[leahculver]

I've only had sleep paralysis a couple times and I agree that it is AWFUL. I felt like someone was standing in the room with me and was (irrationally) terrified.

I lucid dream far more often, probably once a week. I agree that it's nowhere near as frightening but I find it to be unpleasant as well. It's not very fun to stay dreaming when I know I'm awake.

It's funny but the movie Inception really helped me with my lucid dreams. Falling (in my dreams) will wake me up. I double-check that I'm actually dreaming by flying first (aw yeah, I can fly in my dreams - kind of like swimming in the air). So I'll often wake up by flying high into the sky and then falling to the ground.

[pcl]

I've got a few pretty reliable lucid-dream indicators too, but I'm always too afraid to actually take advantage of them, just in case I'm actually not really dreaming. I wish I could fly in my dreams; that'd be a good safe "this is definitely a dream" indicator.

For me, it's mostly that feeling of wanting to run but not being able to make my legs work properly. Which, from what I understand, is due to some of the same brain chemistry that contributes to sleep paralysis.

I've only experienced something like sleep paralysis a few times, and I think it must have been a very mild version of it -- just a couple seconds of "wait a sec, my body isn't moving when I want it to!" and then it goes away.

[vubuntu]

>"...kind of like swimming in the air" OMG. That's exactly what I dreamt more than couple of times. In my dreams I would be walking on water. Like if I pump my legs up and down fast enough, that keeps me afloat on the surface of water in a swimming pool, or a pond etc. Kind of like that lizard that walks on water (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhsxo7vY8ac) . It feels so realistic and so normal an ability to have. Alas I tried it quite a few times at our local swimming pool, and it never worked :)

[vubuntu]

>"I felt like someone was standing in the room with me and was (irrationally) terrified."

This has happened to me couple of times as well.

Upon reflection I have noticed uncanny similarities to the below movies..

Lucid Dreams == Inception (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/)

Sleep Paralysis == The adjustment Bureau (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385826/)