sleep paralysis, terrifying hallucinatios, ghosts, chills

sarah asked:

I have had sleep paralysis for very long time. Sleep paralysis usually occurs when one is about to fall asleep or when one is about to wake up, during the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep. During a sleep paralysis attack, one will experience temporary paralysis during which one is unable to move or speak. The paralysis may last usually few minutes. While one is paralysed, the individual might also perceive terrifying hallucinations that are made worse with the inability to move or speak. mines were skull floating in the air with fire surrounding it, I also had once been biten my shoulders strongly with black scary animal where I could see his legs on my shoulder.I have also had seen images of certain unknown animal figure face when I closed my eyes and suddenly had sleep paralysis.I usually don't hallucinate instead I experience strong pressure through out my head and some strong sounds throughout the sleep paralysis episodes I dealt.

frankk response:

https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/49233/what-is-sleep-paralysis-in-buddhism-view-can-it-be-ghosts-demonic-entities-or-o/49238#49238

I downvoted several messages on this thread, not because your answers are not applicable in other situations, because you didn't qualify your answers carefully and are gaslighting the OP.

Some things are just psychological, but there are interactions with petas (ghosts), yakhas, etc. where one can experience sleep paralysis, getting high pressure/ force applied to chest, body parts feeling like you're suffocating, a cold chill going down your spine preventing you from sleeping, or just outright possession of your body/mind for periods of time by other beings (much less common).

Most people have no experience with any of the above, but if you've spent enough time in serious forest monasteries or living alone in the wilderness, you and/or people around you are going to have those kinds of interactions. Read Ajahn Mun biography for many examples.

I myself was on a retreat near the himalayas with monks and nuns, and at least 10 of us were disturbed by yakkha(s). I didn't have sleep paralysis in that ocassion, and I'm not sure if the other monks and nuns did either. But we experienced the typical ghost/yakkha things of cold chills, getting pressed with great force into the bed, weird or terrifying visions and dreams.

The more interesting question IMO, is how do you prevent these kinds of problems from happening?

What I've found, is that the stronger your internal energy gets, not just your biological immune system gets stronger, but your psychic immune system against mental stress, ghost and yakkha interacitons also strengthens greatly.

The way to build up internal energy, is a proper combination of meditation and physical exercise, healthy eating, every day.