by Chris W.
In September 2003, a poster identified only as Chris W. shared what they described as the most real experience they had ever had — "more real than the reality of me typing this right now." What followed was a detailed account of dying in an accident, meeting a guide, walking through walls, seeing no reflection in a mirror, and visiting their grieving mother — all while fully conscious and aware throughout.
The post belongs to a genre of spontaneous experience reports that formed the heart of alt.out-of-body, a Usenet newsgroup active from the late 1990s through the mid-2000s. Unlike the controlled experiments discussed by Robert Monroe or the scholarly frameworks of near-death experience research, posts like this one carry the unpolished immediacy of an experience just hours old. The author's honesty — their wonder, their slight confusion, their trust in the group — makes it a valuable primary document of how ordinary people process extraordinary states of consciousness.
The postscript, in which the author connects a detail from the experience to a real-world observation about their dog's declining health, adds a layer of unsettling resonance that no amount of theorising could manufacture.
Hello everyone, I've been to this group a few times in the past while doing personal research, but not until now have I actually had something to share. For a while now I've been wanting to experience an OBE, but have been unable to remember them. I've had several dreams of flying, being aware that I'm in a dream and of course dreams that seem very very real. None have even come close to being as real as this one I just had. The only way I can describe it is that it seemed more real than the reality of me typing this right now. So here it goes... (and note the entire 'dream' I am FULLY aware of what is happening and what I am doing and deciding)
I was in some sort of auto accident. I may have not even been in a car, but I was aware that I had just died, and was completely ok with the fact. I'm walking down a street and I realize how light I feel, so I flip over and "stand" on my head and begin spinning around at ridiculous speeds! Then I hear a voice of a man. I go to this man's house and meet his daughter and he lets me in. I realize that this man is my "guide" and I ask him several questions about what is happening and about the nature of things in general. The only part of all this that seems foggy is that I can't really remember this man's face or the answers he gave me. I could pick out his daughter in the crowded stadium at the Super Bowl though!
So suddenly I think about my mom's house and boom I'm there standing out front watching my mother get papers out of the mailbox. These papers have to do with my funeral and what not and I can "feel" her sadness. From doing so much research of astral projection and near-death experiences I realize that since I'm dead I should be able to go through objects. I press my fingers up against the front door, and it is hard. The more I think about it and the harder I push the door becomes softer, more malleable, with the consistency of say a marshmallow, but instead the marshmallow going around your fingers, it goes into them as well. I walk through the door.
I look back and there is still some of the door's substance in me. I watch it draw out through my arms and out of my finger tips almost like liquid drops, as they float back to become one with the door again. These droplets have the most vibrant beautiful colors in them and surrounding them, I can't even describe.
So I head up stairs. I turn and look into a mirror... and I HAVE NO REFLECTION!
There is a slight blur where I am standing though. I guess from the shock of this, suddenly I have a reflection, but it's not mine. It's my friend Steve, and I can feel some of his "emotions." Then he morphs into someone else, then another person, then another friend of mine, and it morphs into a few more people until I look away from this somewhat disturbing imagery. I realize that all of these people were people that I've met or known at some point in my life, and with each reflection, I can feel some kind of energy of theirs.
I go back down stairs thinking of other places I should go, other people I could go see. Then I wonder if my dog could see me. I walk through the wall (which is very fun to do by the way) and go see my dog outside. She looks up at me and struggles to get out of her house. She appears to have an injured leg. My mom is outside too, talking to someone, telling them how the dog is very sick now and blind and they don't expect her to live much longer. I tell my dog not to worry because she'll be with me soon.
At that point I wake up in my mom's house and try to stick my hand through the wall, but of course it doesn't work because I'm really awake now.
It seems also at some point in this that I woke up and fell back asleep and continued exactly where I left off. There are several details I have left out for length purposes. All I wanted to do was to go back asleep, it was so peaceful and amazing. There aren't words to accurately describe most of this. I hope someone here can give me some insight to what this is — an omen, a glimpse into the future? It seemed to be much more than an OBE.
When I woke up my whole body was tingling! I trust this to all of you here, because anywhere else I know I would be shunned! Any opinions or any words at all would be greatly appreciated! I thank you for taking the time to read this as well! Sorry it was so long!
Truthfully,
Chris W.
Postscript: A few hours after having this dream I realized that lately my dog won't eat unless I feed her, and she does have some kind of tumor in her belly. So if I were to pass I am to assume that my dog would get sick...
Colophon
Posted by Chris W. to alt.out-of-body on 4 September 2003. A spontaneous experience report by a first-time poster — the kind of raw, immediate account that formed the living heart of Usenet's spiritual communities. The detail of the door's substance drawing back out through the fingertips in vibrant colored droplets is among the most striking phenomenological descriptions in the alt.out-of-body archive.
Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: [email protected].
🌲