Before i fall asleep

i don't know if this is the appropriate place to put this. if it is not then i must ask if someone could please move it for me and i'll go ahead and thank you in advance


anyway, i've been having an experience lately and i'm not sure what it is but it's odd for me and i'd like to describe it and see if other people ever experience this.

i'll be laying down with my eyes closed and i feel like i'm almost asleep and then suddenly i become hyper aware of my surroundings. i feel larger inside my head and if i focus in enough, i can begin to see the room i'm in even with my eyes closed. normally, i cannot do this (believe me i've tried a few times out of curiosity what it would be like to be a blind man and it usually ended in severe toe pain or tripping and falling lol)

i think that's what really alarms me the most though. i suddenly feel like i have my eyes open but they are quite closed. i can see the room in detail, though it is a little different than actually seeing the room with my eyes.


anyway, i know i sound weird but i've just been very curious about what that could be and if its normal or if its like a warning sign of some rare brain disease lol

anyway, thanks for reading this, to those that do

to the people that don't read this then that's ok too, i still love you

Do you ever notice a green "tint" to your surroundings? This sounds very much like how I began to astral project a year ago. I really haven't gotten further into it yet, but I still experience it at times.

You are probably very good at focusing on keeping your head clear, which is basically a form of meditation. Keep going with it and see where it takes you.

it is a bit "fuzzier" than normal, like subdued color but it seems sort of grayish, really.

even though it's fuzzier it's also a bit like seeing things in a higher definition, if that makes sense. like i can see the edges of picture frames that are normally blurred by darkness and shadow. i can scan the room without really moving a lot but the whole time i'm concious and aware. if i choose, i can open my eyes and it will sometimes start again as soon as i close them and other times i lose it and just fall asleep instead.

and yes, i am quite good at mentally focusing. i like to create music and i tend to lose myself easily in it. with as hectic as it is around this house, i have to be able to tune out the world and focus on my single goal at the moment.

as far as meditation goes, i've never actively tried it so i mean is there anything i should try that might help me learn to do it properly or should i just let myself go and give into it?

sorry for asking these questions, i have just never had anything like this happen before up until these last few weeks and it's a bit confusing but it is a good feeling and i'd like to see where i can take it

I use my own music often to help me meditate. Also, as odd as it sounds, I use something called I-dozer to help meditate too. Its supposed to be like listening to electronic drugs, but really it just helps me empty my brain.

Meditation really is simple if you let it be. I started with the color method, that's supposed to help you pull info from peoples' heads. Just picture Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue in quadrants above your skull. Close your eyes and try to "feel" the color emanate from each quadrant (1 color per quadrant). Rotate around your head, and focus on keeping the colors where they are.

Thats only one way to do it. As far as I'm concerned, if I focus on the backs of my eyes long enough in a calm state, I begin to see things. Lots of things.

Eventually, I got to the point where I could open my eyes without "scaring" myself out of the state, and I got so far as my backyard and floated around a bit before coming out of it.

Is this state ever accompanied by a violent "electrified" shaking of your body before you leave yourself? I am always shaken from my body and then put in another place, with visions VERY much like yours. Someone told me that this shaking was me coming in contact with my being's vibration and emitting my conscious to another place.

I like to think I'm a sane person, but even saying that stuff makes me feel crazy. But its a great experience right? And something that can always help you grow as a person.

I experience this quite often...

It's almost like you can see through your eyelids...

Now some folk will go to tell you this is your pineal gland activated or your third eye or whatever, but i don't know what it is to be honest...

I seem to find it happens before i experience sleep paralysis.

SantaClaus

thank you for the information. i will try that and see if i have any results. i've not felt any electrified shaking sensations but i think if i did it would probably scare the crap out of me at first lol

it doesn't sound crazy, well i mean apparently it's not too crazy or no one else would have this experience. i tend to try to rationalize everything and be more scientific but this recent experience leaves me without a scientific answer, though with others having the experience it validates it in a way and makes me curious to explore it further




to mr-lizard


yes, it is quite like being able to see through my eyelids, it's very strange. it also seems to be vision but not directly from my eyes so to some extent, i can see differently. it would be amazing if i could see through walls but i'm afraid i'd be rather unimpressed by what lie behind the drywall

also, as far as the third eye or pineal gland stuff goes, i'm not knowledgeable about any of it. to be honest, up until these recent events i was less convinced that this even existed, since i'd never actually had an experience like this to base any kind of opinion.

also, i've never experienced sleep paralysis. is it where you are conscious but cannot move? do you find it pleasant or unpleasant?



to all

thanks for the replies, it is much appreciated!

Your eyes really are open, or rather half-shut.

Some people are just like that. I'm one.

I never even knew about it until one of my younger brothers told me.

And yes, I've had the same experience you have.

It's not 'sleep paralysis', just a state between sleeping and waking. What psychologists used to call a 'hypnogogic state'.

Nothing supernatural or 'astral' or alien. And certainly nothing to worry about.

Originally posted by SantaClaus
Eventually, I got to the point where I could open my eyes without "scaring" myself out of the state, and I got so far as my backyard and floated around a bit before coming out of it.

The last two days i happened to experience the same thing. Normally my body would get scared while having sleep paralysis but just recently that has gone so i can control it with greater ease and concentrate on 'getting out' (not succeeded yet)

Is this state ever accompanied by a violent "electrified" shaking of your body before you leave yourself? I am always shaken from my body and then put in another place, with visions VERY much like yours. Someone told me that this shaking was me coming in contact with my being's vibration and emitting my conscious to another place.

Yep, random kicks of the leg(s) or arm(s), electrified spine is something i have before the sleep paralysis really kicks in. So i just have to go that little bit further to leave the body if i read you correctly, cool

I like to think I'm a sane person, but even saying that stuff makes me feel crazy. But its a great experience right? And something that can always help you grow as a person.

Agree, only thing i find mildly disturbing is that i hear voices sometimes. They are not coherent enough to tell stories but they do say things like 'I fell down again' or things to that affect. They do not react to my reactions though, good thing i think. And i only have them when i am falling asleep, never had them while wide-awake. That WOULD be disturbing.

Originally posted by Barathrum
to mr-lizard


yes, it is quite like being able to see through my eyelids, it's very strange. it also seems to be vision but not directly from my eyes so to some extent, i can see differently. it would be amazing if i could see through walls but i'm afraid i'd be rather unimpressed by what lie behind the drywall

also, as far as the third eye or pineal gland stuff goes, i'm not knowledgeable about any of it. to be honest, up until these recent events i was less convinced that this even existed, since i'd never actually had an experience like this to base any kind of opinion.

also, i've never experienced sleep paralysis. is it where you are conscious but cannot move? do you find it pleasant or unpleasant?

Sleep paralysis experiences can vary from person to person, but ultimately the scientific explanation ranges from a few ideas, but relies on the format that you are technically 'asleep' i.e all your external motor functions and such have relaxed due to certain sleep hormones.

Whilst the mind is somewhere very awake, but in a sleep like vision... In other words, from my experiences you can be perfectly aware of the world around you, you are aware that you are awake and can feel the strange pulses travelling up and down your spine and feet.

Also you have to deal with the dream entities that come and go... many people see figures hovering over them, or creatures or other such 'hallucinations'. But for me the most strangest experiences come from the sounds I hear... Talking, singing, metallic sounds, electric sounds, people whispering and the like.... But no doubt it's something to do with the half awake state of existence.


And the way my body feels infinitely light and also heavy as a stone.


I'm very fascinated by the subject of sleep and dreaming and everything in between.

I don't think I am necessarily talking about sleep paralysis of any kind. I can wake myself out of it at any time.

As far as the tremors, this is much much different from anything my body would be able to do, so I don't think its so much physiological.

I have been playing with this stuff for a few weeks now as well. I got interested from reading various topics right here on ATS about sleep paralysis etc.

I tend to “experiment” with my own mind when I am having trouble falling asleep. I will begin by lying on my back and focusing on the back of my eyelids for a few minutes. I can then focus my mind on any part of my body and actually “feel” a sensation such as the blood moving through the veins in that area. I find when I focus on my brain I begin to get visions. They have ranged from the inside of my room to the most bizarre and sometimes frightening images.

The images are crystal clear and in “high definition”. It amazes me, because normally my mind cannot create images this clear, no matter what I am thinking of. I want to be able to harness this ability as an artist. If I could see what I want to draw or paint in my mind this clearly all the time, I feel my skill would increase exponentially. It would be like copying a piece of art from my own mind directly onto a canvas.

I don't think it's anything to worry about because I've been doing that for years and years.
I accepted it as normal.
When I shut my eyes everything is crystal clear in the room I'm sitting in even the light.
I don't have to be going to sleep . I can be wide awake sitting in a chair with my eyes closed.
When I'm shutting my eyes to go to sleep I see faces of people I do not know.
I've often wondered if these people really exist or not.

Originally posted by MagicaRose

When I'm shutting my eyes to go to sleep I see faces of people I do not know.
I've often wondered if these people really exist or not.

I have wondered the exact same thing. I once read that the faces are real people because your mind cannot make up the face of someone it has never seen. However, these are people you may have only seen once, such as on the street or on TV. I don't know if this is true but its interesting to think about.

I've also seen faces of people that are in great distess of some kind.
Especially women.
These face's are always in color and I can see the chest portion and the color of the shirt or top they are wearing.
The next day I'll look for these faces on tv but I never see them.

Originally posted by Harman

Originally posted by SantaClaus

Is this state ever accompanied by a violent "electrified" shaking of your body before you leave yourself? I am always shaken from my body and then put in another place, with visions VERY much like yours. Someone told me that this shaking was me coming in contact with my being's vibration and emitting my conscious to another place.

Yep, random kicks of the leg(s) or arm(s), electrified spine is something i have before the sleep paralysis really kicks in. So i just have to go that little bit further to leave the body if i read you correctly, cool

I like to think I'm a sane person, but even saying that stuff makes me feel crazy. But its a great experience right? And something that can always help you grow as a person.

This sounds like Temporal lobe Epilepsy

please see my thread/posts on the subject. I also experience things like this - although i cant recall total body shaking myself just the the odd jerk here and there - but daily. \full seizure is when you are shaking.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Hey, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had this experience.

However i get to different symptoms that still freak me out...
1) i know I'm awake but my body won't move.
2) between the moment I'm sleeping and the moment i get "paralyzed" i stare at something and i feel like my eyes are huge and i can actually look at something very small or something specific as if i had super eyes.... i can look at a spot on a wall and look at it as if i was in front if it. This is where things feel weird...

I don't want to freak out anyone but this has happened to be 5 times in my life.
If anyone shares this or if anyone knows anything about this, please let me know!

Thanks!

i've been doing some reading lately since i've started having these experiences and i think that what you are experiencing is what some others in this thread also experience. it is called sleep paralysis

basically, from what i have researched, it happens to your body all the time when you are asleep but it usually goes unnoticed since you are, in fact, sleeping. the mind disconnects from the main motor functions so that if you are running in a dream you don't actually kick your legs like crazy in the physical world. it tends to not affect the weaker motor functions, like some of the muscles in your arms, etc, which allows us to scratch an itch in our sleep or make small hand gestures while sleeping.

also, one thing that i have read today actually said that if you become aware and are experiencing sleep paralysis to try and wiggle your toes or swallow and you should soon recover your motor functions.

I complety understand this paralysys and i've come to acept that i have to calm down because i just get anxious. However that's when the weird thing kicks in.... my sight is out of proportion. i see everything big as if i was using a bottle to look torught everything. I focus on something so small i would never see it and when i'm in this stage it's HUGE like really infront of me.

How can you explain this ? It's really freaky and i haven't yet encountered someone with the same experience!

that i do not know lol

never had that happen before but it sounds interesting.

how does it make you feel?

You see!! i don't know anyone that shares the same thing.... it's horrible.

Well first let me tell you that since i was young , everynight became a diferent dimension for me.... and what i'm about to tell you might sound a little freaky...

Since i was young, i always had problems sleeping, and i never liked mirors in my room cause i felt like someone was watching me sleep. I remember when i was 5 years old, i was sleeping and one morning i woke up and stared at some dolls my mom gave me that i didn't really like. They where small and represented diferent nationalities. Anyways, i stared at the doll and suddenly, i felt like my eyes got heavy as if they where charging and then boom, they let go and i found my self looking at the doll right in the face as if i was an ant looking at this. On top of it several times i woke up and stared at them and found myself being complety afraid cause their eyes and mouth moved a little but i guess that when you stare too much on something it will become blury.

Anyways, that was just the start because when i started understanding i could control my body and my mind at night by relaxation, it started having other effects. First during sleep paralysis ( and being complety aware of it) i could stare at my self sleeping. Second, when i could stare at the room, i had to calm down to go back to sleep or wake up. And finally, i realized that when i relaxed completly while being "paralysed" I could gain complete consciousness of the situation i was in.

In the last state of relaxation i found my self looking at something and then i felt like a rush ( you know the moment before going down on a rollercoaster?) and then my eyes would stare at something really fast . My sight became kind of round and not panoramic. The first time i had this i found myself staring at a nail on my wall for 2 minutes.

I guess the feeling is like when you grab a microscope and you are trying to see properly trough it and when you get the perfect setting for your eyes it just "pops out"... i don't know if you understand me.... LOL