An open secret

Before describing my own experiences, I'd like to say a bit about how I got into astral projection. It was back in 1995 or 1996. I was in high school, and this was in the days before everyone had the Internet. I used to connect to a local BBS (bulletin board system) in my home town. For those who've never used a BBS, it's essential a computer in someone's house that hosts files, message boards, and games. People connected to them by dialing the home phone number over a modem.


A good old-fashioned BBS interface

On this BBS, someone had posted a few documents about astral projection. I had never head of the concept before, and I was totally blown away by what I read.  I had heard about near death experiences on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries, but I didn't know healthy people could do something similar at will. I couldn't wait to try the techniques for myself!



My cousin and good friend Eric was also a regular at the BBS. He had come across the same articles, and his reaction was the same as mine. Soon we were practicing regularly with another friend who was also interested.

When my cousin and I talked to our relatives about our new interest, we found out that our uncle, a doctor, had taken an astral projection class with his wife in the 1970's. He was successful at achieving an OBE, but the resulting experience was so terrifying that he gave up for good.

He told us that he had been practicing the techniques, when all of a sudden he rocketed out of his body, flying straight up into the sky above his house. Then just as suddenly, there was a terrible jolt. He felt like he had hit the end of a chain that was tethering him to his body. With an awful jarring feeling, he woke back up into his body. That was his first and last projection!

Still, knowing that our uncle had been successful only made us more enthusiastic. My cousin and I didn't have much success in those early attempts, but with persistence, we both eventually succeeded in getting out of body. It's been a big interest of mine ever since.

I'd love to hear how you first heard of astral projection. It's such an interesting topic, but it seems like it's not really in the mainstream of our society. So how were you let in on this “open secret”? Was is from a friend or family member, or from TV or Internet? Did you try to do it right away, and did you have success? Or maybe you had a spontaneous OBE without even trying. Share your experiences below!