Have you ever wondered what people are talking about when they talk about out of body experiences? Have you ever dreamed that you were flying or falling? Or felt like you are floating in the clouds and feeling light and free? There is a possibility you might have been experiencing an out of body experience. Or astral projection.

I didn't know there was such a thing until I experienced my first one at the age of 17, in 1974 or 1975. A lot of things contribute to OBE's. Being young and stressed from moving in the middle of my Junior year of high school, was part of my first. Being afraid of starting friendships after nearly 10 years with the same friends at the same school and not fitting in with a totally different crowd. Raised on a farm, miles from the nearest town - the nearest neighbor was a mile or so away, but within hollering distance. Yes, we could yell over the crop fields and hear each other.

I found myself within walking distance of a town. The nearest neighbors were 5 car lengths on each side of our little 40 acre farm. My soon to be best friend was a stones throw away. I couldn't go out horseback riding and get 'lost' on 180 acres anymore.

I believe I withdrew and became less of an extrovert. I don't remember the exact circumstances that brought on the first OBE but I remember very clearly what I experienced that night.

It was spring and had been a warm and sunny day and I had just gone to bed. I was laying on the bed, under a light blanket, trying to relax my body so I could go to sleep. I wasn't tired or sleepy and mentally relaxing each toe, foot, leg, back, shoulders, arms, fingers and so on. And I felt my self start to drift. I wasn't forcing my eyelids to stay closed but they were. I could see images inside my eyelids and I felt myself floating.

I could see my body laying on the bed as I floated close to the ceiling of my bedroom. I was then outside and I could see our house below and the barn and sheds. Plus the trees and the corn fields on both sides of the yard, the cattle barn and fuel tanks for the equipment. I could see the town in the distance but what was really strange was the cord I saw following me as I free floated above the farm.

This cord was attached to the back of my head and silvery. It trailed behind me and down to my body. When I realized what I was doing, and yes I had conscious thought, I was immediately pulled back into my body.

I woke up suddenly, feeling as though I had a large object laying on top of me. One of the few after affects of OBE's. The weight of your body after you've felt the freedom of an OBE.

I remember back now and then about dreams I had as a child and often wondered what all the dreams about falling off a cliff meant. Until I started actively searching for answers. As I grew older and had fewer falling dreams. I found I could control what happened as I dreamed of falling and would land on my feet. Once the landings were controlled in my dreams, I stopped having the falling dreams.

But I still have flying dreams. And I can actually say that I know when I've had another OBE because I feel totally worn out, as if I had been working all night instead of sleeping.

I read Edgar Cayce's books, and James Redfield's Celestine Prophecy. Nerys Dee's book on Your Dreams and what they Mean. I never found actual answers, but I loved to read and learn. I never actually found anyone who had OBE's until later that summer when my aunt came to visit from Illinois and I asked her if she had ever had any experience with this. And she said, "Yes." But I could never get her to elaborate on the subject. It seems these traits are inherited, mother to daughter, in this family. What I wouldn't give now, to talk with my deceased brother and ask if he ever had any experiences like this.

Happy Dreaming!