I was deeply interested in meditation as a teenager. This interest was partly inspired by an out-of-the-body experience I had as a child. I must have been six years of age when I remember being sick. In those days it was common for a doctor to come to your home if you were ill. This is unheard of today. I recall lying in bed with a fever. Our family doctor was there along with my mother and father. The doctor was listening to my heart when suddenly I felt a snap in my mind and to my bewilderment I found myself floating above the room looking down on the scene. The room had a golden and warm light about it and the colors were absolutely vibrant.

I was confused and at first I did not recognize the person laying in bed. I recognized my parents and my doctor, but it took some time to figure out who the person in bed was. It was me! It is like hearing your voice on a tape recorder for the first time. You do not recognize your own sound. I do not recall how long this out-of-the-body experience lasted, but when it ended I felt myself pulled into darkness and I was suddenly conscious in my body again. My doctor and my parents were looking down on me. I felt terrible, cold and heavy. The room was no longer filled with that golden light. Being out of the body was a wonderful experience whereas being in a body was depressing.

This experience as a young child had a powerful impact on me and later as a teenager I heard about out-of-the-body experiences in a theosophy magazine. My aunt, who was Ukrainian, had signed me up for the magazine of the Theosophy Society. It was there I became interested in out of body experiences and astral travel. I used to try to meditate and move my consciousness out of my body, but it was impossible. I could never get myself to repeat the experience I had as a child.

Since that time I have had only one other out of body experience. I must have been 16. One evening as I was sitting on a park bench near my parent’s home I suddenly felt that strong snap in my mind again. In an instant I was standing looking down at myself. Like the first time I did not immediately recognize who I was looking at. In my physical body the light was subdued as night was falling, but out of the body everything was bright and clear with a distinctively golden hue. The colors were vibrant. Once I got over the initial shock, I was not scared at all. I stood there looking around the park and I felt that my head could rotate 360 degrees! In fact I could see in all directions at the same time. My head felt that it was totally separate from by body. I enjoyed this experience immensely. Then suddenly it became dark and I was sitting on the park bench again. That was a terrible feeling. The body is heavy and slow. Seeing through physical eyes, the world is dull and lifeless.

To date these are the only two out of body experiences I have had. Were they real? To me they certainly were. Can I prove they actually occurred? No. Can I repeat this experiences? No. But having had these experiences, does make me wonder if there is not more to life than meets the eye!