NPE #1 - 01/08/09

This was one of my first non-physical experiences. I call it a lucid dream because I had become conscious during what I considered a normal night dream:

I was swimming in a beautiful ocean with a bunch of people I had some type of affinity with. As they all disappeared from the dream, I became conscious that I was dreaming. I saw a small shark in the water but did not worry. I traversed the water like a speedboat -  I was on my back and could only see my feet in front of me as I propelled on the water at fast speeds. As I reached a land mass on the other side of the ocean I noticed it reminded me of a previous dream I had months and months ago. It was a nostalgic remembering. The ocean felt spectacularly real. I was splashing around the water which was on par with waking reality. 

I had a momentary loss of consciousness, but maintained my lucidity as I found myself in a different location. I was in my basement, walking around, marveling at my lucidity in what appeared to be a near perfect replica of my PR basment. I was thinking about using the bench press, but decided not to. I felt a pain in my leg, like a burning sensation. I tried to use a healing technique using my fingers but it did not work. I remember having a minor fear in this state. I was confined to the basement sort of like a prison - I could not find my way out. I began to think of my physical body and began to transition into the waking state. 

I began to hear this sinister laughing which scared me as I woke up. I head another voice say “anything is possible."

Looking back a few years later this NPE has a few interesting features. It demonstrates the idea that these experiences are "layered" and different things can be going on simultaneously. The transition from the ocean location to my basement was marked by a noticeable increase in density within consciousness space.
As I was waking up I seemed to become susceptible to different sounds. On the one hand I had this sinister, scary laughing which I believe was a manifestation of my fear itself. On the other hand there was this rational voice telling me that "anything is possible." As you can see my early experiences were limited - I was confined to my self-created prison, the basement, and could not imagine a way out. 

My focus and awareness were also at a relatively low level - both have increased with future experiences. I found myself in a NPE and was contemplating using a bench press - yikes.