OOBE while an infant

[Freddy_Wagner]

Hello Everybody,

A brief introduction: "Skeptic" is my middle name so I only write about or believe things after a very careful analysis. Of course this made me an extremely unpopular kid among religious teachers who were indoctrinating us with all sorts of dogma and that "blind faith" is a virtue and a questioning attitude is a sin as we were being tempted by the devil and we would burn in hell for eternity for doubting anything in our particular "sacred book", etc., etc. In fact I was punished on several occasions for "asking too many questions". I have deliberately not specified what religion I "belonged to" as it is not really relevant since 99.99% of religions seem to have this in common. Anyway I mention this because I like to read about OOBE from a religious perspective and was particulary interested in the section and research into how this can explain "visitations by angels".

I would like to share my OOBE experiences while a very small infant (up to about 4 probably) and it was these experiences that triggered my interest in this subject after hearing about OOBE on a radio chat show when I was 22 years old.

So when I was a toddler I really believed that I could fly when no adults were around (i.e. in my bedroom at night!) and even fly through the keyhole of my bedroom door by concentrating on the hole and just going through it. Unfortunately I can't remember what I did, if anything, after leaving my bedroom. I also used to feel my body slamming down onto the bed on a fairly regular basis and explained this by the fact that I was floating over the bed. I never thought I was out-of-my-body, I thought it was a real experience, body and all. Somehow I instinctively knew never to mention this to anyone, including my mother.

Well as I grew older these experiences stopped occurring and I thought flying was something only little kids could do and missed the wonderful sensation of floating around my bedroom. As an adult I dismissed it all as a childish fantasy and did not give it much thought until hearing about OOBE experiences on a radio chat show after which I began to study the subject and learnt how to have lucid dreams and could "fly" again at last. (Yes, great!!!!!)

I now teach English to adults and a student started talking about a "religious experience" that sounded exactly like a lucid dream. We have been discussing this and I tried to find something on the Internet for him to read and after a Google search found this great site and downloaded the book.

I am still reading The Phase book and it is really interesting and well researched. My thanks to everybody who has contributed to it.

HAGD

Freddy

[Summerlander]

Hi and welcome, Freddy!

I'm glad you are free of those religious shackles and scepticism is a hallmark of a healthy mind. Like you, I started as an infant but had no idea what was happening. False awakenings and out-of-bodies used to frighten me. Then, as a teenager, I developed an interest in UFOs and encounters with otherworldly creatures. Later, OOBEs and NDEs. Finally I encountered the sound books about lucid dreaming by Stephen LaBerge and Celia Green. Eventually I discovered Michael Raduga's The Phase guidebook (then called "SOBT").

You know what really amazes me today? The fact that everything I was interested in as an adolescent has always been linked and can be found in the phase state. Today, this hybrid state of mind that used to terrify me as a kid is now my precious rock.

Freddy, you have stumbled upon a gem here. This site considers what is practical first and theories are secondary. If you're a realist, pragmatist, sceptic, scientific or what have you, this is for you. Welcome home, brother!

[Freddy_Wagner]

Hi Summerlander, Thanks for your reply and yes I feel like I just got home after a long walk on a rainy night, so thanks for your welcome, it is appreciated.

Like you, I had to figure lots of things out all on my own because I am over 50 and this sort of information was just not available when I was a kid. I could not discuss religion with my parents or even closest school friends because to admit you do not believe in God/love Jesus/etc was unspeakable. So much can be explained by lucid dreams (and some by ancient aliens too) so when I read the article on this site about actual scientific research into how this can clarify visits by angels it was like a huge WOWEEE for me. I had already considered this possibility, especially related to a certain religion that ironically rhymes with moron.

With the Internet all sorts of myths and taboos are now being freely discussed, and even the holiest of holiest taboo subjects.. (so better not mention it here). I really admire Richard Dawkins for all his work and consider myself to be very like him, albeit less eloquent and less charismatic, haha.

I agree this sort of phenomena should be investigated from a practical standpoint and not try to use it to justify or create a religion, so thanks brother!

[Summerlander]

I'm a fan of Dawkins too and atheist to the core. Great minds think alike. You are definitely in the right place. Let me make you a cup of tea.