By Gary Bryan
I had this dream or out-of-body experience in 1986. Since then, I have read about NDEs and OBEs that are strikingly similar but far more expansive. I wanted to put it down because, well, it occurred, even though my, whatever it was, seems uninteresting in comparison to others.
It started after work one day, when I decided to lie down for a few minutes while my wife cooked dinner. I drifted off, and soon I was dreaming—or so I thought. I saw myself floating above my body, watching from across the room like a curious ghost. Then, snap—I was the one floating, looking around, amazed. This wasn’t just a dream anymore; it felt real. I didn’t glance down at my body on the bed—didn’t need to. It was natural, pleasant even, as I rose to the ceiling and slipped through the walls.
I hovered over the kitchen, seeing my wife chop and stir, oblivious below. Then I started climbing—up, up, looking down at the house shrinking away. That’s when I spotted something odd: a cartoonish figure by the garage, banging on the wall like it wanted in, all exaggerated and strange. I didn’t linger—up I went, faster, until the world faded into a dark void, except for a light off in the distance. and a deep blue cocoon-like blanket that softly wrapped around me.
At that moment, I realized that every emotional connection to my wife and child had simply disappeared. No love, no obligation, no resentment—nothing. No love, no duty, no resentment—nothing. In its place came peace, a big, quiet love, and acceptance. Not personal, not aimed at me—it was like oxygen, there for whoever’s breathing. I thought of them down below, and it was weird not to feel responsible or tender or anything I’d always felt. But that peace, that love—it was enough. More than enough.
Then, wham—I snapped back into my body. I bolted awake, heart racing, and practically ran to the kitchen. “I think I just died and came back,” I told my wife, spilling the whole story. As I talked, doubt crept in—was it just a dream? She listened, probably half-sure I’d lost it. Years later, I dug into NDEs and out-of-body experiences, OBEs, comparing notes. Floating, the void, that shift in feeling—it lined up, sort of. But to this day, I’m not sold either way. Dream or not, that blue cocoon stuck with me, a moment where love turned into something bigger than I’d ever known.
