Sleep Paralysis

[ArizonaBay]

I wanted to contribute to a few other threads regarding sleep paralysis and due to my newbie status I had to create the thread here--not that there's anything wrong with that! Thanks in advance if you're someone who reads this.

I'd like to share my take on sleep paralysis with you folks. It's not something that I believe my friends truly understand when I've told them about it. I have one friend who has had similar experiences, though I don't believe he shares the same theories about it. I don't ever get to have a conversation about this that doesn't end with the other person/people obviously thinking I am either making this up or that I'm a bit crazy. Crazy as I may be, what I am going to write is 100% true to me.

I have experienced the sleep paralysis phenomena since I was in high school, so for a bit over half of my life. If you have never experienced it then it is sort of difficult to understand--the only people who generally get it are psychedelic users because that seems to be what it resembles most. What happens to me is I will wake up in the middle of the night unable to move. Within seconds my mind is fully functional and I am aware of my surroundings. At some point when I'm scanning my room with my eyes I see round the foot of my bed stands a person. While I describe this person as being shadowy, I can sometimes see some details depending on the lighting in the room and how well my eyes adjusted to the dark . It is not just a shadow though--it is a three-dimensional shadowy person, I just want to make that distinguishment. Sometimes he--it is 100% a male, no doubt--just stands there, sometimes he walks to the side of my bed even with my torso. There is always a sound that accompanies this, and the only way I can describe it would be like the sound you hear before a movie starts when the Dolby Digital Sound credit appears--it sounds like that before it gets really loud. In my experience the sound isn't overwhelming it is just there. The man has taken a few different forms, and what is perplexing is that it takes a different form every time I live somewhere else. The last time I saw him was about two months ago. He just stood against the wall at the foot of my bed. I know he attempted to communicate with me because I could see by the way that the outline of his face moved that he was talking (or chewing tobacco, ha). I couldn't make out at all what he was saying, but I know he attempted to communicate. Right now the man resembles the entity from the Bruce Campbell movie, "Bubba Ho Tep". If anyone has seen that movie I kid you not that is about as spot-on of a description of my guy. He doesn't always wear his hat, though.

Traditionally sleep paralysis happens while lying on your back, leading some to believe it could be a symptom of sleep apnea, or part of its early onset. Well, that no longer happens with me. It happens in any sleep position I am in. I've tried to face it and telepathically tell it to leave me be, but it won't. I try to talk almost every time, but I can only make sounds; no words. This part scares the heck out of my girlfriend who gets woken up by the sounds I make. When it gets really intense I make them on purpose knowing that all it will take is a few shakes from her and my body can move again. It is not just a lucid dream--I am able to figure out when I'm in a dream and play around in that world. It is very real, and very frightening. Another strange quality is that when falling asleep, I can feel when something is in the room with me, and I know that there is a chance I'll see it/him. I only say it because twice I've seen a floating hooded figure that I would say is likely feminine, though I don't know why. I just know it is a "she". Anyway, it feels like the pressure in the room increases, my hairs stand on end, and I can hear a faint buzz. The air will have a smell about it--not necessarily an odor, per se--but a warm smell. I don't know how to describe it except there will be a flash of air that feels warm when you breath it in, like body heat. Now this makes me want to just curl in a ball under the sheets because when the flashes of warm air happen it's all but guaranteed it's showing itself. Lastly, I feel like I can hear whispers sometimes when falling asleep. It is similar in sound to a voice I've heard during a mushroom experience last September. That and the buzzing have a very tryptamine-like quality to them.

I probably experience this about 15 times a year, though there is no regularity. I may not have sleep paralysis for 6 months, then have it twice in a week and once a month after. I cannot figure out the trigger. It doesn't come about after psilocybin use, or being drunk (or going through a dry-out period), or after cannabis use/cessation. I honestly don't think it has anything to do with substances I use.

I used to just think my experiences were due to anxiety, and maybe I was having anxiety attacks in my sleep. It probably makes the most logical sense in a traditional matter, but it seems too easy of an explanation. These occurrences don't really correlate to turbulent times in my life, or if my generalized anxiety condition comes back. You would think that if it was anxiety-related then it would tend to happen when I was under a lot of stress, or in a stretch of anxiety attacks when awake, but that is not the trend.

One sort of half serious theory I have is that I am either haunted, or always end up living somewhere that is. That may explain why it has taken a different form in various places I've lived. The hooded feminine figure was definitely ghostly, but the main guy is more "shadowy". He isn't transparent or anything, like the hooded thing was. He definitely knows he scares the bejeezus out of me. I don't think that is his sole intent, though. He wants something from me. I don't know what it is yet, but it is more than just a spirit haunting the living. Which brings me to the thoughts that I am currently having about it.

Maybe this being is an entity from another realm. Not a classic ghost, but a shadow person. Maybe this is my shadow-self? Perhaps it is a representation of my ego trying to scare me back to thinking how I used to? It could be that it is my ego challenging me to come to his realm, or that he is challenging in mine and I am just lucky enough to wake up and catch him before he can do any harm. The more I think about it, the more I think this shadow being is a real entity. It has a negative connotation to it, kind of, but maybe that is due to the paralysis part of it that makes me panic. Whatever it is, I am trying to get up the courage to really face it. I've made attempts but I end up chickening out and making noise to get shaken out of it.

The shadow being idea came to me a week ago. I was listening to "Forty Six & 2" by TOOL on the way to work and the lyrics just struck me different than ever before. Combined with the cacauphony of new thoughts and ideas that have been coming out of me over the last seven months; this is the avenue I'm going to explore now.

I'm trying to figure out how to explore this idea. I feel like I could use an ally to help me confront the shadow; such as psilocybin or DMT. What I would like to ask is, what is your take on my experience? Do you think it is possible that I am being selectively and consciously contacted by a shadow being? Is this all a manifestation from my mind? Do you think exploring this possibility with psychedelics would be wise? Does anybody have experience encountering entities such as my Bubba Ho-Tep-shadow-man (haha that just sounds tacky), either when he appears or with psychedelics?

If you read all this, thank you. I know it is long, but just wrapping up this post makes me feel good. I don't ever really get to communicate sleep paralysis in this much detail--everyone I've ever talked about it with either doesn't understand, tells me to lay off the weed, or just writes my experience off completely. Because, you know, if everyone hasn't experienced it then it must not be real. I'm looking forward to reading some responses, and to communicating with similar minded folks. Thanks Nexus, and have a nice weekend.

 

[ArizonaBay]

I wanted to add that my post was inspired by the Conscious Sleep Paralysis thread: First conscious sleep paralysis, woot woot! :) - Methods of Exploring Consciousness - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

There is a lot of good stuff in there, and I just wanted to point others in the direction of that thread, too.

 

[Ufostrahlen]

Interesting read. A nice variety to the trip reports here. Unfortunately I'm new to SP, so I can't contribute much. But I'm very interested in the thoughts of more experienced folks.

 

[SpartanII]

I have experienced the sleep paralysis phenomena since I was in high school, so for a bit over half of my life. If you have never experienced it then it is sort of difficult to understand--the only people who generally get it are psychedelic users because that seems to be what it resembles most.

I've experienced sleep paralysis many times since I was as young as I can remember, way before I used any psychs.

It's a unique state of awareness sometimes called the "mind awake, body asleep" state. Some people seem to have a natural ability to achieve this. I'm not one of them, although with a little practice and concentration, I can do it. There are also techniques and supplements that can help to induce this state of consciousness.:thumb_up:

 

[starway6]

Ahh yes.. [sleep parayasis!
We have talked about this subject ..[and many others].. many times on a lucid dreaming talk forum i was a member of for over 7 years..
I have experianced real sleep paraylisis several times over the years and found [SP] could be used as a doorway into a lucid dream or out of body experiance if ones awareness is well developed enough to recognize the state for what it is......
In fact my highest quality [WILD] wake initiated lucid dreams i experianced through sleep paraylisis...

For me..i would concider [SP] more of a gift than a PROBLEM!
Galantamine used often enough durring sleep can cause [SP] in many people trying to lucid dream..
IN my first high level [WILD] I was on my back in bed at about 2:am i noticed a life size bengal tiger curled up in the corner of my darkened room..
I also noticed an old hag wearing a dark shawl at the end of my bed stareing at me....
I got a little nervious and did ..[a roll out of my sleeping].. body onto the floor i sprang up and ran past the beast and down a short hallway straight through a solid wall!
Once through the wall i instantly found myself in a very real to life room with color full objects everywhere like pictures on the wall furnature and a TV set playing on a table..
I also had what is called a [..full dream body]... and could feel my dream feet as thay walked across the carpet i was exploring everything I saw..
I would touch the flesh colored walls of the room my mind painted for me.. then i went to the door turned the handle to open it enough to look out into a night time scene of a giant dream city!
Now lucid! [knowing i was in a dream world] I shut the door and went to the tv and changed the channels..
As i turned the channels i could hear talk that made very little sense..but after all this was a dream of the highest quality..[near an out of body experiance]!!
WOW! I this is great!! Im in a place where anything is posible!!
I started back walking slowly like a man on the moon towards the door again wanting to go outside and explore my new world..
then as i turned the door handle to go out into the dream city
[not realizing that i could have simply walked through the wall]
The excitement woke me up in bed..darn!..i wanted to go farther..
Everything in a lucid dream is modeled after the waking world but is enjoyed and apreciated much more in a dream..[it like a child seeing the world for the first time]!
This is just one example of what the mind can do if one can maintain awareness into the dream or learn to recognize the borderlands between wakefullness and dreams..
And i say again that sleep paraylisis can be more of a blessing than somthging to fear...

 

[*oneironaut*]

I wanted to add that my post was inspired by the Conscious Sleep Paralysis thread: First conscious sleep paralysis, woot woot! :) - Methods of Exploring Consciousness - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

There is a lot of good stuff in there, and I just wanted to point others in the direction of that thread, too.

Welcome to the nexus! Since you read this thread you sort of know my experience... you would be surprised how common it really is. I mean technically speaking everyone on this planet experiences it every night, they just aren't aware of it.

As for the entities, there are many theories, but from my experience the "presence" is a manifestation of the fear caused by sp. The presence pretty much went away once I started inducing them intentionally. Remember, just as in normal dreams and certainly in lucid dreams, visions and dream schemas materialize as fast as your thoughts and emotions arise. Dreamscapes come to fruition in absolute realtime. SP puts you in a very vulnerable place, you wake up confused and paralyzed, its only natural that one would sense and see a threatening presence. During SP you are both one foot in the waking world and one foot in the dream world...that's a recipe for some bizarre phenomenon.

Overcome the fear and see SP for the natural process that it is and the shadow/entity will go away and you can turn the curse into a gift

I've had it since 7 yrs old and it was the most frequent when I partied in my 20's especially during the mama days now it almost never happens on its own unless I'm working long hours and then o to bed exhausted but alert...boom SP every time.

Make it your friend and you can use it for some pretty profound OBE's and lucid dreams!

I wish it would happen more often without having to intentionally induce it, which takes effort

The dream state and those in between are fascinating and mysterious!

 

[Eeegor]

Sometimes I have sleep paralisys too, since kid 4-5 years old, with time the paralisys were more and more intense and frightened no matter what was my mood, condition.

So in my late 20's I decided: "I'm going to bust these 'inconvenient' (forum rules doesnt allowed me to write some more apropriate words here) shadow guys". Yes, I see those shadow guys too, but not the hat guy, yet. Then in every episode of sleep paralisys I struggled a lot, really, to the point of weep my eyes, just to rise and finally get those guys.

Later, In my early 30's, eventually, I could do that! But just after I rised, screaming, ready to pierce an concrete wall with my bones if I have too, they disappear without I even blink. Now they appear only 2-3 times a year , still, no matter my mood.

For me sleep paralisys was/is my night nemesis, it was never pleasant, always frightened a lot. I cannot imagine anything more frightening, daunting, scaring than sleep paralisys, which is the total opposite of my only one experience that I had with DMT.

 

[customM]

Something about this post made me come to a conclusion about Sleep paralysis.

When your body is trying to figure out if you are ready for sleep you have Physical phenomena which tries to get you to itch yourself, toss and turn, or do something that would show you are still "awake" and responsive to bodily sensations.

If you respond to these sensations you will remain awake. If you ignore them long enough your bodys mechanics will shut you down into sleep mode.

Maybe the visual portions of sleep paralysis are the same? For example, if you are dozed off and ready to sleep, a lion in your room, or a man at the foot of your bed would be part of "normal" dreams. You wouldnt find them odd because you are normally thinking of really weird things anyways, but if you are awake and watching, you might just get scared and raise your heart rate, and consequently wake up.

Its basically the physical phenomena, but for your mind.

Step 1(physical phenomena), Check body, Is body asleep? Shut down.
Step 2(mental phenomena), Check mind, Is mind asleep? Shut down?

The reason I thought of this is, to me, I do not see anything during SP. I hear a really loud noise that scares me, I haven't been able to just sit it out and see what happens because the noise is soo loud and the lack of control of my body scares me. So for me its noise. If for you its visual probing that works, then thats what you are getting is visions that scare you into waking yourself up.

Just a theory. Also, For those of you who get "stuck" in sleep paralysis i have a suggestion. NUDGE your body. The same way I wake up from lucid dreams when i realize i am in a dream and want to wake up, is the same way i take control of my body during SP. SP only lasts as long as i want it to normally, just a few seconds (3-4) of willing - to regain control.

The NUDGE is basically like if you were laying down and you tried to YANK your head back towards the ground. At first blinking your eyes and changing your breathing pattern can help you while you find the nudge. Understanding this nudge is something that has allowed me to escape unpleasant dreams for years and something that helps me regain control of my body during SP.

Maybe learn how to lucid dream (research ways to get good at lucid dreaming), then start to work on your own NUDGE, and once you develop it and it works, do it during SP. Its your way of using your WILL to regain control of your body during sleep.

Note, while you do not have control of your body, you will not be able to make noise with your mouth probably, if you panic and try really hard to do that, you will only scare yourself and create a bad experience for yourself(in my experience). Instead try the above stated techniques or research and find your own method of 'waking up during Sleep paralysis' and do the ones that will work. Don't struggle or imagine you are being harmed or in-vision other negative scenarios, you are fine and will wake up shortly. Don't make it a bad experience and maybe the visions of people holding you down etc will subside. Good luck dreamers ~

 

[LittleMoro]

This happened to me for the first time 2 days ago i was on my back i seen something dark then i looked away quickly and then i started think of "Light and it would grow kinda like fighting it with light and then when i stopped i couldn't move or talk. I tried everything then for some reason i thought about Salt
When i thought about salt in my mind i pictured me throwing it backwards over my shoulders then i got goose bumps like the chills going up the spine then i noticed the curtains a 2 dark shades moving across and a person i care about was sleeping next to me with all my strength i could just barely move (during this time my vision was shaking alot rapidly but i was not) my left arm across my chest moving my fingers to wake them up while barely being able to speak saying "hey hey wake up". then I ended up waking up and i noticed i had not moved at all. from what i experienced or though i experienced while awake it was really weird

 

[ParticulateIce]

ive been experiencing sleep paralysis since i was a young child. interesting note is that it would occur on a nightly basis when my father was out of town for an extended amount of time however it would happen occasionally when home. i was probably 3 or 4 at that time and would often fall asleep on him at night while he was in front of the tv. over the years it happened less and less frequently but ive explored it when i could. drinking alcohol or coffee shortly before bed seem to be a common trigger for people. i found pseudo ephedrine induce the most instances in a single night.


recently i had an experience involving a lucid dream that transitioned into sleep paralysis. it gave me what seemed like a very clear point of observation throughout the experience and as i observed my body and mind shift, i could only conclude that most likely, sleep paralysis isnt controllable. even the fear and sense of a presence, which i know is not a response to any sort of threat, still comes right on time as if its just some biochemical event thats part whats happening. ive gotten over the real sense of fear from it but still, that sensation happens right on time, even if im aware of the entire process.

 

[ajlala]

Interesting subject! I wrote about this topic in another thread, so I'll copy what I wrote below in case anyone finds it interesting.

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I've gone through a progression with sleep paralysis.

When I first started getting it, I used to just wake up paralyzed but with no other effect. When I realized what it was, I was just able to wake up some moments later (move my body). This is a kind of incomplete wakening, where your body is still paralyzed as during REM sleep, to stop you acting out your dreams.

At other times, when I was semi-sure what was happening, I would start to have classic hallucinations - hearing loud noises or feeling that our cat had jumped on the bed or onto me (which is uncanny when you are living away from home, away from your family cat).

And finally, in times when I really wasn't sure, I would imagine myself walking around the room, or opening the curtains (to see the people who were making imaginary loud noises outside the house - I always imagined people were having a party outside). In these cases, I projected an imaginary bedroom in my mind, was walking inside this imaginary room, and heard loud people partying outside, while I was paralyzed in the bed.

In each stage, the level of hallucination depended on how aware I was that I was having sleep paralysis (where the less aware I was, the more I hallucinated, or sometimes entered another dream).

In addition, whether I had sleep paralysis or not depended on my sleep schedule (it happened very often, when my sleep schedule was different, or when I was having a siesta).