Hypnogogic Hallucinations

invisible said:
Yes I do experience this, all the time. I think I made a thread about it years ago although I didn't know it had this name.

I don't think this is an entirely abnormal experience!

This interests me both as an artist and as a mystic, as a liminal space, specifically between sleep and awake. From this perspective these spaces are everywhere, and are also magical creative spaces, gateways to alternative realities, like a sort of magic mirror.

From a lot more practical perspective, this interests me as I am an insomniac and somewhat obsessed with transitioning to sleep. Zolpidem induces a state that has things in common with this, it is a drug that is highly successful for many people (including me) in inducing sleep. When I'm falling asleep (without pharmaceutical help) my mind begins to lose control of itself. It becomes less coherent, it wanders to strange places. It conjures unheard sounds and unseen faces and nonsense poetry that seem to originate externally, seem to have a life of their own. The distinctions between associations are less clear, things become schizophrenic.

When I really get serious about getting to sleep, I concentrate on letting my mind wander, turning up the volume on all the background noise and telling the rational controls to let go. Last night my lecturer's voice came into my head, it was droning on about absolute nonsense, I just let it drone away, talking about whatever it wanted...

Back to topic, I think this is a pretty normal experience. It goes on very quietly most of the time, too quietly for most people to even notice. But sometimes bam, it can really make itself known!!!!

Just a few thoughts, may not be relevant
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This strikes a chord. It seems some of us experience like a temporary state of schizophrenia before falling asleep or when waking. It is quite unsettling. I am fine when I am awake. I am fine when I am asleep. But occasionally as I am waking up or falling asleep things seem different. It's like a radio is on at a low frequency. I can slightly hear conversations. It makes me wonder if we become more receptive to abnormal phenomena when we are in this liminal state. Imagine hearing loud voices 24/7? I am glad it is very isolated and controllable otherwise I might be pretty freaked out. Do you think people who suffer from schizophrenia are actually hearing things others can't hear, or are they merely hallucinating and the voices come from a brain disorder? Or both? I think abnormal psychology can reveal a great deal about the psyche and even metaphysics. If someone can hallucinate their reality, what's to say we are not doing the same thing in a different fashion (like the matrix). Maybe we are all deluded and hallucinating at all times. Maybe we are imagining this contact in a vivid manner. Woah. Who knows? I like to think I exist. I hope you do as well. But I can't be completely certain. What do you think? What does our normal bedtime hallucinations say about humans as well as their reality? Very interesting to be sure.
 
I probably more than likely have a sleep disorder and I experience similar schizophrenic strange and random out of control thoughts and visuals while falling asleep. I just go with it and pretend its me trying to talk to me and I just kinda melt into it and enjoy it eventually falling into a deeper sleep
 
Hey [MENTION=4871]CindyLou[/MENTION] long time no see. I thought you'd left

How come your profile page is all locked out now?
 
Poetic Justice said:
Hey [MENTION=4871]CindyLou[/MENTION] long time no see. I thought you'd left

How come your profile page is all locked out now?
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Are you the charming forum player? Seems like you have got a way with the ladies. Must be that British accent.
 
dang said:
Are you the charming forum player? Seems like you have got a way with the ladies. Must be that British accent.
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Wait... What?

Im nice to everyone dude. [MENTION=5511]ruji[/MENTION] made a couple of jokes about kissing recently. I was just following on from that. I was friends with Cindylou before my last break from the forum so pleased t see she's still poking her head in once and a while

I've never had an online romance so I would hardly call me a player
 
Poetic Justice said:
Wait... What?

Im nice to everyone dude. [MENTION=5511]ruji[/MENTION] made a couple of jokes about kissing recently. I was just following on from that. I was friends with Cindylou before my last break from the forum so pleased t see she's still poking her head in once and a while

I've never had an online romance so I would hardly call me a player
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Just kidding. I don't think any of us here are really players. You are probably the opposite. You just seem friendly in general. Have you ever met up with someone you met on the forum? Seems like there are many Brits on the forum. Could be cool to meet up with a like minded individual at a pub to discuss mbti over a cold one. Sorry about the misunderstanding. I am just envious of suave Brits like Pierce Brosnan with their cool accents, style and terms. I am not a wanker. I love that word. It always cracks me up. Have a good one.
 
dang said:
Just kidding. I don't think any of us here are really players. You are probably the opposite. You just seem friendly in general. Have you ever met up with someone you met on the forum? Seems like there are many Brits on the forum. Could be cool to meet up with a like minded individual at a pub to discuss mbti over a cold one. Sorry about the misunderstanding. I am just envious of suave Brits like Pierce Brosnan with their cool accents, style and terms. I am not a wanker. I love that word. It always cracks me up. Have a good one.
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No never met with anyone from forum. Sinny is trying to arrange just that but its not going so well :(

I don't have what you would think of as a British accent. Think John Snow from Game of Thrones, not Pierce Brosnan. Although that's not quite right either
 
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Poetic Justice said:
No never met with anyone from forum. Sinny is trying to arrange just that but its not going so well :(

I don't have why you would think of as a British accent. Think John Snow from Game of Thrones, not Pierce Brosnan. Although that's not quite right either
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Once I walked into the Barnes and Noble in my neighborhood and saw Pierce. He started talking to a homeless guy who was talking to himself. I felt like I was in a James Bond movie. I bet he can pick up young models without even trying. Once a Bond, always a Bond. You can fake talking like him and get away with it if you want to. I can not. At least you may meet someone from here soon. I am not optimistic my self. I am the only infj in LA. Figures. Later bro.
 
Poetic Justice said:
Hey [MENTION=4871]CindyLou[/MENTION] long time no see. I thought you'd left

How come your profile page is all locked out now?
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Hey there!

I did leave for awhile but I come back from time to time now. I picked up a stalker from another forum a couple years ago and didn't want to be found here so just in case I locked down my profile and forgot to change the settings back now that the coast is clear ;)
 
CindyLou said:
Hey there!

I did leave for awhile but I come back from time to time now. I picked up a stalker from another forum a couple years ago and didn't want to be found here so just in case I locked down my profile and forgot to change the settings back now that the coast is clear ;)
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A stalker? Oh my...

It wasn't a real life stalker was it? I hope you tazered his ass
 
That cyber tazer is pretty intense, I must say.....
 
Sleep is extremely important. Falling into sleep can be difficult but embracing the hypnogogic state is key. Yesterday evening I needed to take a nap so I showered and went to bead with a blindfold and earmuffs with earpods so I could listen to a podcast. It was about the book "blood from the sky"
In Blood from the Sky, Adam Jortner argues that the astonishing breadth and extent of American miracles and supernaturalism following independence derived from Enlightenment ideas about proof and sensory evidence, offering a chance at certain belief in an uncertain religious climate
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Most of this podcast features the voice of the guest being recorded over a phone line so it is perfect for lulling me into a hypnogogic state.

As I fell into the trance the voice in my ears seemed to drift off the topic of the podcast and began touching on myriad of thoughts, memories and fantasies conjured by my unconscious....it was a most refreshing nap!
 
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