Posted by mila on March 30, 2001, at 8:04:51
In reply to Re: Questions Regarding The Hearing Of Voices, posted by Stephen on March 30, 2001, at 0:43:35
hi Stephen,
the emotion of terror can be approached from two directions. One is purely physiological, for there is such a thing as uncued panic attacks, they just happen. it is pure physiology. An example of it is night terrors. Dreamers eject blood chilling cries, but upon awakening cannot recall any specific dream imagery, thus it is different from nightmares.
another approach is more cognitive. It is more similar to what you are thinking. why be afraid of those images? It establishes cause-effect link between hallucination and emotion it triggers. Here you might ask yourself what is terror, and how it differs from fear, apprehension, or panic. What does it say to you about the event or situation you are in? from here you work your way up to recognizing what is non-terrifying in the experience and make it matter most. you become aware how enjoyable and rewarding those hypnagogic experiences are in fact, etc.
hearing your name and expecting that someting would happen afterwards is only natural. after all, isn't it what is usually happening in waking life? someone calls your name in waking, you prick up you ears, and immediately after that there is a message tailored specifically for you to get? But in hypnagogic experience it comes from the 'space', or, let's say, from your 'unconscious', this is terrifying. It is as if there is a spirit near you, or something from the depth of your soul reaching for you. This is strongly associated in humans with loss of control of what is most dear to us: our sense of self, our mind.
the sensation of elevation or floating over your bed is also very commonplace. This doesn't make it any less special for a person experiencig it. They are commonly called Out of Body Experiences, or even astral projections. Of course, there is a specific underlying neurophysiology for these experiences. You seem to be a very gifted dreamer, Stephen. Sky is the limit for you. You can have so much fun! YOu might find many friends among people who are prone to the same experiences. I would advise you to go to the ASD Bulleting Board and post there. ASD ( Association for the Study of Dreams) also provides many links to the sites dedicated to hypnagogia and OBE's.
good luck
mila
poster:mila
thread:5313
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010324/msgs/5375.html