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Exploring Your Hypnagogia
Exploring Your Hypnagogia
Exploring Your Hypnagogia
Visual (Sights)
The beginnings of visual hallucinations occur as phosphenes -
seemingly random speckles, lines or geometric patterns that may
float around or remain still behind your closed eyelids.
Auditory (Sounds)
Occasionally you will experience auditory hallucinations during
hypnagogia.
Unlike the visual stuff, the sounds can't really be controlled (in my
experience) simply because they're so fleeting. However it may be
worth experimenting if you hear drawn out sounds such as music to
see if it can be shaped consciously.
The Tetris Effect
This is a truly bizarre feature of hypnagogia, where you feel the
sensation of acting out a repetitive activity from the day before.
When I was younger I worked on a supermarket checkout. After a
long shift, I had the frustrating sensation that I was scanning food
items over and over in my hypnagogic state. Sometimes I even
moved my arms like this in my semi-sleep state.
Sleep Paralysis
Although unusual, both lucid dreamers and regular dreamers can
experience sleep paralysis at any time on the verge of sleep.
Other Sensations
The effects of hypnagogia don't end there. Some people report
fleeting sensations of taste, smell, heat and other tactile feelings as
they fall asleep.
It's also normal to have changes in perceived body size, or floating
limbs. It's quite common as I fall asleep consciously or meditate to
feel as though my arms are in a totally different positions to reality.
And we have all experienced the Hypnic Jerk: a sudden jolt back to
reality from the verge of sleep and dreams, usually accompanied by
a sensation and vision of suddenly tripping or falling
(Inception called this The Kick).
This will bring on the hypnagogic state, provided you don't fall
asleep first. To ensure your brain stays consciously alert, try
focusing your awareness as you breathe in, and then relaxing your
body further as you breathe out. You body really must be relaxed, so
actively relieve all tension by squeezing and then releasing all
muscle groups.
This is your brain sending a signal to your body: are you asleep yet?
Resist that urge and stay relaxed, and you should begin to
experience some serious hypnagogia. Do not worry about sleep
paralysis. Most of the time I don't feel it because my awareness is
directed well away from my body. If you do feel the paralysis moving
up your body, just go with it deeper, and start to visualize your next
lucid dream. You are close to attaining full lucidity inside the dream
world!
If you lay still for about 20-30 minutes and still can't see any blobs
of color or twinkling lights, then your brain is probably too active
and alert to sleep.