I stumbled upon this board yesterday, and it wasn't long before I knew I had to join

I suppose I'll start off by telling a bit about myself and my never-ending quest for spiritual knowledge....
I was born and raised in North Carolina and raised as a Christian, although not of the "fundy" type (although I was certainly given exposure to it by way of my grandparents.) My interest in Christianity reached a high point in my teen years, and waned after that due to various circumstances in my life, not to mention that I couldn't cope with the idea that only Christians could go to Heaven, etc, etc. Even back then I knew what I had been taught as a child was only a shadow of what was out there spiritual-wise, although I didn't explore it for many years.
My interest in religion/spiritual matters reached a low point a few years back, and while I never considered myself agnostic, I certainly had my doubts about it all. Then, about a year and a half ago, I began to have a series of psychic experiences that launched me onto my current quest of spiritual knowledge...and I came to realize that there is so much more to "me" then I had ever realized, not to mention the infinite realms of God, Spirit and the Universe.
I've also discovered a side of my self that I've actually had all along but have never acknowledged due to my stubborness of my right half of my brain that kept insisting that anything outside of currently accepted scientific principles just wasn't possible. Once I finally came to acceptance of my "greater" self (spring of '04...seems like a lifetime, though

, it was like one door opening after another showing me things that I had given little, if any, consideration to like OBE's and the afterlife.
Anyhow, just last week I was feeling a bit depressed about not being able to find work (I've been unemployed for quite some time now...sigh), and I began to think about the true meaning of my current life here on Earth, and where I might go after I leave, plus the added jolt (sorry for the pun) of nearly being struck by lightning nine days ago while I was standing under my carport watching a thunderstorm...talk about a kickstart to the heart!..LOL. I did some Googling, and came across the story of Howard Storm and his NDE, and then I went to a bookstore and bought a book titled "Think Logically, Live Intuitively" by J.R. Madaus, and I really connected with his experiences at the Monroe Institue and the whole idea of exporing different Focus Levels, and then I found Bruce Moen's site and this board, and I knew I just had to join.
I can't say that I've had an actual OBE other than the typical "falling into bed" stuff as a kid, but that's something I'd certainly like to experience, if I can just learn to properly meditate for more than five minutes at a time...lol...but I do have a very active dream life which probably comes close to having OBE's considering all the strange and weird places that I've been to in dreamland, not to mention all the psychic stuff that seems to be happening more and more frequently as of late. The key thing is that I have a burning desire to learn more about all of this and to not to be stuck in a limiting belief system, which is why this board resonates so well with me.
Guess I'd better leave at this for now before I wear out my welcome

...but I'm certainly looking forward to sharing and learning on this board.
Much Love and Light to All,
Byron