Hi everyone, I thought I'd post one of my experiences to see if anyone has experienced anything similar.
A couple of years ago, I was training with a friend of mine - we're both martial artists and at the end of every session we would meditate for about 10-30 minutes.
One night we were meditating as usual. I suddenly felt that I had left my physical body. This I had experienced before on several occasions, but what was strange this time was that I appeared to be in a barn, just moving around. Next thing I saw my friend in there too! - we just kinda smiled at each other.
This was abruptly ended when his boiler started up with a loud noise. I quickly felt dragged back to my physical body with a hell of a start. I looked over to my friend and he was nervous and agitated (as I was). I asked him what had happened to him and he described the barn to me and also that he saw me there. To say we were both freaked out is a bit of an understatement and the feeling of unease stayed with me for a few days to come.
Has anyone else had an experience like this?

Obviously you both entered an astral plane where you saw each other, and then were dragged out of it by your physical bodies which were startled by the boiler.

I can't guess why you went to a barn scene?
Was there a barn available for practicing your art in? maybe your higher selves were trying to tell you both that it would be better if you practiced in a barn?

I used to live beside some farmland and spent a bit of time in barns etc, but that was before I started in Martial Arts. We had our own dojo which was very well equipped and never thoguht about going elsewhere. Although neither of us had ever been in that barn to our recollection, there was a sense of deja-vu (for me) and it felt comfortable in there. strange....
thanx for your reply Aztec

Chances are that that barn is where you went because you felt comfortable there. And, if you ask your friend, I'm sure it was a spot that he felt comfortable in as well.

The astral plane is a spiritual world, and the "comfort zone", or the barn, is what keeps you attached to your physical body. Think of it as a "holodeck" of sorts.

[Edited on 13-11-2003 by elderban]

Oh...and often if you are at a physical location while outside of your body and you do see other "physical" people, for example - someone feeding a horse in the barn - chances are, those people are really there at that moment in time, but you are there spiritually.

Which reminds me of a story of a woman and a house in her dreams.

There was a woman that kept having dreams that she was visiting one certain house. Time after time, the dream would be that she was driving down this road and stopping at a particular house, going inside and looking around. She never noticed any people there though.

Anyway, one day, she's driving along this road and gets an errie sense of de-ja-vu. As she's driving along, she happens upon the house she has seen many times in her dreams.

Well, she decides to go up to the house and knocks on the door. When the door opens, the woman that answers it gets this blank pale stare on her face. When the woman explains why she was there and about the dreams she has been having, the woman of the house says "I know...you've been here every night this week."

interesting, elderban. thanks for the post m8

I agree completely with what you've said, elderban.

This sort of thing is far more common than many people may think. It does make some uncomfortable when they realize what has happened, but an astral meeting (like funlovincriminal posted about) can often be the most secure way for a conversation if you can find someone you're well enough attuned to maintain the connection with someone.

Most times, my own comfort zone has been a forest I hiked and camped in for years, for example. I've "met" several people there in my meditations over the years, many times continuing the conversations later face-to-face. That would rule out any chance of a dream or hallucination, as some would claim it to be.