I just had to share this with someone!

**Snafu** · 12-06-2011 05:09 PM

Hello forum! I am completely new to this site and this is my first post.

I have 'suffered' from sleep paralysis for about seven years (I am 32 years old) and have never had a pleasant experience. It always involved a long, thin humanoid figure stood at the end of my bed with two or three smaller ET type figures running up and down the side of my bed breathing on me, pulling the covers off me, dragging me around the bed and whispering in my ear in a strange language. I won't bore you with all the details as I'm sure you guys will have heard it all before and know exactly what I'm talking about!

Then this morning I had what I believe was my first lucid dreaming experience! And I didn't have just one of them, but I had three of them in a row!!

To give you a bit of background I hadn't slept in over 24 hours before I went to bed last night and I slept like a rock from 21:30 to 07:00 (which is an unusually long time for me to be asleep). Then when I was in a sort of dozing stage contemplating getting up for the day I felt what I immediately recognised as on oncoming sleep paralysis episode. Only this time, there were no figures in my room or the usual feeling of impending doom that always accompanies such experiences it was just very quiet and very calm.

I dared myself to open my eyes (not literally but within the 'place' I was in) and was stunned to see my Dad sat on the end of my bed smiling at me! Only he was a lot younger than he is now. Then, my sister appeared on the bed also only she was about nine years old (she’s now 30), clutching her favourite teddy and holding it towards me as if she wanted me to take it.

I was absolutely stunned and felt very at peace and comfortable with it all and I just lay there looking at them both and watching them interact with each other (there was no sound that I can recall but I could tell they were talking to each other). Then I became aware of a huge rushing sound in my ears and all around me like I was being dragged out of that place, I was also vibrating and shaking and then I was aware I was 'back in my body' as it were and lay in my bed.

I was thrilled by what had happened! I had often read that people who suffer from sleep paralysis can 'train' themselves to turn the experience into lucid dreaming and although I have tried to do just that in the past I had never had any success and was convinced that either I was 'doing it wrong' or that I just didn't have that ability in me.

So whilst I was still in that foggy, soupy, just woke up stage I allowed myself to drift off again and sure enough I felt myself entering the sleep paralysis stage again (only not as strong this time) and then I found myself in the same situation of before of being in a very quiet, calm place. 'Opening my eyes' this time I found there were two girls (they must have been about 18/19) sat on my bed whom I didn't recognise. They were very playful and giggly and one of them took my hand and I had the sensation that I was being pulled from my bed and was floating at the height at which I had been laid out in bed horizontally but at a 90 degree angle to my bed so I was hovering over the floor. Then she let go of me and went and sat on a bunk bed with the other girl in the corner of my room (it should be noted that I don't actually have a bunk bed in my room and have a desk in real life where the bunk bed appeared in the dream). Then the two of them sort of lost interest in me and busied themselves with a book they were reading.

I decided at this point to see if I could actually get myself moving around my room or if I could interact with the girls again but I could do nothing. I was just floating above the floor. And it seemed like the more I tried and struggled the further and further away the experience was becoming until I heard the rush of wind again (not as loud this time though) and my body was shaking and I was back in bed again awake.

At this point I just 'knew' that I would be able to do it again and sure enough, without too much effort I managed to re-enter the paralysis stage and found myself in that calm, quiet place again. This time though I found I couldn't open my eyes and I was just aware of a series of squares that formed a sort of tunnel that curved away out of view to infinity that I was travelling down.

The last experience with the squares seemed very tame and weak though compared to the other experiences I had had that morning. Eventually the wind came again but it was very soft this time and I was back awake in my bed.

I didn't try for a fourth time.!

I suppose I'm telling you all of this because I just had to share it with someone! I told my sister about it but it's clear from the way she looked at me that she didn't quite believe me! haha

Also I'd like to know if you think that it was a lucid dream and not just a really vivid normal dream that happened to have aspects of sleep paralysis phenomenon thrown in at the beginning and end?

If you've made this far then I thank you for taking the time to read this rather large post and I shall look forward to hopefully hearing your thoughts on my experience!

**pepsibluefan** · 12-06-2011 08:36 PM

I really enjoyed reading your experience. So this kept going on for 7 years? Did you ever try to see a doctor to get it diagnosed maybe? I am not saying that you should, but I was just curious. That was a really awesome experience I assume. Well, what makes it a "lucid" dream is the fact that you where aware that you where dreaming. It sounded like you where though. When you are in SP it is not unheard of to see shadows, or an old hag (A really ugly hallucination.) Not everyone experiences them but you have. Do they disturb you? Or have you gotten use to it?

Someone made an excellent painting describing SP. Its called the Nightmare.

If you have any more questions just ask us. We are all here for help and support.

**Snafu** · 12-06-2011 11:13 PM

The Old Hag? Oh yeah, I know her well. She has a habit of pulling the covers off me and/or dragging me to the end of the bed!

The first time I experienced sleep paralysis I was absolutely terrified! It is easily the most scared I have ever been in my life! What happened was that I woke up in bed in the middle of the night and was instantly aware that I wasn't alone. I could tell that there was something else in the room with me and that it definitely wasn't friendly. At first I just lay there being dead still trying to work out what was going on and what I was going to do. But then I felt the presence of something else next to me! Instinctively I went to sit up and pull myself away from whatever it was but I found I couldn't move, I was completely frozen, I couldn't even let out a scream for help! And that's when the panic set in.

Before I knew it there were two more presences in the room taking the total number up to four. There were three moving around next to my bed and there was one stood at the end of my bed watching over everything.

The three moving down the side of my bed made great slapping noises as their feet shuffled across the floor and they were no more than perhaps three foot tall and had a shape and stature not to similar to ET has (in the Spielberg movie). They would take it in turns to stand next to my face and whisper things into my ear. They spoke in a strange language that I couldn't understand and I could feel their breath against my cheek and ear. Every now and then one would place its hand on my arm or grip me around the chest. They seemed to enjoy making me uncomfortable and they seemed to be working together towards a goal.

Meanwhile the figure at the end of my bed was perhaps seven foot tall and was unnaturally thin. I couldn't make out any features but was aware of a big pair of eyes watching and studying me. It was clear that this guy was the boss of the little ones and that he was running the show. It was from him that the feeling of absolute dread, evil and impending doom I was experiencing was coming from.

Like I have said, I was absolutely terrified. They seemed to be with me for a long time (perhaps three minutes) but it might just have seemed like a long time and in reality it might not have lasted anywhere near that!

Eventually, with a big flash of light they were gone and I found I was able to move again in the darkness. I don't think I've ever covered a distance so fast as I did the distance from my bed to the light switch that night!

I hit the light switch, opened the door and was off running downstairs turning on every light I passed on the way down. Then I just sat there until the sun came up drinking coffee and trying to work out what had just happened.

I had at this point never heard of sleep paralysis or lucid dreams and it should be noted that I had been a huge X-files fan back in the 90’s so I’m sure you can imagine where my thoughts were taking me!

I never spoke about my experience to anyone and dreaded going to sleep each night. Every time I heard a creak in the house at night my heart would start pounding and I’d have to get up and investigate before I would be able to relax.

Then about a month after the event I have just described it happened again!! Only this time it was an old woman that was stood at the end of my bed like you mentioned. I had the same feeling of dread/doom and I was unable to move or shout. This time though there were no figures down the side of my bed, it was just her, on her own, laughing at me and slowly pulling the covers off me.

Although I was terrified, I was relieved too because instantly I realised that what ever it was it wasn’t real and it was clear that it was ‘psychological’ in nature.

The next day, I got on the internet and starting researching. By the end of the day I knew all there was to know about sleep paralysis and felt very relieved!

Nowadays I experience sleep paralysis either when I’ve not had enough sleep or when I am stressed. It’s still as intense and ‘real’ as it was the first time but I’ve learnt to live with it a long time ago and I just roll over and go straight back to sleep once it’s over..

And yeah, I’ve seen that painting before. I can definitely sympathise with the artist!

**gab** · 12-08-2011 12:38 AM

Wow! Glad you shared.

I may be wrong, but I think, that when you say you saw those girls and then you felt the wind and then you woke up in your bed, that you actually woke up in a lucid dream. At least, that's how people who WILD describe their experience. Next time, do a reality check every time you think, you woke up in your bed.

There are some good tutorials and descriptions in the DV Wiki - look under WILD and you'll see tons of similarities to your experience. Also read threads in Forum, under subcategory WILD.

**Snafu** · 12-08-2011 12:57 AM

Originally Posted by gab

Wow! Glad you shared.

I may be wrong, but I think, that when you say you saw those girls and then you felt the wind and then you woke up in your bed, that you actually woke up in a lucid dream. At least, that's how people who WILD describe their experience. Next time, do a reality check every time you think, you woke up in your bed.

There are some good tutorials and descriptions in the DV Wiki - look under WILD and you'll see tons of similarities to your experience. Also read threads in Forum, under subcategory WILD.

Yeah, I've been having a good read around the forum tonight and I'm beginning to think that maybe the dreams (with the girls) were actually HH's, and then I woke up in a lucid a dream..?

The thing is though that it if I really was in a lucid dream, it was so realistic that I had absolutely no idea I was dreaming! It blows my mind to think that what I experienced after the wind sounds came and went could actually have been a dream and wasn't real!

Could I really have been so easily fooled?

**gab** · 12-08-2011 01:57 AM

Lucid dreams can get extremely realistic, just like in waking life. Many people after waking up in their bed think their effort to WILD failed and if they don't do a Reality check, they just "go back to sleep". That's why it's important to do an RC, even if you are sure, you are awake. And you may be in for a surprise.

**pepsibluefan** · 12-08-2011 03:03 AM

Yeah Gab is right, they can be extremely realistic. I don't think I have ever had a HH while in SP, I think I had one while I was having a night terror. I was sleeping in the middle of the dark in the living room when I walked up in terror and there was nothing but fear. I looked at the couch briefly and saw a shadowy figure sitting there looking at me. I had a feeling that it was making a psychic attack and making me feel nothing but fear. I still have night terrors every now and then but they almost never have a HH.

You know that was the very reason I feared doing WILDS was to see these things. Hopefully those sorts of episodes you have will calm down.

**Snafu** · 12-11-2011 04:48 PM

Thanks Gab and pepsibluefan! Yeah, I will definitely try that reality check thing in future to check!

I'm a bit gutted to think that I might actually have been lucid dreaming many times in the past but haven't realised it and have immediately rolled over and gone back to sleep again!

I'm almost looking forward to my next episode of SP now (I hope it's another nice experience and not the usual one of presences in my room with me) so I can try out the reality check thing!

I'll definitely report back and let you know how I got on which ever way it goes.

Thanks again for the all the cool advice!