by Preston Dennett

As any advanced astral traveler will tell you, there appear to be different planes or dimensions. All of this is carefully mapped out in various Eastern religions, and astral travelers like Robert Monroe, William Buhlman, Robert Bruce, Bruce Moen, Marilyn Hughes, Robert Peterson, and many others have made significant explorations into these higher dimensions.

My first experience with a high-level astral projection was comparatively brief. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most profound spiritual experiences of my life.

Out of Body and the Place of Knowledge

Lucid! I fly out of my body and run into my living room, out onto my balcony, and leap into the air. I am floating outside my condo, totally awake, and sure that I am out of body. Looking around, I see it is early morning. Everything looks totally real. I fly around and up over my condo, until I am a few hundred feet above it.

I am so incredibly conscious. Looking across the horizon, I can see the buildings of downtown Los Angeles and the rising Santa Monica Mountains. I can’t resist, and in an instant I am flying at high speeds over the San Fernando Valley to downtown L.A. I fly over and around several of the tall buildings and then fly away and over the Santa Monica Mountains.

My astral body is zinging with energy and I can’t believe how wonderful and freeing it feels to fly this way. I swoop down over the countryside, flying and turning and doing all sorts of maneuvers. I can’t believe I’m still conscious. Usually after flying this long, I can’t sustain the zinging energies.

I keep flying until I suddenly see my condo as a little white dot down below me. I swoop down and finally come back to my balcony, where I land softly.

I float through the closed sliding glass door without any sensation and float above the couch. I am more conscious than I ever remember being, and all that flying has left my astral body zinging with energy. I feel great!

I am sitting there totally absorbed in soaking up the refreshing energies. I am thinking that I’ve been out of body for nearly an hour and this has got to be one of the longest times I’ve ever maintained consciousness.

I know I must take advantage of this and try one of my experiments. I remember reading that there are “places of knowledge” on the astral plane, secret schools where travelers can go to learn ancient wisdom.

I think to myself, “Go to a place of knowledge!”

Suddenly I feel a strong pull on my astral body and I am pulled upwards at high velocity trough my roof and into outer space. I start going faster and faster and the physical world around me slowly disappears. This goes on for at least a few minutes. I am thinking that this is taking a very long time, and I begin to feel concerned that I might be getting too far away from my body. I can’t see anything because I’m moving so fast. I decide to stop, turn around, and fly back.

I stop and look around. I’m having a lot of trouble focusing. I kind of shake my head and blink, and this clears my vision. Looking around me, I am a tiny speck floating in a huge, vast, open area. I am the tiniest dot floating on the edge of an enormous black tunnel-looking thing. There are lots of foggy patches and wide, dark holes or caverns stretching in an incredible vastness on all sides.

Everything looks very interdimensional with no solid features or anything remotely familiar. I am intrigued and wonder where I am. Slowly, the scene begins to transform.

As I watch, a totally lifelike environment coalesces around me. I am totally fascinated to find myself in a normal-looking dirt field. It is daytime. There are other people around, trees, a road. I am wondering if this is a park and what this all means, when I look up and see something of extraordinary beauty.

High above me in the sky are two small, glowing spheres. One is pure gold, the other pure silver. They are glowing and reflecting with exquisite beauty. I look at them and feel an intense emotional pull. They are the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my entire life, and my entire soul, every inch of my being, aches to have them.

As I stare at them, I know exactly what they represent. As they hover there high in the sky, I know they are for me, that they are a gift meant especially for me. I know that they mean one thing: my eventual spiritual enlightenment.

I have never wanted anything so badly in my entire life.

Still in total command of my waking consciousness, I calmly sit down and make a strong, fervent wish. “Please let them come to me. Please let them come to me. Please let them come to me.”

I hope, pray, command, visualize, and pull with all my power to make those beautiful spheres mine.

Slowly, slowly, so slowly, the spheres drift downward. They are getting closer and closer. Soon they are within reach.

I jump up and grab them. They are mine! I can’t believe it. They are mine! I am totally ecstatic and feel a hugely powerful rush of lucidity and vibrations. I feel incredibly humble and proud and relieved and fantastic as the vibrations pulse through my body. I wake up in bed, zinging with energy and feeling absolutely great. (This took place on October 7, 1994)

Near-death experiences have much in common with out-of-body experiences, the only real difference being that NDEers are out of their bodies due to trauma. However, in nearly every other respect, they seem to be identical.

One thing that interested me was the consistency of description by near-death experiences of the “Light.” Described as all-loving and all-knowing, the Light is so regularly reported, that I wondered if it was possible for an OBEer to find it.

When I finally remembered to search for the Light, I was very surprised to find it.

Out of Body—In the Light

I’m lucid, out of body. It’s daytime, and I’m flying around my house. It feels so great and refreshing and freeing. I love this. I keep flying and flying until I feel waves of lucid energy pulsing through my astral body. I’m really zinging and feeling great. My awareness feels especially sharp. I fly outside and into the sky and am wondering what to do next, when suddenly I see it—off in the distance—the Light.

I instantly think that this is the Light that near-death experiencers talk about. It’s way off in the distance, and looks like a huge, glowing cloud. The light is bright, bright white, with a kind of warm, yellowish comforting tinge. I am instantly drawn towards it and start moving towards it.

My speed increases, but it seems to take a while to get there. The cloud of Light looms larger and larger until I am just a speck next to it. It looks like a bright sun, but whiter and warmer and more beautiful.

I am entranced and delighted and in awe. I dive into the light until it surrounds me. I’m inside the Light. Everything feels incredibly warm, soothing and wonderful. I feel great, great, great!

Suddenly, there’s a shift, and I find myself in a strange room. I feel a slight loss of lucidity, and know that I have just forgotten part of what is happening to me. Looking around I see a screened window. I take my hand and thrust it through the screen. It rips strangely, and doesn’t really follow the laws of physics. Still, I’m amazed at how physical and real it looks.

Suddenly, there’s another shift and I’m back in my grocery store. I’m having a lot of trouble moving, and it feels like I’m stuck in molasses. I drag myself along the frozen foods section and start to ransack the place. I pull stuff off the shelves, open them, and dump the contents. I break windows and throw things across the room. I wake up in mid-throw. (December 17, 1995)

In this experience, I learned the reason for shifts and feelings of having lost part of the memory of my experience. Each time there’s a shift, it’s because we are changing energy bodies. I was vibrating high enough to enter a high dimension, but at some point, I fell back into the lower vibration and into a lower energy body.

It took me a while to recognize the different astral bodies. But it becomes clear when you have to download your memory from the higher to the lower bodies and then finally the physical body. This concept became very clear because of the following experience. I consider this OBE to be one of the most profound experiences of my life, either in the body or out of it. Ever since my mother died, I have been on a quest to find out what happened to her, if there truly is life after death.

As a result of the following experience, I had answers to both my questions.

A Tour of the Heavenly Realms

I am lucid. I leap out of my body and fly into my living room. To my shock and delight, there is somebody standing in the center of the room. I realize instantly that this is a real person and not a projection. It is a beautiful black woman. She is wearing a nice dress and has long black braids, large dark eyes, and a wide smile. She is looking straight at me. I feel like I somehow know her and love her, but I have no idea who she is. I’m wondering, could she be my spirit guide? I have a million questions running through my head. I rush to meet her.

When I reach her, she smiles at me with a hint of mischief, grabs my shoulders, spins me around, and placing her hands squarely on my back, she pushes me forcefully through the wall.

I stumble forward and pop through the wall to the other side. I’m in another place. Still totally conscious, I look around me. It’s daytime and I’m outside in a courtyard alongside a street. There are large stone tiles on the ground. There are several small marble tables and chairs surrounded by a low wrought-iron fence. Several well-dressed people are sitting at the tables, eating and chatting. Several small buildings line the street. I have no idea where this is. For some reason, it reminds me of France.

Feeling incredibly aware, I decide to try some experiments. I remember that Marco and Christy are looking for a home, so I shout out “Take me to see Marco and Christy’s future home!”

My astral body is instantly catapulted upwards and forwards. The landscape becomes a blur of color as I hurtle towards my destination at high speed. Suddenly I slow down.

I am over a typical suburb. Two-story houses are neatly lined in rows alongside small streets. I stop a few hundred feet over one particular house. This is the one!

I memorize the landscape. There is a tall stone cliff about twenty feet behind the house. Almost no backyard. A small front yard and homes on either side. A red tile roof.

I swoop down and go into the house. I land inside the hallway. I am amazed at how clear everything looks. I am doing really well with my awareness. I see the kitchen and dining room on my right, the living room on my left. There are bedrooms behind me and a staircase going down to the basement in front of me.

I am wondering if there are any mental projections so I shout out “All illusion disappear!” Instantly at least half of the furniture disappears, as do several pictures and other things. There are only a few tables and chairs left. I laugh and fly downstairs into the basement. It is mostly empty and very spacious and clean. I fly up and out to the front yard, turn around, and examine the front of the house. I memorize the details and start floating upwards.

Then I put some power Into it and start flying upwards, faster and faster. I realize that I’m not breathing and wonder about my body in bed. I’m not worried about it, so I just keep flying and wonder what to do next.

Ah, yes! I want to contact my mother. I have tried this before and it has never worked, but feeling very aware, I shout out, “Mom! Mother!”

I am amazed by her appearance. She looks about twenty-five years old, younger than me. Her hair is light brown instead of dark. She is smiling and is as happy as I am at the reunion. We come together and hug. The feeling of love is intense.

She looks at me as if to say, “I’ve got a surprise for you!” She takes me by the hand and pulls me upwards. We are flying together, hand-in-hand at high speeds. I have no idea where we’re going, but I’m excited to find out.

Suddenly, there’s a shift and we are sitting in an American luxury car. My mother is driving and I’m in the passenger seat. I’m amazed by its sudden appearance and my mom is laughing.

Then I’m immediately transfixed by what I see outside. It is the strangest landscape I have ever seen. The entire ground is completely covered with smooth, fist-sized brown stones. The terrain stretches out into hills and flat plains for miles, but all of it is the same. The effect is stunning. There’s no place like this on earth. I am wondering where we are and where we are going. My mom looks at me and smiles as if to say, “Just wait.”

We travel along the thin, winding road through the rocky landscape for a few more moments when suddenly there’s a shift!

We are in a different place. The car is gone and we are standing at the edge of a small field of green grass. In the distance is a forest, mountains, and green rolling hills. There is a small creek running along the edge of the pasture. There are no signs of civilization.

The scene is straight out of a postcard and looks absolutely beautiful. The sky is glowing brightly, and everything is in brilliant color. I feel incredibly great and free. I can’t ever remember being in a better mood. Even the air itself seems to sparkle with love and good cheer. I never want to leave this place. I recognize the feeling and remember having been here before. This is what many people call the Heavenly realms. I am totally elated. It feels like a summer morning and all my problems have been swept away in a tide of total bliss.

Mom takes my hand and we lift up and fly across the field. We keep flying until we reach the edge of the pasture. We land next to the creek. My mom looks at me with a glint of mischief in her eyes. Then she jumps into the creek and pulls me in after her.

I laugh as we fall into the creek. As the water spills over me, I become fascinated by its feeling and texture. It feels totally real, cool, and refreshing, but it doesn’t get me the slightest bit wet! It just drips instantly off my body.

My mom is laughing at my bewilderment. She reaches down and grabs a giant strand of algae and flings it at me. It hits me squarely in the face.

I am shocked. This is just like her to surprise me. I pull off the algae and am again amazed that it doesn’t leave me dirty. My mom laughs and flings another piece at me. It hits me in the chest and neck.

Okay, this is war! I reach down, grab a handful and hurl it at her body. Even though I know it won’t hurt her, I’m afraid to hit her in the face. She, however, has no such qualms and flings another piece. The algae fight goes on for a few more minutes until we are both rolling with laughter.

I am so happy. My mom looks at me and raises her eyebrows as if to say, “Just wait, you haven’t seen anything yet.” It’s like we have a telepathic link and I know what she’s thinking, or we don’t need words.

She grabs me by the hand and we start flying upwards, faster and faster. Our speed increases when suddenly, there’s another shift or a barrier, and we pop through it and into another place.

We are in a place of such incredible sacred pure beauty that I am completely humbled and in awe. Surrounding us is a landscape of pure white crystal, stretching for miles and miles in every direction. I can see everything in panoramic detail. The crystals are all shapes and sizes, but they are all shades of glowing white. Some are translucent, some are opaque. Some are shining with an incredible brilliance. Some are very tiny, like grains of sand. Others are the size of houses. Some are reflecting, others seem to be emitting light.

I am amazed by the quality of my vision. Not only is it panoramic, but I have the capability to zoom in on any crystal, no matter how distant, and examine it as if it were close up. I am delighted by this newfound ability and I pick various distant crystals and closely examine their facets.

This place is incredible. I have never seen anything so beautiful in all of my life. No one would ever believe that such a place even existed. The feeling of cool pure peace is all-encompassing. If I thought the pastoral place we just left was Heavenly, this place is like Nirvana.

My mom is looking at me patiently, and is obviously highly amused by my awe of and reverence for this fantastic place. She is sitting perched on one of the larger crystals, sitting very regally as she did when she was alive. She is kind of joking with me, saying, “Surprised you, didn’t I? What do you think of this place?”

I can only smile and shake my head. Now that she has my attention, she again raises her eyebrows and smiles, as if to say, “Watch this!”

Oh, no, I think, here we go again.

She laughs and points to a cluster of small crystals right next to us. I look at where she’s pointing and watch in utter astonishment as the crystals in this small area suddenly turn bright orange. The orange patch is about two or three feet in diameter, and is darkest orange in the center.

I look at her, amazed. That was such a neat trick. She smiles and motions for me to taste it. “Taste it?” I think, incredulously.

She nods and motions again, smiling. I reach down and scoop up a handful of the orange crystals and put them in my mouth. I am instantly overcome by an incredible and unique sensation. The crystals start popping and squirting in my mouth. They taste more like orange than any orange I have ever tasted. The flavor is so strong, so sweet, so pure. They kind of sizzle and pop in my mouth, exploding with intense orange flavor. The taste is almost electrically orange. It tastes so good. It’s totally fantastic!

I look at my mom and pour out my thanks to her.

She smiles and takes me by the hand. It’s time to go back. We fly downward and we end up back in the pastoral Heavenly realm. There are other people walking in couples or small groups along sidewalks or pathways. There are grassy green hills covered with flowers and little pathways crisscrossing the area.

Everybody is incredibly happy and serene. It’s impossible to be in a bad mood in this place. We walk along the pathways for a short distance then sit down on one of the benches. I look at my mom and study her appearance. She looks so incredibly young.

She is laughing again at my expression. She then points to the sky and says, “Look!”

Written in white fluffy clouds are the words, “Love you! Love you! Love you!”

I laugh with delight and pour my love back out to her. We hug, and suddenly I know it’s time for me to say goodbye. Although I don’t want to leave, I’m so happy that it doesn’t matter. It ‘s time for me to go.

There’s a shift and I’m suddenly flying down a tight, bright tunnel at supersonic speeds. Another shift, and I pop out in a strange room. I quickly manifest a dream journal and write down the experience. I realize that I have shifted down a dimension or body and I need to carefully record all the details of the experience or I will forget it. Once I have all the details fixed in my mind, I lie down on a dream-bed and try to wake up.

I then go through a series of false awakenings. Each time, I pause and carefully recall and memorize the experience. I am happy because I know I am remembering pretty much everything.

This happens four or five times and each time I go through the same process of recall. I begin to get a little nervous about losing my memory of this event, and wonder how many shifts I have to go through to wake for real. I am amazed at what a laborious process it is to step down these memories into the physical dimension.

Finally I wake up and look around me. Am I really awake? It takes me a second to get my bearings. Yes, I’m in my bedroom. The whole experience floods into my mind. I start crying as I carefully recall all the details. I’m so exhilarated. I can’t remember ever feeling so refreshed, rejuvenated. It feels like pure energy is pulsing through my body. I am so happy. (March 2, 1997)

Excerpt from Out-Of-Body Exploring: A Beginner’s Approach