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A Record of Out of the Body Experiences – Oliver Fox

I dreamed that I was walking by the water on the western shore.  It was morning; the sky was a light blue; the foam flecked waves were greenish in the sunshine.  I forget just how it happened, but something told me that I was dreaming.  Perhaps I walked through a telegraph pole, or became aware that my body had no weight.  I decided to prolong the dream and continued my walk, the scenery now appearing extraordinarily vivid and clear.

Very soon my body began to draw me back.  I experienced dual consciousness; I could feel myself lying in the bed and walking by the sea at one and the same time.  Moreover, I could dimly see the objects in my bedroom, as well as the dream scenery.  I willed to continue dreaming.  A battle ensued, now my bedroom became clearly visible and the shore scene dim; then my bedroom would become indistinct and the shore scene brighter.  My will triumphed.  I lost the sense of dual consciousness.  My bedroom faded altogether from my vision and I was out on the shore, feeling indescribably free and elated. 

Soon my body began to call again and at the same time I became aware of a sharp, neuralgic pain in my forehead (not my physical forehead) and the top of my head.  As I willed to continue dreaming, this pain increased in intensity; but this time there was no dual consciousness, or alternating clearness of bedroom and shore – the bedroom was not visible.  I fought against my body by steadily willing to remain in the Dream world.  The pain in my forehead gradually increased, reached a maximum, and then, to my delight, suddenly ceased.  As the pain vanished, something seemed to ‘click’ in my brain.  I had won the battle.  My body pulled no longer and I was free.

I continued my walk, revelling in the beauty of the morning and my sense of freedom.  I encountered no one, which was not surprising, for few people passed that way early in the day.  How long elapsed I cannot say; time is a most perplexing thing in the Dream World; but presently it occurred to me that I ought to be getting back to my body.  I had to be at college by 9 o’clock and I had no idea what the actual earth time was, except that it was probably morning.  I therefore willed to end the dream and to awake.  To my great surprise nothing happened.  It was as though a man actually wide awake willed to awake.  It seemed to me that I could not be more awake than I was.  My reason told me that the apparently solid shore and sunlit waves were not the physical land and sea; that my body was lying in bed, half a mile away at Forest View; but I could not feel the truth of this.  I seemed to be completely severed from that physical body.

At this point I became aware of a man and a boy approaching.  As they passed me they were talking together; they did not seem to see me, but I was not quite sure.  A little later, however, when I met another man and asked him the time, he took no notice and was evidently unaware of my presence.  And then I wondered if I was ‘dead’.  Worse still, if I was in danger of  suffering premature burial!  What was the real time – the actual time on earth?  How long had this dream lasted?

I began to feel terribly lonely.  The experience was quite new to me; always before I had been able to wake when I cared to will it – indeed, the trouble had been that I woke too easily.  Now I was afraid, and it was difficult to keep control and not give way to panic.  Desperately I willed to wake – again and again, until a climax was reached.  Something seemed to snap.  Again I had that queer sensation of a click within my brain. 

I was awake now, yes,  but completely paralysed!  I could not open my eyes.  I could not speak.  I could not move a muscle.  I had a slight sense of daylight shining through my eyelids, and I could distinctly hear the clock ticking and my grandfather moving about in the adjoining room.  Now although my position was sufficiently unpleasant, I did not feel as frightened as I had before.  It seemed to me imperative that I should remain as calm as possible.  To this end I mentally repeated the Binomial Theorem and several other mathematical formulae.  I then concentrated on willing my body to move as a whole.  The result was an absolute failure.  I was feeling more frightened now, but I managed to keep fairly calm.  Then I had an inspiration; I would devote all my mental energy to raising just my little finger.  I succeeded.  The third and middle fingers followed.  I then was able to move my whole hand – the right one.  Then I managed to raise my arm above my head and to grip the bed rail.  I was still blind, and the rest of my body seemed made of iron.  Willing steadily to rise, I tugged and tugged at the bed rail.  At first without success and then quite suddenly the trance was broken…

Joyfully I sprang out of bed, then staggered and had to lean against the post.  For a few moments I was a prey to deathly sickness and feared that I would faint, but I speedily recovered.  It was 8 o’clock, so I had to hurry to get to college in time.  I felt rather unwell and very depressed for the rest of the day, though not seriously inconvenienced.  About 3 days passed before I regained my normal health and spirits.