Last night marked the third night of listening to a 30 minute Delta State track, or binaural beats as some call it. The first time I listened I was startled awake by a familiar feeling. The feeling is hard to describe unless you’ve consciously gone OOB, meaning you were not using a method like the WBTB (wake back to bed) or going OOB via a lucid dream. When you leave your body consciously the sensations tend to be much stronger, which is why I prefer to exit via a lucid dream. So when I began to feel literally sucked out of my body via my heart center it startled me awake. Then I lay there, heart pounding for a while, as if I had just sprinted a short distance.

The second and third times I listened to the music I did not have this happen but did find myself drifting into the in-between for short periods. My mind has been super over-active lately so it takes me the full 30 minutes of my meditation time to shut it down. 

I’ve also been sleeping pretty deeply for a while now, which I am not complaining about since prior to this deep sleep period I was not sleeping very well. 

I woke at around 4:45am from an odd dream and then got back into bed but lay there wide awake for some time. 

Lucid Dream: Return to Past Dream

I traveled to a past dream I had some time ago. In fact, I don’t even recall when I had this dream or if I documented it. Yet when I returned to it, I recalled it vividly. I remember exploring the dream scene to the point of returning to it and then watching it fast forward and rewind based on what I was interested in. 

The dream itself involved a past coworker, a history teacher who had retired. He had taken me to his cabin in a vast, hilly grassland located below a mountain range that was reminiscent of Montana. We then traveled to where he taught college aged students history. The classroom was located under ground and we walked through a tunnel to get to it.

I recall sitting in a desk watching him teach. A feeling came over me and I began to miss teaching to the point of considering returning to work in that capacity.

In my return to this dream I sat back in that seat and re-experienced that feeling. I’m not sure why. I believe I was conversing with a guide about it. 

I also returned to the scene of the cabin nestled under the shadow of the mountains far from civilization and shrouded in moonlight. The starry sky overhead seemed so big. I felt safe despite the vulnerability the openness brought. It seemed as if I was being asked to focus on how I felt at this time. There was a sense of someone saying, “This is where you belong”.

Then I was inside a home looking at a shelf with toiletries hanging on the wall next to a doorway. My ex-coworker was there and I mentioned the shelf, saying I missed it. I distinctly recall staying at the house and using the shelf to hold my things and I knew the toiletries it contained were mine.

I focused on a small bar of soap feeling the desire to reclaim the shelf and its contents.

I began to take down the shelf using a screwdriver. When I got the shelf on the floor I began to disassemble it. My coworker stopped and asked me about it. “Oh, it’s the shelf. Are you taking it?” I felt a bit guilty for not asking but responded, “Yes”, and continued to take it apart. The tiny screws kept slipping through my fingers. There were four and I was counting them to make sure I had them all. 

There is a mixture of visuals here – faces from my past blurring into other faces and life scenes all at once. Most of what I recall are the faces of past coworkers, bosses and students. All memories of my time spent teaching. 

OBE 

The strange blast of memories led me to realize I was dreaming. There was the familiar feeling of being OOB – heavy yet mobile, as if something was weighing me down. Sleep maybe?

I immediately shifted away from the strange memory daze I was in. 

I found myself in a place that was not my bedroom, though somewhat like it. What was surprising here was how well I could see. Realizing I was OOB I moved quickly and with joy at the chance to play. I have not been OOB in some time and miss the freedom it offers.

Sadly I can’t recall what I did next only that I ended up back in my body. My heart was beating erratically but I ignored it and shifted back out. My vision was not clear at first and I closed my eyes tightly to check if I was really OOB. When I realized I was my vision returned and I could see through closed eyes.

Again my vision was full-on and I rushed out of the room and down the stairs. I attempted to fly or float down but could not lift myself up any higher than I would be able to in the physical.

At the bottom of the stairs I saw my dog, Monty. I took him with me toward the front door. My vision was fading in and out at this time and I kept reminding myself “I can see” to turn it back on.

Someone knocked on the front door and I opened it. 

Outside was an unfamiliar scene. The neighborhood street was there but it was crowded with people in cars. One car in particular had people driving it that were trying to get my attention. The car seemed incomplete, though, as if the back end was missing and it had no roof over the front. The man in the car was standing up out of the driver’s seat waving wildly at me. My dog was growling and barking. I opened the door widely to encourage Monty to go out, which he normally would do when the opportunity is offered. He didn’t budge though and backed up, hiding behind me.

I went outside, fearless, towards the car. The man inside was honking his horn and still waving. I recall turning back toward the house momentarily. I had the thought of, “What to do now?” With that thought I began to feel like a joyful and mischievous child. The clothes I was wearing suddenly felt heavy and cumbersome. I think I had on a coat. I thought, “I want to be naked” and began to happily tear my clothes off. The idea of being naked was exciting and I desperately wanted to be free of the burden of wearing all those clothes.

As I tore off the first layer my vision began to fade out and I knew I was moving back into my body. I tried to relax into it, allowing myself to return with the intent to instantly leave again. Sadly, when I returned my heart was doing odd things in my chest again and it felt very uncomfortable. There was a slight sense of breathlessness, too, which I think was the main reason I did not go OOB again.

My heart settled soon after I came firmly back into my body. I lay there a while. A song was going through my head. Specifically the lyrics, “You don’t know you’re beautiful….”

Considerations

Most of my OBEs lately seem to be odd like this one. So my best bet is to try and focus on the symbols within it.

The return to a previous dream seems to simply be a dream conversation with a guide. The feelings it provoked in me reminded me of that satisfied feeling I use to get when I was a teacher. There were times early on when my entire body would get covered in goosebumps during teaching. This always happened when my class was very engaged and interested in what I was saying. Whenever this happened I would think/feel, “This is why I’m here.”

The shelf and my focus upon it appears to symbolize something I “put on the shelf” and am now wanting to take back and focus on. Since the shelf had toiletries on it, specifically a bar of soap, perhaps I am seeking healing or cleansing?

The OBE itself seems to be mostly about me trying to remove the burdens that are weighing me down. I am easily able to manipulate my ability to see, which is a positive sign.

The car without a roof with the man in it is interesting to me. I don’t know who the man is but in a previous OBE I was warned I would meet a man who had a car that was incomplete – the rear end was missing and there was no speedometer. The warning was that he would go very fast. I believe the missing back end of the car was symbolic of “no going back” and the possibility of “high speeds”. In that past OBE I remember deciding I would stay clear of the man and in this current OBE I turned away from him despite him yelling and waving at me to come to him.

Could it be the same man? Not sure but interesting nonetheless.

Overall, I am curious about the return to the past dream and how it made me feel. Lately I have been contemplating those things in life which brought me that “covered in goosebumps” feeling. Not many things have. Teaching primarily has brought on that feeling. I only got the feeling when I was teaching certain subjects, though – spiritual and self-help topics. For example, I first felt these feeling when teaching Psychology in high school. It also occurred when speaking to groups about spiritual topics – spirit guides, meditation, mediumship, spiritual abilities – and when giving readings. Finally, it came when teaching very young children guidance lessons. Guidance lessons focus primarily on helping children learn social skills such as how not to bully, speak over others, tattle, etc. With the little ones I think the feeling came from mostly from their openness and complete joy at being with me; full acceptance and connection.

My current life and career is devoid of such feelings. Completely lacking.