Sleep paralysis, natural or spiritual ?

It's so sad that in most cases when children report diabolic attacks their parents write it off to an over active imagination.

 

My niece suffered night terrors as a 5 year old, but it turned out that her parents had allowed her to watch " The Exorcist" at that age. It made no sense whatsoever that they would allow that, and I believe it caused her the night terrors. She is now grown up and with children of her own.

 

I don't want to be a denier of modern science, but I think that part of psychology, psychoanalysis, and neurology has become a refuge capsule for demonic action to camouflage itself in this world. Seeing the way the case of Anneliese Michel is treated by many, it seems to me that the broad sphere of mental illnesses becomes the instrument for a more concealed demonic action, without promoting the awakening of unbelievers, as if the demon were playing hide-and-seek. Thus, we are confronted with the old dilemma between faith and rationalism. May God help us survive this daily.

 

I believe that, many times, the mind behaves like a portal to the spiritual world, becoming a vessel for mystical communion with God and the saints — or, conversely, a channel for darker forces. Yet beyond this duality lies the realm of spiritual attacks, which anyone can suffer, even a devout Catholic.

When Saint Joseph had the dream with the angel, it was a spiritual experience different from that of Our Lady, who literally saw the angel before her, while he saw the angel in a dream — which, by its nature, is a psychic experience rather than a supernatural one, a product of the mind. However, in the case of the protector of the Church, it was a direct confirmation from God.

Even so, supernatural dreams still follow a natural flow involving the human subconscious. God is above the laws of the universe, science, and biology, yet He can transcend them without breaking them.

One type of argument many atheists use against the Miracle of the Sun is that there was no alteration in solar activity that day, and obviously, the Sun could not literally approach or move away from the Earth, as that would immediately annihilate all life on the planet. Nevertheless, even a well-known atheist editor of a Portuguese newspaper at the time testified to the authenticity of the event. And it would be absurd to claim mass hypnosis or emotional ecstasy, since the experience also affected people who had no faith.

In a way, mental experiences connected to spiritual concepts can have a dual and simultaneous link with both the natural laws of science and the supernatural realm.

 

Yes for years I had many such instances when I was away from the church and with them increasing in regularity when I began my journey back to the church. Some instances were more like I was being romanced for lack of a better word. Some however were truly terrifying. I even went thru a sleep study but they found no significant issues. Even now I remember each and every encounter down to the details like they only just happened.I eventually became close to a good priest and he suggested he come bless my house and specifically said many prayers in my bedroom drenching it with Holy Water. After that there was only one where a creature came into my room and looked at the many statues and holy pictures I had out and then tried to slowly approach my bed. I managed to stutter out a rebuke demanding it leave as I was a child of The Most High God to whom he must submit. The creature turned and left my room. That was the last instance and have not been bothered since.

 

This is why we were taught as children to say our night time prayers. This is why in the Office of the Church they are so careful to insert prayers of protection. I remember a very,very old and very, very holy Scottish lay brother in the infirmary who used to insist that a lay brother come down and bless his cell every night before going to sleep. I used to wonder why he was so insistent about this , what had happened?

However there is also the noonday devil which Scripture talks about. In a way this is more scary as we don't really expect day time attacks. In the lives of the saints though it is usually at night. It looks to me , though, that Jesus met the noon day devil in the desert.

I am afraid we Catholics have not paid enough attention of the effects of the body on the spirit. One time a nun came to St Teresa of Avila and suggested she was in the Dark Night of the Soul. But Teresa sat her down , cooked her a big steak with all the trimmings and a bottle of wine and the poor nun was good as new.

Psalm 91:6

My Refuge and Fortress
…5You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the calamity that destroys at noon. 7Though a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, no harm will come near you.…

 

I woke this morning at exactly 3am. I heard before that this is a good sign ?

 

It's very common.i always pray the DM chaplet for the souls inpurgatory and those who are dying.

 

Has anyone ever felt that when we pray during a lucid dream, there is a much greater sense of peace than when we pray while awake? Both times I had this dreamlike experience in recent years, it was deeply impactful. Once, I dreamed that I was praying the Rosary on my knees in front of a Schoenstatt icon of Our Lady, which was placed on an altar to the left of the entrance to the sacristy of the main church in my parish. Another time, I dreamed that I was praying a Rosary during the liturgy with the assembly, lit only by candlelight. In the first dream, I was praying alone, and there was absolute silence—it was as if I were in a spiritual monastery within my mind, outside of time, with no concern for the external world. It's even funny to call it the “external world,” because during the dream, you can develop that kind of awareness of the “real world” if you reach a high level of lucidity.

 

Regarding sleep paralysis, yes, I have, once a couple of years ago. I woke up in the middle of the night and it felt like a huge fat demon was sitting on my back (I sleep on my stomach). In my mind I called out to Mary to help. The weight was immediately shifted and the paralysis gone. I thanked Our Lady, rolled over and went back to sleep. Hasn't happened since. I bet that demon got the fright of it's life, a tiny insignificant thing like it and it got MARY's attention

 

I had a restless night last night, with a feeling of dread and took the opportunity to say the Divine Mercy chaplet. At once, I felt surrounded by incredible love and was able to sleep.
I think that the dark side is very busy at the moment, but we have God and Mary on our sides in a very powerful way

 

I don't think I have ever had sleep paralysis. I rarely remember dreams. Only once did I have a vivid memory of a dream. The memory was so vivid that I blabbed about it all day to anyone who would listen. That dream came true and it was one of the people I had told about it who reminded me of it.

I did have the occasional nightmare in my teenage/young adult years. All I remember about the nightmares was trying to scream but couldn't make a sound. When I came fully awake I never remembered what had terrified me other than that I was trying to run from it and waking up as soon as I said some short pray like "Jesus help me". I usually sleep on my side but was lying on my back when I had the nightmares, so I put it down to maybe pressure on a blood vessel in the back of my head.