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UFO UpDates Mailing List

From: Joseph Polanik <jpolanik@mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 22:55:51 -0500
Fwd Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 03:00:42 -0500
Subject: ASP-FQA: Sleep Paralysis, the Frequently

ASP-FQA: Sleep Paralysis, the Frequently Questioned Answer


Skeptics often use 'sleep paralysis' to explain (or explain away)
Alien Abductions, Old Hag Attacks and other paranormal phenomena.
How realistic is this?


Q.  What is Sleep Paralysis?

During REM-sleep [Rapid-Eye Movement or dream sleep], the brain
sends out a signal immobilizing the body so that we do not act
out our dreams.

That is sleep paralysis. Everyone experiences it several times a
night, whenever they enter a period of REM sleep, about every 90
minutes.

Q.  Well, okay, but we're usually not aware of all these episodes
of sleep paralysis.

Precisely! It's the presence of *Awareness* during Sleep
Paralysis [ASP] that makes a difference.


Q.  ASP? Could you be a little more specific?

Have you ever found yourself lying fully conscious or in a
dreamlike state, unable to move or cry out, while perhaps
experiencing auditory or visual phenomena? If so, you have
experienced Awareness during Sleep Paralysis [ASP].

ASP experiencers often feel intense fear and may even believe
that they are dying. Experiencers often sense the presence of an
unseen, malevolent being. An episode of ASP can occur while the
body sleeps in any position, but it is much more likely while
sleeping on one's back.

Often experiencers feel the pressure of a crushing weight on
their chest as if being pushed downward into the bed. A few sense
a what seems to be a phantom being sitting on their chest. They
may be unable to feel the breathing process continue, but those
who see their chest can see it continue to inhale and exhale ---
they just don't feel it as the body has gone to sleep while the
consciousness remains alert despite reduced sensory input from
the body.


Q.  How can Sleep Paralysis be used to explain Alien Abductions,
Old Hag Attacks and other paranormal experiences?

Sleep Paralysis *can't* explain any of these or other anomalous
experiences.

Since everyone experiences sleep paralysis, it does not
differentiate between those who report Alien Abductions
Experiences, Old Hag Attacks, Incubi/Succubi Visitations, Lucid
Dream Events or Out-of-Body Experiences, and those who don't
report these unusual experiences.

What *does* differentiate between experiencers and
non-experiencers is that experiencers report Awareness during
Sleep Paralysis.


Q.  How does this make a difference?

Someone for whom the Awareness is more immediate, more
significant, than the feelings of bodily immobility may take
control of the situation and aim for a more positive outcome. The
experience of bodily immobility may become a gateway to a lucid
dream or out-of-body experience.


Q.  What about people who believe they are being abducted by
aliens? How do they turn the situation toward a more positive
outcome?

Abduction researcher, Ann Druffel, found numerous abductees who
warded off an impending abduction or aborted an abduction in the
early stages.


Interestingly enough, the techniques these abductees used are the
same as those used by others to ward off visitations by entities
not perceived as being aliens but as demons, the old hag or
whatever.


Q.  What are these techniques?

They range from attempting to move a finger or a toe (in order to
end the paralysis and, hence, the experience), to invoking the
name of a spiritual entity.

Q.  How can I learn more?

A lengthy file on the subject of responding constructively when
Aware during and episode of Sleep Paralysis, Respond.txt,  is
available from ASP-L, the Awareness during Sleep Paralysis
mailing list. To obtain the file send an email msg with the
command 'Get-Respond.txt' (without quotes, but with the file
extension) in the SUBJECT: field to:

nightflyer@mindspring.com

<====================================================================>

ASP-L is a mailing list for the discussion of Awareness during Sleep
Paralysis [ASP] and experiences with which it has been associated: Lucid
Dreaming, Out-of-Body Experiencing, Alien Abductions, Old Hag Attacks
and Supernatural assaults such as the Incubus/Succubus assault.

To subscribe to the list, send the word "Subscribe" (without quotes) in
the SUBJECT: field of your msg to the same address.

******

ASP-L is a service of the Trionic Research Institute,
http://www.trionica.com

Joseph Polanik <jpolanik@mindspring.com>
List Moderator