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Beyond the Body – Dr Susan Blackmore [hash and out of body]

I found myself back in my room without effort, but now all semblance of normality, which had been so clear at the start had gone.  My own body sat on the same floor but without a head.  Yet this did not frighten me; I rushed inside the broken off jagged neck to explore the hollow body.  This was odd, because my knowledge of anatomy would have led me to expect something other than a hollow shell.  Exploration of the fascinating interior led me to an entirely different kind of experience.

I realised I was rather small to fit inside a part of my own body, and so I tried to imagine myself larger.  This attempt overshot and I found myself steadily expanding, like something out of Alice in Wonderland.  I encompassed, with lesser or greater difficulty, the building, the earth below and air above, the whole planet, the solar system and finally what I took to be the universe as my limited understanding  of cosmology would have it – though I may be wrong here.

I shall not describe this experience in any detail; I shall only say that, having achieved that size, I made a supreme effort with the aid of Kevin's encouragement, and saw that even here, at the limit of this universe, there was more.....

But I had to return.  I had begun tired and now, after some two hours I was exhausted.  The process of returning took every last bit of energy I had.  Not only did I have to shrink to normal size but I had to readjust to having a physical body.  I had to coerce myself into remaining in one spot, looking from one angle only, and taking the heavy body with me wherever I went.  This was not only a slow but rather a disheartening process.  Nevertheless, at length it was achieved.  I felt more or less coincident with my body.  I could again open my eyes and see the world that way without too much trouble, and I could move my body.  By this time it was after 1.00 a.m.  The whole experience had lasted nearly 3 hours and had been witnessed – or at least what I said had been – by two people.  I had a sleepless night, but after 2 days of feeling decidedly unstable I returned to normal