New Sensations when WILDing, Approaching Sleep Paralysis?

**Ctharlhie** · 10-19-2011 04:21 PM

Last night when I was attempting to WILD (at 4:30 in the morning, 5 hours sleep), I started to get some interesting sensations, it started out with the familiar numbness, followed with those funny 'pins and needles' sensations at the hands and feet.

After a while I started getting these kind of hot flushes, like heat waves rushing up my body, after this the pins and needles intensified and spread from the extremities to most of my body apart from the upper torso, while this was happening I started getting ringing in my ears which increased in volume and pitch (like the feedback you get when you turn up an amp while a guitar is leaning against it).

The onset of this ringing was accompanied by a sort of crackling in my right ear (I think due to the eardrum being perforated when I was a kid). As the ringing got louder I had a feeling of disconnecting from my body, breathing was getting difficult, and then, I snap out of it.

Any thoughts on whether I was close to sleep paralysis?

**Arch** · 10-19-2011 04:37 PM

Hey Ctharlhie,
Sounds to me like you were beginning to transition into the dream, there are several ways you can do this.

ringing in my ears which increased in volume and pitch

Listening in, just focus on the sound and let it get louder, this will help you get into the dream.

breathing was getting difficult, and then, I snap out of it.

Don't focus on your body, this will make you... snap out

Remain calm and relaxed, try to fall asleep, let yourself go into the dream, but try to remain concious and catch yourself if you begin to become unconscious.

Good Luck, happy dreams

**Ctharlhie** · 10-19-2011 05:49 PM

Wow it's pretty cool to hear I was on the verge of transitioning, let alone sleep paralysis, thanks for the advice Arch

I guess I'll just keep on doing what I did last night

EDIT: so it's like a hypnagogia WILD, except I'm focusing on auditory HH rather than the usual swirls and colours that people report?

**dakotahnok** · 10-19-2011 06:29 PM

Sleep paralysis just means that you are paralyzed as you sleep. So if you couldn't move then you were in SP. The rest of what you described isnt really related to sleep paralysis it just goes with it. You cant really call it. What you experienced is called hypnagogic hallucination and happens when you start to fall asleep and begin dreaming.

**Ctharlhie** · 10-19-2011 06:48 PM

I didn't make it clear in my first post, but when I said I snapped out of it the sensations subsided and at that point I rolled over to just fall asleep naturally because I was tired, so I wasn't fully paralysed (though the sudden movement was a definite effort).

In retrospect I should have stuck with it and waited for the sensations to return but I wasn't sure if I was getting anywhere.