Thread: Entering SP - Questions for the experienced

Happens to me naturally, and it´s pretty uncomfortable. I hallucinate and it takes like a minute for me to get out of it. It´s an interesting experience but to be honest if I had a choice I would prefer not to enter SP anymore.

I suppose I'm not terribly experienced, but I can regularly get to SP when trying to WILD, just not actually WILD. Other times I've experienced it quite naturally, as I tend to think constantly as I try to go to sleep, hence my mind tends to be awake when I get to that point more than it should be. I can give you the info you ask for, but take it with a grain of salt in that it regularly takes me 2+ hours per night to go to actual SLEEP. Considering that, based on what I know, the fastest I've willfully induced it trying to wild is 15 minutes after having been asleep for 5 hours and getting up to eat. The fastest on trying to WILD when going to bed for the first time in a night is 1.5 hours. The fastest naturally is right around 2 hours. Hope that's useful.

Originally Posted by Leixor

I suppose I'm not terribly experienced, but I can regularly get to SP when trying to WILD, just not actually WILD. Other times I've experienced it quite naturally, as I tend to think constantly as I try to go to sleep, hence my mind tends to be awake when I get to that point more than it should be. I can give you the info you ask for, but take it with a grain of salt in that it regularly takes me 2+ hours per night to go to actual SLEEP. Considering that, based on what I know, the fastest I've willfully induced it trying to wild is 15 minutes after having been asleep for 5 hours and getting up to eat. The fastest on trying to WILD when going to bed for the first time in a night is 1.5 hours. The fastest naturally is right around 2 hours. Hope that's useful.

Thanks for the input. (:

hi I SUFFER from SP nearly every night and i find that if you lie on your back then you are really likely to get in. just be prepared for possible panic attacks like I do . also, if the occasion arises that you need to get out of SP try moving your tongue. good luck

Originally Posted by Sparkeycat

hi I SUFFER from SP nearly every night and i find that if you lie on your back then you are really likely to get in. just be prepared for possible panic attacks like I do . also, if the occasion arises that you need to get out of SP try moving your tongue. good luck

How long does it take you to get into SP though? And what exactly do you do besides just laying on your back? I can almost induce it myself in about a half hour, but I'm just looking to see if you or any others have any extra tricks to help me induce it further.

I suffered from SP throughout my teen years into my twenties. Finally they just stopped on their own, for which I was grateful. To me they were always very terrifying. Not being able to move any part of my body while consciously awake was frightening.

I'm not certain how you would go about creating it voluntarily - or what benefits you are searching for, however, what worked for me to come out of it was by wiggling my toes - if I could.

I do agree that they are more frequent sleeping on your back. Maybe that's why I now sleep on my sides.

Originally Posted by Juedz

I suffered from SP throughout my teen years into my twenties. Finally they just stopped on their own, for which I was grateful. To me they were always very terrifying. Not being able to move any part of my body while consciously awake was frightening.

I'm not certain how you would go about creating it voluntarily - or what benefits you are searching for, however, what worked for me to come out of it was by wiggling my toes - if I could.

I do agree that they are more frequent sleeping on your back. Maybe that's why I now sleep on my sides.

Benefits? Well for starters, more lucid dreams! With SP being easier to induce, I'll be able to have more WILDs.
Personally I find SP very interesting, even if there are some freaky noises at times (my first experience was horrifying).
Sleep paralysis is a part of going into the REM stage of sleep so your body doesn't act out the dreams you're having; you could've gone through the paralysis and into a lucid dream so many times.
I envy you.

Hi Anonymoose,

I envy you. If I had had access to the wealth of information on the web years ago, I might have understood the opportunity better. As it was, without knowing what was happening - it was very frightening.

These episodes began when I lived with my grandmother for a while. My grandfather, whom I was very close to, had passed away, and the first time I experienced one I remember seeing his face in the dresser mirror. I wasn't quite sure it was him, but over the years, as I recall that situation, I am more and more convinced it was him. I had put a picture of him under my mattress - which I had forgotten about til it was found years later after my grandmother passed.

These SP episodes continued for well over 10, maybe even 15 years. I often had several in one night, one after another. I was always afraid to open my eyes, after that first experience. Very tense.

Perhaps it is the resurgence of my interest in lucid dreaming that will open this up for me again. Perhaps, now knowing that it is an opening to lucid dreaming - or maybe even a personal message or contact with my grandfather, may help if it does occur again and I won't be so frightened by it.

I have always felt, however, that it must have been because I had an internal struggle with my conscious beliefs and my subconscious mind. (Not doing what the "good book" says I should be. Coming to terms with my own belief system. Anything that might be considered "super-natural" was definitely taboo!)

Although I haven't experienced one in several years - I still have sporadic episodes. If I do have one again, I'll relax - keep my eyes open - and see what happens. You clarified the opportunity - thanks.

Judy

Originally Posted by Juedz

Hi Anonymoose,

I envy you. If I had had access to the wealth of information on the web years ago, I might have understood the opportunity better. As it was, without knowing what was happening - it was very frightening.

These episodes began when I lived with my grandmother for a while. My grandfather, whom I was very close to, had passed away, and the first time I experienced one I remember seeing his face in the dresser mirror. I wasn't quite sure it was him, but over the years, as I recall that situation, I am more and more convinced it was him. I had put a picture of him under my mattress - which I had forgotten about til it was found years later after my grandmother passed.

These SP episodes continued for well over 10, maybe even 15 years. I often had several in one night, one after another. I was always afraid to open my eyes, after that first experience. Very tense.

Perhaps it is the resurgence of my interest in lucid dreaming that will open this up for me again. Perhaps, now knowing that it is an opening to lucid dreaming - or maybe even a personal message or contact with my grandfather, may help if it does occur again and I won't be so frightened by it.

I have always felt, however, that it must have been because I had an internal struggle with my conscious beliefs and my subconscious mind. (Not doing what the "good book" says I should be. Coming to terms with my own belief system. Anything that might be considered "super-natural" was definitely taboo!)

Although I haven't experienced one in several years - I still have sporadic episodes. If I do have one again, I'll relax - keep my eyes open - and see what happens. You clarified the opportunity - thanks.

Judy

I'm sorry about your grandfather. Maybe now, through lucid dreaming, you can talk to him.

I've always been afraid to open my eyes as well. Sometimes when I catch myself drifting off, I can recall the last few subconscious thoughts. They're usually absurd and twisted, so who knows what strange hallucinations my mind would come up with during SP. I do remember accidentally opening my eyes once though and seeing a small ceiling fan above me. I was surrounded by cabinets that were tall and curved inward over me, towards the fan directly above. I'm glad that's all I saw.

During my second experience, I heard a woman screaming in my left ear. It was interesting but definately spooky. I've noticed though that the more I experience SP, the more "boring" it gets. My episodes have turned into nothing more than some humming in my ears and a heavy, tingly body. There are no other interesting sensations or sounds, which would normally help me visualize a dream of some sort.

Well I hope you get back into your SP groove and have lots of lucid dreams.
See you around.

Moose

The few times I've hit SP always felt AWESOME for me, maybe I'm a thrill seeker (I'm the guy who loves those insane roller-coaster rides, and crazy activities) Lights are flashing, it feels like I'm flying along going 1000 mph and I'm like

During my second experience, I heard a woman screaming in my left ear. It was interesting but definately spooky. I've noticed though that the more I experience SP, the more "boring" it gets. My episodes have turned into nothing more than some humming in my ears and a heavy, tingly body. There are no other interesting sensations or sounds, which would normally help me visualize a dream of some sort.

That should happen if you think about the science behind SP hallucinations/terrors. Your body is responding to the strange/frightening sensation of paralysis by generating expectations of what is causing it (hence the scary faces, hags, and voices people tend to experience). But I assume that after experiencing it many times with calm knowledge that it is a natural, even good thing, your brain will automatically learn not to associate SP with terrifying images as easily.

Sounds like a good thing to me.

As to the original question, I've never had SP nor have I done WILD, so I can't answer that.

Sleep Paralysis used to be extremely common for me in fact I considered it the runway to more active lucid dreaming. Several times I managed (with tremendous effort) to speak to past sleeping partners while in this state, but attempting such acts isn't really productive because it is like trying to go backwards through a one way revolving door. The key I have found is to go forwards toward dream and not become confused by which is which (Dream/waking), if this is done then SP can begin to signify the onset of the LD and it becomes a helpful signal.

The first time I ever experienced SP, I literally thought I was getting possessed. I woke up randomly in the middle of the night a few years ago when I was going to college, and naturally, I just thought I needed to get out of bed and use the restroom or get a glass of water. Well, as I tried to get up from my bed, I realized I couldn't move. I was a little weirded out, but not super freaked out, until a few seconds later, when I felt my vision going blurry. At this point, I was just in a state of confusion, and then I realized my vision was blurry because there was a light mist forming in front of my face. As the mist got thicker, it formed into the shape of someone's face. It looked like the Napster logo, as I could only see the eyes and the mouth... and it smiled at me!! I tried to scream and move, but nothing worked, and I felt a heavy pressure pushing down on my chest. I thought I was going to die or something, so I just tried to scream some more, and then I prayed for God to help me. I'm not even a religious person, but after a moment, I felt the pressure and mist fade away and I was back to normal. The scariest part was that it wasn't like I "woke up" after that and could say 'oh it was a dream', but I went directly from being in my bed, completely freaking out, to being able to move. It felt too real. I couldn't go back to sleep until I was exhausted and it was day time.

Anyways, I'm not sure what that was, but if they are only hallucinations, it is still very terrifying. Everytime I've encountered SP after, even though I would purposely try to induce it, I would make it stop once I got to the really fast sinking feeling. All I can remember of what my SP feels like, is a rapid sinking feeling along with a high pitched whirling sound in my head, followed by a snap sound or a jolt.

Usually, I induce SP in an attempt to AP, but I know not everyone believes in that. SP is considered the optimal time to attempt to leave your body or have an OBE, so how does one make sure they get an LD or an AP??