Sleep paralysis, Psychology, and the New Age.

Categories: Blog

Down through the millennia, people have been experiencing a phenomenon called “sleep paralysis” It consists of several characteristics, such as:

  1. Hearing a “buzzing” or “dual-tone” sound
  2. Being almost completely paralyzed on waking from sleep
  3. Seeing entities of some type
  4. Being psychically attacked, sometimes sexually, by these entities

There are three basic worldviews that try to explain sleep paralysis in terms of their belief systems. There are three fundamental laws of rational thought. The 1st is the law of non-contradiction. The 2nd is the law of identity. The 3rd is the law of the excluded middle. This has important implications, in that, if logic is the basis of all thought, then it is the basis of all thought about New Age belief systems, Psychology and Christianity. As we’ll briefly see the first two tend to violate one of the first three axioms of logic, and in most cases are self refuting, or have an incorrect definition of truth.
The first of those basic worldviews is what can be labeled “New Age”
The New Age consistently is constantly trying to tell us that it has sleep paralysis figured out, and that it is a persons “energy body waking up. This is problematic, because you consistently see people having extremely negative experiences, and they are told that it is really “good”. They are not told why, other than you should “trust” the experience or that it’s a “gift”. Without evidence for why, the sleep paralysis sufferer is asked to trust an experience that every fiber of your being says is wrong.
Consider the similar experiences of new age/conspiracy writer, Whitley Strieber:

“I became entirely given over to extreme dread. The fear was so powerful that it seemed to make my personality completely evaporate… ‘Whitley’ ceased to exist. What was left was a body and a state of raw fear so great that it swept about me like a thick, suffocating curtain, turning paralysis into a condition that seemed close to death…I died and a wild animal appeared in my place.”
– Whitley Strieber, Communion, p. 25-26

“Increasingly I felt as if I were entering a struggle that might even be more than life and death. It might be a struggle for my soul, my essence, or whatever part of me might have reference to the eternal. There are worse things than death, I suspected… so far the word demon had never been spoken among the scientists and doctors who were working with me…Alone at night I worried about the legendary cunning of demons …At the very least I was going stark, raving mad.”
– Whitley Strieber, Transformation, p. 44-45

“I wondered if I might not be in the grip of demons, if they were not making me suffer for their own purposes, or simply for their enjoyment.”
– Whitley Strieber, Transformation, p. 172

“I felt an absolutely indescribable sense of menace. It was hell on earth to be there [in the presence of the entities], and yet I couldn’t move, couldn’t cry out, couldn’t get away. I’d lay as still as death, suffering inner agonies. Whatever was there seemed so monstrously ugly, so filthy and dark and sinister. Of course they were demons. They had to be. And they were here and I couldn’t get away.”
– Whitley Strieber, Transformation, p. 181

By calling something “good” that is clearly evil without explaining why it is really good, the new age belief system is either violating logical thought by violating the law of non-contradiction, or violating the law of identity.
The next worldview, psychology, affirms the truth of the experience but has an incorrect definition of truth.
William James, one of the architects of psychopathology, delineates a very telling idea that tends to permeate both the culture at large and the field of psychology in general. It’s that “truth is the expedient in the way of knowing. A statement is known to be true if it brings the right results. It is the expedient as confirmed by future experience.

In other words, James would argue, we can safely dispense with what is actually happening and go with whatever works, despite whatever the reality might be. This violates the law of identities, because it confuses cause and effect.
The final worldview, the biblical Christianity, however can be said to hangs on facts. While pop culture tries it’s best to sweep this under the rug, nevertheless it is true. The central tenet of Christianity is Jesus’ claim to be God in human flesh. We can see that by what Jesus said and did.
Jesus claimed to be God in a variety of ways. Jesus claimed to be Yahweh when He called himself the “good shepherd” in the book of John. Yet, Psalm 23 says that, “Yahweh is my shepherd.” Jesus said things like “And now O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” In saying this, Jesus was declaring himself to be of the same essence as Yahweh, for Isaiah wrote “my glory will I not give to another”. Jesus called Himself “the light of the world”, yet psalm 27:1 declares, “Yahweh is my light.” Jesus even goes so far as to say “Before Abraham was, I am.” This echoes the statement of God speaking from the burning bush who called Himself “I am the I am.” Jesus claimed to be equal with God with God in other ways. For instance, He claimed for Himself the ability to forgive sins. He also claimed to be able to raise people from the dead. These were attributes that God reserved for himself as the forgiver of sins (Lev, Deut, etc.) and as the only giver of life, (1 Sam 2:6). He also claimed the power to judge the dead, an attribute claimed by God. (Deut 32:35) Jesus claimed to be Messiah-God. He did so when, for instance he identified Himself as the “Ancient of Days”. When in front of the high priests during his trial by night before Caiphas, Jesus said “…And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest and the people understood this to be a claim of Godhood, for its recorded “At this the high priest tore his robe and said ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?…you have the blasphemy!’” Jesus claimed to be God by accepting worship. Though we see angels and people repeatedly refuse to be worshipped as God, Jesus accepts worship from a healed leper, from his disciples, a group of Canaanite women, the mother of James and John, and the formerly demonized person of the Geraderenes. His disciple Thomas, when seeing Jesus’ hands and side cried out “my Lord and my God!” Jesus accepted worship from all of these people without refusing it. He even went so far as to commend those who acknowledged His deity. Jesus claimed an equal authority with God. He put his teaching as equal with God, and taught with authority. For instance, He said, “You have heard that it was said…but I tell you…” Jesus says this several times. At the very end of the book of Matthew, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” Jesus even reinterpreted the Ten Commandments given to Moses, saying “A new commandment I give to you: Love one another”.
I believe, the key to stopping all of this is tied up in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If this was a real historical event, then His claims about divinity are true, as He has conclusively shown that He holds the reigns over even life and death, and that He really is the son of God. All of the above is demonstrably true. The reason it sounds weird is because the evil in the world (The illuminati, large powerful banks, the catholic church, etc.) are trying very very hard to show that its not true. You can see it pretty much everywhere you look. The sustained attack is on anything that would remotely be construed as “true christianity”. Including and especially spiritual warfare.
If you don’t believe me, I recommend praying to Jesus Christ for the truth, and that He would show you what is true. This has two possibilities:

  1. I’m right and everything I said is true, which makes this very important
  2. I’m wrong and everything I said is false, so you havent hurt anything by praying sincerely.

Getting on to the actual experience of sleep paralysis…
Now, when an actual event occurs, use this phrase: “By the power and authority of Jesus Christ, you must leave, you have no right to be here.” Practice it, because sometimes its hard to say when you’re in the middle of an experience!
Also, notice a couple of things:

  1. I am invoking the name and authority of Jesus Christ. In the hundred or so cases of people I’ve helped, nothing else has worked.
  2. I am not using any “i” statements. For instance dont ever say “I command you to leave” not a good idea, as you don’t have any authority in the spiritual realm.
  3. I am telling the entity exactly what its supposed to do. Many people call out to God for help and they are either calling out to a god that isnt really a god, or calling out in the wrong way.

As further evidence, finally here is a testimony of a muslim man who called out in the name of Jesus and stopped an attack almost the same as a sleep paralysis attack in broad daylight.
Afshin Javid
http://vimeo.com/8320221

In short if you want this to end for good, it’s the power and authority of Jesus Christ. That is the only thing that provides protection.
I don’t know what your spiritual beliefs are, but I would council you to pray right now to Jesus Christ and ask Him, sincerely, if He really is real, to make Himself known to you

Finally, go here and watch this video. It will explain the basics of knowing Jesus:
http://dvdtract.com