Re: sleep paralysis (edited)
Your experience sounds exactly like mine, Molly. I do remember the feeling of powerlessness, of sheer TERROR...
All these years I have pretty much ascribed that time in my life to general conciousness-expanding...I was in my early 20's, in art school, in a VERY experimental phase...
And now, perusing the web, I see that the phenomena is linked to "neural-misfirings" and somesuch...and gee, if you really want, there are medications that can help!
But there are ALSO people who are using their experiences as a tool for growth...I'll see if I can find a link...
As I stated before, I DID end up enjoying the "trip"... :)
Here's the link...some people use these episodes to astral project...which is what I did...although at the time, my control was not particularly "planned"...had I had access to resources such as this one...well, who knows...?
http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/psychic-paranormal/1814-sleep-paralysis.html