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Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum, i came across it while trying to do some research on sleep paralysis. I suffer from it quite frequently and it can be quite disturbing. Is there any link between this and lucid dreams? I have come across controlling my dreams in the past allowing me to do things flying etc but never realised there there was a term for it. It seems i have stumbled across a whole new dream community.
Welcome to the forum, muayguy!
I used to suffer from SP too. I noticed that it eventually went away after I moved the location of my bed in my room, and got into a steady sleep schedule. Now, however, I wouldn't mind having episodes occasionally, because yes, they do allow you to enter a lucid dream.
Sleep paralysis happens when your body thinks you've fallen asleep; ie. you've become very relaxed, or allowed your thoughts to wander quite a bit without any (or very little) physical movement. Usually when SP happens, you're unconscious, but sometimes it happens when you're awake, probably because your internal clock is just having a hiccup or something. That's why keeping a good sleep schedule is helpful if you have frequent bouts. Stress is also a factor - if you're unhappy with your job or having problems in your everyday life, that can also trigger episodes of sleep paralysis.
When you enter sleep paralysis, your body has already begun creating a dream, hence the hallucinations. SP is the first step to actually falling asleep and entering a dream that's completely inside your head. Have you read the WILD tutorial? If not, you should have a look and see if it interests you. WILD stands for "wake induced lucid dream", and is exactly how it sounds - you go right from the waking state into a lucid dream. :)
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
welcome to dreamviews :)
yes sleep paralysis is a major thing with lucid dreaming and the WILD technique.
everyone has it, every night, you just seem to catch it and "wake up" your mind. Here are some links you should read :)
Sleep paralysis: FAQ - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views
http://www.dreamviews.com/f79/mind-a...utorial-42271/
WILD - Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views
if you have any questions feel free to ask, this community is grandeur.
Welcome to dreamviews muayguy! You have stumbled on to quite the dreaming community:D Everyone here is really nice and helpful so ask all the questions you would like. I hope you are able to turn your more "disturbing" sp experiences into some nice WILDs :)
Thank you for your comments il have a look at some of the links you have kindly posted.
hashmash89 you mentioned turning my sp nightmares( because thats what they are at present, chronic fear, inability to breath) into some nice wilds :) Is this something that can be done with practice? In the past when i have been able to control the dream i have relished it and enjoyed it, when i have suffered from the paralysis i become quite trapped and panic.
Puffin thank you, my sleep pattern is not as good as i would like. I fight professionally so i have to get up most days at 5 am to train and also hold down a full time stressful job in the city so im on the go from 5 am until late at night. Occasionally grabbing Knapps throughout the day. Im moving back to Thailand in November so i wont have the stresses of working as well, maybe this will help.
Does anyone know of any other factors that could effect SP ?
Yes it can definitely be done with practice. Personally i have a hard time getting into sp so i dont have any experience with WILDs. Being as you are naturally entering sp this gives you quite an advantage. From what i have read, you need to stay calm and relaxed in sp and allow yourself to fall fully back to sleep while maintaing awareness. So, you will want to find a way to fall fully back to sleep in sp. There are many ways to do this, you can get some ideas from the various WILD guides.
Is your inability to breathe caused by the chronic fear, and is the chronic fear caused by hallucinations in sp?
Again i have very little sp or wild experience but if the fear is caused by hallucinations just know that it cannot harm you, and that it will soon pass.
Im not sure what causes the chronic fear. Im not to worried about the hallucinations as i don't suffer from them as bad, when the SP starts i panic and try and kick out to wake myself up. You said i should find a way to fall fall fully back to sleep. Maybe that is the way forward. I think if i could find a way of controlling my ability to breath then they would not be as bad and i could manage it.
I noticed when i was using sleeping tablets last year this would bring on the SP(i assume this is because they are opiate based). Do other drugs also have that effect? I had an episode today and had taken paracetamol prior to falling asleep.(i don't do any other recreational drugs cannabis etc, i have in the past tho experimented with pretty much most drugs but havnt drunk or taken anything in years)
I was just reading some of the links erible posted and was interested in the reality checks that were mentioned, they were also talking about caffeine and how this can have some adverse effect on lucid dreaming. I consume quite a lot of caffiene throughout the day, 200 mg in the morning and again at lunch time and at 4pm before i train. I assume this can put me in a lucid state.
I think that this is definitely the way forward. If you are able to control any fear as well as your breath, you should be able to enter a dream from sp.Quote:
Originally Posted by muayguy
I'm not sure what other drugs would have this effect so i cant say whether or not the paracetamol was responsible for the sp. Im not sure about caffeine either, havent had any in several months.
Reality checks are a great way to induce lucid dreams. In fact i've only had one or two lucid dreams, out of ten, where i became lucid because of something other than a reality check. Some people practice them randomly throughout the day, hoping that the habit will carry over into their dreams. Others view this as being inneffective and place much more emphasis on not just going through the motions, but instead really questioning your reality and whether or not you are dreaming right now. When used the second way, the physical reality check(counting fingers etc) is more of just a confirmation that you are dreaming.
So far i have had more luck with random reality checking, i do question my reality but this just hasnt slipped into my dreams consistently yet. Its different for everyone so you will have to try it out and see what works best for you. Good luck dude! :D