Lucid Dreaming/Sleep Paralysis

[pezenfuego]

Okay, here we go again gang.
Lucid dreaming is the ability to come to the realization that you are dreaming and thereby gain the ability to control your dreams.
I have never had a lucid dream...I have however experienced sleep paralysis.
I was lying asleep when I heard someone entering my room. I wasn't alarmed. What happened next was weird though.
I KNEW I was awake. Suddenly it felt as though something or someone was lying on my chest. I reacted and tried to hit them. I found however that I was unable to move. I tried and just could not gain control of my muscles. I tried to open my eyes as hard as I could but I couldn't do it. I tried to scream for help, but I was not able to. This went on for about 3 minutes. I felt impending death. It was by far the weirdest feeling I've ever had and I KNOW it wasn't a simple dream because I felt as though I was lying paralyzed and I saw nothing but the back of my eyelids. Suddenly I gained the ability to move. It felt like I broke out of a shell. I made a shrill, short scream and felt like a moron when I saw that nobody was lying on me.
I was fine...but what the &$&# just happened?
After a little research I found that this is called sleep paralysis and that about half of the population will experience it at least once in their life. Most in their teen years

And this makes sense too. This occurs when your mind and body aren't on the same page and your realize that you are waking up before you actually wake up. This may also happen if you realize that you are falling asleep before you fall asleep. Your body stays in the sleep stage but your mind is fully awake.
Has anyone else experienced this before?
Now on to lucid dreaming (much more fun

) Anyone had experience with this before? Any tips?

 

[aquaknight]

I infrequently have lucid dreaming. The thing is, during the dream, I remember that I've already that dream. I have like 5-10 reoccuring dreams. And therefore once in a awhile I realize it, and action upon. I always wake up right after I've taken the action.
Never recall having sleep paralysis though.

 

[spanko]

I have made myself wake up from dreams I don't want to be in anymore. I mean in the dream, tell myself to wake up as something weird is happening. Strange, not often, but more than a few times.

 

[cranberry]

I have sleep paralysis. So does my Dad and so does his mom. I was involved in a study years ago. They were especially interested because of the family affliction.
We use to call it the "old Hag" were I come from and pretty much for the reason you described, you are hallucinating that someone is in the room and someone is lying on you. The old wives tale is that it's the Old Hag sitting on you. Some people have it worse again as to what they hallucinate and actually SEE things in their room. That would suck.
I'm mostly auditory. I hear a roar in my ears. It's hard to explain but I always liken it to the transporter noise in "Beam me up Scotty!". I sit there and try to logically think it out. If I close my eyes and don't fight it... it's really a gross sinking into the bed feeling. Once I break it I have to get up and shake it off or I will slip back into it repeatedly.
Concentrate on one finger. If you move it, you will break the paralysis.
Tell your family if they hear you trying to scream to come wake you up good. My Grandma was really good at the throaty scream. You could hear her all over the house.

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3150305
I have sleep paralysis. So does my Dad and so does his mom. I was involved in a study years ago. They were especially interested because of the family affliction.
We use to call it the "old Hag" were I come from and pretty much for the reason you described, you are hallucinating that someone is in the room and someone is lying on you. The old wives tale is that it's the Old Hag sitting on you. Some people have it worse again as to what they hallucinate and actually SEE things in their room. That would suck.
I'm mostly auditory. I hear a roar in my ears. It's hard to explain but I always liken it to the transporter noise in "Beam me up Scotty!". I sit there and try to logically think it out. If I close my eyes and don't fight it... it's really a gross sinking into the bed feeling. Once I break it I have to get up and shake it off or I will slip back into it repeatedly.
Concentrate on one finger. If you move it, you will break the paralysis.
Tell your family if they hear you trying to scream to come wake you up good. My Grandma was really good at the throaty scream. You could hear her all over the house.
Yes, this "person" was whispering in my ears. It was weird and with a very fast pace and in a VERY demonic voice. I believe this was the hallucination side of it.
Thanks for the tip. Do you think it's likely that this will happen again? I hope not, this sucked bad.

 

[cranberry]

Yes, it could happen again for sure. As to whether or not you are at risk for having them like I do... not sure. I haven't read up on it in years.
Yes, it is very unnerving. Even though I've been though it a 100 times and I know everything will be alright, it still is very distasteful to say the least. Ya, the voices was the hallcination. Lucky you to have demonic voices... ew. At least I just think I being teleported into a spaceship to be prodded by aliens O.O. And the sinking feeling is just me being sucked into the bed by Freddy Krugor like in the first Nightmare on Elm Street.
I can open my eyes when it's going on and actually watch the clock. Do you remember opening your eyes?

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3150328
Yes, it could happen again for sure. As to whether or not you are at risk for having them like I do... not sure. I haven't read up on it in years.
Yes, it is very unnerving. Even though I've been though it a 100 times and I know everything will be alright, it still is very distasteful to say the least. Ya, the voices was the hallcination. Lucky you to have demonic voices... ew. At least I just think I being teleported into a spaceship to be prodded by aliens O.O. And the sinking feeling is just me being sucked into the bed by Freddy Krugor like in the first Nightmare on Elm Street.
I can open my eyes when it's going on and actually watch the clock. Do you remember opening your eyes?
No, I don't remember opening my eyes, therefore I did not have a visual hallucination...which is weird because before now I never even thought there was such a thing as an auditory hallucination.

 

[cranberry]

Holy Moly! There's loads of stuff on the internet about it now! That wasn't available when I first started having them. I'm going to have to do some reading to see what they came up with recently.
My eyes are open but I get zero visual hallucinations.

 

[bender77]

I have lucid dream quite frequently. My favorite thing to do is fly. I fly quite often in my dreams. I also act out my dreams. I've never sleep walked, but if I'm crying in a dream I wake up with tears streaming down my face. If I'm running in my dream I'm kicking in my bed. If I'm driving my hand are up steering the wheel. I'll even wake myself up screaming from time to time from a bad dream. Such lovely fun for my husband.

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3150336
Holy Moly! There's loads of stuff on the internet about it now! That wasn't available when I first started having them. I'm going to have to do some reading to see what they came up with recently.
My eyes are open but I get zero visual hallucinations.
I saw nothing at all. How does it work for you? Did you see your surroundings? Were they vivid?

 

[cranberry]

Well, I can't turn my head and it's dark, so I'm limited to what I can see. But I could see the lights of cars driving by and I can watch the time if I'm facing that direction.

 

[pezenfuego]

It was a really cool thing to have happen, yet I pray it never happens again lol. Thanks for sharing!

 

[louti]

I have had dreams that get scary or kinda weird and I suddenly have the realization "this is stupid I'm dreaming," and I force myself to wake up.
I've had sleep paralysis several times. It happens to me when I'm deer hunting and fall asleep. I'll vividly hear something walking, like a deer moving in the brush. I just know this animal is right under my stand and I have to wake up before it moves off. Try as I may, I cannot open my eyes or move. Eventually I just wake up and nothing's there. One morning, I did it like 3-4 times in a row, drifting in and out of sleep.
It's funny you say it's more likely in teens. I'm 23 now and it hasn't happened in a few years. Of course, I don't sleep in the tree stand very often anymore either.

 

[gio28]

every once in a while i will have lucid dreams, and they vary. some i will know i can control whats going on and they become the best dreams ever, other times i know its a dream and i will do dangerous things on purpose to get myself awake if its a bad dream to get myself killed. it only happens on repeat dreams, where i realize its a dream that has happened before.
also, sometimes i will wake up and suddenly spaz out by swatting the air, or sitting up real quickly, even when theres no bad dream or if i even dream at all.