Astral Projection

I believe that many people have out-of-body experiences, particularly when very ill. Most are unable to articulate the experience because they don’t have the words or the concept in their mind.

My first experience happened when I was twenty years old and very ill. During surgery, I suddenly found myself in an upper corner of the operating room watching the surgeons at work on me for the third time in a week. As I watched, I felt I had the choice to either return to my body or continue my existence in whatever the next phase would be. After considering the fact that I had a six month old daughter at home, I realized I had a duty to return and continue my life here on earth.

Instantly I found myself back in my body, in excruciating pain, as they lifted the four corners of the sheet under me and put me back on the stretcher. The surgery was finished and I was moaning in pain. They must have given me medication for pain as the next thing I remembered was being in my hospital room, awake and in much less pain. It took three months, but I walked out of there. Forty-two years later, I am still here, still having interesting experiences and still learning.

A friend, also very ill, had a similar experience last week, which caused me to remember my first experience. Not knowing what was happening to her, she assumed she was dying. It can be a very frightening experience when it happens out of the blue, with no prior knowledge of the phenomenon or even that it was possible.

If we accept that there is more to us than this earthly existence, that there is a soul personality which survives death and continues on, then it is only a short step to accepting that the real, enduring person can separate from this earthly existence for a period of time, either due to dire circumstances or through practice and training.