Introduction You''ve probably heard about someone who claims to have slipped into another time and then returned in a confused state, as strange as that might sound. Perhaps you thought it was impossible and could never happen to you. This book will show you how common slips in time really are and how you could easily have experienced something like that yourself without even realizing it. The book also will lead you through exercises to experience time slips on a controlled basis. This will make them even more meaningful for you. After all, slips in time are the way we could explore beyond the rigid boundaries of our mundane world. It''s a likely way that our spirit journeys. It''s how we could expand our understanding.

This is the way of the shaman in a vision quest. It''s the Native American path of spirit walking or dream walking. The shaman seeks to witness profound glimpses into the past or future for insight. Shamans traditionally observe what ancestors impart to them or probe the destiny that lies ahead. Then they report that back to their people. This is the role of the prophet who guides the people through uncertainty by glimpsing into the past or what likely is ahead. The traveler is the ultimate guide who has peeked behind every bend of the road. This is also the mission of the yoga mystic who steps outside mundane time and space.

In deepest trance, the samadhi mystic leaves the physical body to journey to unknown worlds and realities to better understand the human condition in the greater cosmos. It is the quest of every serious yogi to find union in the oneness of all and unity in the journey of the spirit. Every hero who embarks on a great journey of discovery understands this truth. The hero steps into unknown regions and loses himself (or herself) in the process. All great heroes learn to step off the path into uncertainty where up might become down and left appears on the right. After all, no great discoveries happen on a common path riddled with deep ruts where everyone has followed the steps of others, eyes barely open. No, the hero takes a brave leap into uncharted space and time with eyes wide open and consciously aware. And along the hero''s arc of discovery, the lost soul finds itself and finds answers hidden from common view.

That''s the role of the hero -- the brave explorer in search of hidden truth. It was true of Odysseus who slayed mythical monsters and dueled with gods in worlds that most people never see. It was true of Arjuna, the hero in The Bhagavad Gita , who rode his chariot with the lord as his guide and counselor during a war. All of us can become a hero in our own life journeys, because living is a process that is meant to be filled with adventure and discovery. It''s a journey where you are pitted against obstacles and forced to make choices. How you survive your hero''s journey is up to you. It depends on your choices and your observations. It''s how you have picked your path and found your way.

What have you discovered along the way? The journey is everything. It''s much more important to you at this stage than the destination. For Arjuna on a chariot with Lord Krishna, his great success was not bringing a victorious outcome to a war but finding peace and purpose in the world. For Odysseus, reaching Ithaca to resume his throne was not his greatest victory, but encountering many surreal obstacles along the way. If you are lucky, you will find yourself along the way--the real you outside of the illusions of our physical world with perfectly pressed clothes and manicured lawns. That is the real you without the many masks you wear to conform to our physical norms and blend into the mundane world. It is the higher self that transcends your physical limitations. I believe in getting lost from time to time in order to find yourself.

I believe in stepping off the path and following where spirit takes you. I have tried to do that and freely include some personal adventures outside normal time and space. I have included other similar encounters as faithfully as possible here, in hopes that you will see a pattern. This pattern could work for you. Admittedly, it won''t be such a big stretch for people who have daydreamed and found themselves miles from home in a different time and place. It won''t seem that odd for individuals who have experienced lucid, vivid dreams and felt certain they really were somewhere outside their own memories. It will prove easy for everyone who recalls going through a normal day, but then suddenly slipping into another time and place where things seemed quite real, if only for an instant. You see, we probably all slip in and out of time and space on a regular basis in our regular lives, without much thought to it.

We just shrug it off and tell ourselves how strange that seemed nothing to take seriously. Most assuredly, it''s something we don''t talk about as a rule. The basic truth is that our spirit longs to be free and explore. That energetic part of you that is trapped most of the time in a dense, physical body like a shroud instinctively knows how to get out. And once it gets out, it wants to explore. It longs to experience and grow. It wants to learn and evolve. This book offers help for you to explore and set your spirit free.