Click Picture to Read an Elegy to Gunnar
GUNNAR LJUNGSTRAND (1967 - 2001)
Gunnar Ljungstrand was a core poster at alt.out-of-body for a number of years. He was a professional graphics designer and an enthusiast of computer technology. Besides OBEs, lucid dreams and paranormal phenomena, Gunnar had a strong interest in astronomy - even conducting shows and classes on the subject in his native Sweden - and the earth sciences. He liked hiking in the mountains and, especially, on glaciers. He also enjoyed fantasy fiction, in particular the Elfquest comics of Wendy and Richard Pini. A cat lover, he was an advocate of animal rights as well as other liberal causes such as Information Freedom. He died in Norway on June 27, 2001 in an accident on one of his beloved glaciers.
Well, we all gotta die sometime, isn't that so? There are dangers to be sure: 20 m. deep crevasses hidden under snow, even deeper moulins (up to a few m. wide vertical shafts in the ice), unexpected ice avalanches, etc. I don't recommend novices to get onto glaciers on their own without the right equipment and competent guides.
But it is so gorgeous there: ice with a color so blue it almost beggars description - even in bad weather; savagely crevassed icefalls with ice towers reminiscent of fantasy castles; meandering meltwater streams incised into the ice surface; cracking and creaking noises; vast, gently undulating pristine snowfields in the upper parts - glaciers seem almost alive.
Oh, excuse me - I got carried away. Happens sometimes when I write about glaciers. Anyway, it's really nice there.
- Gunnar, 1998
But it is so gorgeous there: ice with a color so blue it almost beggars description - even in bad weather; savagely crevassed icefalls with ice towers reminiscent of fantasy castles; meandering meltwater streams incised into the ice surface; cracking and creaking noises; vast, gently undulating pristine snowfields in the upper parts - glaciers seem almost alive.
Oh, excuse me - I got carried away. Happens sometimes when I write about glaciers. Anyway, it's really nice there.
- Gunnar, 1998
For as long as I can recall I have been interested in the unexplained, for no better reason than it being so, I guess. I used to read a lot about different paranormal phenomena and powers, but then I came across a text about OBEs, which stated that anyone could learn to do this. Reading is one thing, doing quite another. So I began to research more about this particular subject.
Then in the fall of 1993 I bought the first book by Robert Monroe (Journeys Out of the Body). Besides containing his very interesting experiences, it also had a practical section, with exercises you could try. This I did. For about six months I practiced these meditation exercises almost daily. With no result. Since it didn't seem to work, I gradually began to abandon it.
Then, about 2-3 months after my quitting, on the 24th of May 1994, it happened to me. While trying to fall asleep again in the morning, a great, noisy vibration took hold of me. At the same time I noticed I was paralyzed. Of course I got very afraid, but the vibrations wore off after a minute or so (seemed like hours however). Then just a few minutes later I realized what had happened, and my mood shifted from frightened to excited. At last I had entered the vibrational state, of which I had read so much! My experience suited the descriptions perfectly.
About an hour later I once again was in the misty state between sleep and wakefulness. Then I just thought about the vibes, tried to recall exactly what they had felt like - and they returned. This time I wasn't scared in the least, but tried to observe as much as possible, while trying to figure out how I would actually "exit" my body. In the end I tried "willing" myself out, trying to visualize myself floating beneath the ceiling. After some 15 seconds I still hadn't felt anything special, so I tried opening my eyes. And there it was. For just a second. The door to my bedroom, but in an angle I hadn't seen it from before. Then I was back, and the vibes were gone. Later I checked the angle, and to have seen it I must have been about 3 meters to the side and 2 meters above my prone body.
Since then, I have been "out there" many times (about 200 by now). I have OBEs irregularly, but on the average once a week. About 50% are very short though. My OBEs have lasted from just a second to about half an hour. (In fact, one of my biggest problems is to stay out.) I have been in many very different places, some that exist in the physical universe (or resemble some that do, as the case may be): cities, forests, mountains, the bottom of the sea, outer space. I have been in huge hell-like caverns, heavenly cities, and dark and brilliant voids as well. The people I have met and interacted with out there seem to fall into several different categories: dreamers, more or less lucid; discarnates (deceased); thoughtforms; and others. Generally, discarnates are the most interesting people.
Sometimes I can fly fast and high, but on other occasions hardly at all. Likewise, the resistance encountered during phazing (moving thru solid objects) is variable. I have not, for some reason, succeeded in "willing" myself to places. Another of the main problems I face is controlling myself, and keeping my intent among random stray thoughts.
Generally, I see OBE as an exceedingly positive experience. When "out" I am most often filled with a mixture of curiosity, daredevilry, an almost childish delight, and pure JOY. I have a sense of invulnerability, and so far I haven't been proved wrong. In those very few hostile or threatening situations I have encountered the opponent(s) have proved to be no match for me. ;-) These experiences have certainly changed my life, and for the better I think. I see myself as a spiritual person, but not religious in any sense. I would not want to belong to any organized religion. I am myself. It is enough.
See you out there ...
/Gunnar
Then in the fall of 1993 I bought the first book by Robert Monroe (Journeys Out of the Body). Besides containing his very interesting experiences, it also had a practical section, with exercises you could try. This I did. For about six months I practiced these meditation exercises almost daily. With no result. Since it didn't seem to work, I gradually began to abandon it.
Then, about 2-3 months after my quitting, on the 24th of May 1994, it happened to me. While trying to fall asleep again in the morning, a great, noisy vibration took hold of me. At the same time I noticed I was paralyzed. Of course I got very afraid, but the vibrations wore off after a minute or so (seemed like hours however). Then just a few minutes later I realized what had happened, and my mood shifted from frightened to excited. At last I had entered the vibrational state, of which I had read so much! My experience suited the descriptions perfectly.
About an hour later I once again was in the misty state between sleep and wakefulness. Then I just thought about the vibes, tried to recall exactly what they had felt like - and they returned. This time I wasn't scared in the least, but tried to observe as much as possible, while trying to figure out how I would actually "exit" my body. In the end I tried "willing" myself out, trying to visualize myself floating beneath the ceiling. After some 15 seconds I still hadn't felt anything special, so I tried opening my eyes. And there it was. For just a second. The door to my bedroom, but in an angle I hadn't seen it from before. Then I was back, and the vibes were gone. Later I checked the angle, and to have seen it I must have been about 3 meters to the side and 2 meters above my prone body.
Since then, I have been "out there" many times (about 200 by now). I have OBEs irregularly, but on the average once a week. About 50% are very short though. My OBEs have lasted from just a second to about half an hour. (In fact, one of my biggest problems is to stay out.) I have been in many very different places, some that exist in the physical universe (or resemble some that do, as the case may be): cities, forests, mountains, the bottom of the sea, outer space. I have been in huge hell-like caverns, heavenly cities, and dark and brilliant voids as well. The people I have met and interacted with out there seem to fall into several different categories: dreamers, more or less lucid; discarnates (deceased); thoughtforms; and others. Generally, discarnates are the most interesting people.
Sometimes I can fly fast and high, but on other occasions hardly at all. Likewise, the resistance encountered during phazing (moving thru solid objects) is variable. I have not, for some reason, succeeded in "willing" myself to places. Another of the main problems I face is controlling myself, and keeping my intent among random stray thoughts.
Generally, I see OBE as an exceedingly positive experience. When "out" I am most often filled with a mixture of curiosity, daredevilry, an almost childish delight, and pure JOY. I have a sense of invulnerability, and so far I haven't been proved wrong. In those very few hostile or threatening situations I have encountered the opponent(s) have proved to be no match for me. ;-) These experiences have certainly changed my life, and for the better I think. I see myself as a spiritual person, but not religious in any sense. I would not want to belong to any organized religion. I am myself. It is enough.
See you out there ...
/Gunnar
