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6. Waking Paralysis Waking paralysis (also called sleep paralysis) is extremely common: you wake up paralyzed, or suddenly become paralyzed while relaxing or trying to get to sleep — but while still awake. Most people will probably experience it at some time. This can be terrifying, as the cause is always unknown at the time. Paralysis is a well-known symptom associated with out-of-body experience; natural projectors will, more often than not, be found to suffer frequent bouts of waking paralysis throughout their lives, especially during their teens and twenties. I was plagued by it during my childhood, teens, and twenties. It slowly lessened in frequency over the years, but only after I began regular energetic development and learned how to project in my early twenties. I still get it occasionally, a couple of times a year. Waking paralysis is extremely complex and no single explanation can really explain its causes. The two most popular theories are dissociation and spontaneous projection. Dissociation: The general scientific explanation is that the brain dissociates itself from its physical body during sleep, as it enters the dream state, ostensibly to stop the physical body from thrashing about, mimicking its dream actions and injuring itself. Waking paralysis is said to occur when the mind accidentally wakes up inside its dissociated sleeping body. This explanation does have merit, as the physical body does progressively dissociate itself from its mind during sleep, and during the trance state. However, I do not believe this explanation holds all the answers. Entering the trance state brings the first symptoms of dissociation; the deeper the trance state attained, the more difficult movement becomes. But dissociation brought on by the trance state comes on slowly, in degrees, over many minutes. Waking paralysis, on the other hand, comes on very swiftly, usually within only a couple of seconds. And I have never experienced full waking paralysis during trance, not even during the virtual catalepsy of the deep-trance state. Spontaneous projection: The popular New Age explanation is that waking paralysis is caused solely by spontaneous projection, more specifically by a projection that is about to occur or is trying to occur. Many people recommend, because of this, that waking-paralysis victims relax and go along with the experience, so they can convert their waking-paralysis episode into a full OBE. This explanation also has merit, as paralysis definitely appears related to some aspects of projection. However, in my opinion, waking paralysis is a complication of consciousness with many contributing factors. I think it is more complex than is commonly believed. Waking paralysis is often not accompanied by vibrations or other projection-related exit sensations. Very often, for no apparent reason, people will either suddenly become paralyzed while relaxing, or while trying to fall asleep, or they will wake up to find themselves paralyzed. Everything is quiet and they have no major projection-related sensations (vibrations or rapid heartbeat); they just find themselves suddenly and inexplicably paralyzed. Many people (myself included) can detect the onset of a waking-paralysis episode, especially when it comes on during a relaxed but awake state. They feel an almost irresistible sinking sensation moments before the onset of paralysis. This happens very quickly, with only a couple of seconds' warning. While the sinking feeling can be called a projection-related symptom, this is often the only sensation experienced during the entire paralysis episode. Most paralysis episodes, in my opinion, happen after the projection exit has occurred. Full waking paralysis cannot occur before the projection exit. So, why are no projection-related exit sensations usually experienced during waking paralysis? The most logical answer is that spontaneous natural projection has already occurred, and the exit sensations have already passed, or have been missed altogether due to the mind-split effect. The paralysis victim either sleeps through them and wakes up paralyzed, while an OBE is in progress, or the symptoms are so swift and mild they go unnoticed, as with remote-eye projection (see chapter 5). The physical/etheric mind awakes inside its dissociated, mind-split, paralyzed physical body during an OBE, while its projected double is out and about. When projection exit symptoms are experienced only at the beginning of a waking-paralysis episode, it is a fairly safe bet that a spontaneous projection was taking place at that time. The projection exit has been missed due to the mind-split effect. This has left the projector's physical/etheric mind (original copy) fully awake and paralyzed during the remainder of that projection. The projection itself is causing the waking paralysis. 35