Strange sleeping experience

[Nighthawk]

Last night when asleep I felt my whole body lift up and turn sideways and I could really feel the gravity pushing down. I felt everything except my hands, but when I awoke I was still lying down in the same position. The experience was a bit frightful as I thought I was about to die. Could it be that what I experienced was the subtle body and has this happened to any of you while asleep or in meditation?

[ghost01]

Sounds like the beginning of sleep paralysis. I've had something similar happen, when it happened to me I felt like I had sunken down below my bed. but usually fear is a def. a sign of sleep paralysis, especially when combined w/ this kind of experience. A little bit beyond this point supposedly you can easily slip into oob experiences and lucid dreams.

[nirmal]

I used to have the same experience during sleep and during meditation.I sit upright but would feel that my body was tilting to one side.I open my eyes and I am sitting upright.I close my eyes and I am tilting to one side.My body lacked calcium.I was advised to take calcium tablets and the problem disappeared.In your cases, it could be the subtle body or perhaps even the lack of calcium.

[asunthatneversets]

I've had experiences where it feels like I'm dropped into bed and I wake up to the feeling of impact. But I've only had sleep paralysis once or twice both times just waking up and can't move, no fear associated though, more of a confusion type thing. I'm pretty sure the more you meditate the more you'll have unique experiences in sleep/dream states. I used to have that tilting sensation anytime I'd close my eyes, there's a video on YouTube that talks about it being a sign of development/maturation of the subtle body but that's just a video on the internet so no way to know if it's valid... I'll try to find it and post it.

[Nighthawk]

I forgot to add that throughout the experience I felt an evil presence in the room. When I felt my subtle body tilting, I tried to say the nembutsu but couldn't move my lips so I recited it mentally a few times and right after is when I felt my body being pressed down hard for about 10-15 seconds before the experience ended and I awoke. If there really was some kind of evil spirit in the room, the nembutsu seemed to have really pissed it off.

[seeker242]

I forgot to add that throughout the experience I felt an evil presence in the room. When I felt my subtle body tilting, I tried to say the nembutsu but couldn't move my lips so I recited it mentally a few times and right after is when I felt my body being pressed down hard for about 10-15 seconds before the experience ended and I awoke. If there really was some kind of evil spirit in the room, the nembutsu seemed to have really pissed it off.

This is called sleep paralysis. It happens when your body falls asleep but your mind stays awake. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis Not necessarily a bad thing. Yogis who practice dream yoga utilize it to enter dreams while remaining conscious, resulting in "lucid dreams". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_yoga It happened to me all the time when I was doing "lucid dream practice"

[deepbluehum]

It's just pressure on a channel. Maybe your pillow was pushed up against your neck.

[Nighthawk]

Thanks for all the replies. If I recall correctly I think I've had this sleep paralysis happen to me a few years back also but without the feeling of some sort of evil spirit in the room.

[asunthatneversets]

The one or two times it happened to me I never felt a presence, my good friend has it happen all the time and never feels a presence. But there's a room his house where 4 different people have slept and woke up unable to move, they all said the sheets were being pulled tight around them. Weird stuff.

[Nighthawk]

The one or two times it happened to me I never felt a presence, my good friend has it happen all the time and never feels a presence. But there's a room his house where 4 different people have slept and woke up unable to move, they all said the sheets were being pulled tight around them. Weird stuff.

Weird and creepy also.

[TaTa]

Hey dont worry this happens to me quite often. With weird presences or not!. Its normal that you get scared. I recognize when this is happening and still is difficult not to get scared hehe

[y1010]

I felt everything except my hands.

Handle? You can't handle it?
You want to control and if not you are afraid?

[Nighthawk]

I felt everything except my hands.

Handle? You can't handle it?
You want to control and if not you are afraid?

Huh?

[Seishin]

The first time I had sleep paralysis I was scared beyond belief! I thought I had been abducted and drugged because I was sat up leaning against the wall because my body was limp. I couldn't open my eyes to see anything but I could hear "people" running about me and "talking" although I couldn't understand their language. I was trying to scream but nothing was coming out other than a whimper. Luckily my wife heard my whimpering and woke me up.

It has happened a few times since, but never as strong or vivid. I quite often open my eyes during sleep and my dream and reality kind of mix. This is fine unless I'm dreaming spiders and I see them covering my room and bed and body. Then I wake up and jump out of bed, waking my wife in the process Fun times!

Gassho,
Seishin.

[y1010]

I felt everything except my hands.

Handle? You can't handle it?
You want to control and if not you are afraid?

Huh?

Yes you were afraid because you could not control it. Handle it...except your hands.

[jivko]

I couldn't open my eyes to see anything but I could hear "people" running about me and "talking" although I couldn't understand their language. I was trying to scream but nothing was coming out other than a whimper. Luckily my wife heard my whimpering and woke me up.

Sounds a lot like and abduction by ETs. Especially the part where you heard them speak but didn't understand.

In a similar experience a friend of mine was able to open and move his eyes. He saw a figure of a Red Indian standing by his bed. My friend tried to kick him but was paralyzed. Then he saw the figure going away and suddenly the paralysis let him go and he kicked the desk that was near his bed.

If you've seen Spielberg's Taken - there was this WWII American pilot who was abducted but somehow woke up from the paralysis and he was seeing Nazi surgeons. Later on the real memory of the experience returned and the Nazis were actually little grey beings. It seems they use a method of changing or completely blocking the memories of the people being abducted. Otherwise many would go crazy after such an experience.

I myself remember of three experiences of the so called sleep paralysis - half awake, unable to move, sensing a presence, paralyzed with fear. They span in a period of 15-16 years - the first one was when I was in high school, then in the university, and finally the third one was just a few months ago. The new thing in the last experience was that I felt no fear. So, for the first two cases I've received information (from a source I trust 100%) that they really have to do with ETs, who are trying to help me. For some time after I was told this, I was quite scared and my sleep went from bad to worse - I used to wake up many times during the night and to look around the room to see if there is someone. A few months later my sleep is back to normal (from awful back to bad ). Anyway, the important thing to remember is that ETs are here to help.

Not really a Buddhist post, huh?

[Seishin]

It would have been great if it were aliens however my wife was in the room at the time... on earth

[jivko]

It would have been great if it were aliens however my wife was in the room at the time... on earth

They can travel millions of light years in an instant and you think the presence of your wife is a problem for them?

[Zealot]

I think attributing phenomena to sources such as aliens just stems from our inability to comprehend them. All phenomenon are illusions, any attribute we give them is just grasping for understanding. On that note, I've had terrifying sleep paralysis or similar experiences: I used to sleep on a futon as a child; don't ask why, I just liked it more than a bed up until I was about 20. It used to be a somewhat common experience for me to wake up with half my body numb, or asleep, or just being unable to move in general. Logically it seemed to just how I slept on them as I quit have such experience all together when I got a real bed. Usually with enough panic I fully recovered my faculties, but man, feeling like you cant move or breath sure does suck.

[Jeff]

Last night when asleep I felt my whole body lift up and turn sideways and I could really feel the gravity pushing down. I felt everything except my hands, but when I awoke I was still lying down in the same position. The experience was a bit frightful as I thought I was about to die. Could it be that what I experienced was the subtle body and has this happened to any of you while asleep or in meditation?

Hi Nighthawk,

The feeling is very common as one starts to feel the subtle body. The "negative" that you sensed was most likely some fear based in your subconscious. Have fun with the floating, just don't try to avoid or become attached to it.

Enjoy the moment.

Regards, Jeff