A Very Strange Personal Experience ..anyone else?

Hi Folks,

Not really 100% sure what this is, if anything, or where to post it. I've come to realise that it's had more of an effect on me, philosophically and phsychologically, than I first realised so I haope it finds a home here.

This is something that happens to me approx' once a month and usually in a situation or period of life where i'm enjoying myself and/or relaxed. Would really love to hear everyones' opinions on this.......

I'll take for example one time it happened whilst sitting round a room with 3 friends. We were all chatting away about random things: college, stuff we'd seen on tv, funny stories from nights out .... this is when it usually happens.... Suddenly, like a wiperblade across my perception, everything changes. It almost feels like stepping a millimeter from the window in to reality. I still see the same things, but they don't feel quite complete. I hear everything fine, but something about the physicality of the noise is muffled. I then know .... when it's happening it is a genuine KNOW. Just like knowing what a ball feels like in your hand .... that there is something other than reality. Not like being a ghost or spirit, or being anything at all. An experience of non-existence.

I've tried impossibly to describe it better, but i can't. The feeling seems to strech from nothingness to epic everything that has, will and could be. It sounds ridiclous i know. Even reading it back, its an impossible thing to capture. I honestly think i could describe it forever and not be able to capture the feeling.

I've thankfully got a reasonable head on my shoulders so have, so far, managed to leave it undecided and not jump to any conclusions. I'd love to hear what people think about it so please, any comments, questions or suggestions are welcome.

For those of you who read, thank you for your time.

Thundersmurf

p.s. I want to see how people react to this. One time it went a bit further and would love to alk about that, but thats for a different day i think

I've been experiencing this since i was twelve years old, it's almost like suddenly tuning out and seeing reality in a completely different way. Everything's the same, but it's not, almost like everything's happening a little slower or being stuck in a sense of deja-vu. I enjoyed reading this, especially with how much i can relate to it.

I wonder if it's the snapping out of what we perceive as reality, I know my mindset completely changes, and i feel like an observer when this occurs, it's almost like seeing things how they really are, outside of the collective perception of reality.

I'm not joking when I ask this, but what is your caffeine intake? I know when I drink a lot, I see things a lot clearer, not just in my mind, but like my eyes have been sqegeed (sp?). Do you smoke cigarettes or marijuana? Do you have anxiety problems? They can cause what is called derealization and depersonalization? Also, what is your diet?

reply to post by YouDeserveToKnow


Dude, thanks for replying.

Really didn't think anyone would have felt the same. It's been happening to me for the last 4 years. I'm 28. It is just like tuning out yeah. Everything is just less real and less important. Somethings missing and feels more important than reality.


Who knows, there might be a few more people who feel this.

I've tried impossibly to describe it better, but i can't. The feeling seems to strech from nothingness to epic everything that has, will and could be. It sounds ridiclous i know. Even reading it back, its an impossible thing to capture. I honestly think i could describe it forever and not be able to capture the feeling.

I don't know what it could be, but the phrase that I highlighted in bold has captured my attention because there is a song that talks about that very thing, and I think you could come to like it a lot since maybe you could relate to it.
Listen to the lyrics, they are great.

Enjoy! And I hope you can get to know that experience a bit more through this song.

reply to post by SubPop79


Hey, i usually have a coffee in the morning, maybe another two through-out the day so really doubt it's that. Years ago I had anxiety problems. They were dealt with though, and feel i can confidently say i am over that. I'm not at liberty to condone the use of ilegal substances, but hypotheticaly lets just say i'm an 'everything in moderation' kinda guy.

Nothing really connects the dots, i'm normally good at working these things out. Think i will look in to derealization and depersonalization, the minds a powerful thing.

reply to post by Thundersmurf


I've had something happen that was similar, several times in my life. I'm not sure if its the same but I'll try a describe it for you. I still remember the first time it happened when I was about 15.

It started with a very strange feeling, like moving but not moving. Sort of like being detatched from something but I could still see and hear everything, also. But it did stop me from the activity I was doing becuase I felt different. It was like standing outside of the space I was supposed to be in, and watching everything.

Do you have migraines? Because, after many of these experiences I had a very bad migraine.

reply to post by Thundersmurf

I had something similar to this during childhood and up to early teens.
These episodes got more rare and just stopped completely during my early teenage years.

reply to post by Jepic


Hey Jepic,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Thanks for the song too. Bit heavy for bedtime, but gonna be an epic shower song in the morning. Reading the lyrics though, well spotted.

reply to post by YouDeserveToKnow


Thanks for your post. It described exactly how I feel when this happens!!

reply to post by Thundersmurf


I won't elaborate, but what you are experiencing is a grand thing. You are having brief moments of a detachment of mind from the ego of the "me, me, me" that we normally are immersed within with little hope of escape.

More technically, that is an altered state you are momentarily slipping into. It should be persued via more introspection on you part. Meditation may be a pathway to further that state of mind if you find it appealing.

reply to post by Thundersmurf

Originally posted by Thundersmurf

An experience of non-existence.

I think I know exactly what you mean.

I have experienced this profoundly before. It was an epiphany the first time it hit me.

I knew exactly what it was when I was experiencing it. I knew I was experiencing the awareness of non-existence.

It feels so magical, and I found it comforting and enlightening. It came out of the blue.

Because of these experiences, I know that we live an infinite number of lives and that consciousness will always exist. It was like being completely balanced, in a state of equilibrium to have the conscious awareness of nothing.

So many people will say "How can you experience nothing?", or "That's impossible" and so on... You pretty much have to experience it, although you can conceptualize it well enough for an open mind to understand and relate to.

reply to post by Thundersmurf


I wonder if it has to do with the electrical activity in the brain, like a mini-seizure, small enough it doesn't hurt you guys, but results in altered perception of reality. The reason I'm thinking this is because I saw the TED talk and later read the book by the brain scientist who experienced her own stroke and when she described what she felt, it sounds like part of it is similar to what you are describing. Here is the TED talk.

I have had migraines since childhood, but unfortunately no such interesting experience.

Sounds like '___', once you see whats really behind the curtain of reality, you never will forget it. I'm not saying your a drug addict, however the brain produces '___' nightly and during a burst of '___' you will be percieving the world around you differently, as a completely different reality. The Pineal gland that produces it in your body might be a little wonky. Thats all. Its a gift

reply to post by Thundersmurf


I've been through similar for a very long time. It seems it happens more frequently than just the once a month you experience. I'm not sure about it myself and usually get odd looks when I try and talk about/describe it so get your raised eyebrows ready because I'm not sure if its going to make any sense. When it happens, I can do everything normal without difficulty but like one said it's almost as though you're purely an observer. My eyes seem to turn more into a tv screen. Everything around feels fake, as though it were a movie backdrop. It's one of the oddest feelings I've ever experienced and in regards to the person who asked about drug/caffine intake, for me at least it was before any of that came into play (probably since age 7 or 8) and continues still today. It's like a sense of emptiness in everything, which is definitely not how I'd describe it because it's much more than that and I just can't seem to find the words. Like I said, raise eyebrows now, but I can't really describe it. I can't really complain about it either because the experiences are strong enough that it, at least on a psychological/philosophical level, made me who I am today. I doubt this was any real help to anyone but it's actually relieving to know I'm not the only one who gets into that state.

reply to post by gwynnhwyfar


It's a thought. However, the state of mind described can also be attained through meditation and is a state of mind described by Buddhism for millennia.

When adept mediators are put through brain scans, they show highly organized and healthy (more than average) brain function.

That being said, I'm sure a mini-stroke could trigger a similar experience, but would probably be more rare than the alternative of epiphany, spontaneous, or achieved though meditation.

reply to post by Aliensun


Well said Aliensun.

reply to post by OrganicAnagram33


Right, I am aware of that. When I heard and later read the description of the stroke, it sounded like that state was reached spontaneously. I was thinking that maybe certain brain activity, like maybe electrical impulses such as some kind of a benign seizure, might make it happen for no apparent reason, without the years of practice in meditation.

I know exactly what you mean!

I have felt this since I was a kid.

Sometimes I feel like I am not in my body if that makes sense and I am viewing the world around me in a different way. It's a feeling like my body and everything isn't my own or real and I look at people around me and feel a strangeness and my perception of everything is just different. I also can feel when it is coming on. You are right it is hard to explain but I know what you mean. I also know what youdeservetoknow means when he said it's like some kind of deja vu almost. I have had some strange deja vu experiences last 30mins!

I swear I love ATS. I love posts like this because I have had some strange things happen to me in my life and I always thought I was either going nuts or just weird. It is nice to come here and meet other people who have had similar experiences as I have. It is like a huge relief because I know I am not alone and I am not going crazy.

Originally posted by gwynnhwyfar
reply to post by Thundersmurf

 

I wonder if it has to do with the electrical activity in the brain, like a mini-seizure, small enough it doesn't hurt you guys, but results in altered perception of reality. The reason I'm thinking this is because I saw the TED talk and later read the book by the brain scientist who experienced her own stroke and when she described what she felt, it sounds like part of it is similar to what you are describing. Here is the TED talk.

I have had migraines since childhood, but unfortunately no such interesting experience.

I must second the possiblity of this reply. I read this and thought first of seizures. You can have very small onees that might not register to you if you expect seizures are only of the grand mal type. Something you might want to be aware of at the very least. Peace.

Edit to add - I watched the TED talk . . . now that is wonderful and amazing and the best thing I've seen in a long time. Watch it folks its worth the 18 minutes!

I have experienced this a lot, and I can experience it whenever I want as well. I personally think it is the opposite of detachment.

Most humans spend the majority of their life on auto-pilot, doing things and not being fully aware.

We drive, interact, work, cook, watch tv, and go about our daily lives on auto-pilot.
Then when we have a moment of being fully in the present moment, without our minds going on about a million things, then we think "whoa, what was that!".

The best description I can give is that time seems to stop, and every detail comes into focus.

I'm glad to see more people experiencing the 'awe' that is life.