Thread: Strange 'hypnagogic hallucination'

I have recently been experiencing something very strange upon waking. Twice in the last two nights, and once a few months ago. I'm afraid of spider webs (not spiders, mind you, I find them cute ), and I *think* I have been having hypnagogic hallucinations about them.

I used to have sleep paralysis and the black shadow man, but that hasn't happened for a while (I did have quite a string of sleep paralysis wakenings recently, over the past several months, but they have been getting less and less, and without hallucinations for most of the time).

This time around, it's weird because there is no sleep paralysis, and I am pretty sure that I am cowering under my covers while awake. The first time it happened, I thought a spider had made large webs above my bed (don't ask how I managed to see them in pitch black!). Then the other night, I thought one had made them over my bed. Last night, I thought a massive spider had dropped on to my bed. All in pitch black, yes. All three times I've cowered under the covers to get away from the 'webs,' and I was definitely awake at that point.

Are these hypnagogics on the very verge of waking up, causing me to think they are even more real? It's unsettling...

When you see those images while waking up, they're called hypnopompic hallucinations. I wake up to those from time to time, and I've seen everything from spiders on my arms, to strange runic letters. And it continues for a couple of seconds while my eyes are open, and the lights are on. It's strange, but you get used to it eventually.

When you have sleep paralysis do you recognize what it is? Do you recognize that you're dreaming/awakening?

This is a great jumping off point to go into Lucid Dreaming. Remind yourself that you're still kinda dreaming and you can easily go back to dreaming if you just focus on the dream.

I did that this afternoon, a few days ago I identified this sleep paralysis that I've been having for years. and Today I got it, and when I realized I couldn't moved I relaxed, focused on the dream . In the dream, I was laying on the couch I was actually sleeping on. Which is usually the case in Sleep Paralysis. So I started the lucidity. I tried to stand up from the couch I was sleeping on, and I failed. oops I was paralysed in the dream too. So I took it one step at a time, I tried raising my hands and bingo. So with my hands in front of me I started moving my fingers individually, once I had done that I was in control of my body. I got up ran out the door and started flying!!! this has been the lucid dream that I've had the most control over. I'm looking forward to more exploration.

Let me know if you have sleep paralysis and you're able to convert it to a lucid dream.

Ed

I get hypnagogic hallucinations all the time.

Ranges from people standing in my room, to bugs crawling around on my walls/bed, to other creepy shit moving towards me.

I can usually ignore the shadows standing there, but i freak out if I think there are things crawling around. I jump out of bed and rip the covers off checking, by the time i realize its just a hallucination I'm already awake and out of breath.

Just gotta deal with it

Hmm this stuff still doesnt seem to be what I experienced one time. I was awake and aware of myself laying in my bed but at the same time I was dreaming and could feel the dream body too. It was like I was in two places at once.

Just tie something around ur eyes so that (Once in SP) you cant open your eyes and woula; You dont hallucinate through the eyes, just the ears, and they are far less scarier

You might even still be dreaming when you see them. When you are awake, you always know you are really awake and not dreaming. However, often times when you are dreaming you can swear you are really awake, and seeing something like that is going to seem very real.

People don't really think rationally when they are dreaming, even if they are right on the edge. You could see a flying pink elephant and you would probably think its real in that brief moment. The fact that the images appear far more likely to exist in real life, probably doesn't help either though.