Waking during sleep paralysis

**jtn98** · 03-22-2016 05:18 PM

Hey guys! So, I've been reading a lot that waking up in sleep paralysis (or inducing it yourself) is a good way to directly enter a LD. I was wondering, if I were to set my alarm to wake me multiple times during the night, would that increase my odds of waking during a SP episode, or would it just screw up my REM cycles? I'm skeptical of this method, since I've woken straight from dreams before and not been in sleep paralysis, which either means I don't always get paralyzed while I'm dreaming, or it fades incredibly fast. Just wanted input from other LDers. Thanks!

**gab** · 03-22-2016 05:30 PM

SP is a disorder.

Unless you suffer from it, it will not happen to you. For majority of people it will happen 1-2 times in the lifetime.

Please read around on THIS forum, where I assure you, you will NOT read about needing SP to lucid dream. I'm sorry you had to read it at other places, because it's so friggin misleading, it hurts. And it hurts everybody who is trying to learn to lucid dream, because it sets up a barricade.

http://www.dreamviews.com/wake-initi...mystified.html
http://www.dreamviews.com/wake-initi...explained.html

**jtn98** · 03-22-2016 05:44 PM

Well. I'm not afraid of WILD that much anymore lol

**Habba** · 03-22-2016 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by gab

SP is a disorder.

Unless you suffer from it, it will not happen to you. For majority of people it will happen 1-2 times in the lifetime.

Please read around on THIS forum, where I assure you, you will NOT read about needing SP to lucid dream. I'm sorry you had to read it at other places, because it's so friggin misleading, it hurts. And it hurts everybody who is trying to learn to lucid dream, because it sets up a barricade.

http://www.dreamviews.com/wake-initi...mystified.html
http://www.dreamviews.com/wake-initi...explained.html

By barricade do you mean creating a mental block? If this is the case they're making it harder than it actually is by believing in something that does not need to be experienced.

**Sageous** · 03-22-2016 06:38 PM

^^ I know this question was directed to Gab, but:

Yes, "they" are indeed making LD'ing harder by elevating SP to a necessary requirement or goal of LD'ing. With SP now accepted as a practically institutional (if entirely mythical) step toward lucidity (especially with WILD), many novices are truly barricaded from becoming lucid because -- even during occasions when they are well on their way to a LD -- they abandon their effort because they never "got to SP."

The sad irony of all this is that, as Gab mentioned, the SP that everyone is talking about is actually REM atonia (a normal function that holds your body still while dreaming so you won't act out the things your dream body is doing, but from which you can consciously exit any time you wish), or just a state of deep relaxation. Actual SP (as you seem to know, from the OP) generally occurs only upon waking, when your mind emerges from sleep before your body, and you cannot break the paralysis at all until your body catches up.

I think that the mythology of SP can be traced back to LaBerge's mention of it in Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming; that mention spanned about 2 of the 300 pages of his book, and it was more a reassurance that REM Atonia (a term he curiously did not use) is harmless, and can be used for lucidity if noticed. I wonder if LaBerge ever wishes that he had left that bit out of his book...

Bottom line: Yes, elevating SP to a necessary component of LD'ing can cause a mental block, or barricade between you and lucidity. Try not to make it too important... and I suggest too that you try to follow the links Gab provided.