Lucid, but straight into a unique SP experience

[JustinS]

So I recently got back into LDing. I started keeping a dream journal about 3 weeks ago knowing that it would help me have LDs more frequently. Last night, I was having a pretty rough nightmare. Right when a creepy floating head and hand were about to get me, I realized that I was dreaming. I became so elated that I shot myself right into sleep paralysis. I have had more than my fair share of SP experiences and false awakenings, but this time I came a little more prepared and had promised myself to let go of any fear and use it as a bridge to a LD. The gripping fear that normally seems to occur by default with my SP was not fully present. It was still a bit creepy, but nothing compared to past times. So, I just fully let go and allowed whatever was going to happen to happen. As usual with most of my SP, I heard voice chatter, whispers, and a buzzing sound. The more I relaxed, the more intense the sounds became. It was clear that I was approaching a threshold point. It was as if the more that I let go, the more brain chatter I could hear. I felt like I was hearing the audio of countless mazes of neurons firing in my brain. Suddenly it stopped and I felt myself rotate upright, out of my sleeping body, and into a tunnel. I have experienced the tunnel once before and it led to a lucid dream, so it seemed as though I was clear of the SP experience. I quickly found myself back in SP again though. I tried to relax again. I attempted to take a slow deep breath to help, but realized that there was no air movement when I breathed. It did not feel like I was unable to breath, but more like I was in my dream body which did not need to. I tried to just let go again, but as the brain chatter and number of voices increased, I opted to wake up. The great part about this SP experience is that I was actually able to just wake up. With many SP experiences in the past it often takes what feels like ages to be able to move my body or to escape the pattern of false awakenings. This time, I was much more relaxed though and just decided to wake up. It did take some strong effort to get my eyes to fully open, but it certainly didn't compare to the agony of trying to wiggle a toe or a finger while hearing creepy footsteps and voices around me. SP has been an battle for me for many years, so staying calm and letting go was a big victory. I need to find a way to stop throwing myself into SP once I become lucid. It normally happens when I become overly excited at becoming lucid or when I have tried to use my arms or legs too much to control flying. I feel like I need to relearn how to exist as a dream body. Something that I am doing or thinking seems to boot me from my LD into SP... and that just sucks. Any input or thoughts would be great.

[Higgs2]

I have SP (i assume you mean Sleep Paralysis) very often. I used to have a "dark entity" near me when i have them, together with all the fear an anxiety. Most of the time this is a man dressed in black, with a large hat. His face is in the shadow of the hat, and can't bee seen. Sometimes it is a monster of some kind. About 5 years ago i started "attacking" the "Dark entity". Not an easy task, because moving is slooooooow and heavy. Paralysis, i know. This behaviour has lessened the amounts of SP's i have considerably, and also made the remaining far less fearsome. Sometimes the entity changes into something less dangerous like a little girl with an evil eye, or i just wake up, and sometimes i get lucid for a short time and wake up. I have to say the attacking decision is not in a lucid state. I just started dreaming i attacked it. You might want to give it a try. I always had the impression the dark and demonic entity is a representation of your more primitive subconsiousness.

[JustinS]

Interesting idea. I normally only hear voices and footsteps around me (creepy all the same). I have yet to see anything other than a gloomy and gray version of the room that I am actually sleeping in. I have never had the impression that I had the ability move in SP until this time and a previous time. In these cases it was more of what I would assume an OBE feels like... sort of floating away from the body in bed and into a tunnel. It felt like I was on the way to a dream. I'm starting to think that maybe I went through the tunnel and into a dream and the dream started with me back in bed thinking that I was still in SP. That might explain why it was so easy to wake myself up. Next time after the tunnel I should probably do a reality check of some sort. Do you think that attacking the entity in your case occurred during SP, at the threshold between SP and a dream, on in a dream? Thanks.

[Higgs2]

During the SP, because moving was very, very difficult. Movement is extremely slow, and your "body" is extremely unresponsive. I think it is more appropiate to say, i try to attack the entity, because i never get to the entity itself because i have extreme difficulty to move, but the decision to attack and actually trying to seems enough to take on the nasty SP bits.