David P SOBE

Experience Description

I know this is primarily a forum for talking about near-death experiences, which I have NOT had, but I thought you might find my experience interesting. I also do not know where else to present my story.

At age 13, I had a brief out-of-body experience that basically convinced me that the mind is not always or necessarily localized in the body and brain. What made the experience so compelling was that I acquired information about a unique physical situation that I otherwise could not have known about, and that information was confirmed shortly afterward by my direct physical observation.

This may all sound rather silly because such a grand ability was apparently wasted on something so trivial, as you will see. But it DID serve one important function. It was a "proof of concept." It showed me what the mind is capable of and, by extension, what the mind IS. It seemed to me to be a non-corporeal being capable of fully independent functioning, but temporarily trapped in and limited by the flesh.

Here is the setting. At age 13, I was in junior high school, and like everyone else, I was assigned a locker. The problem was that these lockers were on the outside of the buildings, and there were HUGE problems with them being broken into after hours. Because of that, I took the contents of my locker, including the lock, home with me every day and brought everything back the next morning.

One day, I was walking toward my locker. I was still hundreds of feet away from it and could not yet see it when, suddenly, my point of view seemed to be about four feet in front of my locker. There was someone else's lock on it.

During that brief period of only a couple of seconds, my body continued walking, but that was not where I, as a consciousness, seemed to be. My consciousness was hundreds of feet ahead of my body. Just as suddenly, my perspective returned to my body.

I simply KNEW, beyond a shadow of a doubt and with every fiber of my being, that what I had seen during that out-of-body or remote-viewing experience was exactly what I would find when I reached my locker. Sure enough, the lock I had seen, down to the smallest detail, was indeed on my locker.

Apparently, another student had been doing exactly what I had been doing by bringing their lock and locker contents with them each morning, and that student had put everything into the wrong locker. I had to go to the janitor's office, and the janitor brought a large pair of bolt cutters and cut the lock off.

When we opened the locker, there were books and other belongings from a female student inside. I had to take everything to the lost-and-found office.

In any case, I apparently had a spontaneous experience of something that is often associated with near-death experiences, even though I was not undergoing any medical crisis. I rather wish there had been more meaning attached to the experience. The subject matter seems utterly trivial and even silly on the surface.

If a person has the ability to do something like THAT and can only do it ONCE, as it has never happened to me again, I would have preferred that it be saved for something really important in life, such as a matter of life or death. But the value of the experience was that it showed me that the human mind has a vast, untapped potential and that my mind is definitely much MORE than just my physical body.

What I cannot figure out, within the context of the mind, soul, or spirit being capable of existing apart from the body, is why the mind's functioning during normal Earthly life seems to be so totally dependent upon the physical functioning of the brain. Yet, when the mind is free of the flesh, it seems to "magically" and "seamlessly" continue functioning perfectly well on its own, even appearing able to see and hear without physical eyes and ears.

It also seems able to remember everything, even though during physical life all memory appears to depend upon a functioning brain and can be severely or completely lost through physical deterioration, as can occur with Alzheimer's disease.

Conversely, I wonder how someone is able to remember and relate experiences AFTER an NDE or out-of-body experience when it was apparently not the physical body that experienced those things or stored that information in the brain. The mind-body or mind-brain problem has been a subject of intense interest to me since I was a teenager.

When I had my brief out-of-body experience, I was still fully "me," and I could see just as I see with my physical eyes. Colors, light, darkness, and everything else appeared the same.

I know that something similar is reported by some people who have had NDEs. They report seeing and hearing what is happening around their bodies below while they are floating above them, with their senses seemingly intact.

I also know that some hospitals have conducted experiments involving visual targets or written messages placed on surfaces that would normally be invisible from the patient's position but could potentially be seen by someone viewing the room from near the ceiling. If someone could accurately identify such a target afterward, that could provide evidence related to genuine out-of-body experiences during NDEs. However, I have not heard what the results of such experiments have been.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date of NDE: 00/00/1971

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No

How do you consider the content of your experience? Neither pleasant NOR distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? I clearly left my body and existed outside it
Please refer to my short essay.

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? The entire time.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness? Normal consciousness and alertness

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses more vivid than usual? No

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience identical

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience Not aware of any sound in the brief interval.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased beings? No

Did you see or feel surrounded by a brilliant light? No

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Perhaps surprise.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? No

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

Did you suddenly understand everything? No

Did scenes from your past come back? No

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? No

Did you come to a border or point of no return? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Unaffiliated - Agnostic

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated - Agnostic

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience
I didn't have any particular beliefs at the time.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes
I think that there is likely an afterlife.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)? No

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Uncertain
Too short an experience to contemplate such questions.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Slight changes in my life
Please refer to my essay.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

How accurately do you remember the experience in comparison to other life events that occurred around the time of the experience? I remember the experience more accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience
It really stuck in my memory!

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Please refer to my essay.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
Years later, they found it very interesting.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes
I think I'd heard of the subject.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real
It was fully real.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real
It was fully real.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience? Yes

Anything else to add? I can't think of anything.