newbie question! ;)

Hi Everybody, hope you all are enjoying the day/night depending on where you are! I live in Wisconsin and brrrrr its cold. :)

I need some help understanding if my experience was a lucid dream, OBE, or AP...Ive read through the older threads but still cant figure it out.. so here goes! LOL

I go to sleep like a regular night and wake floating up my bedroom wall. I realized quickly I was dreaming because I could see what looked like me sleeping in my bed. Needless to say, I got scared thinking I would crash into my bedroom ceiling. I did not. At this point I dont know what happened? The next part that I remember is everything being pitch black, and I felt like I was flying even though I couldnt see anything. I felt somebody next to me flying or floating with me too, no idea who that would be it was soooo dark! I remember not being scared at all, very different feeling than when I was in my bedroom. The next part I remember is being in a hospital room having a meaningful talk with my father who passed on years prior. This is where everything ends, as I dont remember anything else after this point. I awake remembering every detail I wrote about, it felt soooo real?

Any ideas guys and gals???
I just want to say I love this forum and have learned so much already, everybody has been so nice and it feels good to connect with you all!
Thanks in advance and hope you enjoy your night! :)

[IsleWalker]

butterfly--

Sounds like a full-on OBE to me. You had exited at the point you were floating above your body. You continued through the blackness (?it has a name that I always forget), you had your guide with you, you met your father who had passed and you returned.

The only thing is that you apparently lost a little energy somewhere in there (the places you don't remember).

You'll find that lucid dream or OBE or AP are all continuums of the same thing--and all are useful in our spiritual journey/development.

Because you "saw" your father, you may have been in astral (close in vibrational levels to physical) --or not. It is possible to have physical-seeming locations that are higher vibrationally. I don't know if the definition is that if you can "see" it, it is astral or not. Not really important. You go where you go.

You might read the William Buhlman book Adventures Beyond the Bodyfor tips about how to raise your energy before you begin your projection, common pitfalls, etc. It is available free in .pdf form out there. somewhere. I'll find the link for you if you're interested.

Good job, butterfly. You ain't no Newbie anymore!

Lora

Awww, IsleWalker thanks so much! you put such a big smile on my face tonight.. I aint no Newbie anymore! Good stuff ;)

I will try to find that book, Im sure a good search will guide me to it.. seems I have quite a bit of help from the other side these days!

I needed a little validation on my experience since certain things seemed to overlap and the more I tried to make sense of it, the more confused I became. It makes sense that putting a label on my experience makes no difference, the important part is to continue on my spirtual journey, and I must say.. its been A-mazing so far!!! To be continued... ;)

Thanks Lora!

[IsleWalker]

:)

It's pretty cool, isn't it? Have fun, butterfly!

L

[Astral Explorer]

Originally Posted by butterfly_kisses

Hi Everybody, hope you all are enjoying the day/night depending on where you are! I live in Wisconsin and brrrrr its cold. :)

I need some help understanding if my experience was a lucid dream, OBE, or AP...Ive read through the older threads but still cant figure it out.. so here goes! LOL

I go to sleep like a regular night and wake floating up my bedroom wall. I realized quickly I was dreaming because I could see what looked like me sleeping in my bed. Needless to say, I got scared thinking I would crash into my bedroom ceiling. I did not. At this point I dont know what happened? The next part that I remember is everything being pitch black, and I felt like I was flying even though I couldnt see anything. I felt somebody next to me flying or floating with me too, no idea who that would be it was soooo dark! I remember not being scared at all, very different feeling than when I was in my bedroom. The next part I remember is being in a hospital room having a meaningful talk with my father who passed on years prior. This is where everything ends, as I dont remember anything else after this point. I awake remembering every detail I wrote about, it felt soooo real?

Any ideas guys and gals???
I just want to say I love this forum and have learned so much already, everybody has been so nice and it feels good to connect with you all!
Thanks in advance and hope you enjoy your night! :)

This was a definite astral projection. The experience started in the RTZ (Real Time Zone) the zone that is in between the physical dimension and the astral planes. Then after flying into the darkness you entered what is known as the black void zone, it's empty and black and you pretty much can't see anything until you pass through it. The black void zone is in between the RTZ and the astral planes. Then you entered the astral planes and had that experience. So it was a definite astral projection in my book, an OOBE is where you just stay in the RTZ and don't enter the astral planes.

[IsleWalker]

Originally Posted by Astral Explorer

an OOBE is where you just stay in the RTZ and don't enter the astral planes.

An Out of Body experience is any experience where you are out of body. "Astral projection" refers to just the close realms to physical, where one might not want to spend much time --as you can't really be sure who's in the neighborhood.

Not sure where you get your info, Astral Explorer. RTZ was proposed by Monroe. Doesn't mean it's right. These are all just experiences and getting hung up on labels is a waste of time. Likewise, counting dimensions to see how "high" you got. IMO.

Isle

[Astral Explorer]

Originally Posted by IsleWalker

An Out of Body experience is any experience where you are out of body. "Astral projection" refers to just the close realms to physical, where one might not want to spend much time --as you can't really be sure who's in the neighborhood.

Not sure where you get your info, Astral Explorer. RTZ was proposed by Monroe. Doesn't mean it's right. These are all just experiences and getting hung up on labels is a waste of time. Likewise, counting dimensions to see how "high" you got. IMO.

Isle

It doesn't mean it's wrong either. We are all entitled to use any termanology we want. I call a projection that you don't enter the astral planes an OOBE, and one that you do an astral projection. Since astral is in the term astral projection it makes logical sense. Most people who have NDE's and only float above their body never make it into the astral and so I call that just an OOBE. The astral isn't just the lower planes or the planes "close to the physical", it encapsulates all planes including the lowest of low and the highest of high. The realms both close and far from the physical. Whether you choose to believe that or not or use the same terms as I do is completely up to you, but it certainly doesn't mean you are right, I am wrong, or vica versa. It just means that we choose to use different terms. The Real Time Zone certainly does exist regardless of what you wish to call it or not call it. Getting hung up on labels might be a waste of time in your experiences and your opinion, but it doesn't mean you speak the truth. It means you speak your opinion. Not trying to understand your experiences and share them in a language that everyone else can understand is a waste of time in my opinion, but I don't go criticizing how you waste your time do I?

[IsleWalker]

Originally Posted by Astral Explorer

It doesn't mean it's wrong either. We are all entitled to use any termanology we want. I call a projection that you don't enter the astral planes an OOBE, and one that you do an astral projection. Since astral is in the term astral projection it makes logical sense. Most people who have NDE's and only float above their body never make it into the astral and so I call that just an OOBE. The astral isn't just the lower planes or the planes "close to the physical", it encapsulates all planes including the lowest of low and the highest of high. The realms both close and far from the physical. Whether you choose to believe that or not or use the same terms as I do is completely up to you, but it certainly doesn't mean you are right, I am wrong, or vica versa. It just means that we choose to use different terms. The Real Time Zone certainly does exist regardless of what you wish to call it or not call it. Getting hung up on labels might be a waste of time in your experiences and your opinion, but it doesn't mean you speak the truth. It means you speak your opinion. Not trying to understand your experiences and share them in a language that everyone else can understand is a waste of time in my opinion, but I don't go criticizing how you waste your time do I?

AE--

You can use whatever terminology you want, but if you want other people to understand what you mean, it helps to have basic definitions the same.

Where did you get this idea that every dimension is included in astral? Who proposed this? Who used this definition? I've done lots and lots of reading about the subject and I can't think of anyone who says that ALL dimensions are astral. That's like saying that all that exists in the multiverse is Earth! It's kind of earth-centric.

I have had experiences that were not visual/sensational--it's just knowing. And it makes sense to me that, as spirit, with no need to have physical appendages for sight, smell, touch, feel, etc., that there is no need in those dimensions to have "visual" things. It is all just experience--consciousness-to-consciousness. Does that not make sense to you?

Lora

[Astral Explorer]

Originally Posted by IsleWalker

AE--

You can use whatever terminology you want, but if you want other people to understand what you mean, it helps to have basic definitions the same.

Where did you get this idea that every dimension is included in astral? Who proposed this? Who used this definition? I've done lots and lots of reading about the subject and I can't think of anyone who says that ALL dimensions are astral. That's like saying that all that exists in the multiverse is Earth! It's kind of earth-centric.

I have had experiences that were not visual/sensational--it's just knowing. And it makes sense to me that, as spirit, with no need to have physical appendages for sight, smell, touch, feel, etc., that there is no need in those dimensions to have "visual" things. It is all just experience--consciousness-to-consciousness. Does that not make sense to you?

Lora

Perhaps I stated what I meant slightly wrong. Every dimension in the Universe is possibly not the astral, at least not that I can prove. From my experiences I have been shown/told that each planet has it's own dimensions, each galaxy has it's own dimensions, and each universe has it's own dimensions. What I meant to say and didn't word correctly is any dimension that we visit through astral travel/OOBE/lucid dreaming is going to be tied into the astral in one shape or form. I recently visited the spiritual dimension on Mars and it was certainly tied in with the astral. How far that link goes I cannot say, perhaps it goes to infinity and everything is tied in with the astral. Because in reality everything is tied in with everything at some point. So I wouldn't be surprised if the astral does incapsulate everything. It's impossible to know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised one bit. Even the RTZ is tied in with the astral. The RTZ in all honesty is probably just another layer of the astral and since it lies so close to the physical ends up seeming similar. I have also done lots and lots of reading but most of my beliefs and opinions are based off of first hand experiences.

[IsleWalker]

Originally Posted by Astral Explorer

Perhaps I stated what I meant slightly wrong. Every dimension in the Universe is possibly not the astral, at least not that I can prove. From my experiences I have been shown/told that each planet has it's own dimensions, each galaxy has it's own dimensions, and each universe has it's own dimensions. What I meant to say and didn't word correctly is any dimension that we visit through astral travel/OOBE/lucid dreaming is going to be tied into the astral in one shape or form. I recently visited the spiritual dimension on Mars and it was certainly tied in with the astral. How far that link goes I cannot say, perhaps it goes to infinity and everything is tied in with the astral. Because in reality everything is tied in with everything at some point. So I wouldn't be surprised if the astral does incapsulate everything. It's impossible to know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised one bit. Even the RTZ is tied in with the astral. The RTZ in all honesty is probably just another layer of the astral and since it lies so close to the physical ends up seeming similar. I have also done lots and lots of reading but most of my beliefs and opinions are based off of first hand experiences.

See, AE, this is the what I thought--you see spiritual dimensions as tied to physical things--planets, galaxies, etc. These are just, IMO, a very small piece of All That Is. It's like the 95% dark matter that scientists can't figure out what it is--it's the majority of what's out there. Our physical piece--all joined together, regardless of the planet, galaxy, etc.--is just one very small piece, just like this incarnation is only a small part of you as a whole. The greater part of you is not here with this physical entity--only a small part of your consciousness, IMO.

So, I don't even agree that there are different dimensions about each planet. I'm not sure what structure the dimensions have. All I feel is that they are areas of contiguous vibrational energy within a range. So, all beings in a vibrational area have generally the same vibrational range. Those vibrational ranges can exist in virtually the same spaces that "we" inhabit in the physical. In fact, String Theory (M theory) state that these other dimensions exist within centimeters of us. Once we attain the vibrational equivalent of a dimension, we can enter (although we might not choose to.)

I see this whole thing like a balloon that gets twisted and twisted (assuming it wouldn't break). Eventually there would be pockets that would separate off, would go inside of other pockets. The twists might be black holes. And "we" are the threads of energy inside, with each end attached to two places on the inside of the balloon. As the energy inside increases with the twists, our vibrational energy raises. It raises because we interact with other threads of energy, entwine with every other energy we've ever interacted with. Those "threads" pull on the sides of the balloon--that is the cause of the raising of the energy--us. And "we"--our twisted energy constantly interacting and twisting more into us--we are the fabric of the unseen inside the balloon.

Now that's my own mythology. All concepts are simply ways for our limited brains to understand, just like visual things are ways to understand consciousness interactions. We process in those terms in our physical bodies because we are used to thinking in that way. But it is possible to have many interactions without the physical, visual counterpart being present. We feel, we know first. The visual part is just what we put together later (dreams) in order to understand the interactions.

But I hope you see where I'm going with this, AE. Representations similar to Earth (or Mars, for that matter) are just a very small piece of this puzzle. IMHO. But we all have self-reinforcing beliefs, since we draw to us other similar thoughts and experiences and people. So, we just go around with beliefs --until we change them. I'll probably change mine in this regard sometime soon.

So, nevermind. Whatever you believe is right for you.

Lora