OOBE/Recollection?

[Benj]

Hello every one, I would like to share an experience I had last week for some feed back.

I took a nap midmorning whilst my son took his. It was for about one hour and a half. For a few months now I have been meditating myself to sleep simply because it beats laying in bed thinking about nonsense. No other goal than that. I am recognising that I get into first jhana most nights. At some point during the nap I became aware that I was asleep. I could feel the posture I was in and almost see myself laying there knowing I was asleep. Next it felt as if I could see through my eyelids. When I looked forward into the black, images began to peacefully emerge and I realised I was laying in the same position but on the couch in my living room. This was a bit odd, but I felt very good. Next, out of nowhere I was sitting in a room looking at a man in his 30s who was talking to an old lady. He looked smart with a vintage suit on. Next I was looking at the same man in bed, but he was old, grey hair and a little overweight. His wife woke him up and he got out of bed and walked to his living room. His wife then brought through a birthday cake and they ate a bit and had a bit of a giggle. The thing is, this did not feel like a dream. There was none of the surreal symbolism you would expect from a dream. it was very real and normal, like a home movie and I felt like I was watching. Another thing was that the way their house was decorated really resonated with me. In fact they had things I would look out for for my own home now, even the colour of their walls. I really felt like I knew this man and there was a noticeable urge to empathise with him. When I looked close enough he reminded me a lot of myself. When I awoke I was perplexed by the clarity and randomness of it. Another feeling I took from it was that, if it truly was a recollection, that it didn't really matter. It was nothing special. If anything, thinking about it as a recollection made me think that my life was also a little insignificant. That one day I will be grey, old, a little overweight and die and the person after me might look back one night, see me and my wife on my birthday, wake up and go. Huh, that was weird.

Benj

[Jhanek]

Hello Benj. ,

I do not know whether You had an over/underview effect.

Next it felt as if I could see through my eyelids.

Once You can see through you are already out (at least separated).
This is important because, in the state in between the body and outside the body on this second view You can see things like your inside or visions of the most probable versions/lineages of your life. It is the present date assumption. This just shows You the reality coming. It is not 100% your future, but the most possible. Once you take some actions the vision will change significantly. It is very interesting to look how simple actions change our path sometimes.

The other possibility is past life recollection - I am weak here, I do not know how clear should the picture of it be, once I experience it being sure I can share.

On the other hand - simple, happy life is still happy life. Impermanence is everywhere.

Thanks for sharing

[Benj]

Ok so what your saying is if I am seeing through my eyelids then there may well have been some sort of separation. And it is here I am more likely to experience imagery associated with a highly probably outcome which can be altered by volition within the vision.

What your saying makes sense to me but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Also I don't think this man was me in the future because.... well he wasn't me. However I find what you've described very interesting and will take it with me to sleep.

Thnks

[Jhanananda]

Hello every one, I would like to share an experience I had last week for some feed back.

I took a nap midmorning whilst my son took his. It was for about one hour and a half. For a few months now I have been meditating myself to sleep simply because it beats laying in bed thinking about nonsense. No other goal than that.

This is a good practice, to meditate while waiting for sleep to come.  In my experience this leads to lucid dreaming, and the OOBE.

I am recognising that I get into first jhana most nights. At some point during the nap I became aware that I was asleep. I could feel the posture I was in and almost see myself laying there knowing I was asleep. Next it felt as if I could see through my eyelids. When I looked forward into the black, images began to peacefully emerge and I realised I was laying in the same position but on the couch in my living room. This was a bit odd, but I felt very good. Next, out of nowhere I was sitting in a room looking at a man in his 30s who was talking to an old lady. He looked smart with a vintage suit on. Next I was looking at the same man in bed, but he was old, grey hair and a little overweight. His wife woke him up and he got out of bed and walked to his living room. His wife then brought through a birthday cake and they ate a bit and had a bit of a giggle. The thing is, this did not feel like a dream. There was none of the surreal symbolism you would expect from a dream. it was very real and normal, like a home movie and I felt like I was watching. Another thing was that the way their house was decorated really resonated with me. In fact they had things I would look out for for my own home now, even the colour of their walls. I really felt like I knew this man and there was a noticeable urge to empathise with him. When I looked close enough he reminded me a lot of myself. When I awoke I was perplexed by the clarity and randomness of it. Another feeling I took from it was that, if it truly was a recollection, that it didn't really matter. It was nothing special. If anything, thinking about it as a recollection made me think that my life was also a little insignificant. That one day I will be grey, old, a little overweight and die and the person after me might look back one night, see me and my wife on my birthday, wake up and go. Huh, that was weird.

Benj

This sequence sounds like a classic OOBE, which can include a past lifetime recollection, or possibly the future; as we, who go OOBE, find that we can travel through time as easily as traveling through space.

Ok so what your saying is if I am seeing through my eyelids then there may well have been some sort of separation. And it is here I am more likely to experience imagery associated with a highly probably outcome which can be altered by volition within the vision.

I agree here.

What your saying makes sense to me but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Also I don't think this man was me in the future because.... well he wasn't me. However I find what you've described very interesting and will take it with me to sleep.

Thnks

It might be your past life time, or a future for you, or it could be someone else, who might turn out to be informative for you to have seen this.