Anybody else deal with sleep paralysis? It usually happens once every few months, but I had two instances last night where I woke up unable to move. Honestly, the paralysis itself I can deal with and work through, it's those waking nightmares that accompany the paralysis that mess with me. They feel way too real.

I have experienced it on many occasions throughout my life. It always freaks me out being in that state of consciousness.

Thankfully it's not a daily occurrence. 3-5 episodes per year or so for me.

I wake up and there these weird things, with moth antinnias that float around then disseapear when I wake up.

I've had it once or twice, it's not bad until you see "The Hag" though. That sh*t will mess you up

Night hag - Wikipedia

OMG...gobsmacked...and a bunch more words I don't ever say because I've been saving them for times like this. I've tangled with The Hag!

I'd never heard of her before reading this. ^ It was 8 or 9 years ago. She jumped on my back one night as I was sleeping. I was sleeping on my stomach, obviously, and suddenly SLAM.. I was being shoved down pretty hard into the bed. There was none of the buzzing or paralysis that comes with sleep paralysis as I recall. I've had that too. Well, I don't remember how, but I got free somehow and the next thing I can recall is being in the living room. Strangely, it was day, and there was this short, maybe like 4'9" pudgy woman there a few feet away from me. She had on coveralls and had a bandana on her head and as she looked out of the corner of her eye at me her puffy cheeks were puffing in and out as if she was really frustrated. She brushed past me and that's when I woke up.

I told my wife about it. She starts from a position of belief regarding ghosts and such and doesn't ever really go in any direction other than greater belief. I've always been the opposite. She was all "uh huh and oh really about it." but not in an off hand or sarcastic way. Anyway, later that day my wife and son went to the mall, and while they were gone, I had myself a little tour of the premises. I had a profound feeling of home and family defense. I thought about the years that I'd lived in this home, all the violin playing I've done in it. My house! I thought about the pudgy woman, and how she seemed small and weak when I had seen her in the living room. I felt empowered, and ready to rock. But, there was nothing to confront, by the real light of day.

It hasn't happened since, and I'm still not scared. Fear and I are by no means strangers, and I've fought hard to conquer at least one very large fear in my life. It was a battle that lasted many years. Now surprise attacks are by no means fun, or welcome, but pudgy hillbilly woman didn't measure up. I still feel that way. And she hasn't been back. I haven't even thought about it for a few years, till I saw this.

My skin was crawling just a bit last night though after reading the Wiki link you provided, chrischoir. I simply do not know what to make of "The Hag" being such a widespread phenomena. Freaky. I could maybe understand if it was Jesus, or The Buddha, or Linda Carter. But, "The Hag"? What in the Sam hill? A glitch in the matrix perhaps?

Wow, just WOW! <<< Some more words I never say.

Now I understand. Miss Hag was frustrated cuz she didn't get teh hiney.

Oh my god, why did you have to tell me this? The waking nightmares so far have always involved women. The first one was a translucent angry woman hovering over my head, and the other one was holding me in place and keeping me from screaming.

I've been told that people under sleep paralysis tend to have the sensation of floating on water but you can't move. Has that ever happened to you during that time? I've personally never experienced this, but I'm willing to hear more about your experience.

Honestly, I've never noticed if I was on my bed or on water. I'm usually too busy freaking out to pay attention to that.

It used to happen to me fairly frequently...sleep paralysis. There would be this intense buzzing and I'd often astral project. When I was 13 I was taking a nap on my brother's bed at his home and I zipped 300+ miles to the tv room at home.

But most of the time I'd just be somewhere in the bedroom room looking down on myself.

It happened a lot for a while in my early 30's and it was starting to freak me out.

There was an assistant conductor around at the time who was into Tibetan Buddhism that told me to tell myself that I won't detach, and I don't know if I can chalk it up to that, but it has happened a lot less since then. When it does, I've been able to manage to make enough noise about it that it wakes my wife and she usually shakes me out of it.

It would be nice if it seemed no cause for concern and I could take advantage of the event somehow. Maybe next time...

Yep...since I was about 5. It's usually accompanied by a sense or hallucination of something evil coming after me or near me. Also, sometimes I am falling or spinning. If I can wiggle a finger or in any way connect with wakefulness, I wake up. Lots of times I think I am screaming...trying to get someone to wake me, but I am dreaming that. When I do actually scream it freaks my family out! Haven't had it since maybe feb...I get them every night for a few days and then it goes away. Always while falling asleep for me.

I've never tried astral projection, but have tried lucid dreaming? It's supposedly a stepping stone to getting to the astral plane. Lucid dreaming has really helped me in the past when I needed it.

I haven't had it, but I read this book that is essentially all about it. "REM intrusion". Sleep Paralysis and how it relates to people having near death experiences and even people people who believe they've been abducted by aliens.

https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Doo.../dp/0452297583

Well, it was never anything that I set out to do on purpose, but once it's happening I seem to have some control. Lucid dreaming has happened too. I once played most of for all of the Bach, "Chaconne" in my sleep. I'm sure it helped.


And yeah, @ TomPaul , it almost always has happened when I'm *falling asleep.

Interesting topic! I had horrible nightmares most of childhood. Most times I never wanted to even go to sleep. That was cured forever when I read Edgar Cayce. Basically he said the 'nightmare being' is yourself; the possible things you are capable of doing. He urged the person to go to... or confront the evil nightmare thing in the dream, For me poof it was gone.

The French have a sleep analysis that involves a sleep angel. Long story short if you are in need of sleep or rest; either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually - the nightmare or goodmare being is there so you do not wake up. It is there so you get your need rest.

Top this off with physical paralysis and it starts complicating an analysis or answer. Often these chemical are created in your brain/body and sent to rest your physical muscles and body. If you are cognitively awake it is very scary (wake up sloooow). I believe it is just being out of sync from continued over-exertion.

Buzzing is often associated with many things but I like to refer to it as Nadam (Nadaam Naadam etc): A level of consciousness just short of Nirvana. Like second sight (Visual seeing) dreaming visions etc. Second hearing is hearing, not with your ears, but with your brain or consciousness. Monks could spend decades trying to actually hear this 'buzz' or music of the cosmos.

A good read is by a Toltec master named Ken Eagle Feather on many of these things. Toltec dreaming etc.

The Hag could be said to be derived from Lilith considered by many ancient Gnostics to be Adams 'first girlfriend or wife'. Many say she resides beneath the Red Sea.

If you start adding up all these extra sensory perceptions and things when you are lucidly sleeping it can be disconcerting. I have found that every fear has a flip side which is profoundly and easily confident and love. Took me a while to un-entangle these things in my life but now in the age of information they can be solved almost instantly.

One interesting train of thought is - is being awake our real world? or is being asleep our real world. Some cultures believe it is the opposite way around. Cayce put strict importance on the power of dreams calling them 'jewels' to be discovered. I agree.

One lucid dream theory is: if there is no time within a dream then it is possible to get 8 hours of sleep in 5 minutes. Great idea - supported by the dream space time continuum theories.

"If you can dream it, you can do it." George Foreman

Interesting timing for this thread to resurface. I had a real nasty sleep paralysis moment this weekend. I've learned to just keep my eyes shut when it happens so I don't see any nightmare images, so that was good, but man did I have to fight long and hard to be able to move.

Yea I call it being out of sync... when chemicals lock up your muscles and you are 'awake' it can be pure scary ... helps to move a little pinky for a while or slowly breath and jangle your juices slowly. Its like the opposite of adrenaline rush. Although I had a friend who got paralysis and then got so afraid that he shot his adrenaline level up where he almost hurt himself. Had to talk him through it on the phone.

I found it's usually just caused by excessive pressure where the spine meets the skull. Roll to the side, problem solved.

I'n not sure if I mentioned this previously but when I find myself in that conscious state in which I know I'm in bed and unable to move, one of the things I do is try to move from side to side until I force myself to roll out of bed and fall unto the floor. It takes every ounce of my energy to force my sleeping & unresponsive muscles to move in hopes that this will force me to wake up.

When I roll off the bed I usually wake up. Sometimes I'm on the floor but tangled in the sheets unable to move but I keep shaking my body until I wake up.

I never actually roll off the bed but in the dream state that's what I'm doing. It's quite creepy, my eyes are open and I can even see the room but I'm paralyzed from head to toe.

That's good advice. I'll have to remember that for next time.

WAIT WAIT please... measure the height of you bed first...

Good point. I used to work with a woman that broke her collar bone after falling out of bed.