Ali Lawrence
Professor White
English 101
Paper 3
2nd April, 2012

Sleep Paralysis

For many centuries, sleep paralysis has affected many people across the world, mostly young adults. Strange demonic forces and evil spirits seek out and torment individuals for reasons beyond imagination. Many cultures have different names for these entities, In the Malaysian culture they are known as demonic figures, the Ethiopian culture refers to them as some sort of evil spirit, and in the Chinese culture they are known as ghosts pressing down on the body. Because here in the United States, we have grown weary of the presence of demons, and demonic spirits, we tend to dismiss the beliefs of other cultures. This is not the case, because we can learn a lot from other cultures and their beliefs about sleep paralysis.
According to Sleepparalysis.com, there are many reasons for this strange phenomenon, which can lead to sleep paralysis. Some causes and attacks, have been related to individuals opening doors to these evil spirits. Some ways of doing this, are by engaging in some sort of occult practices such as, tarot card readings, Ouija boards and channeling or meditation. There are many other ways that can open doors to these nightmares, some of them in which the person had no control of. For instance, it can be generational, if ones parents or grandparents have been involved in heavy occult rituals. This could be a father who has been initiated into the high Masonic arts, because of this, many people can experience sleep paralysis at an early age during childhood. During sleep paralysis, some people experience what is called astral projection or leaving the body. Although to the victim this may seem like he or she is doing this, but in fact it is the entity that is responsible. The entity itself is of a spiritual nature, which takes over your spiritual being, giving you the illusion that you are projecting yourself out of your physical body. Some people, who experience this astral projection, will inform others to relax and enjoy the experience. This is not good advice, because this type of behavior can lead to more spiritual attacks.
Today, most medical doctors try to explain this phenomenon, by claiming that sleep paralysis is just the human body trying to protect itself from acting out your dreams. After falling into REM sleep the brain triggers nerves and muscles to shut down, giving you the feeling of being paralyzed. On the other hand, doctors cannot explain why everyone who experiences this all has similar reports of dark, evil figures lurking in the shadows. So, how is it that everyone who comes face to face with sleep paralysis has the same feeling of something evil surrounding them? If there was a real scientific explanation for this, then everyone would have different feelings because we are all different. Most people will not admit to experiencing these sleep attacks, because they fear people will assume they are going crazy. Doctors have been known to recommend psychiatric help for people who have multiple attacks.
Author Ryan Hurd explains how to stop sleep paralysis, in his book a Dreamers Guide, he also a long time sufferer of sleep paralysis explains how one way to rid you of these terrible demonic forces. One way is to change your sleeping position, because sleep paralysis occurs mostly while sleeping on your back or the supine position. Another way to overcome this is to get enough sleep, because lack of sleep can also lead to more attacks because of fatigue. But the most effective way to rid you of these life sucking parasites, is to call on the power of Jesus but this can only work if you sincerely seek him and ask for protection in his name. Sleep paralysis can be a scary thing especially because we are yet to understand how and why it truly occurs; it goes well beyond what we think we know and a scientific explanation.