Lucid Dream/Nightmare/Sleep Paralysis

Not sure if this should go in the dream interpretation section or here, but I thought it would be safer posting it here...

I've had this dream twice now, and it only happens when I take a nap mid-day. So, I'll drift off to sleep, usually have a regular non-lucid dream or two that I remember upon waking up. But the way I'm woken up is quite interesting (the first time it happened I was quite disturbed actually).

Basically, I will realize that I am dreaming and I will suddenly hear somebody whispering my name, very softly. Then I open my eyes and appear to be awake in my room, everything looks exactly as it should, but my eyes aren't actually open (I am still dreaming - but I think I am awake). When my eyes 'open' I am always in a state of sleep paralysis and the first time there was a floating hand above my face (it looked sort of like a dementor's hand from Harry Potter for visual description). The second time, it was more like a long black bird beak was hovering above me (this is usually a symbol of death, or death leading to rebirth). In both cases, I was completely paralyzed and felt both light and heavy at the same time (that feeling like your consciousness and body are being separated is the only way I can describe it). In both cases, I forced my eyes to actually open and I woke up. The first time I was pretty freaked out (I have been in sleep paralysis before, and know what it feels like, but never have I had a hand or some 'entity' right above my face with me unable to move). The second time, I was a bit more relaxed and simply told my eyes to open and asked myself to wake up, and I did.

Any thoughts? Has something similar happened to anyone else on here?

Best,
Sam

I had a lot of trouble with this when I was younger. I can really sympathize with you because it was terrifying. But once I found out what lucid dreaming was, and learned that I can control my dreams, it rarely ever happens anymore, and if it does, I just treat the "entity" as any other dream character. Once, this huge black shadow crept up behind me and began to wrap around me, and I remembered a TOTM from that month, which was to tell a DC that they aren't real. So I told the thing. "You! You are not real. You are in my dream!" The creature let go of me and faded away.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sibyline

I had a lot of trouble with this when I was younger. I can really sympathize with you because it was terrifying. But once I found out what lucid dreaming was, and learned that I can control my dreams, it rarely ever happens anymore, and if it does, I just treat the "entity" as any other dream character. Once, this huge black shadow crept up behind me and began to wrap around me, and I remembered a TOTM from that month, which was to tell a DC that they aren't real. So I told the thing. "You! You are not real. You are in my dream!" The creature let go of me and faded away.

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Thanks for the reply! And yes, by the second dream, I was much less scared, and it was much easier to force/allow my eyes to open.