Was this Lucid? Still unsure

[dreamhawk]

Good Afternoon Everyone I love this board! People here are so smart and friendly & its great to be able to share these experiences with people who understand I'm trying to figure out the differences between types of dreams because I had one a few weeks ago that sorta freaked me out I was at a friends house on a lazy Saturday and I fell asleep on the couch after my friend went off to the store So in the dream (I think) I hear someone coming down the stairs and my mind apparently knows I'm dreaming & starts to freak out My mind is thinking "Tee, theres no one here with you..why are the stairs creaking like someone is coming down the stairs..WAKE UP NOW!" I tried to wake myself..to scream..to move but I can't..I'm like paralyzed! And I had a vision (I think) of some guy..some white guy (as you can probably guess..I'm not white..lol) staring over me My mind is still screaming for me to wake the hell up "Tee, wake up..he could strangle you..put a pillow over your head..anything! WAKE UP NOW!" So this guy leans over me & says "What happened to you?" and pretty much goes back upstairs...somehow I wake up after that My hearts pounding & I'm looking up at the staircase wondering what the hell just happened & if it was somehow real I managed to find the nerve to go upstairs & I found myself making an announcement while climbing the stairs I was like "LOOK whoever you are..please don't bother me..I've had enough for one day" but of course I never found anything or anyone I never did tell my friend what happened..I mean what do you say? I did entertain thoughts of finding out if anyone had died in that house but again..how do you explain the reasoning behind that? For the life of me..I didn't know what that meant either "What happened to you?"...it scared me..I was like Umm I don't know what happened..does that mean if I stay here any longer..something WILL happen to me? The way he said it was like maybe I was doing great at some point somewhere in my life & now that I'm not..he's all like "What happened to you?" Thats not the first time I've ever had one of those paralyzing type dreams BUT it is the first time someones ever said anything to me IN them & its definitely the first time I've ever had one outside of my own home This is all very odd..I've never seen that man before in my life, well technically I didnt really SEE his face but you know what I mean ..I can't understand why ME of all people for that message I still go over to my friends house but I think now I might think twice about dozing off Does anyone out there have any clues as to what this might have been?

[Alaurast78]

It defiantly sounds like you were dreaming and aware of it so yes, you had a Lucid Dream. Everything can feel very real but there will usually be some very odd things happening like you experienced. People who are not supposed to be there... objects that seem out of place. Often times it can be very scary. One lucid dream that I have had many times over the years scares the Sh*t outa me. Like you I tried to wake myself up but can't, at least for a few mins. Eventually I can wake myself up but that dream never fails to scare me. I don't even know why. So the next time it happens... don't immediately try to wake yourself up. See where the dream takes you and try to talk to the white guy... or any other dream characters. You may just have some fun!!! Let us know how it goes!!! Sweet Dreams

[dreamhawk]

Hey Alaurast Ok so I shouldn't be afraid of these types of dreams? I use to wonder if I had some sort of neurological short in my brain because it felt abnormal to be "paralyzed" that way & I never spoke to anyone about it because as you probably know..most people dont get it I'm not an advanced dreamer..I'm still pretty much being pulled around by whatever Thanx!

[Alaurast78]

Hi Again I don't think you need to be afraid. What you felt is a common thing. You may find these web sites interesting: http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/curre...erests.html#jsr http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html you don't have a neurological short in your brain... have no fear there hun!!! The more you practice your LD techniques the less extreme these kind of experiences will seem to you. You will learn to enjoy being in the dream and taking it all in stride when you wake up. But for the first few paralyzing experiences you may feel some fear

[dreamhawk]

Ahh cool..more information..Great! Thanx a bunch

[Taosaur]

I'm not sure this was a lucid dream...it sounds more like "night terrors." I don't remember exactly how they work, but it's physiological--you jump directly from one of the deeper sleep states to waking, causing you to wake up paralyzed and with a sense of dread. I've experienced it twice, years apart. The time I remember best, I had this feeling of something rushing toward me and bearing me down, and my brain interpreted this as a muscular black woman running at me and knocking me down. Then I would wake up, unable to move, feeling very heavy and terrified. The experience repeated a few times that night. It felt distinctly different from normal dreaming, mainly because of the unique physical sensation, and the experience of switching so quickly between waking and sleeping that I wasn't sure which was which. Your story sounds similar, but you might want to look up more info on night terrors to make sure.

[Alric]

Night terror or old hag. I don't really know about that stuff though. If you fall asleep between it happening and then getting up from bed its even possible to be a normal dream. They are basicly from being half asleep and are close to lucid dreams. There is nothing to worry about for any of them though. They are all harmless, and normal. If it happens again just try and relax and remeber its all in your head and can't hurt you.

[Alaurast78]

Originally posted by Taosaur I'm not sure this was a lucid dream...it sounds more like \"night terrors.\" I don't remember exactly how they work, but it's physiological--you jump directly from one of the deeper sleep states to waking, causing you to wake up paralyzed and with a sense of dread. I've experienced it twice, years apart. The time I remember best, I had this feeling of something rushing toward me and bearing me down, and my brain interpreted this as a muscular black woman running at me and knocking me down. Then I would wake up, unable to move, feeling very heavy and terrified. The experience repeated a few times that night. It felt distinctly different from normal dreaming, mainly because of the unique physical sensation, and the experience of switching so quickly between waking and sleeping that I wasn't sure which was which. Your story sounds similar, but you might want to look up more info on night terrors to make sure. It may have been a night terror but it still was a lucid dream. She was aware she was dreaming. Good idea to look in to night terrors!!!

[gameover]

I used to have lots of night terrors when I was a kid and this sounds nothing lik it. A night terror is when you wake up in total terror. Nothing like a nightmare. When I'd have 'em, Id wake up thinking I was gonna die, and feeling very tripped out, in a messed up way(the best way I can describe it, because it's so abstract). I could never even explain what I was scared of. Even when it was happening. It was wierd. I'd always run upastairs crying to my mom(hey, I was a kid) and she'd come and within a few minutes Id be like "I don't even know what I was scared of!" But what you had sounds a lot like something my mom told me happened to her. I've heard of waking up at a rare, odd part of a sleep cycle that leaves you totally paralyzed and hallucinating. My mom told me she woke up and could see her room, but couldnt move a muscle in her body. She said she saw someone going to kill her and she couldnt move and that it was a horrible experience. Sounds a lot like what happened to you, no? The mind can go to some scary places., thats for sure. Anyways I wouldn't worry about it unless it's a frequent thing.

[Football86]

When you realize that your dreaming and something scares you, tell your self that it is only a dream and you should confront what ever is scaring you. Ask who they are, or if you can help them, something along those lines and usually they will change form or change additude(in a good way) but if your still scared you can have some fun and fly around or somthing. I've experienced this one time, while some guy was chasing me through a hotel i flew out the window and would fly back in through other windows knowing that he coulnd't catch me, i let a few names slide in. Then i said im going to the bottom floor, and sunk down through the grass, waited till he went in the elevator then flew through the city. He was still chasing me, but i was safe hundreds of feet above him, flying and doing tricks and whatnot through the air. I even let myself fall once. It was a good feeling to know that nothing could get you, so try flying(you should actually confront the dream charecter first and face your fears, but its alright to have alittle fun once and a while)