I've been a long time studier of hidden knowledge. As far back as I can remember I always had to acquire information on paranormal subject matter. Even though I would often frighten myself with the accounts that I would read. Yet in spite of my strong interest in the whole spectrum of human experience that has been designated paranormal, I have never had any kind of a real experience of my own. Until literally moments ago.
I have a bad habit of sleeping during the day or afternoon, due to my paranoia and the latent idiosyncracies in my nocturnal rhythms the latter having been with me since birth. Over the weekends I usually find myself staying up through until late in the morning and sleeping until between 80 at night until 40 in the afternoon.
This weekend has been no exception and I went to bed at around 110 this morning.
I awoke from sleep in a state of conciousness of some sort, I had a strong sensation of being paralyzed with some kind of preasure on my left shoulder and my back between my shoulder blades but I don't think that I was in my physical body, I couldn't see anything and the sensation of hanging off over the edge of my bed seems to have actually been one of a kind of weightlessness. I struggled to "break free" of my paralysis but I could not move my body I do not think that I was being restrained by any entity, there was a definate disconnection. It was as if I was outside of my body and nothing was happening when I tried to move because I was trying to move my physical body and it wouldn't respond becuase my conciousness was in my astral body. I have a severe paranoia of being abducted by aliens and I immediatly grew terrified, certain that this was what was happening. What happened then was even more indicative of an out of body experience, when I began to convince myself that this was an abduction and that an entity was holding me down I began to feel details of such an experience. I could feel hands pinning me down at my shoulder and back instead of the preassure sensation that I had felt before, I found that I could move my "arm" down and feel the small toes of an alien gray standing on the floor as it held me down against my bed. It was as if I was creating a psychic manifestation of what I thought the experience had to be. What supports this view is that I felt no fear besides what I was I was imagining. I tried to make my body move again with the same result, soon after I became aware of a buzzing sound like static and then suddenly my left arm threw the blanket back away from my head with a dramatic flourish. This happened abruptly as if my conciousness had "snapped" back into my body.
Thinking about this experience I am almost certain that I had an experience of astral projection . . . although my left shoulder feels a little sore. (Possibly from when I threw the blanket back upon awakening) I wonder if the book on crop circles I had sitting on my desk opened to pages featuring photographs of the "Triple Julia set", the "DNA strand", a design comprised of four seperate circles and an unamed swath like pattern, had anything to do with my experience?
Let me know what you think.

there is a certain stage of sleep that puts you're body in a state of parlysis...i believe it's in the deepest stage, maybe you are waking up mentally before physically, astral projections aren't my strong point.

it seems like you really had an out of the body experience
you've been through the first and simplest type of astral projection, which is the psychic projection, the other two are astral and eteric projections as long as i remember.
Within the psychic projection, you're more like an observer. Can't move any objects or move to any other area, but you can feel your own body.
Mostly the people don't remember this experience, but if they do, they have pulled muscles and feel weak the next morning.
The trigger can be everything - a noise, sound, experience from the previous day etc.

Theory based on experiences:

I believe while dreaming,one's astral body travels to a dreamstate,or another plane of existance while still containing the core of one's knowledge.This could mean anything that might be wandering, or collecting in the conscience.So,one could basically create they're own dream atmosphere.But this plane is also open to other spirits,entities.Intent may be good,or evil.I would think your dream may be a result of a demonic attack.Disguising themselves as whatever fear's
you have in your mental library.The dreamworld can be a real battlefield at times.Now this theory may not have anything to do with what you thought your experience to be,but it's the closest to what I can say from my own personal experience.None of this can be proven truth,but what really can be?

Yes, astral travel. The best protection is not to fear these entities that appear as being dark/obstacles, this only feeds them with more . . . "knowing thy self" helps too to understand what they are and why they get attracted to you. Still we all live in our own created "realities" (conscious or uncoinscious) and how we interpret what we see, hear, etc. Sometimes a hunt and an unvieling can be helpful.

Thanks for all the positive feedback.
Anyone mind volunteering an account of their own experiences in astral projection so I can compare notes?

I frequently find myself staring at objects in my room that appear in full detail only to realize that my eyes have been closed for a long period of time and that I'm more or less asleep. It's kind of like I'm a passive observer but at first i'm not really aware of my own existence then I snap out of it. I don't think that this is astral projection really but it strikes me as somewhat similar.

I have had an incident of looking through someone else's eyes during one astral projection, and there was some control as well to just stay there. It was a really odd situation as it was on the edge of wake and asleep and I was quite aware of what was happening. I was able to confirm this was the friend some time later who's eyes I was looking through. I could just see, but not feel anything of the person themselves.

Most times though, it's actally visiting people I know through my dreams over the years, or places that I eventually end up at. There has even been a few incidents of healing in recent travels for people that I know . . . this is what I find the most rewarding aspect at the moment. It was quite unexpected to be doing this this year

I've always been itnerested in asteral travel / projection but I've never had any experiences of it myself. Haven't really tryed really. Can you teach yourself to do this? I know one or two people who can but they don't seem to be able to control when it happens. Its interesting .

You can teach yourself to astral project at will, it just takes time and effort and finding the way to do it personally. The best time to try though I've found it just before waking, in that space between being awake and being asleep.

How do you manage that?

You have to catch yourself, become aware that you on the edge of your dreams and that you are half in the real world and half in the dream world. The consciousness has to be there, when you know than you can have more control on the astral plane as to what you do, how you do and why you do things there.

It takes time and effort and many repeated attempts to get there, to even just become aware to have enough energy to be able to do this. You have to have a good reason for doing this, to astral project. Most times it will end up that the first time will be by accident and it is then best to pursue it with curiosity and wanting to know more . . . .

I can't remember who wrote it but I used to have a very interesting and informative book on the subject called Soul Traveler. I'll have to try and look it up online.

Looks like the grays are playing with you ..
good luck ..
but hey after a few days our dog they played with seemed just fine ..
And as for the rest of you for a creepy thought go read a copy of the alien abduction hand guide and then laugh ....

Here is a thread on the subject of sleep paralysis from the Fortean Times forum.

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/sh...threadid=12615

Not that I'm some super skeptic, but most stuff, like this "sleep paralysis", can be explained away scientifically instead of metaphysically. So..yeah..
Just trying to keep you guys level-headed.

About 8 years ago, I had sleep paralysis at least 3-4 times a week for about a year. Then it just stopped, and hasn't happened since. I never saw anything, or felt any pressure on my chest, but I just KNEW that something was behind me, or just out of my field of view. The strange thing was that it happened so often it should have become routine for me, but the intense fear never stopped, and I was never able to get control of it.

Another odd thing, it only happened at home except for one time at a girlfriends house, and that was the only time that I felt I had left my body. I floated above the bed for...I don't know how long, but it seemed to last a long time. I wasn't able to move my body, but I could look to the left and right while I was floating.

I wish I knew why those experiences just stopped.

Why they stopped?
Sleeping habits altered, environment changed, basic emotional feelings changed, something in your mind changed(like a synpatic pathway or something frizted or whatnot)..

You'd have to talk to someone who knows more about both the metaphysical and scientific backgrounds on this "Sleep Paralysis" than I.

Hi there,

. . . .after having travelled in dreams since I was little, and never having the sensation of actually looking at my own body while it slept . . . . it's possible that you have already gone beyond this point of climbing out of your body astrally and just jump straight into the dream/travel state. I know I do. . . . visiting people and places that I haven't been to, or have met already and been to. These dreams have a different quality from a normal dream where things seem more real (or unreal) For myself I have the sense of touch & smell, that I don't normally have in a regular dream.

That happened to me years ago. As frightening as it was, I wish it would start happening again. I'd like another shot at controling it.