CHAPTER 1
background
I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and spent the first twenty-four years of my life there. My childhood was normal except for a few unusual experiences that will be described later.
Before I started kindergarten, I met a boy named Brian, who was about three years older, and we became friends. Brian was a good friend, but he had a bad habit of lying. Brian felt that lying made him seem more knowledgeable and important than other kids, and he loved to be in that position of power. At that young age, I was naive and always asking questions, but I had no concept of dishonesty. Hanging around Brian, it didn't take me long to find out what a lie was. Before long, I didn't trust anything that Brian said to me. Still, Brian was my only friend and there were no other kids my age in the area. Instead of abandoning our friendship, I took it as a challenge. I still valued his friendship, but I had to learn to separate fact from fiction. I was forced to use logic to tell when he was lying and when he was telling the truth. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't. But I got better at it by verifying some of the facts with grownups I knew I could trust.
Before too long, my parents intervened and told me I couldn't see Brian again because he was a “bad influence.” They were right. But Brian's friendship taught me some valuable lessons when I was at an impressionable age. First, I learned that you can't believe everything you hear or read. I gained a real appreciation for the “truth,” and I learned to question everything. Second, I learned how to use reason, deduction, and logic. My love of the truth turned into a love for scientific knowledge, an insatiable curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge and exploration.
When I entered grade school, I made my first important discovery: the school library. Most of the kids would run to the fiction section to grab the storybooks. I would run to the shelf marked “science” and I'd read textbooks. I would read any book as long as it was scientific: books on dinosaurs, biology, lasers, botany, archeology, astronomy, and anything else that crossed my curious mind in a particular week. Even before I could read, I would learn by looking at the pictures.
My mom used to take me to the public library and let me wander around while she picked out books. Of course, I'd go straight for the science books there too. But in the public library, children's books were mostly storybooks. So I would wander around the adult section and look for science books. I remember one day when I stumbled into the anatomy section of the adult books. I wonder what my parents would have said if they found out I knew all about sex and the reproductive system at the age of six! I remember arguing with other six-year-olds about where babies came from. They insisted on storks and cabbage patches, and I just couldn't talk any sense into them.
I got a reputation for being a “know-it-all” or a “brain.” I didn't care for that status at all because people couldn't relate to a “brain” and everyone resents a “know-it-all.” I did my best to fight against my reputation and stuck to a small group of friends.
In high school I became interested in the field of computers and my curiosity led me to study computers in my spare time. After taking every short-course the University of Minnesota had to offer, I spent my free time reading computer manuals and writing computer games. My face became well known in the university computer labs. I often chuckled when people twice my age would ask me for help on their programming class assignments.
After high school, I entered the University of Minnesota, majoring in the field of Computer Science. During that time I started having out-of-body experiences (OBEs), and it changed the course of my life. Perhaps it can change your life too!
EXERCISE 1
affirmations
This “exercise” section, which appears at the end of each chapter, is designed to present exercises and pointers to readers who are interested in learning to have out-of-body experiences. The exercises will be simple in the early chapters and get more complicated in later chapters.
This particular exercise is an affirmation. An affirmation is like a New Year's resolution: something you say to yourself to strengthen your ability to do something. It's not enough just to say the affirmation; you should think about it first, then say it slowly to yourself a few times. Each time you say an affirmation, you should try to put emotion behind your words and actually believe what you are saying.
Using affirmations works for many reasons. First, it's a way to clearly communicate with your subconscious, and we all know how powerful the subconscious is from hypnosis studies.2
Second, many people in metaphysics believe in a higher consciousness, sometimes called your “Higher Self,” or “Oversoul,” which is even more powerful than your subconscious. Affirmations also allow you to communicate your intentions to your Oversoul which can help you reach your goals. I also believe that your oversoul has its own goals that are tied to your spiritual growth, and that it is more likely to help you if you agree to help it accomplish its goals.
Third, many people in metaphysics believe that your beliefs directly affect your experience. Affirmations make it easier to change your belief system and make positive changes in your life.
Because affirmations are such a powerful influence on your subconscious mind, you should carefully avoid sending yourself negative messages. One of the first affirmations I ever used was, “I am very loose from my body.” The message seemed innocent enough, but I discovered I had an underlying negative belief that being loose from my body meant that I was not quite healthy. After a few days of using this affirmation, I started feeling disoriented, dizzy, and on the verge of becomingsick. Luckily, I figured out what was happening and changed my affirmation!
The most effective affirmations are the kind you make for yourself. They should be short, succinct, and stated in a positive way. State the changes you want in your life, as if they are already yours. For example, use “I can” messages instead of “I don't want” messages. Also, affirm what you are willing to do to make it real. For this exercise, do affirmations based on your desire to have OBEs. You can either create your own affirmation or use the one given below.
I can easily leave my body. Out-of-body experiences come naturally to me. To prepare, I will practice OBE exercises, cooperate with the universe, follow my impulses, act on my intuitions, share my knowledge, spread my love, and cooperate with my own Higher Self.
2 For useful material on hypnosis, see Altered States of Consciousness, edited by Charles Tart.