Lying down, I heard the sound of my own breath next to me, as if it were another person. I moved to see if I could stand up out of my body, and the breathing sound was replaced by the more familiar sound of my own breath as I hear it from in my physical body.
This experience of hearing my breath externally has happened for me more times than I can count.
This time I heard it to my left, as if someone were lying beside me. I hear other sounds at other times, like roaring, fluttering, or voices, but the external breath sound always sounds the same and is becoming so familiar that it didn’t even startle or confuse me this time. The direction, however, varies.
Let me be clear: It is not a subtle change in the sound of my breath, or it becoming automatic, as when meditating. It sounds entirely like someone else’s breath beside me, not within me at all.
Every time, I react to it either by:
Either way, I become physically present, and the breathing sound changes to my familiar internal breathing. It’s two completely different sounds.
Other dreamers have suggested that our astral body always separates slightly from and hovers above our physical body as we sleep. If my astral body may also hover beside my physical body rather than above it, or if it may rotate, that would account for the varying directions that the sound is coming from.
In any case, I’m guessing I’m becoming alert during this transition period. Always a good sign for helping launch OBEs.
So what to do?
Moving or listening both don’t work, so I’ll just treat this as a good opportunity to do some cycling as per The Phase, which works for me when I’m in the right state. I’ll imagine standing at the foot of my bed, visualize the room, and imagine the sensation of rolling out of my body, and repeat.