sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming...

I regularly experience consciousness during sleep paralysis, and I've heard that for some people it's possible to go from SP back into a dream, and stay conscious, hence initiating a lucid dream. I'm just wondering how exactly this is done and whether there are any techniques which are helpful.

This morning I had a whole sequence of SP episodes. In the past I used to just panic and wake myself up as quickly as possible, however this time I stayed calm and tried to go back into the dream. The weird thing is, every time I tried this, there was nothing (or at least nothing I can remember). I was conscious, in SP, then I would go back to sleep into utter blackness, unconsciousness, then wake in SP again a short while later. This happened several times and not once did I wake feeling as though I'd just been dreaming. This is very odd for me, because I usually have pretty good dream recall. I'd been sleeping for a long time as well, 11 or 12 hours, so I think I must have been in REM.

Another slightly bizarre thing which has never happened to me before was that once, when I woke in SP and tried to open my eyes, I had the weirdest sensation of my eyes moving from side to side really quickly, of their own accord. I wonder if this was REM... however I really wasn't dreaming at that point, I was conscious (or as conscious as it's possible to be whilst still in SP).

Any ideas or help would be very much appreciated : )

Read the tutorial on WILD... that's a good place to start answering your question.

Yes, I've read through a lot of the WILD stuff... it's very interesting but I don't know how much of it can be applied to spontaneous SP... because I think usually when I experience SP I'm coming out of a dream rather than going into one, as you would during WILD.

The thing that I don't understand is the apparent lack of dreaming between SP episodes that I experienced this morning. Surely if I'd been dreaming I would have still been able to remember the most recent dream when I 'woke' in SP? But there was nothing, just blackness. It was very strange...

Next time I find myself in SP, what would be the best way to initiate a lucid dream? Should I attempt to remain conscious and try to visualise a dream around me? Perhaps if I closed my eyes and pictured my surroundings changing and then opened my eyes again I'd find myself in a dream... suppose I'll have to experiement a bit and find out...

: )

Yeah, you're probably going to have to experiment.

The reason I thought of WILD is that SP is something I look for as as sign of impending success - and extremely near success at that. Once I have that feeling of SP, it is almost like sliding out of my body to enter a dream. Can you open your "eyes"? If not, try seeing through them - odd as this may sound.

I have a hard time getting to SP. Experiencing it in the way you do seems like most of the battle to LD is already won. Waking to it would just be one short step from entering one.

These are all speculative words. There are many here with FAR more experience than I... hopefully some of them will chime in. In the meantime, don't be afraid to explore and experiment. You're not going to hurt yourself. It sounds like you have something very special and potentially wonderful going on there.

Thanks for your comments :)

I experienced quite a few SP episodes this morning, and tried to experiment a bit. I'd already decided that the next time I was in SP I would attempt to control the hallucinations in some way, just to see what would happen.

During the first SP episode, I was lying on my side, facing the wall, with my eyes open. I remembered my goal to control the hallucinations and tried to make someone appear in the room behind me. Immediately I heard sounds of movement, and the voice of someone I know. He said "Hi..." then "Hmm... this is strange..." I really hadn't expected my experiment to work so well, and the sound of his voice and movements were so clear that I started to freak out a bit. So I shouted (in my head, I suppose) "Go away! Go away!", full expecting it not to work, but surprisingly I heard him say "Okay... sorry..." and then the auditory hallucinations and sense of presence suddenly stopped.

After this, I calmed myself without breaking the SP and tried to go back to sleep, but I think I lost consciousness and went into a non-LD. I'm still not sure how to go from SP into a lucid dream. Whilst I get strong auditory hallucinations during SP, I don't get much visual imagery, so I don't think I could use that to go into a dream. Would counting or repeating some phrase during SP help me go into a LD?

I would really appreciate any advice, as I've been having far more SP episodes than usual recently, and they seem to be taking place instead of LDs... by that I mean that just before I might become lucid in a dream, I seem to always wake in SP instead...

I'm somewhat surprised nobody else has chimed in on this, as I'm not even close to being an "experienced" lucid dreamer. Seeing as nobody else is stepping up, though, I'll flap my jaw some more.

Have you worked on WILD, so you can find out if you can do it - and if so, what it feels like? My efforts with WILD are the only reason I can even address what you are experiencing, and there's not really much more I can add. If it were me experiencing what you are describing, I would practice WILD - because SP is part of that whole experience and I would hope that by training myself to go THROUGH it to something desirable, (an LD, of course,) that control would come as a result.

Yes, one WILD method is repetition or counting. The game in counting or repetition is to hold onto a thread of consciousness as you pass fully into sleep.

Are you seeing any imagery at all - even lights or patterns? If so, try concentrating on those. Watch them evolve and become more real, until they become a living scene that you are in. That's how I do WILD.

Another thought is that perhaps this is a neurological, physical or other medical issue that would benefit from the attention of a specialist. We're just lucid dreamers here... if this is troubling you and you can't seem to make progress, please do consider consulting a true expert.

hey, I regularly get SP, sometimes through WILD but most often I become Lucid in a dream, then when I 'wake up' I find myself in SP.
It is very easy to enter a LD through SP (for me anyway) Ill explain what I do, hopefully it will work for you.
When I am in SP I relax completely, I try not to move or wake myself up and I keep my eyes closed. I then just simply imagine rolling off the bed, while repeating 'I'm dreaming - I must remember to perform a reality check' in my head. It then feels like I actually do roll off the bed - a word of caution, the sensation of rolling off the bed can feel so realistic that you may simply believe you have rolled your actual body off the bed. however, it is in fact your dream body. It is important at this stage to open your eyes and perform a reality check as soon as you are 'out of bed' It always amazes me that I am infact dreaming, LDs through SP are so much more vivid and realistic than any DILD I have had.
Another successful method I have used is to (while in SP) imagine reaching out for a door handle (don't physically try to move your arm) just imagine your arm extending and expect to feel a door handle. You should suddenly feel the door handle in your hand, then simply open the door and voila, you are in a dream.
Remember to perform an RC wherever you end up to avoid FAs or Non-lucid dreams.
Hope this helps

Thankyou both for your comments :)

Ubik, yes, I shall definitely try that, I think it might work... I've had SP episodes in the past where I've felt my limbs moving when they weren't... actually having my eyes open and looking at my hands, feeling them move and seeing them stay still... very weird, hehe :shock:

I never thought of it in this way before, but perhaps that was my dream body moving...?

SP did used to worry me a lot, but I think now I'm getting into lucid-dreaming I find it more interesting than frightening... it is quite a fascinating state of mind to be in, if you can let go of the scary feelings... hopefully I can learn to use it to my advantage by entering lucid dreams...

By the way, just out of interest.... when you're in SP and your eyes seem to be moving back and forth of their own accord... is that possibly REM? Or something else?

:)

Lucy, Have you read the book 'Exploring the world of Lucid Dreaming' by Steven LaBerge?
If not I highly recommend it, you can find it on amazon.co.uk.
As well as being a bible for LDers there is a small section about sleep paralysis which you may find usefull.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Ubik
PL: 51S1NT 4R51MS

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Love it.

LaBerge has a website too: http://www.lucidity.com

Next time you have spontaneous SP just try to float or roll out of your body, and then you'll be in your dream body (and in a dream that looks very similar to the real world). I tried once and it almost worked but I got scared and stopped...that is from a spontaneous. I've been wilding and went into SP then into a dream...not as scary that way...