Henry W SOBE

Experience Description

I was a junior in college living off campus about seven miles south of the town where the university is located. I drove my roommate into town one evening regarding something to do with class homework, as I recall. I took a bag of marijuana with me as we left home as a later "treat" for having been attentive to my school work. We finished whatever work it was we had to do, had a few puffs of marijuana, and left for home. I remember precisely the quality of the marijuana. It was not a very intense high like I'd had with other types. It was simply a good, decent high.

As we were leaving the city limits, I began to notice vibrations in my feet that were somewhat like having my feet fall asleep, but it was entirely pleasurable and not irritating. The farther we drove down the highway, the stronger the vibrations became and the farther up my body they progressed. I remember thinking the starlight was so bright on the recently fallen snow that I felt I could drive without my headlights on. As we approached a large billboard very close to the turnoff on a gravel road that ran to our home, the billboard lights were so bright I couldn't make out any detail on it. It appeared to be a flying saucer that had just landed, and I remember laughing about it because I knew exactly what was really on the billboard.

As I approached the turnoff, it felt like I was driving very fast. As I made the left-hand turn on the downgrade to the gravel road, it felt like I was driving into the Grand Canyon, but I saw that I was only going ten miles per hour. At that point, the vibrations were very strong. The next thing I knew, I was floating about two feet above and just to the rear of my car. I could see through the convertible roof, but both I and my roommate were more or less just dark bodies covered with what seemed like shrouds. I could see the dashboard, but the lights were so bright I couldn't make out any of the readings. I knew immediately what was happening and, surprisingly, it didn't bother me at all.

The next thing I knew, I was floating about two hundred feet over a field next to the road. There was no sense of movement involved, nor did I have any sense of touch. I remember looking at my legs, which "felt" splayed in front of me in the same position as they were when I was driving. However, like the sight of myself and my roommate in the car, I couldn't make out any detail of my body. It had the appearance of being covered in a shroud. As I looked out at the horizon, the thought came to me that I could be anywhere I wanted just by thinking about it. As I looked to my right and down at my car, I could see it going down the road. The car was red but seemed to have a slight glow to it. The same was true of the headlights. It was at that moment that I remembered I was driving my car and that I needed to get back into it, and I did instantaneously, again without any sense of movement. The only other sensation I had was the very faint sound of what seemed like billions of tiny bells whose sound seemed to ebb and swell like ocean waves. I could only hear it if I paid attention to it.

Back in the car, I could still feel the vibrations, and I had to fight them off for the remaining two miles or so to home. When I got home I ran to my bedroom and lay down hoping to return to the out-of-body state, but the vibration dissipated within about ten to fifteen minutes and that was the end of it. I had no idea of what or why all this happened beyond what I've stated above. My roommate said he did not notice anything unusual about me during this time, but I did not tell anyone what happened out of fear of being ridiculed. Many years later I gave the event attention and discovered the topic of out-of-body experiences. I realized I probably had two previous experiences that were likely out-of-body experiences, both of which involved finding myself having floated out my second-story bedroom window, once when I was about five and the other when I was thirteen. Upon realizing what was going on, I reacted with alarm and returned to my body and "woke" up. There was no sense of movement with either of these two events, and I distinctly recall noticing that everything I was familiar with in my backyard was where it was supposed to be, unlike in dreams where nothing is quite as it should be.

I didn't give this event much thought until I got married twelve years later and my wife encouraged me to learn about it by providing me with books on the subject. I also returned to transcendental meditation, which I had taken a class in a couple years previously. One night after meditating and dozing off, I awoke to find myself floating about two feet directly above my body. Like with the floating experiences mentioned earlier, I immediately felt compelled to return to my body and did so. I did feel a slight sensation of doing a front flip when this occurred and found myself wide awake in bed. I knew what had happened and tried to recreate the experience to no avail. I basically gave up the pursuit a few months later and went on with my life, which then became incredibly exciting after we got married and lived overseas in five different countries on three continents for sixteen years. I learned scuba diving, was doing my own driving safaris in Africa, as well as walking safaris in both Africa and the United States, and traveled to over forty countries around the world. I didn't do meditation much at all until the thirty-sixth year of my marriage when my wife was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which brought the issue of life after death home in a big way.

About two years after my wife died, I woke up around dawn one morning and looked at my clock on the nightstand to my left. I couldn't read the dial as it was so bright, much like the billboard experience back in 1968. I then turned to my right and there in bed next to me was my wife with a grin on her face as if she was teasing me. I said, in a slightly humorous tone, "What are you doing here?" with a slight emphasis on the words "you" and "here," which acknowledged the fact that I knew she was dead, unlike any of the many dreams I've had about her. Her face saddened as she said, "I didn't want you to feel lonely." I replied and moved over to kiss her. As our lips met, it felt like I was kissing cold steel for an instant, but that changed immediately into the pleasurable sensation of a mild electric current flowing through my lips. And then I woke up. I turned again to my clock, which I could read perfectly this time. I had to think about this experience to decide whether it was a dream or an out-of-body experience. One of the things I realized was that I had not felt the bedding as I moved around in my bed, nor did I feel any sense of motion. When I decided to give her a kiss, I seemed to be just doing so in the next moment. All these things convinced me that she had, in fact, paid me a visit and I was able to interact with her because of the state I was in.

Over the past year I've returned to transcendental meditation with the express hope that I could repeat the out-of-body experience, not just to see my wife and hopefully have a prolonged interaction with her, but also to pursue what I know would be exceptionally interesting experiences. I'm getting close to that but have not yet had a full out-of-body experience after working on it through transcendental meditation.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date of NDE: 1/15/1968

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? Entirely pleasant

Did you feel separated from your body? I clearly left my body and existed outside it
In the 1968 experience I could see my car going down the road, which I knew was real. In the experience with my wife, we had a brief conversation, but I'd have to say it felt more telepathic than a normal conversation.

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? approximately 10 p.m.
I could move about without the experience of motion or time. I had several intuitive realizations that would be impossible to predict.

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

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning
I've gone back over the time issue, and I timed the out-of-body experience by remembering my thoughts, assigning a second to each, and then adding them up. Some lasted maybe two seconds, while others lasted maybe six to eight seconds.

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience I had a sense of vision that was quite clear generally, but somewhat vague when it came to detail. For instance, I could never quite make out my legs in any of these experiences.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience I had no sense of hearing, other than in the 1968 experience when there was a moment I thought I could hear the faint sound of billions of tiny bells whose sound rose and fell like ocean waves.

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? I actually saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased beings? Yes
I found my deceased wife lying in bed next to me.

Did you see or feel surrounded by a brilliant light? An unusually bright light

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Joy, peace, excitement, and certainty.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Incredible joy

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt united or one with the world

Did you suddenly understand everything? Everything about the universe
I knew I was having an out-of-body experience and was completely okay with that. I knew I could travel anywhere just by thinking about it, and functionally proved this by moving back into my body after having the thought that I needed to do that.

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
At this point in my life, I would classify myself as a fallen-away Catholic. I attended a Catholic middle school and weekly mass until the age of 16 when I left the church. I returned to the Catholic Church around age 35 after my wife and I concluded that our children should have direct experience with an organized religion to put themselves in a position to make their own decisions regarding religious affiliation.

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 not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience
The fact that I felt I could go anywhere I wanted just by thinking about it.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes
I now have no doubt about the existence of an afterlife and that I share this with all living beings. Therefore, I feel all living things have as much right as I do to enjoy their time on earth.

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? Yes
I felt that consciousness was universal and that I was extremely lucky to be experiencing that fact.

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? Yes
I now believe that consciousness is a universal substance found in all living things and possibly in non-living things.

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? Uncertain
While I felt certain about there being an afterlife, I did not experience any rationale about life's meaning or purpose.

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Yes

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? Yes
I now believe that consciousness is a universal substance found in all living things and possibly in non-living things.

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

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes
In the experience with my wife, I felt I knew that love was everlasting and the most important emotion one can realize.

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Moderate changes in my life
I've lost any sense of hate that I used to have.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes
I hadn't even heard of out-of-body experiences when this initially happened. For a few years I thought I might have been hallucinating. In the handful of conversations I've had about these experiences with people who have not had them, I've felt they usually didn't understand or even believe me.

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
Each experience is remembered in exquisite detail.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain
I feel like I can understand actions without having the need for them to be explained, but this is usually just supposition.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Meeting my deceased wife was incredibly meaningful. I know I'll be with her again at some point. I knew the second I saw her that she would be my wife, but I had to wait eight months to ask her out. I was in the process of ending two previous relationships. I was actually stalked by both of them, and that had to end before I felt I could start what I knew would be my last romantic experience.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
The 1968 experience wasn't shared until 11 years later when I started dating the woman who would become my wife. The second experience, with my wife, I told my daughters about a couple of years later.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? No

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real
In the 1968 experience, I could see my car going down the road without feeling like I was in it. In the experience with my wife, our conversation was as if we both were aware of what was going on, unlike in dreams which seem to drift from one unforeseen event to another.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real
I've done an immense amount of reading on what might be referred to as paranormal events, as well as considerable reading about quantum mechanics. This is the level where I believe these things take place.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes
I've now had three very brief OBEs, one of which was induced by meditation. The other two were more prolonged, and nothing I've come across has changed my mind about them.

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience? Yes
While I haven't included a bibliography of all the reading I've done nor all the time I've spent thinking and analyzing these events, I think the results of my experience are fairly well summarized.

Anything else to add? As I approach my 78th birthday, I'd like to make sure my family understands what happened to me. When the opportunity to speak to others about these experiences arises, I'll explain them in the hopes that it will give them the same beliefs I have.