Sleep paralysis

[rake_b]

ive been practicing falling into a deeper SP, as at the moment, i can still move my limbs although they feel numb and kinda tingle as well. Before i was falling asleep and now im no longer fall asleep.

can anyone else relate to this?

 

[borbponderer]

I've always experienced it on waking. Conscious mind mostly awakens and freaks out because I can't move my arms or legs, while I may also be aware of a disturbing entity present with me.

Not sure why you'd want to do this deliberately? Sleep paralysis can be terrifying, like suffocation or drowning. It's horrible.

 

[duager]

Sleep paralysis is a very unpleasant sensation and not suitable for lucid dreaming. Rather, it indicates the end of a lucid dream.

 

[Durward]

Mostly harmless, yet It is commonly triggered by sleep deprivation, irregular sleep schedules, and anxiety. It also has no merit as some gateway to anything. Someone started the rumor that this is yet another way to lucid dreaming and other states, and now people are following that advice like lemmings. It isn't anything but a natural stage between sleep and wake, and has nothing to do with anything important. I really dislike the misinformation highway that some influencers appear to have control over. It is not a skill.

 

[Eliyel]

It sounds like what you're experiencing is just the natural effects of reduced blood flow during meditation, not early signs of sleep paralysis. I'll also join in on saying that intentionally giving yourself sleep paralysis is not going to benefit you in any way here, and I'm not sure it's even possible to do intentionally except via things like severely disrupting your sleep schedule. It's just a symptom of being bad at falling asleep or waking up, not a deep meditative state.

Some people who already have severe SP end up learning to enter altered states of consciousness through it, because it can be naturally calming and mentally quieting in people who are already used to it and not prone to panic, and there isn't really anything else to do when you're stuck motionless in bed for twenty minutes several days a week. If you don't have sleep paralysis already, at best you're adding an extra unnecessary step to a process that doesn't need it, but more likely you're just wasting time trying to induce something that can't be caused by meditation. You'll still need to learn to lucid dream or do whatever it is you're planning normally after the SP starts happening. While I do personally find that SP makes meditation easier for me, you'll save yourself way more time by using indirect methods like frequent reality checks or even just learning to meditate without it instead.

 

[NoxEternal]

It sounds like what you're experiencing is just the natural effects of reduced blood flow during meditation, not early signs of sleep paralysis. I'll also join in on saying that intentionally giving yourself sleep paralysis is not going to benefit you in any way here, and I'm not sure it's even possible to do intentionally except via things like severely disrupting your sleep schedule. It's just a symptom of being bad at falling asleep or waking up, not a deep meditative state.

Some people who already have severe SP end up learning to enter altered states of consciousness through it, because it can be naturally calming and mentally quieting in people who are already used to it and not prone to panic, and there isn't really anything else to do when you're stuck motionless in bed for twenty minutes several days a week. If you don't have sleep paralysis already, at best you're adding an extra unnecessary step to a process that doesn't need it, but more likely you're just wasting time trying to induce something that can't be caused by meditation. You'll still need to learn to lucid dream or do whatever it is you're planning normally after the SP starts happening. While I do personally find that SP makes meditation easier for me, you'll save yourself way more time by using indirect methods like frequent reality checks or even just learning to meditate without it instead.

Question: How do you keep from panicking? I've had chronic SP my whole life, and I'm 35 now and I still panic every single time. Even though I know exactly what is happening now and try to keep cool, I just can't. I think what really gets me is that I'm not in control of my lungs/breathing. So I'll have the urge to take a deep breath but I can't because my lungs are moving automatically, and it makes me feel so terrified. I know I'm not going to suffocate because I am breathing, but not being in control of it...I just can't deal with it. Do you experience this as well?

 

[borbponderer]

When I was with my ex, I instructed them to grab hold of one of my arms and move it if they heard me start to panic or cry out in my sleep. Part of the freak-out was my inability to move, so having them move one of my limbs for me seemed to break the spell. Unfortunately the relationship I had with my ex was one of the stressors that was causing me to experience sleep paralysis in the first place. Ymmv I suppose.