I am having increasingly vivid dreams, some of which are so real that I believe myself to have been transported back to New York City (I presently reside in St. Albans, north of London). There are moments in these dreams during which I am aware that I am dreaming and that the experiences I perceive are not "real" -- but then the awareness slips and I find myself plunged back into the dream. I should mention that I am, at the present time, in the UK to care for a sick relative, and plan to live here indefinitely. However, the dreams are so real that I find myself experiencing what I can only describe as a "transfer" of reality, during the course of which, in my dreams, I believe that my life in St. Albans is actually the dream, and that I am back in New York City. The degree to which these dreams are vivid is something that I cannot overemphasize.

A number of other peculiar occurrences have plagued me during the course of the past few years. In short, I wake up in the night to find that I am completely paralyzed, but aware of the fact that a presence is in the room with me. The presence is not malevolent or evil -- however, the experience is so real that I feel the bedsprings buckle as though a person is sitting down on the bed next to me. The presence also "communicates" with me, not with words, but directly, as though projecting its thoughts directly into my mind.

I should mention that I am on a number of medications relative to a complex connective tissue disorder named Marfan Syndrome and that these medications may be influencing my thought processes. However, this bizarre series of dreams was triggered by the sights that I witnessed on September 11 -- I was about five blocks from the twin towers when the second airplane hit the second tower. The sight of people falling 80, 90, 100 floors threw me into a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, some elements of which continue to plague me to this day. I believe that there is a causal relationship between those events and my current experiences, but would be interested in knowing whether lucid dreams of this nature have been documented as resulting from severe emotional trauma.

Advice and comparison would be greaty appreciated.