Q: Are you a Buddhist?
Technically, no. To be a Buddhist you have to take anywhere between 5-10 "precepts", and I can't in good faith vow not to kill things, specifically mosquitoes, flies, and some spiders. I'm also working on lust and intoxicants. :) I am a work in progress.
Q: Do you think your OBE's are real?
Yes, I do, but I'm always looking to prove this one way or the other. The card test that I have used several times is the best test I know of right now, and I've done very well on it.
Q: What do you think about "time"?
The concept of time freaks me out. If I can continue having success with my OBE/card experiments, including predicting cards that will be shown in the future, and if I continue to have dreams that can be interpreted as precognitive, then time and space are very different than we understand them today. In fact, I will say that our understanding of time and space is limited by our human senses and understanding. With the assumption that these tests continue in a positive manner, then whatever human figures out how time and space really work is the person who is able to expand their thinking outside of the limitations of the human perspective.
Q: How do you know you're not sleep-walking?
I can't say 100% that I'm not, but I am 99.9% sure that I'm not. First, my wife never mentioned anything about sleep walking. Second, I very rarely move in bed, and I've never had a situation where the covers in bed after an OBE were different than the covers before an OBE. Third, I've had several OBE's where I can hear myself snoring in bed. (One of the benefits of snoring, I suppose.) Finally -- and most importantly -- I occasionally use a very sensitive digital recording device that I lay in the bed next to me, and I have recordings during several OBE's, and it is very clear I did not get out of bed. Any movement in the bed comes through painfully loud on this device. The only unusual thing during these recordings is that my breathing sounded extremely unusual.
Q: Do you think there is a relationship between Zen and OBE's?
Tough question. I think there are a lot of similarities, which I have pointed out throughout this blog, but I'm not a Zen Master, and I'm not even a very good Zen Student. So, I can only comment on the similarities that I see between Zen books, OBE books, and my own meditation and OBE experiences. Zen books talk about a "thrilling sensation", a loss of sensation, a "purification of sensation", a "roaring sound" in your ears, precognitive abilities, and other physical sensations that I have experienced with OBE's. However, Zen/Buddhist books also refer to you as being the same as the universe, and I'm not clear on how to interpret that. Finally, there is a phrase that "Zen Mind is before thinking", and that is a huge difference. I think during OBE's, and I try not to think when meditating.
Q: What is your favorite margarita recipe?
I prefer limeade-based recipes, like this one. Good ingredients are key, and I really like fresh fruit with my drinks, including fresh limes and oranges. And I like them on the rocks, with no salt. :)