Dangers of Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is generally a safe practice for healthy individuals. The dangers of lucid dreaming may depend on your mental state. If you have any mental illness, it is best to consult with a medical professional before trying. For people who suffer from paranoia or delusions—it’s best to avoid it.
One way to have a lucid dream is to induce sleep paralysis; this can be accomplished by remaining motionless as you lie in bed; this is to trick your brain into believing you’re asleep—you also must focus on staying conscious. If you’re successful, sleep paralysis will eventually kick in; this is one way to enter dreams consciously—it requires a lot of patience and determination!
Experiencing Sleep Paralysis
Experiencing sleep paralysis can be very frightening; it is something almost everyone eventually goes through at least once in their life. When it happens, you are fully conscious, and your body is almost completely paralyzed; breathing can feel restricted, you may be able to open and close your eyes, but not much else. The slight restriction in your ability to breathe can make it feel as though something is sitting on your chest. Also, sleep paralysis can cause the whole body to feel heavy and weighed down, and your brain might interpret it as if someone is pinning you down. Some experience it as if their blanket is choking them, and usually, evil entities are blamed.
It’s important to note that while in sleep paralysis, you are usually in a dreamlike state still, even if you feel fully conscious. All the physical sensations that come with it may cause your imagination to go wild; it becomes easy to associate it with evil entities because, in the dreamlike state, you can easily manifest them.
Malevolent Entities
Here is a shortlist of malevolent entities experienced in sleep paralysis:
- Mare – The stories about mares are found in Germanic and Slavic folklore. They are said to be malicious entities that sit on your chest while you sleep and cause you to have nightmares.
- Old Hag – Also known as a night hag, it is similar to mares, as it sits on victims’ chests. These experiences can feel like there is an oppressive weight on your chest, and it may feel difficult to breathe.
- Shadow Beings -They’ve been around in folklore for many centuries and perhaps thousands of years. They are similar to Shades, which are said to be spirits of the dead who reside in the underworld. In many of my meditations, I’ve seen hypnogogic images of shadowy figures standing over me. Some of them even lean in as if to take a closer look at me.
- Spirits – Orbs or smoke-like spirits are commonly experienced.
- Incubi and Succubi – Demon creatures that appear in dreams and sleep paralysis. Their purpose, for whatever reason, is to seduce men to have sex. In my personal experience, a succubus was sitting on my waist, dressed in an ancient style of flowing dress. Her fragrance was aromatic and incredibly intoxicating, so much so that it triggered me to become lucid. Almost immediately, I felt something was wrong, and I said something to the effect, “Get away from me, demon!” Her alluring face turned into a wicked scowl, and she screamed as her body rose above mine. At this point, I awoke trapped in sleep paralysis, and the entity was a smokey ball of spirit rising above me; it quickly left in incredible anger; this happened long before I understood what lucid dreams were.
Lucid Nightmares
Typically while lucid, you can change the plot, characters, and environment of the whole dream. A lucid nightmare is when you’re not able to escape from whatever it is that’s terrifying you, and you feel trapped in the dream—at least temporarily. A situation such as this would be frightening as it can be so vivid and lifelike. Although this hasn’t happened to me, it is easy to see that it could happen to people unfamiliar with lucid dreaming. As once you become familiar with how it works and you’ve learned to control dreams—there isn’t much to become terrified of anymore. Despite being scared, though, there’s no real danger of anything physically harming you in dreams.
In an earlier article, I covered some simple methods to wake up from lucid dreams or nightmares:
“Here are some methods to wake up from a lucid dream:
Lay down and go to sleep.
Run as fast as you can—supersonic speed—this can easily cause the dream to destabilize and end.
Stop engaging with the dream and close your eyes.
Yell out that you want to wake up.” What are Lucid Dreams – Joel Durant.
Conclusion
So long as you don’t have a severe mental illness, the dangers of lucid dreaming are minimal, other than potentially having less restful sleep. The positives of it far outway the negatives, and you can use it as a tool to conquer your fears or to have an incredible, uplifting experience.
