IUBio

Opions Please! Why Does This Happen??

James Wakefield jwake at escape.ca
Mon Nov 16 02:29:15 EST 1998


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Hi Chris
<br>&nbsp; Something similar used to happen to me when I was a child. Being
something of a young insomniac who was often told to go to bed hours before
I could actually fall asleep I spent alot of time lying awake in a dark
room. Quite frequently I would slip into a state similar to what you describe.
However it would usually be preceded by a sudden onset of paralysis. Soon
to follow were the intense visual and audio hallucinations and, if I failed
to wake myself, the quasiOBE thing. Being thouroughly unaware of what was
happening to me the experiences were almost always frightening. The fear
and paranoia seemed to influence the visual and audio hallucinations to
produce an even more terrifying experience. Almost as if byway of feedback.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; In time I learned to contol this and took on more of the
attitude of an explorer probing my own mind. Being in control of the images
would allow me to construct more appealing scenarios. Around this time
I discovered the concept of "lucid dreaming" where one can exert conscious
contol over the dream state ( sort of like having your own Star Trek Holodeck).
Unfortunately,
<br>just as the fun was starting the phenomenon's frequencey began to wane.
Since then I've just sort of moved on without it.
<br>&nbsp; It wasn't untill 3rd year university that I recieved a reasonable,
that is "non-newage" explanation. It was in a third level physiological
psychology course were I learn of "sleep paralysis" : the brain's way of
preventing our bodies from acting out our dreams. If I remember correctly,
our alpha motor neurons are inhibited at the brainstem magnocellular nucleus
once we enter the REM stage of sleep. In some people it sets in at the
wrong time ie. when falling asleep, just waking up or laying imobile for
prolonged periods of time. Of couse this results in an experience similar
to what I've described in the first paragraph.
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; I believe that this can explain away much of our modern
day reports of alien abductions, Out-Of-Body experiences, and encounters
with religious figures.
<br>&nbsp; I do rather like Mr.Vickery's explanations also.
<br>&nbsp;
<p>Chris wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>For those of you who may be able to answer this for
me:
<p>A few years ago I had a very unusual and rather scary experience that
I
<br>still wonder about today.&nbsp; Now, years later, I have found that
I can
<br>actually bring on the following experience:
<p>I lay down and begin to sink into a deep relaxation.&nbsp; It often
takes up to
<br>30-40 minutes till I am so relaxed I can hardly move a muscle.&nbsp;
I begin to
<br>focus my attention on the darkness I see beneath my eyelids.&nbsp;
Like most
<br>people, I do not see complete darkness.&nbsp; rather, I see the usual
mish-mash
<br>of strange colors (sort of like static snow).&nbsp; Suddenly, if my
concentration
<br>on the colors is deep enough and my relaxation is at its greatest,
my eyes
<br>begin to "convulse"; flutter in a sense, very rapidly.&nbsp; They dart
<br>uncontrollably within there sockets and I have little control over
them
<br>unless I force my eyes open.&nbsp; As they shake wildly, I begin to
see brilliant
<br>flashes of light - like jolts of electricity, and I actually feel as
if
<br>there is an electrical current flowing through me.&nbsp; If I can maintain
my
<br>relaxation through all this I begin "seeing" the lights form into a
sort of
<br>tunnel and soon begin sensing that I am traveling through this tunnel
at an
<br>unbelievable speed.&nbsp; I see lights rushing by me and the feeling
that I have
<br>this electricity flowing through me grows in intensity.&nbsp; This
is where the
<br>scary part begins.
<p>Shortly after "entering" this electrical tunnel my entire body feels
as is
<br>it is on pins and needles and a numbing sensations sets in.&nbsp; Within
seconds
<br>after this occurs I truly begin feeling as if I am rising out of my
own
<br>body.&nbsp; the first time this occurred to me I allowed it to continue
for
<br>longer than I have in subsequent years.&nbsp; As I "rose up" I had
the distinct
<br>feeling that I was truly "leaving" my own physical body, such to the
extent
<br>that I swear I was at least two feet above the bed I was lying on.&nbsp;
In a
<br>sense I felt as if I was experience was is often called an "out-of-body"
<br>experience.&nbsp;&nbsp; Now let me make it clear that I had NO intention
on making thi
<br>s happen.&nbsp; I was simply trying to get as relaxed as possible without
falling
<br>asleep.&nbsp; I know that I do not fall asleep because I can still
hear outside
<br>noise.&nbsp; It is a bizarre experience that both fascinates me and,
well
<br>frightens me a bit.&nbsp; I sometimes get the feeling that if I let
the
<br>experience continue that I will "leave" my body and never some back.
<p>I am not religious, in fact I'm essentially an atheist.&nbsp; I'm not
led to
<br>believe that a soul exists and believe that phenomena's like NDE and
Soul
<br>Travelling all have scientific explanations.&nbsp; I'm just trying
to figure out
<br>what is happening to me and why.&nbsp; There must be some neurological
barrier
<br>I'm tapping into.&nbsp; I can't emphasize enough the extraordinarily
realistic
<br>feeling that I am almost levitating out of my own body.&nbsp; It is
as intense a
<br>sensation as can be conveyed in words.
<p>One more thing.&nbsp; This experience repeated itself about three weeks
ago while
<br>I was in bed.&nbsp; It was so intense that I found myself, almost involuntarily,
<br>speaking out loudly something to the effect that - "There it is...!"&nbsp;
when I
<br>saw the "tunnel".&nbsp; I remember thinking to myself that I HAD to
get "there".
<br>When&nbsp; I snapped to I was in a very emotional state; almost to
the point of
<br>tears.&nbsp; This has become a normal state of mind for me after these
events
<br>take place.&nbsp; I'm baffled.
<p>I would truly appreciate opinions on this issue.&nbsp; What is causing
this?&nbsp; Am
<br>I alone?&nbsp; Has anyone else seen or experienced this themselves?
<p>Thank You.
<p>Chris
<p>--
<br>- "Today, the theory of evolution is an accepted fact for everyone
but a
<br>fundamentalist minority, whose objections are based not on reasoning
but on
<br>doctrinaire adherence to religious principles." (James D. Watson)</blockquote>
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