It’s often difficult for me to tell where I am or why I am there when I have an OBE. Sometimes, I get impressions of what a certain experience was for, but more often than not, I don’t.
This time, I felt like I understood.
A Father, A Son, and a Lesson in Change
I left my body by standing up out of my chair.
If you can imagine trying to walk through thick mud with your entire body, you’ll get an idea of how hard it was to move. I was heavy, slow, but determined to get far enough away so that I could stay out.
Still feeling weighed down, I tried to imagine energy coursing through me, running from the top of my head down through my feet. But even that didn’t help much. I decided it would be easier to just fly out of the house altogether.
Just as I was lifting off, I heard someone say, "Son."
I turned toward the voice, and in the dark, I saw a familiar figure—my father.
Up until this point, I had tried reaching out to him in the astral several times, with no success.
But there, in the dimness, I could see him.
I landed immediately and hugged him. The emotion hit me hard—I felt myself starting to cry. But I reminded myself that if I let the emotions take over, I could be kicked out of the experience.
He pulled back and said, "I want to show you my place."
Then, without hesitation, he darted off.
I followed quickly, and soon, I found myself standing in an outdoor courtyard.
Then, he turned to me and said, "I want you to meet my son."
I looked down and saw a six-year-old boy.
I felt a wave of confusion and unease. (had he moved on, forgot about me?) I pushed it aside and kept going, not wanting to disrupt the experience. I walked toward a doorway, but as soon as I crossed the threshold, everything turned to soil.
The world around me faded to black.
“I can’t hold on,” I told him.
And then, I was back.
Reflections: Was That Really My Father?
The next morning, I told my wife about the experience.
I told her my instincts were clear—this was not my father.
This was a learning tool.
I didn’t feel the same strong connection with this being that I had felt with other entities in the astral. There was something different about this presence, about the entire experience.
And yet, I still believe the universe was trying to tell me something.
It was showing me that our relationship has changed.
He is no longer my father. He has moved on—whether that means reincarnation or taking on some other role I don’t even understand.
If one believes in reincarnation or the continued adventure after death, then roles do change.
This OBE made me think about the people who have loved me in my other lives, the ones who have missed me. My past lovers, sons, daughters, parents.
Where are they? Would it break their hearts if they knew I couldn't remember them?
And if my father has forgotten me in some current life or astral adventure, does that mean he doesn’t love me? That he wouldn’t miss me, if he remembered me?
I know my dad well enough to say with certainty—if he were aware that I ever doubted his love, it would break his heart.
Astral traveling really has messed with my world in ways I never could have imagined. But I believe that is a good thing.
Break it all down. Rebuild stronger.
My punk rock roommate.
Most of the time, when I return to my body, it happens suddenly—like getting yanked back into physical reality without warning.
This time was different.
Instead of snapping back, I slowly landed, like a plane touching down on a runway.
As I descended, I had my spiritual eyes open and saw my legs move into position over my physical body before settling in place. I lay there for a couple of seconds, looking up. That’s when I noticed something odd—my markers were missing.
The red light on the TV and the green light on my charger—both were gone.
This was my cue. I was still in the etheric plane.
Playing with Perception: "No Thought"
I got up, struggling a little but eventually moving away from my body. I decided to have some fun and try a trick I learned from Ali Wylie from the Astral Projection Podcast.
She talks about staring at an object in the astral and saying, "No thought."
So, I picked a wall, focused my gaze, and said it.
"No thought."
And then—things got trippy.
I felt like I was being twisted around in a way that didn’t make sense. The room shifted—I was suddenly upside down.
It was fascinating, but it was also a little too much. So I stopped.
When In Rome
Just then, I saw someone walk by, about five feet away.
I figured, why not?
"Hey, how’s it going?" I said casually.
He replied, and the next thing I knew, I was standing outside his room.
He was in the doorway, looking right at me.
His appearance was full-on punk rock—piercings, tattoos, the whole look.
Behind him, I could see a woman sitting on a bed, also punk rock, smoking a cigarette.
He was about three inches taller than me, so I had to look up at him as we talked.
He started telling me about how he needed to get his car fixed and then asked, "Has the mechanic called the house?"
I was honest.
"No, but I’ll let you know if he calls."
Then he went on to say he probably wouldn’t go into work because he wasn’t feeling too well.
I don’t remember exactly how I responded, but after some brief conversation, I excused myself.
I started walking toward the door, opened it, and saw a vast, open space at night.
I could see the coolness in the air, but I noticed something strange—I wasn’t cold.
I looked up.
The sky was breathtaking.
The most beautiful stars stretched out before me, endless and glowing.
I decided to take off toward them.
And then—bang, back to body.
It might not sound like it, but this was one of my longer trips.
Reflections: Learning to Talk in the Astral
Contrary to what you might hear on YouTube or from someone named Crystal Love Rainbow Child, talking in the astral is hard.
It took me a year and a half before I even had a normal conversation.
Think of astral traveling like being born again.
You crawl before you walk, walk before you run.
This is no different.
Just be on guard when someone claims they were talking to aliens and spirit guides right off the bat.
Advice for New Travelers:
Go with the flow.
Don’t show disrespect.
Most importantly—have fun.
This journey is strange, unpredictable, and sometimes downright hilarious. Enjoy it.