Sleep Paralysis, Friend or Foe? Gift or Curse?

Hello everybody, 8th here. I'd just like to start out by thanking everybody who has contributed in other SP/OBE threads... I've been reading lately and after having heard other peoples experiences, its calming to know I'm not the only one.

Lately I've been having quite a few sleep paralysis 'attacks' and its just really been stressing me out. I've just been asking myself a bunch of questions and I'm feeling confused. I keep having mixed emotions about the whole thing. Sometimes it will hit me in the middle of the night around 2am and I wont get to bed until 1am, then I wont feel like going back to sleep because I know its going to happen again.

Mostly when it hits, my natural reaction (and from reading most others reactions) is fear. I'll panic and try to 'jolt' out of it. A couple people have said that if you just relax and ride it out, you may begin to feel 'it' creep up your legs, then torso, spine, then head right? Then you may be able to experience an OBE or astral projection. Well, the closest I got to this was a couple days ago during my last experience.

I was laying there, and while trying to break out of it for about 10 seconds I got tired and took a break. As soon as I stopped, my legs from the knees down felt unlike they have before when I am having sleep paralysis. It really freaked me out and I struggled for about 10 seconds more and I snapped out of it. I felt completely drained of my energy.

I'm starting to wonder if I should venture off to that next level and try to let it take over. It is a very fearful experience most of the time. I'd say I've had around 10 to 15 so far, and none were really that pleasant. Only once I saw a black figure standing next to me, but thats more then enough to make me remember it and scare the hell out of me.

Some people are not able to experience sleep paralysis, which may lead to astral projection and thats when I wonder is this a gift or a curse? Sometimes I wonder why anybody would want to go through this at all and I will wish it wont happen again, but on the other hand I feel gifted that I can go through something unique like this.

I'm not sure what kind of responses I'm looking to get, but I need to post something. I'm feeling very confused about the whole thing and I would love it if I could share information with others... All of you who have went through this know that it can be very frightening. Feel free to ask me questions or send me a U2U if you need to. I guess I'm just unsure on how I should feel about this and if I can/should try to take it to that next level.

I guess thats it for now... Hope to hear from you all.


-8th

Hi, 8th. Seeing no-one else has responded yet ...

I'm not sure where it became 'wisdom' that sleep-paralysis leads automatically to astral projection/OOBE.

The black figure though, I can relate to. And like you, I'll be happy if I never experience that again.

Thing is, I wasn't experiencing 'sleep-paralysis', as far as I'm aware.

I was fast asleep. Normal sleep following a normal day.

I awoke with immediate awareness that something was in the room and that this is why I was now awake.

I saw a shapeless dark mass between the foot of the bed and the opposite wall. Not shadow or trick of the light.

In a split-second, this thing 'oozed' up towards me from the foot of the bed. At that point it was still shapeless. But it was clear to me that the thing possessed an intelligence and intent.

In horror, I watched as it continued oozing up the length of my body.

It was changing shape and now I could see its 'back' which was hunched.

A head and limbs emerged from the mass.

But at no time did it become as clearly defined as a normal human, so it would probably be correct to describe it as being 'humanoid' in shape.

It was completely black, no variation in shade.

It's sexual intent was clear. It was a humanoid intended-rapist.

It emitted a sense of its character, insofar as it utterly lacked respect for my rights. Utterly without compassion. Determined to exploit the vulnerability of its victim. Gloating. Determined. Rapacious. Vile. And I would say, 'evil' because it possessed no light and no interest in light.

I was frozen in fear. This entire incident happened unimaginably swiftly. Correctly or not, I believed I was done for: had no chance against it. It was very strong: confident in its strength and power. And it seemed well aware of just how vulnerable I was, being only just awake and terrified.

It seemed intent on capitalizing on shock, surprise, speed.

But out of nowhere, something in me kicked in and automatically began silently saying the Lord's Prayer. I didn't make that decision and it still surprises me that it happened.

If asked if I believed the Lord's Prayer had the power to defeat something as powerful as the entity I saw, I'm not sure what my response would be. If I'd had the time and wit to consciously decide what method to use to escape/defeat that entity, I'm not sure what I would choose. Most probably, I'd try to find some powerful, ancient formula.

As it was, I didn't have the time to consider or make a choice. But some part of me, or perhaps something that came to my rescue, made the choice for me. With the result I heard within my own head, my own voice intoning the Lord's Prayer. For which I'm very grateful.

The entity oozed or slithered backwards towards the foot of the bed. I waited a few moments, still unable to believe I was safe.

Then I ran like a crazy thing to another family-member's room, and jumped into their bed with them, babbling and crying - in shock. I was terrified.

When you're terrified to that extent, you don't care how much of an idiot you appear: you're just flooded with gratitude to be with another human.

I've found that the comfort bestowed by the mere presence of another human (regardless of how much you may or may not actually like them) is a hallmark of paranormal phenomena, particularly of the ghastly kind.

People say the experience I've just described is typical of 'sleep paralysis'. They cite various 'scientific' explanations, including blood pressure, respiration, etc. as explanation for this and for what is also known as The Hag.

I don't accept this explanation and find it amazing that anyone else would.

I do accept there may exist sleep-paralysis, but I have never been able to fathom the accepted logic which insists that when you see a shapeless and malevolent dark entity on your bed, it's because of body-chemistry/sleep paralysis.

What I do suspect is that these malevolent, evil entities themselves cause in the sleeper a condition that may bear some resemblence to sleep-paralysis.

But nothing in my experience persuades me to put the cart before the horse. I believe these entities possess the power to overpower their victims and that afterwards, when the victim describes his experience, others reassure him that the entity did not actually exist and the experience was 'simply' sleep paralysis.

We humans share many experiences in common, yet they are nevertheless each unique to us alone. Twenty people witness the same accident, yet each account varies slightly from the others. When you orgasm or give birth or suffer a broken limb or gunshot wound or suffer deep loss or hallucinate, you experience this in your own individual way which is the 'same-as' yet different to your brother or friend in the same circumstance.

Where is the logic in the claim that when you wake with a sense of immediately impending doom, a sense that your body is under (or falling under) 'something's' control (or at least out of your control) -- at the same time you observe a menacing dark shape, that you are simply experiencing 'sleep paralysis' ?

According to this wisdom, 'sleep paralysis' must be the ONLY unvarying human experience ! And must have remained set in stone throughout the past several thousand years at least. Because The Hag (aka black, menacing entity determined to prey on you while you're basically semi-conscious) has been a terrifying part of the human experience for as long as there have been humans.

Do you accept that everyone who's experienced The Hag/entity has merely suffered sleep paralysis? Or do you suspect the Hag may exist independently of sleep paralysis?

If I were you, I would analyse my sleep time: am I overtired? Am I depriving myself of oxygen by having the sheets over my face? Am I eating before bed? etc. I might even pay a visit to my doctor for a check up.

If I ruled out physical, emotional, mental, etc. reasons for the repeated experiences you say you're having lately, then I might choose to sleep in a different room or entirely different dwelling for a while, to see if this eliminated the unwanted interruptions to my sleep. If it DID, then I would very seriously consider moving elsewhere, permanently.

As to astral travel: there are far easier means of achieving this than enduring possible visits/attacks by foul entities.

I had Sleep Paralysis and it was hell. When I was in a deep sleep I would not be able to move at all. I couldn't feel my breathing or hear any noice outside my mind. I couldn't even move my eyes. I would try to wake because I knew my breathing had stopped. At first it wasn't to hard to get my brain to make my body move and that would wake me. Each time it would happen it would it was harder to wake. The last time was the worst. I couldn't wake and because I was breathing I was losing out to this thing. I knew I was going to die. Then as things got darker I was moving towards figures. As I got close I could see who they where. I saw my grand parents, aunts, uncles and friends. They wanted me to come to them and I was. Then I could hear one of them saying not yet. It was an old girlfriend that died from an over dose. She put me through hell when she was alive but she was the only one to save me. She kept saying not yet but I still kept going in. Finally she pushed through everyone else and screamed NOT F'N YET and shoved me back. I woke up and never had a problem again. That's my story and i am sticking to it.

I've only experienced sleep paralysis within the last few months, and only a small number of times. Very rarely do I remember my dreams...VERY rarely. The first I experienced this paralysis, I had a very vivid dream. There was fire creeping up out of the ground coming towards me, but in the dream I seemed to be able to move the fire with my mind, push it and throw it away from me, and even control it entirely. The fire kept coming and I realized that I was dreaming, I became fully aware of that fact, and at that point I experienced my very first lucid dream. I woke up very abruptly, but couldn't move and everything in my room seemed to be shaking up until I was able to move.

The next time it happened, when I awoke, everything was shaking in my room once again, but this time there was a symbol on the ceiling that looked almost like a tribal tattoo. It was a pulsing red light, and the face of a bearded man kept flashing in the center of it. The blankets covering me started to float above me, and then it all stopped, and I could move.

Besides the very first time it happened, I've had very vivid dreams in which I'm able to hover above the ground. Not really a flying dream, but more like a "floating" dream. I'm always interacting with a bunch of different people in the dreams, but they're never any people that I know in real life, or have even seen before. Every time I have those type of dreams, I awake unable to move with the world shaking.

I can't say that I believe it to be supernatural, or anything outside of an altered state of mind midway between dreaming and waking. It is always a very unpleasant experience though, full of panic and fear. I'd say its more of a curse than a gift.

Sleep Paralysis

Well I get that all the time, usually I think oh no not this again, wiggle my toe and usually I come out of it pretty quickly.

I havent seen any ghosts or anything like that when I experience sleep paralysis but I feel a buzzing through my whole body.

It used to be really scary and when I struggled against it, the sensation usually lasted longer and after a few bouts of sleep paralysis I just set heck with it and now it doesnt bother me at all.

according to a medical book Sleep Paralysis is related to Narcolepsy accompanied with hallucinations and hearing things.

I'm undecided whether it's paranormal in nature or a medical condition.

More curse than gift.

It depends on whether I get the hypnogogic or hypnopompic manifestation of SP.

Hypnogogic dreams are generally benevolent, sometimes fun, at worst boring, depending on who/what shows up as the central facet of the dream.

The hypnopompic ones are invariably god-awful, start to finish.

Like Miishgoos, I learned how to interrupt the hypnopompic ones right off by wiggling a finger or toe. You have to get that in just as soon as you can, though, because if I let it go long enough to find out what the "feature attraction" of the dream is going to be, I generally can't stop it at that point.

I have been thinking about the times i went through this and I to would start to come out of it by getting a toe to move first. Once I could move a toe I could get a leg to kick hard enough to wake me. It was always a fight to get out though. Like I said before the last time I was sure I was at the crossroad between life or death. I know I chose death because all the people on that path were my dead friends and family. I don't think it was a medical condition because it never happened again after that last time. I don't know what caused it but I don't want to go through it again until I am old and and want to go.

I believe that i had a sleep paralysis incident
I woke up unable to move and out of the corner of my eye i could see a blur of movement, ever seen the movie predator?, looked exactly like him when he cloaked, anyways it was moving from near the wall at the bottom of the bed up towards me, i remember thinking WTF? why cant i move and WTF is that lol, when it was standing just a foot away from my head it started to form into a solid humaniod figure, and thats when i burst out laughing, it was a giant rat with a hooded robe and its teeth were snaping open and shut in a threatening manner, although the rat was trying its hardest to scare me lol i found it highlarious. I believe what u see during sleep paralysis is simply what ever u fear is although for some reason i saw a fugging rat!!! who is afraid of rats lol!!!

[edit on 16-3-2007 by PlayeR87]

1st off, this is my very first post so... BE NICE

Much like Miisgoos, whenever I experience an episode of sleep paralysis, I usually think to myself "aww man, how long is this gonna last this time?" and it is usually relieved by an attempt to blink my eyes. I have had sleep paralysis of and on for 6 years.

The 1st time I ever had and episode I was 13 (i'm 19 now for those who didn't feel like counting :lol and "awoke" to the sound of pages being torn from a book. Needless to say it scared the ____ out of me. I tried to get up and run but found I couldn't move. I tried and tried to move, but to no avail. I "screamed" for my mom, but she never came. I decided to close my eyes and prayed (no relief). Eventually, I woke up and I was pi$$ed at my mom for not coming to my aid. She then told me that she was up all night (for whatever reason) and had not heard me screaming. This went on for about a week, after the 2nd night I told my brother and my mom to check on me periodacally throughout the night to see if I was okay. BTW, they never did

At this time in my life, I was just getting started with this whole paranormal, ghosts stuff and thought I was under attack (so lame I know.) I did some research and found out that this is called REMS (or something like that, I don't feel like going to look it up ) and occurs when your mind awakens before your body, so it's like you think you can move but your body isn't "awake" yet, so you can't. This went on for about 2 months and was accompanied with or without the sounds of pages being ripped or the sound of someone beating on the wall, but I always felt like something was weighing me down. I usually kept the tv on or the door cracked (just in case.) Since then, I get it periodacally, even in the daytime when taking a nap.

Another name for this episode is called The Rose and some old people refer to it as The Witch Riding Your Back (the feeling that someone is sitting on you comes from this) and they may tell you to fill up pots of water and place them around your bed. I forgot what the water does, but when I was told to do that, that's when I decided to do my own research My conclusion, is that it's really more of a nuisance, than a friend, foe, gift, or curse.

If my experinces aren't at all what this topic is about, I'm sorry to have wasted your time, but it just seemed relevant.

Hi all,

I have had sleep paralysis for years i can remember being very young when it first happened, i had a pretty traumatic childhood there i did not grow up in a happy home although i was loved. The most recent event was last week, it normally happens in the mornings with me, i was on late shift in my job, starting around 2pm so i decided to have a lay-in.

I dreamt of a house that i knew but had never seen or saw (in this life anyway) the dream came to a climax when a large dark creature tried to lure me into one particular room to the house. I point blank refused to do it then it rushed at me and a evil fac appear out of the dark, it startled me but i was not frightened.

i awoke to find myself in bed (of course) and fell back to sleep, the second dream i had a Hag in it, it was a very sexual dream basically dream porn, and the hag was right up beside my face cackling and laughing. I awoke again and got up.

I have had these dreams and others for years, i have my own explainations for why they happen but offer no sure answers as there are none to be had. I think we as humans must undestand that our perception is very small the dream world is a place to experience things without the "real world2 being involved.

Many of my other experiences have been a bit more frightening than this but it comes as no surprise to me now, that if there are "evil" things out there they don't like it when you know they are nothing to be afraid of, they have no power other than that which you give to them through fear. They are not Godly and you are, laugh at them ask what ever god you believe in to fill you with divine light and cast all shadow from where you are. Be specific about what you want to happen, and detailed. If it is for you it will not pass you. And most importantly try to be happy, and if you are not make the nessecary changes and trust that you are doing them for the great good.

We are children of the light; darkness is the absense of light, be a light onto yourself and you will never be in darkness.

L&L
mcktj

I feel bad for not replying for so long, but I've been busy. I've read all of the posts and would like to thank everybody again for contributing. Its late and I need to get some sleep and be up in a few hours so I need to go back and throughly read each response, then post replies. I know a few of you had some questions.

This coming Monday I'm going to attempt to record myself sleeping, since it always happens on a Monday when I get home and fall back asleep. Hopefully I can get some results and catch an 'attack' on video. I'm also looking into a free sleep clinic at one of the local hospitals in the area. They keep you over night and hook you up and run tests and whatnot.

Anyways thanks again, I'll be back shortly

8th,


I believe I have had some of the same experience as you have, but to be honest, I couldn't tell what was reality or my head. I slept normally (like I always do) and there was this black figure that sort of passed above my head and was like 2-3 inches away from my face, after that I had seen my mom walk in as if she was checking my sick pet (rabbit) and I tried to yell "Mom!" but couldn't I was so paralyzed that I could barely speak or breath. When I made the effort to yell "mom!" all that came out was breath. I heard whispering voices, loud enough to hear, but too soft to hear exactly what it was saying. I guess after that I had "awoke". I didn't want to sleep again, I even moved,pinched,and scratched myself to keep awake. Was it just a very vivid dream or was I awake and didn't realize? and that tingling feeling had overcome me. It was like my whole body was cover in a weird vibration state. Please help, I am so scared.