Sleep Paralysis

[tealblue]

I was wondering if anyone has ever had this type of experience to where you woke up unable to move your body and either seen or felt an evil presence.

This past July I worked very late one night and had to be back to work early next morning and since I live about an hour a way I slept at work. I was working at the time in an old Air Force hanger. I fell asleep in one of the offices which had a couch in it. Shortly after I fell asleep I was awaken to the feeling that my entire body had electricity running thru it and the whole room felt evil. We had always joked that the hanger was haunted but I laughed it off. Anyway I immediatly left and went home and returned the next day.

My conclusion: I feel I had nothing more than a case of sleep paralysis to where I basically kept dreaming while my body was awake. Anybody else have this happened to or know anyone else and what was there/your conclusion to the event.

[MacG]

Originally Posted by tealblue

I was wondering if anyone has ever had this type of experience to where you woke up unable to move your body and either seen or felt an evil presence.

This past July I worked very late one night and had to be back to work early next morning and since I live about an hour a way I slept at work. I was working at the time in an old Air Force hanger. I fell asleep in one of the offices which had a couch in it. Shortly after I fell asleep I was awaken to the feeling that my entire body had electricity running thru it and the whole room felt evil. We had always joked that the hanger was haunted but I laughed it off. Anyway I immediatly left and went home and returned the next day.

My conclusion: I feel I had nothing more than a case of sleep paralysis to where I basically kept dreaming while my body was awake. Anybody else have this happened to or know anyone else and what was there/your conclusion to the event.

Teal,

I have friends that have experienced similar things, one was similar but it was where she could not move and she felt as if she was being choked the other was weirder still. He said that he would lay in bed and he would feel something pushing up on his mattress. At first it was one push in the middle then all over. He said he'd command it in the name of Jesus and it'd stop. It eventually stopped recurring.

My wife used to experience a "darkness" while attempting to get to sleep after bible study at our place. I would not experience it but she defintely would. She'd ask me to pray so I would pray (half asleep) and then tell it to leave in Jesus name. I'd ask if it was gone and she'd say yes and go to sleep. Now I asked a Pastor friend that has had experience with exorcism about our experience. He said it is not an uncommon tactic for the unclean spirits to test as it were those who venture into the work of the Lord. He said I handled it well and they will give up after while with the overt stuff if it does not work and will revert to the subtle things to cause diversion.

Have you experience other things of this nature?

MacG

[sunofmysoul]

When i was about 10 or eleven, I had a best friend over to spend the night.
My younger sister (three years younger) was with us as well. My room was in the basement of the house, and my parents slept upstairs.
I had been reading the Bible in a year, and was trying to "discuss" some with my friend who was not a believer, (i was a rather onfire for Christ radical Christian who witnessed to everyone i met...) and we stayed up really late,
talking about the Bible amongst other "girl" talk...
after lights were out, we tried to go to sleep, but continued talking...
at some point a green light orb began to glow on the far side of the room.
It had a demonic looking face, and I knew...it was a satanic presence.

We were all frightened, and my friend and sis, began to cry. I knew that "greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world", and knew it was time to call upon His name. That i did! I prayed in the name of Jesus for satan to leave us, and cast the devil out in authority. the appearance faded, and we hugged each other in relief, thought still shook up. But then,
it reappeared even brighter then before. Thus began a battle of epic proportions, calling out upon the name of Jesus, and rebuking satan. And the demonic presence would fade out, and then grow stronger again. Finally, i could take it no more. I knew i had to get up, cross the room and turn on the light to investigate...(get help etc). I was terrified (my faith must not have been as strong as i thought) but against the pleadings of my friend and sister I
strode forward and ran across the room to the light switch, praying loudly as i ran.

What i discovered next, was on the bookshelf we had been seeing the "vision" was a flashlight on its side, next to a green frog hand puppet.
the flashlight, was fading on and off occasionally because the batteries were
all nearly dead! We went from fear and goosebumps, to laughter, and embarrassment.

A question,
what if i had never taken the next step and investigated further?
We probably would have always believed that the little green frog,
was some sort of demonic presence that visited us that night. (having finally been "cast out" by the batteries finally becoming completely drained.)

Why did I believe i had seen a demonic presence? I believe because i had been taught that it existed, and was out to get me. Why did I assume, supernatural? Why was it so easy for all of us to believe/assume? We had been preconditioned to "see" it, even when their could be other possible explanations.

And my purpose for sharing this story?
Only to suggest that we never make assumptions, but be willing to investigate and seek out the truth.


with love,
soms

[sunofmysoul]

Originally Posted by sunofmysoul

When i was about 10 or eleven, I had a best friend over to spend the night.
My younger sister (three years younger) was with us as well. My room was in the basement of the house, and my parents slept upstairs.
I had been reading the Bible in a year, and was trying to "discuss" some with my friend who was not a believer, (i was a rather onfire for Christ radical Christian who witnessed to everyone i met...) and we stayed up really late,
talking about the Bible amongst other "girl" talk...
after lights were out, we tried to go to sleep, but continued talking...
at some point a green light orb began to glow on the far side of the room.
It had a demonic looking face, and I knew...it was a satanic presence.

We were all frightened, and my friend and sis, began to cry. I knew that "greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world", and knew it was time to call upon His name. That i did! I prayed in the name of Jesus for satan to leave us, and cast the devil out in authority. the appearance faded, and we hugged each other in relief, thought still shook up. But then,
it reappeared even brighter then before. Thus began a battle of epic proportions, calling out upon the name of Jesus, and rebuking satan. And the demonic presence would fade out, and then grow stronger again. Finally, i could take it no more. I knew i had to get up, cross the room and turn on the light to investigate...(get help etc). I was terrified (my faith must not have been as strong as i thought) but against the pleadings of my friend and sister I
strode forward and ran across the room to the light switch, praying loudly as i ran.

What i discovered next, was on the bookshelf we had been seeing the "vision" was a flashlight on its side, next to a green frog hand puppet.
the flashlight, was fading on and off occasionally because the batteries were
all nearly dead! We went from fear and goosebumps, to laughter, and embarrassment.

A question,
what if i had never taken the next step and investigated further?
We probably would have always believed that the little green frog,
was some sort of demonic presence that visited us that night. (having finally been "cast out" by the batteries finally becoming completely drained.)

Why did I believe i had seen a demonic presence? I believe because i had been taught that it existed, and was out to get me. Why did I assume, supernatural? Why was it so easy for all of us to believe/assume? We had been preconditioned to "see" it, even when their could be other possible explanations.

And my purpose for sharing this story?
Only to suggest that we never make assumptions, but be willing to investigate and seek out the truth.


with love,
soms

and to add...
i too have experienced the sleep paralysis, which if you are interested,
has been interestingly associated with migraines among other things...
sleep habbits, and conditions are quite fascinating as we learn more about them...

Physiologically, sleep paralysis is closely related to the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the body paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move. The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes "after which the individual may experience panic symptoms and the realization that the distorted perceptions were false".[5] As the correlation with REM sleep suggests, the paralysis is not entirely complete; use of EOG traces shows that eye movement can be instigated during such episodes.[6] When there is an absence of narcolepsy, sleep paralysis is referred to as isolated sleep paralysis (ISP).[7] "ISP appears to be far more common and recurrent among people of African descent than among whites or Nigerian Africans",[5] and is often referred to within African communities as "the Devil on your back."[8][9][10]

In addition, the paralysis state may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (hypnopompic or hypnagogic) and an acute sense of danger.[11] Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual because of the vividness of such hallucinations.[7] The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful, or dream-like, objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as an explanation for alien abductions and ghostly encounters.[12] A study by Susan Blackmore and Marcus Cox (the Blackmore-Cox study) of the University of the West of England supports the suggestion that reports of alien abductions are related to sleep paralysis rather than to temporal lobe lability.[13]


[edit] Possible causes

Sleep paralysis occurs during REM sleep, thus preventing the body from manifesting movements made in the subject's dreams. Very little is known about the physiology of sleep paralysis.[citation needed] However, some[who?] have suggested that it may be linked to post-synaptic inhibition of motor neurons in the pons region of the brain.[citation needed] In particular, low levels of melatonin may stop the depolarization current in the nerves, preventing the stimulation of the muscles and any consequent enactment of the dream activity by the body (e.g. preventing a sleeper from flailing his or her legs when dreaming about running).[citation needed]

Several studies have concluded that many or most people will experience sleep paralysis at least once or twice in their lives.[citation needed] A study conducted by Sedaghat F. et al. has investigated the prevalence of sleep paralysis among Iranian medical students. 24.1% of students reported experiencing sleep paralysis at least once in their lifetime. The same result was reported among Japanese, Nigerian, Kuwaiti, Sudanese and American students.[14]

Many people who commonly enter sleep paralysis also suffer from narcolepsy. In non-Nigerian Africans, panic disorder occurs with sleep paralysis more frequently than in Caucasians.[15] Some reports read that various factors increase the likelihood of both paralysis and hallucinations. These include:[16]

* Sleeping in a face upwards or supine position
* Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation
* Increased stress
* Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes
* A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode.

from HERE

[IncitingRiots]

Great post(s) SOMS!

It is nice to know that you have an inquisitive mind and don't seem prepared to take much at face value. Applying such critical thinking skills can greatly help the individual distinguish fantasy from "reality".

Being "a person of faith" I imagine that it might have been hard for you to accept that it was something else other than a demon. I suppose, in a way maybe hoping it was if for no other reason to confirm your beliefs. Then again I don't want to pretend to know who you are or what you are about from one post so I will leave the door open for the possibility that I am completely wrong.

[sunofmysoul]

Originally Posted by IncitingRiots

Great post(s) SOMS!

It is nice to know that you have an inquisitive mind and don't seem prepared to take much at face value. Applying such critical thinking skills can greatly help the individual distinguish fantasy from "reality".

Being "a person of faith" I imagine that it might have been hard for you to accept that it was something else other than a demon. I suppose, in a way maybe hoping it was if for no other reason to confirm your beliefs. Then again I don't want to pretend to know who you are or what you are about from one post so I will leave the door open for the possibility that I am completely wrong.

hello IncitingRiots!
i would say on this particular subject, i was not exactly hoping to be right...to confirm my beliefs.... i was rather pleasantly relieved with the alternative discovery.......
however, i have noticed that on other subjects it has been much harder to come to accept that i did not have the "truth" or know it all...
or that science/reality might contradict my paradigm of belief...and
that in some cases it has been a rather painful process to separate myself from a comfortable cognitive dissonance..



with love,
soms

[IncitingRiots]

Ha! Yeah I suppose I should have figured you would have been ecstatic to realize that wasn't really a demon. What good is confirmation of a belief if that confirmation kills you, right? I was still a little loopy from the pain killers the doctors have me on.

Yes it can be difficult to remove ourselves from our comfort zones and especially hard to realize that we may be wrong about something we are so sure we are right about. The only way to really grow is to accept the truth as it comes at you, whether or not it is the truth you want.