What does all of this mean?

[Timothyhay]

So I've been trying to figure out what all of these experiences mean and if they are related etc.
I've experienced severe sleep paralysis with "hag" hallucinations for as long as I can remember. The typical description of "waking in a panic unable to move" I see my surroundings clearly, hear sounds, move objects etc. However I also experience extreme fear. In these states I feel myself scream. I see myself kick my arms and legs. I feel myself push my "sand bagged body" up or throw myself off my bed in an attempt to wake up.
I've even woken up with a bloody lip from biting my lip to wake up. I also have seen the things I fear.. From a white object hanging over me.. To a black wispy "smoke" that travels across my ceiling. This has happened since I was a small child and has sometimes been happening several nights in a row.


I've also now learned that I naturally astral project. I've attempted to do so purposefully but have not been able to. The times this has happened I'm only able to walk around my room or home. But have seen my physical body lying in bed each time.

I also experience a lot of "false awakening dreams" though most of the time I don't even realize I've fallen asleep. I continue through our my day/night and do not realize I am even asleep until I wake up. I sometimes have I guess precognitive happenings with these. Very simple stuff. For instance just this morning this happened: I woke up and had a Facebook message from a friend asking about my autistic child's early reading skills. This was in my "dream" state. However I woke up and did check my Facebook and there was a message from this friend suggesting a book. When I looked up the books summary it was about Hyperlexia which is a condition that affects those with autism and is characterized by precious learning of reading without training. This kind of stuff happens often.

In contrast to my false awakening dreams.. I have lucid dreams often and when I have "real dreams" I'm always aware of them and fairly in control. I also am fairly good at "day dreaming" I can dream up a whole scenario while completely engaged with the world around me. I also use this to chose what I dream of.


I feel like all of this has to mean something or I'm just crazy! I'm constantly tired despite full nights rest and often afraid to fall asleep.

 

[Palinurus]

Hi Timothyhay, and to the forum.

Since you're a brand new arrival I invite you to write a customary introduction post in the Newbies board: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/board,39.0.html

You don't have to disclose anything personal, just how you found us and what your plans are in participating.
You can have a look through some posts in that board to see how others have done this, to get a clue if needed.

As for your subjects, they are well known around here and there has been ample discussion of them.
That's why I recommend to use the search function, to be found on top of each page (top right in the header; or on top in the middle just underneath).

For instance, when you type sleep paralysis hallucinations into the search box and conduct a forum wide search (all boards) you will get one page with 22 references to places where these terms were discussed. That's what I got just now while testing.

In similar vein the term lucid dreaming yielded five pages with 122 references in total for you to browse through, and astral projection brought in three pages with 67 references.

This is just to show you there is plenty of materials to be had from our database which you can navigate on your own.

No doubt others will chime in here with some of their experiences, which I don't have so I cannot offer any.

To give an example of what you might encounter, see this topic Sleep Paralysis (just one page) here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,26269.0.html

Another way to go about this would be to search the Memories, Dreams, Reflections board with lots of related topics.
It can be found here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/board,26.0.html

As you stated having trouble with sleeping, this topic may be of direct relevance to you to start with: Are You Getting Enough Sleep? Sleeping properly?
to be found here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,21286.0.html

One last remark. Sleeping disorders and adjacent phenomena oftentimes have their roots in improper eating habits.
So it would be a smart move, I think, to also have at least a glance through the diet and health section here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/board,32.0.html

Hope this helps you on your way around here. :)

 

[Cosmos]

Hello Timothyhay and to the forum

I guess it is very difficult to ever fully understand what any of those things mean.
But one thing seems to be pretty clear, diet seems to play a mayor role in fueling many of those experiences.
So you might want to look at the diet and health section of the forum...

Also the EE program (http://eiriu-eolas.org/online-version/), I think will certainly help in this regard.

What we found is that astral projection, lucid dreaming etc. most often are just ways to distract us from reality itself and the quest for knowlege and an objective understanding of the world and ones self.

 

[Archaea]

Hello Timothyhay,

A few things in your post reminded me of the gates of dreaming in the books by Carlos Castaneda. In The art of dreaming Don Juan describes the second and third gates of dreaming which sound similar to some of things you describe.

I also experience a lot of "false awakening dreams" though most of the time I don't even realize I've fallen asleep. I continue through our my day/night and do not realize I am even asleep until I wake up.

This reminds me of the second gate of dreaming where Don Juan describes an exercise where the objective is to wake up from a dream into another dream.

I've also now learned that I naturally astral project. I've attempted to do so purposefully but have not been able to. The times this has happened I'm only able to walk around my room or home. But have seen my physical body lying in bed each time.

And this reminds me of the third gate of dreaming. Don Juan say's that a dreamer is at the third gate when they see their sleeping body in a dream. He say's this is when the dreaming body begins to be able to move and act purposefully in the real world.

I've also had trouble with sleep paralysis, and I've thought a lot about the sleep paralysis vs. paranormal activity debate. Personally I think both are true to some extent, i.e. I believe, or am at least open to the idea, that there are aliens and what-not in the world. But, I also think that parts of the brain are inhibited during sleep so that we don't move around in our sleep, and if someone tries to wake up suddenly they might not be able to move.

Either way though, I think diet and EE may be able to help you get control of the situation.