A swarm of insects at the foot of my bed upon waking up

**whyowhy** · 08-20-2010 01:03 AM

I don't know quite how to categorize this, other than to say nothing like it has ever happened to me before.

I was having some kind of sci-fi dream reminiscent of Aliens. Ripley and I were in some kind of facility at the bottom of a shaft. It was dark, and we were hunting for aliens, I guess. Without warning, she turned on me and became strange and zombie-like. She was sitting on top of me, and her face was a few inches from mine. In the dim light, it looked beastly. She looked like she wanted to eat me or something, and liquid was dripping from her jaws. I decided this was way too creepy for my taste, and I forced myself to wake up.

This is where it gets weird.

At the foot of my bed was a silent, spherical swarm of insects, about a foot and a half in diameter. I felt very, very weak physically, like all my energy had been drained. It took every effort to lift my legs and push them away. When I pushed the blankets up into the swarm, it partially clumped together but retained its shape. After a few excruciating moments, I was able to rise up and shoo it away with my hands. But before I could reach it, the swarm drifted back and dissipated right into my bookshelf a few feet away.

I sat up in bed for a few minutes, trying to work out what I saw. I don't take any drugs or use any medication. This was happening in broad daylight. I felt no fear, only irritation at this swarm and frustration with the difficulty I had had with moving around. I felt no paralysis, only weakness. It might have been hypnagogia, but it's my understanding is that that phenomenon is rarely this vivid. I know I was genuinely awake when this happened, because I checked the clock several times -- it was about 6:30 AM.

I've been working on and off for the past week on lucid dreaming and partially succeeded a few days ago. Maybe that has something to do with it.

**jasonresno** · 08-20-2010 01:50 AM

It couldn't have been a false awakening?

I don't know. That'd scare the crap outta me.

**matthew123** · 08-20-2010 02:18 AM

what kind of clock was it analog or digital beacuse i heard analog clocks (the ones with the hands on it) tell time consistentely in dreams for some reason while digital ones do not tell time consistently in dreams

**whyowhy** · 08-20-2010 03:41 AM

Digital clock.

I realized even at the time that the phenomenon should have been fear-inducing or at least confusing, but all I felt was that irritation and frustration.

It's certainly inexplicable to watch a silent spherical swarm of insects fade away into thin air, but since I had not been injured and felt no threat, and there doesn't appear to be anything I can do to prevent it or even encourage it in the future, it seems like fear is wasted energy.

If it does happen again, it seems like the prudent course of action would be to see my doctor, to make sure something funny hasn't gone wrong neurologically.

**matthew123** · 08-20-2010 05:15 AM

when you wake up from a dream your brain can sometimes still be in dream mode if you dont move and you go into another dream like a DEILD maybe ur mind was still in that state and the weakness couldve been SP. just a thought, though i don't think thats what happened. i read this in a DEILD tutorial and apparently it isn't uncommon to have hallucinations right after waking up but again it doesn't really fit what happened so whatever.
hopefully it doesnt happen again if that was me i probably wouldve freaked out