[SingleMan]

Most people seem to speak of doing OBE's alone, but I was wondering if anyone had experienced AP with a guide present.

The reason I ask, is that my first remembered OBE, a very powerful and spontaneous one, was with a guide. (see my newbie thread intro post) They were over my right shoulder, manifested as a gender-neutral voice who was providing a very witty, funny DVD-esque commentary on the OBE, with the tone of a familiar and compassionate friend. Perhaps it's not right to say "voice" because it was more telepathic in nature, more like.. part of the pattern surrounding me, but for all intents and purposes it's easiest to call it a voice. (I found the right shoulder thing interesting as something negative lurking in a lucid dream was pulling at me from over my left shoulder, though I don't know if that's really relevant. Made me think of the salt throwing superstition)

I am 100% sure that that trip was a gift from my guide and that I was brought there, due to the content and resolution provided by that OBE, and that the hilarious commentary was just to make me lighten up and feel better about the situation tied to the OBE. It makes sense to me that a guide would be present for such a specific trip like that, especially since I could have never done it on my own. It was an OBE from a NORMAL dream, and when I finally asked to be brought back to my body after not waking up upon realizing lucidity, I experienced a slight falling sensation, heavy entrance projection sensations and felt myself pouring back into my sleep-paralyzed body. (I had not read AD then, so the entrance sensations were a surprise and at the same time... very familiar)

The interesting thing is that of course as I got more lucid in the experience, the feeling of a guide present retreated. Didn't leave rather, just became part of the background. I was no longer being shown anything, I was guiding myself by the end of it. The mental imagery I'm having is of a parent holding you in a pool as you're kicking your arms and legs, and gently letting you go and as you're moving slowly forward, you're looking around and realizing "Wow! I'm swimming!" I of course had a "Wow! i'm swimming! Where the heck am I?" reaction that made me force myself to end the experience.

I'd guess that my guide brought me there, provided the commentary so that I'd later on put two and two together about what I was seeing (Because at the time, I was my "dream" self, a rather dispassionate observer who had no relevance or understanding of what I was looking at, until I woke up and put the details together) and backed off, leaving me in the environment to explore a bit and understand that what I was experiencing was not just a dream but a true blue OBE.

It makes sense that they'd be more present and active on a "guided tour," but do guides pretty much show up when they have a mission? When you ask them to be there? Or they're always there and just not a part of your focus? Granted, I don't think they should be hand-holding you through experiences that you should be having for yourself but I was just wondering if anyone else had had any guided tours and where guides might fit into the whole OBE schema.