Recently, three different people have written me to describe a phenomenon known as "sleep paralysis." We believe that this altered state is either a preparation for an OBE or the result of waking before the spirit has fully re-entered the body. These people write:

1. "In the nights when I sleep I suddenly find I am aware but unable to move. I am like paralyzed while asleep and cannot move. I battle to wake up and move. Why is this happening? I am so frightened now to fall asleep."

2. "I was half asleep when all of the sudden I felt a pull from my chest but it wasn't a physical sensation. It was as if I was in the middle of a tornado - deafening sounds, electricity coursing everywhere, every color you can think of chaotically flashing. I felt as if my 'spirit' was being pulled from my body through my chest against my own will. I remember trying to yell but nothing came out."

3. "I started having spontaneous OBEs as a teenager. I would wake up and find I was hanging in the air in the middle of my bedroom. Or I would wake up and find I couldn't move my body."

My response to these people:

All of us leave our bodies at night. That's one reason we're unconscious for a full third of our life. There is important business for our soul to accomplish on the other side while our body is asleep.

Since the spirit is what animates the physical body, it makes sense that when the spirit is absent the body is unable to move. It is either dead or in a state known as sleep paralysis during an OBE.

Since this process is universal, it does not have to be feared. People do not die from or remain in this paralyzed state. Many have given themselves the option of letting go and embracing the experience to see what happens. It can be a significant spiritual experience.

John Sloat

Posted May 25, 2006