Sleep disorder, or something else entirely?

[cicadajones]

I had the strangest occurrence today. Out of the corner of my eye, in broad daylight, I see something move in my living room of my apartment. I turn to look, and for a split second I see a dark figure right before it disappears. It was about four feet tall and had a creepy smile. I felt very scared, and my fight or flight response was definitely triggered. This is the first time anything of that nature has happened to me... during the daytime.

To shift gears a bit, I am no stranger to having occurrences at night when trying to sleep. I know there are symptoms of sleep disorders that include hallucinations at the onset of sleep, and that's always what I've assumed it has been. I've experienced this all throughout my childhood - seeing large insects or spiders of unrealistic proportions in my bed or on the walls. It's scary, but after a second or two, I realize it is not real. I turn on the light, and I guess I "wake up" and all is well.

In the past two years, though, this has gone a step further. I have started seeing shadows/outlines of people in this same fashion at night. I have even seen people in full detail - people I've never met, and don't recognize. It's usually only one person at a time (although in one instance, there were three at once), and they usually just observe me: they are either sitting, standing, or lying next to me. Only once did I have an instance where one tried to touch me. It was very disturbing, but again, when the light gets turned on, everything shifts back to normal.

My question is this: how does one differentiate between a sleep disorder, and possible psychic/paranormal activity? Psychic sensitivities do tend to run in my family - I am mostly clairsentient, although a different member of my family is clairaudient. Any insight?

[homan34]

Don’t worry. According to me, there are some spirits in your room who really wants to contact you or just observe you.

[cicadajones]

If that is the case, do you have any more information/advice on the matter?

[Nadda]

very interesting post. I've had experiences quite similiar to you, and have had them since childhood as well, mine however were not that strong.

In my opinion, I wouldnt be so quick to jump to a paranormal conclusion. The human imagination is very powerful. Even to this day, sometimes i'll wake up from dreams and carry the dreams into my bedroom for a second or two, which is usually scary. When I was little I once woke up with a lion on top of my covers, i could feel its weight and hear its breath and growl right next to my face. I was awake, but I brought my dream with me. I could never go to sleep without the covers over my head because any time i would open my eyes I could see things move in the corners of my eyes.

How do you see the people at night? While going to sleep do you open your eyes and see them in your bedroom? Personally, I have trouble sleeping as well but what i experience is all in my imagination. I'll see random people, hear random voices, even see scary faces with full clarity but its all with my eyes closed, not in my bedroom. I usually need to have background noise otherwise random creepy noises keep me awake, noises that are so clear and loud that they sound like they are comming from inside of my bedroom.

That is very strange to see something in broad daylight, darkness provides a canvas for our imagination to paint, which is why its easy to imagine seeing something in the darkness. Thats usually not the case for daylight. How old is your apartment? Are you near any burial grounds? Theres no way to know for sure what your experiencing (paranormal/imagination) other than to study the occurances and your state of mind. if it were really paranormal it would typically reoccur at anytime, day or night, weather you were sleepy, tired or fully active. It could be alittle of both, paranormal and imagination.

There are many dimensions within this one, and the human mind subconsciously connects to and communicates with everything around us even the keyboard im typing on, that is fact. I have seen many things in broad daylight that i cannot explain, that i dont think other people can see, I do believe that being open to your own physic potiential can expand the range into which you can see. People only percieve what it is that they are aware of, this is true for all aspects of life.

[cicadajones]

Thank you for your reply - I agree, it can be difficult to differentiate between what can be explained by science, imagination, or perhaps paranormal ongoings.

To answer some of your questions, my apartment complex is only a few years old. I live in the middle of a city, so I am unsure what the land I live on used to hold. Since this is the first time I've "seen" anything in this apartment in the couple of years I've lived here, I'll conclude that there probably nothing paranormal about the place I live in. Now the house I used to live in, on the other hand, that is a different story entirely (rural land that used to be settled by gypsies, was an active place during the civil war, etc.).

I completely know what you mean when you say you see and hear things inside of your mind in response to an active imagination, as I have done that before as well (to this day, if I visit my parents for a weekend, I have to sleep with the tv on as well due to a feeling of creepiness - not for the noise, but for the light it brings into the room).

As for when I see people at night when I sleep, I actually have my eyes open when I see them. It's like waking up, opening your eyes, and there just so happens to be someone you've never seen or met before sitting at your desk. Or standing in the corner by the closet. Or lying next to you on the bed. What really gets me is the fact that I don't recognize any of the people I've seen, even though often times they have very distinct features. It also is interesting how they are just observing - no movement (except once), no attempt at communication, and when the light comes on, they are gone. I always pawned this off as some kind of sleep paralysis (without the paralysis part, I can move just fine) or dysfunction of REM sleep, but I had never considered before yesterday that it may be something a little less explainable (of course, as a scientist, I am ALWAYS willing to accept a scientific explanation if one exists and is logical, but I also am not close-minded to more extraordinary events).

It's comforting to know that others have experienced this as well, and I enjoyed reading about your experiences.

[Nadda]

actually have my eyes open when I see them. It's like waking up, opening your eyes, and there just so happens to be someone you've never seen or met before sitting at your desk. Or standing in the corner by the closet. Or lying next to you on the bed. What really gets me is the fact that I don't recognize any of the people I've seen, even though often times they have very distinct features. It also is interesting how they are just observing - no movement (except once), no attempt at communication, and when the light comes on, they are gone.

That is very strange. I've never seen people in my room, although ive had other similiar experiences, such as recently I woke up and seen thick red lines running all the way along my bedroom walls, although after a second or two when i fully woke, they disappeared. Another time about 3-4 months ago, i woke up and my dog was standing next to my bed but it wasnt my dog...looked like a completely different dog, scared me to death but when i fully awoke I realized it was actually my dog lol.

Your post actually reminded me of a few things, my father when he was younger said he seen his grandmother the same exact way that you are explaining. He woke up in his bed and seen his grandmother laying right next to him, just watching him, as he looked at her, she smiled at him. He knew she had died and jumped out of bed to tell someone, when he came back she was gone. He believes he seen her ghost, i'd agree with him. As with your case she made no movement and didnt say a word.

The people that you see, are they clear, or do you just see an outline? Can you see the details such as what clothes they are wearing? I actually do remember one single time when i was real little, I was sleeping with my mother and woke up and seen a girl lying in the bed. It was a fairly new apartment as well, I dont imagine it was really paranormal, but I do remember I could see the details, her skin and hair color, she laid there motionless just staring at me. She had a kind of faint hazy glow, I think it was just my imagination that was the only time i can ever remember anything like that. Completely forgot about it until now.

[cicadajones]

That is very strange. I've never seen people in my room, although ive had other similiar experiences, such as recently I woke up and seen thick red lines running all the way along my bedroom walls, although after a second or two when i fully woke, they disappeared. Another time about 3-4 months ago, i woke up and my dog was standing next to my bed but it wasnt my dog...looked like a completely different dog, scared me to death but when i fully awoke I realized it was actually my dog lol.

That is strange! I usually only see unpleasant things like spiders (I am not a fan of them), so seeing red lines or unfamiliar dogs would be welcomed :-D

The story about your father is incredibly interesting. As far as I know, I haven't seen any deceased family members (at least ones that I've met, and know what they look like). I'm not sure if that would be unsettling, a calming experience, or a little bit of both.

As for the people I see, occasionally they are only an outline - a shadow of a person, if you will. Most times, though, they are full-figured people. I can make out their faces and features and clothing (although it's been a couple of weeks since it last happened, I'm not sure how well I could recall these things now).

Out of curiosity, when you saw the girl, do you remember how you felt? Afraid? Calm?

[Nadda]

I was scared, but my mother was next to me so I ducked under the covers and went back to sleep lol. The whole realm of paranormal is hard to comprehend though. I think what i seen was my imagination but I have no way to know for sure, same with your case. I think seeing something again in daylight while your fully active the key. Paranormal existance is real, and they do interact with us at seemingly random times. I've never seen anything paranormal myself but evidence says its real. (well i am telekinetic i guess thats paranormal but i can control that)

[Wishing]

It is quite common, for example, people often see spiders or creepy crawlies whilst asleep.

[elias]

Hi,

Are you sure, the things you saw were not floaters in the eyeball? You know, there is somekind of warning signals in the eye, that get activated when some of your chakras get blocked. You can work on your lower chakras to make them disappear. Some of them look like spiders actually!

Elias

[ImBill]

If that is the case, do you have any more information/advice on the matter?

I've been reading ebooks at this site Spirit Books and this one Interesting Books for awhile now. Not all of the books are worth reading, but there are quite a few there that have tons of information about the astral plane, how entities there interact with us on the material plane, how to go about developing the ability to communicate with the beings there, etc. Note that most of the material is from the early part of the 20th century or older. Theosophy was a much better understood subject and there were more people involved in investigating paranormal phenomenon then than there appear to be now. At least, they seem to be more open minded about it than most of us are now.

If you can find an honest medium/psychic in your area, they would most likely be able to help you find out if you are attracting entities from the astral and why. They would also be able to check out your home and see if there are any entities that hang out there or nearby that may be causing the visions you are experiencing. I wouldn't use any of the "ghost hunters" unless they have a gifted medium on their staff. Use your discernment and skepticism to determine their legitimacy, if you decide to go that way.