I am curious to know how common this type of experience is. The kind of OBE where you do not know you are out of the body but realize it after the re-entry.
Here is what happened but first of all a little background. I have had a history of waking my wife up screaming. This used to happen about two or three times a year but it has not happened in maybe two years. I would feel a presence accompanied by either sleep paralysis, hypnagogic states, or rem dreams that would cause me to scream out loud. The dreams themselves were never scary; just the presence. Whenever this would happen, i would “warn” my wife with moans or groans building up to a full fledged scream or yell that she says in and of itself is scary. On almost all the occasions we would laugh afterwards about how i must have woken up the neighbors.
This time i remember what happened before the scream clearly. I thought i had woken up to slight light of the sun and hearing a man outside our window making moaning sounds. I sleep with the window to my left. I thought our dog was laying between me and the window wining like there was something outside…spooky. Immediately i let out a loud yell to scare away the pervert. Once i yelled, my wife was already up trying to wake me, the dog was on the other side of me sound asleep but annoyed that i yelled and the sun was in the exact position it was in my (dream?) I had instant memory of hearing her tell me, “Its OK, its OK, wake up, just a dream” right before i woke.
So what happened? My guess is that i was out of my body the same spacial distance that i was from the sound i heard out the window. My astral hearing was in tune with me making the groaning noises that i thought was someone else and i scared myself back into my body with the loud scream. There may have been a presence or spirit nearby that i needed to be “Present” for. Maybe the dog’s spirit was out as well and we were both aware of something nearby. I figure during the night the astral body is out doing all kinds of work with dreams, healing, etc. and does need a motivator periodically to get back to the body earlier than usual for one reason or another. I think this time was to make me aware of the projection to build confidence.
If you took the time to read this thank you.
All thoughts, similar experiences, or questions are welcome.
PD
you should try and record yourself screaming…
i used to get presences a lot in SP… you just kind of have to accept them and try and interpret them, and deal with why they are there relating to real life issues I think… if you never see the presences or interact with them then I don’t really know what the deal would be.
I’m not highly believing of spirits myself, or the “astral” though…
anyway… how did your wife react the first time you did this before she knew about it? Was it the first time you ever knew that you woke up screaming, or do you consciously remember the screaming episodes come the morning?
I often times hit and kick imaginary things on my bed… if I had a sleeping partner that could be quite funny/unfortunate.
Recording myself screaming would be valuble if i ever wanted to sell the scream to a horror movie maker or something…lol. The sound of this recent scream she described and i felt as highly aggressive like i was throwing my Chi at the Presence or something. All the previous screams she said sounded like i was much more frightened and helpless. This may be a result of the intense psychological work i have been doing over the last two years.
The first time she heard me scream she was horrified and suprised. She tried to calm and comfort me. I do not know if i had screamed in my sleep before knowing her or not. Maybe a few times as a child but i will never know if i did when i lived alone.
Kicking or punching imaginary things has not happened to me yet that i know of but if it does hopefully it will be funny.
PD
Wow Prairiedog, have you been reading any material on OBEs. You sure seem to describe the experience very well. Your intial post description really reminded me of Robert Monroe, founder of “The Monroe Institute.” I consider Robert Monroe is to OBE as Steven LaBerge is to LD. 
You seem to already know this “presence” is yourself. I copied it to quote it, but I continued to read your explanation. It’s perfect, and answers itself! 
“spacial distance” does seem to be the problem. It’s natural to confuse the living body from your dream/astral body. Your perspective is not from usual viewpoints.
Robert Monroe wrote about his experience learning this “presence” was his own breathing body.
It’s funny to read about your screaming stories, but I bet it is a problem. Hopefully you can become more aware during these experiences to be able to control them more. I’m can’t think of any other advice but to follow your instincts. You seem to be on the right track already. Just stop being afraid of yourself. 
Good luck on your journey.
Thank you DreamAddict for the advice. I have not read any of Robert Monroe, but i have been studying Robert Bruce’s Astral Dynamics.
It is comforting to learn that this is not an uncommon experience and that other people have confused the Astral body with the physical body. I am not totally convinced that the presence is myself but i have given that consideration. The warrior’s philosophy of “knowing thy enemy” will apply to the self if there are no other known enemies. That is not to say that if the presence is not myself and it is someone or something else that this other entity is an enemy, maybe just a curious being.
I will give some more thought about what part of myself i could be afraid of and see what potential lies there. It has been two years prior to this last scream that it has happened and there has been a distinctive shift from the fear to the aggressive but that does not mean i am not fearing myself at present.
Do you have any suggestions to start with for studying Robert Monroe’s work?
Be Well
PD