in Malaysia, had come to England for a visit. We went to a pub for a drink and we discussed what we were doing with our lives. Finally, we discussed politics before I woke up refreshed and remembering more of the Phase experience than the dream that it had turned into.
I've had a couple of experiences very similar to this one. Thank you for sharing! I always hate when I begin to lose lucidity. It always confuses me when I wake up.
I know. It can be very annoying. I guess the unconscious mind gradually takes over as you begin to phase back to the waking state. I seems that we might exist here and there (and possibly everywhere) at the same time. But where we are consciously, we are unconscious everywhere else.