Loud Noises... was this astral projection or something else entirely?

Let me tell you about what happened last night and maybe you can shed some light on it for me. I am a very sound sleeper and have no problem ever going to sleep or staying asleep - even when I take a nap during the day or drink coffee at night I have no problems at all in going to sleep and staying that way til morning. I usually do not remember my dreams and I take no medication.

Last night, I went to bed at my normal time (around 11 pm) and during the night was physically awoken four times. Three of the times (the 1st, 2nd and 4th times) sounded exactly like a door slamming in my house very loudly. The third time, however, sounded like a very big piece of furniture, like an entertainment center, had been turned over. Each time woke me up from a sound sleep and each time I got up checked to see if the kids had gotten up for some reason and checked the house. Each time the kids were sound asleep in their beds and all the doors were locked. I could find no evidence whatsoever that anything at all had happened. Each time (with the exception of the 3rd time.. I'll get to that in a minute) I felt no fear either - actually, I was convinced that my daughter had gotten up to get on the computer downstairs and had let the dog in and then slammed the door shut. But no, she was in her bed sound asleep upstairs. I just thought it was really weird and each time went back to bed and fell asleep again.

The third time it happened (the one that sounded like an entertainment center being turned over) it did scare me a little because I was thought that maybe someone had broken into the house but when I got up to check it out, nothing at all was disturbed and even the dogs were asleep. I went back to sleep after that one too just not as quickly (and then the door thing happened again after that).

Ok, so I was curious today at what could have happened last night as it's the first time anything, at all, like this has ever happened to me. I found some references to loud noises but none of them really sound like what I experienced. For example,

Auditory hallucination is described as hearing things in your head (I guess voices are the most common). I can't explain it but these sounds were not internal sounds (like voices in your head) but I was convinced they were totally external to me.

Exploding Head Syndrome -

Exploding head syndrome is a condition that causes the sufferer to occasionally experience a tremendously loud noise as originating from within his or her own head, usually described as the sound of an explosion, roar, waves crashing against rocks, loud voices or screams or a ringing noise.

Attacks appear to change in number over time, with several attacks occurring in a space of days or weeks followed by months of remission. Sufferers often feel a sense of fear and anxiety after an attack, accompanied by elevated heart rate. Attacks are also often accompanied by perceived flashes of light (when perceived on their own, known as a "visual sleep start") or difficulty in breathing. The condition is also known as "auditory sleep starts." It is not thought to be dangerous, although it is sometimes distressing to experience.

Exploding Head Syndrome doesn't match because, again, I was totally convinced this sound was external to me and I felt no anxiety at all (except when I thought the house might have been broken into). Just weirdness.

So, that leads me to Astral Projection and the sounds that occur with this. The noises sound like they could be like the ones I've read about that can occur in conjunction with astral projection but I don't remember my dreams or any part of last night except for the waking parts. Can someone actually have been doing astral projection and not know it? Is this possible?

If there's any other phenomena that may explain it, please tell me that too.





[edit on 13/9/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


People hear sounds like this just before the two bodies separate. When I nearly left my body in an attempted OBE, I heard heavy footsteps on the decking outside my room. I don't know if this sound originates from the spirit realm or if it's an auditory hallucination.

The reason you woke up could be because your body was separating in your sleep and you heard this sound which startled you, causing you to snap back into your body. Did you experience the falling sensation? It feels like you're falling or you've been dropped from a few feet onto your bed. It's this sudden reconnection of the bodies that wakes you up.

It's pretty odd you experienced this so often in one night. Have you noticed any paranormal activity in the house previously? There weren't any grey aliens standing around your bed when you woke up? lol

Well Astral Projection is usually a willed thing as well as with OOBE's. It's not generally something that happens when you are asleep.

Granted flying dreams could be called Astral Projections, but I have my quams with that theory.

Your dogs would have noticed any paranormal activity since animals do tend to have some sort of ability to detect such things.

I think perhaps you were having a bout of auditory hallucinations. They happen to me whenever I take sleep aids, or you could be waking up from what I call an instant dream.

One of those that scare you awake but you could swear you heard something after you woke up.

If it happens again, I would suggest looking up the meds to see if that's a known side effect, or try some meditation before you do go to sleep.

Could just be your restless soul playing tricks on you .

They get bored all cooped up inside there with nothing to do.

~Keeper

Originally posted by dmorgan
reply to post by Iamonlyhuman

The reason you woke up could be because your body was separating in your sleep and you heard this sound which startled you, causing you to snap back into your body. Did you experience the falling sensation? It feels like you're falling or you've been dropped from a few feet onto your bed. It's this sudden reconnection of the bodies that wakes you up.

No, I don't remember it if I did (and I would have wouldn't I).

It's pretty odd you experienced this so often in one night. Have you noticed any paranormal activity in the house previously? There weren't any grey aliens standing around your bed when you woke up? lol

No, no paranormal stuff that I've recognized. I'd love to see an alien but, alas, have never.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower

One of those that scare you awake but you could swear you heard something after you woke up.

I thought about that but the thing I keep coming back to is the fact that I had absolutely no negative feelings about them when I woke (except that I might have to restrict my daughter for getting up in the middle of the night ).

If it happens again, I would suggest looking up the meds to see if that's a known side effect, or try some meditation before you do go to sleep.

I don't take any medications and for sure, don't want to have to. I just realized that you said meditation... lol, my problem with that is that I usually fall asleep during meditation and I didn't have any problem falling asleep after these "incidents" last night. Sleep, for me, is never a problem. Wait, could that be a clue? The fact that I can fall asleep anytime I want just by laying down? I don't know, I'm thinking too much...

Could just be your restless soul playing tricks on you

.

They get bored all cooped up inside there with nothing to do.

~Keeper

That definitely could be.. lol.. whatever is next for me has to be better than this earthly existence.






[edit on 13/9/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

If you were unable to move throughout the experience I'd say it was definitely sleep paralysis.

It's weird, for some reason when I enter sleep paralysis I have the freedom to break out whenever I want. A couple of weeks ago when I got sleep paralysis it's like a dark ambient producer paid a visit in my head. As I was in the paralysis I saw a female woman's lips. They moved rapidly and a bunch of garbled and frantic speech came out of that mouth. A light low frequency noise accompanied it too, and my chest felt really, really tight. Kinda like someone was gripping my heart. No, it wasn't a heartattack.

I'll conclude that it wasn't an auditory hallucination. Or, technically, it is, but hey.

Originally posted by Whine Flu
If you were unable to move throughout the experience I'd say it was definitely sleep paralysis.

It's weird, for some reason when I enter sleep paralysis I have the freedom to break out whenever I want. A couple of weeks ago when I got sleep paralysis it's like a dark ambient producer paid a visit in my head. As I was in the paralysis I saw a female woman's lips. They moved rapidly and a bunch of garbled and frantic speech came out of that mouth. A light low frequency noise accompanied it too, and my chest felt really, really tight. Kinda like someone was gripping my heart. No, it wasn't a heartattack.

I'll conclude that it wasn't an auditory hallucination. Or, technically, it is, but hey.

Whoa, now see, that was nothing like what I experienced. I could move just fine. Thank goodness. That would have scared me for sure!

Something similar happened to me once. I was asleep and a loud noise woke me. I checked the house and nothing was disturbed. While drifting back off to sleep it happened again and I got up and checked again. It happened three or four times that night.

The last time it happened I realized what it was. Just as I was drifting off or getting into a sound sleep, I started to snore. The snoring woke me up but not fast enough to realize where the noise was coming from.

Get a voice activated recorder and put it by your bed. If it happens again you can check to see if the same thing is happening to you.

Hope that helps.

Hmmmm, you know, upon rereading I've experienced something similar. Scared me lots as a kid. What happened was I'd be asleep or something and then I'd hear something like an electric shock "BRRZT!" noise or something that'd just pop into my head out of nowhere. Also, I once had the meow of my cat who wasn't even inside.

Creeped me out for a bit. Maybe it was an auditory hallucination.

reply to post by mrwupy


Wow, now that would be strange wouldn't it? A totally recognizable sound (snoring) misinterpreted by my brain to be another totally recognizable sound (door slamming). Strange, yes, but the brain is a strangly complex thing isn't it? Hmmm... I'll give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.





[edit on 13/9/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

Mrwupy's assessment is the most accurate, and it happens to me quite often. Misinterpreting a sound such as snoring, or something outside, as to a door slamming or something loud crashing.

However, everyone else is correct too. When I get close to projecting, there are sounds such as crackling, popping, etc.

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


How old is your house?

One time I was home alone just chilling, watching TV in my basement when I heard what sounded like a three-seat sofa being dropped a couple feet onto the floor above me. This would happen every now and then at a frequency of roughly every few days.

It turned out to be the furnace. The pilot light was struggling to light up or it had something to do with the gas valve or a burst of air that had built up and when finally released sounded like a LOUD BANG. Like LOUD. It prompted me to jump up, find the nearest thing that I could use as a weapon (in this case it turned out to be dumb-bell bar with a 2.5 lbs weight on one end) and patrol the house. Needless to say, I was scared S***less!


Have you thought about exploring the possibility that it could be your furnace, A/C, plumbing(when air gets into the pipes) or anything like that?

I'm not one of those skeptic/non-believers, but if something like "astral projection" would ever affect me, I'd want to be ABSOLUTELY SURE, before I jump to conclusions.

When I first moved into my new house (a less than 10-yr-old house), I was almost convinced that I was being contacted by spirits from the afterlife or another dimension...

...until I realized that the house I'm living in was made with cheap materials, and IMO poorly constructed - with all the doors and windows shut I can still hear my next door neighboor's conversations from his porch as if he was in the next room.

NOTE: Don't by 'MATTAMY' homes.

Just an update:

I'm still wondering what this could have been. It hasn't happened again.

a reply to: Iamonlyhuman

I went to bed late last night. Around 5:00am I woke up and heard a loud striking boom like a Plane crashed or a bomb exploded. I also seen a flashed when I got up, I think it was a past life memory or a inner thing giving me a message.






"It could have been Santa Clause slay booster exploded? LOL

I've had two instances of Astral Projection and BOTH times, i heard ringing loud noises. So yes, it's definitely something that happens just as your soul is about to travel.

I haven't had either happen in years. The last time it happened, i found myself traveling backwards in a mechanical motion back to my room and back into my body. It was a scary experience so i'm glad that it hasn't happened again.