Hi Mccoy...
I'm going to share my personal opinion, and you do not have to agree with my beliefs.
We are not our bodies. However, these bodies are gift from our Host planet Mother Earth. These bodies come with their own akashic library. The evolution of minerals, plants, animals. Life on this planet is forged by the harshness of duality.
While we are not these bodies, we share an intimate connection with them. We often associate ourselves with the body to the extent we sometimes forget our divine origins. This is not, "wrong" or "bad." No, it's all right, because it's a part of experiential wisdom. A beautiful journey of discovery and fulfillment.
Since we've both experienced fear from sleep paralysis, these are my thoughts towards that: We are in a vulnerable state and so identified with our body, we are tapping into fight or flight. We become desperate for what we've become familiar with.
Our imaginations are powerful and a part of what makes us human... Or, more precise- not just a machine. Imaginations allow us to access celestial realms. They also pull us into the depths of hell. And all the while, our experiences are real.
Yes, I could see outside my body with my eyes closed(confirmed by my roommates). No, I do not control it.
But... Being in such a vulnerable state, feeling exposed in a completely unknown environment... This is very intimidating. It makes sense to me, why people are afraid and attract fear. I am still fearful when I feel the realness of a spirits whisper in my ear at 3AM in the dark. When I feel the weight of their presence in complete silence, when no one else is around. We just aren't accustomed to these supernatural experiences, our exposure is infrequent and our understanding is extremely limited.
We attract fear because our imagination starts reaching for definition. Have you ever defined a shadowy shape in the distance, only to find out the meaning you gave the illusive shape was not what you thought it was?
Fight or flight is not bad. It has good uses and being present and sharing our awareness with the 3D body/host-medium, we have ready access to that knowledge.
I believe this is why the belief of a demon sitting on your chest has become so popular. We(humanity) seem to delight ourselves with the entertainment of a scary story. We are drawn to drama. Let's consider the attitude towards advanced technology. Hollywood teaches the masses that AI is something to be scared of. It's the same with aliens. They teach us to prepare for invasion and to defend ourselves to our last breath. The popular ideas are the ones that tickle our animal instincts. Through word of mouth(or through other entertainment venues), we let others set our expectations and define our experiences, what becomes popular are the stories that tickles our senses. We(being thrown into an unfamiliar state) create meaning and become content with the answers, having satisfied our baser instincts. We don't care to dig deeper... Why?
I have confronted this fearful state, with a scared but calm curiosity. I realize it was mostly my mind directing the experience. And what I discovered, would propel me into awe and further curiosity. The state of sleep paralysis is not actually excruciating, it is my mind tricking me to believe it so. I know this because when I would first disconnect my awareness from being associated with the physical body, I would hear metal crunching and whirring zeroing into my head. I *thought* this meant something really bad... But it wasn't. When I realized I was floating there and my body immobile, my awareness was still lingering around the body- feeling the weight of paralysis, and I saw my fear excited at the prospect of creating meaning.
In this realm we have to unlearn our conditioned responses if we wish to explore it further. Otherwise, you can continue thinking it something nefarious and to be afraid if you prefer. I choose not to fear, or to allow the masses to tell me what's what. There is nothing, "weak" about being in this state... How far we go, or not, is up to us. People are afraid of what they don't understand. My Aunt mailed Autobiography of a Yogi back to me because it challenged her beliefs. She would not allow herself to read the book in its entirety. And most of us here know of the beauty found in that book. If we wish to break free from our dogmatic beliefs, and constant incarnations in this particular school house- time/space/3D we must not let fear be our driving/deciding factor.
Easier said than done...
That's my two cents.
I am exploring more with this understanding at the astralpulse. A community with people who have 50+ years experience, they are more likely your age and Steve's, discussing their unique experiences...
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_out_of_body_experiences/hi_just_introducing_myself-t48323.0.html;msg378209#msg378209The gentleman above is named Mike. I find the conversation there similar to what we're discussing here. I would like to connect communities if I am able, and welcome you to the above resource.
It should be known to Steve that I also try to share the spiritualportal as a resource when able.
Namaste~
