Maybe Old Hag can become our Allie?

[SKA]

NOTE: I'm going to use alot of mythology/symbology because it allows me to explain myself better in this issue. not to be taken literally, but it's a methaphor for hard-to-describe mental and physical sensations. I was experiencing a very strange case of old hag yesterday night. A cuople of times in the night actually. And only now, in the evening, I suddenly remembered. Maybe now that I have new sleep medications it is that I have a sudden dramatic frequency increase of Old Hag lately. But it got me thinking about something I pondered on before: Can Old Hag help us attain lucidity? If you learn to recognise it, to exstinguish your fear and follow it into a Dream perhaps? It is in a deep hypnagogic state, usually just a little while after where you usually would have lost consciousness but snap out of your stupor, becoming aware, because you feel "attacked". In this hypnagigic state I imagine the transition to a dream is pretty close. Old Hag Experiences: I've had it before. It would creep up on me at night, sometimes paired with a sense of a malicious presence in my room comming closer and closer. At that point I would suddenly snap out of my dreamyness, just like attaining lucidity in dreams, but since at that stage I'm in a sort of deep, hypnagogic slumber instead of fully dreaming, I become aware of my body, sometimes see myself in strange, visionairy ways sometimes from above watching my face, sometimes my body, strange undescribable but dreamy images. Just a little too faint, transparent and shadowy to be called a dream yet. images of myself in bed trying but failing to sit up in bed. It felt like I was held in a firm grasp by the evil presence, completely paralysing me. I would feel like I wasn't getting any air in my paralysed, motionless, not responing lungs(although I think this is purely mental). I would try to conquer the presence and break free of it's grip. Sometimes I would succeed and get up a bit, roll over and try to fall asleep again. Usually to be "attacked by the old hag" again several times that very night. Once I actually conquered my fear, became calm and told myself I would fall back asleep lucidly. I didn't go lucid but did fall back asleep without fear or suffocation. Last night I had an Old hag encounter again, but it was different from the typical Old Hag encounter since the feeling it gave me was, instead of Numbed by an iron strong grip, rather like a sort of epilepsia sending nervous, energetic twitch-sensations through my body. Most notably my legs. It was the same sort of "attack" experience as typical Old Hag, but the sensation of the "Attack"was different in that way. It felt more energetic. Not like I couldn't breath because an Olg Hag sat on my chest, Paralysed and suffocated me(like the folkloric myth goes), but rather like a strange, shamanic mage strangely and disturbingly enchanting me while I was asleep. I felt energy charges and what I can only describe as Electric jolts through my muscles and a general "Wierd" mental sensation. I tried, like I do with Old Hag, to break free from it's grip and managed to break free from it's 2 first attacks. I awoke briefly, got up a bit and moved a little to get that eerie feeling out of my body, rolled over and tried to sleep again. It's 3d attack got me but I was already almost asleep. I feel asleep soon after. Now for those who also experience Old Hag quite frequently: If, like I did once, you manage to control your fear, stay calm and lucid and go back to sleep in that, aware, state, you might have yourself an easy oppertunity to WILD from Old Hag's visits. OHILD?

[pj]

Last night I had an Old hag encounter again, but it was different from the typical Old Hag encounter since the feeling it gave me was, instead of Numbed by an iron strong grip, rather like a sort of epilepsia sending nervous, energetic twitch-sensations through my body. Most notably my legs. . . . I felt energy charges and what I can only describe as Electric jolts through my muscles and a general "Wierd" mental sensation. Wow. I've never experienced the Old Hag, but I have certainly experienced the muscle spasms/twitching - for the first time Saturday night and Sunday morning. It was also the first time I tried using galantamine. I perceived it as an annoyance and side effect of the GM that kept me awake rather than something to recognize as a part of falling asleep or being asleep already. I never did an RC during that phase, which lasted about a half to three-quarters of an hour. Maybe it is something that happens that I'm just usually not conscious of happening. In a week or two, when I try the GM again, I'll be paying a lot more attention to this.

[Grassclip]

I've been saying this for a while. The old hag is just protecting us from other possible harms when we are incapable of protecting ourselves

[Vex Kitten]

I think the old hag is a barrier that needs to be broken before you can lucid dream, a test of your strength and will.