SLEEP PARALYSIS

This is not a dream but an account of my experiences with a common condition called sleep paralysis.

I have experienced this sensation many times - inability to move, something heavy on my chest, unable to to cry out, but being totally aware of the room, the bed I was in and any people around me.  The first time I became aware of this was some time in the early 1970's.  Each episode would be the same.  First there was a loud buzzing in the ears, as though swarms of bees were flying around me.  Next came the paralysis.  Invariably I would be on my back when this happened.  Of course, it was terrifying, especially since I would be overcome by this at least three or four times a month.  Each episode would be brought to an end when, with great difficulty, I would manage to move my arm, and then turn over. 

And so it continued until the late 1990's.  At that time I was part of a Wiccan coven, studying to be a Priestess.  It was obvious by then that my dreams had become very strong and I was paying attention to what I saw through keeping an extensive journal.  It was during one of the sessions with my High Priestess that I mentioned the sleep paralysis and how it frightened me.  She looked at me with an enegmatic smile and told me she knew exactly what that was all about - that my body was preparing for astral travel.  She instructed me that the next time it happened, I should relax and just let go, not to panic, and see what would happen.

Surprisingly, about a month later, when I began experiencing the buzzing, I remembered what I was told, and in spite of panic rising within me, tried to relax, and achieve separation. 

And succeeded!

Suddenly, I found myself staring down at the bed where my body was.  I was flying freely around the room, with a feeling of such utter freedom that it overwhelmed me.  That night I did not attempt to go outside the room, or go anywhere else, but simply enjoyed the joyous liberation of flight.

Since then, I eagerly anticipated my bouts of sleep paralysis, for each one signaled other flight travels.  I pass through solid matter like walls and glass as easily as I would through air.  I can make myself denser or lighter, appear invisible to other people or change the density to make myself seen.  In this state, I have been pulled to be part of someone else's dreams, or simply enjoy diving off tall bridges and buildings.  I have taught others how to fly.  My greatest delight is to do upward corkscrews towards the sky.

And since then I have found that there is quite a bit of study being done around the phenomenon of sleep paralysis.  Other people report having a nasty presence around them when this happens, or experiencing strange smells.  I had none of these negative experiences since learning how to fly.  To me it is now eagerly anticipated and joyously experienced.