I think I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. I figured that out later.
I had a parent who was close to passing away. They weren’t really responsive, but they were restless. The previous night they kept demanding to be let in. Basically talking in their sleep. The night before they passed was my turn to have a restless night.
My first episode started with a dream. I am always aware that I am in a dream when I am dreaming. I am always lucid, but I have varying levels of control. In my dream i heard a loud crash. A voice that was not part of my dream interjected “There is something dark standing over you!” I woke immediately to sleep paralysis. But, I felt a pressure over my heart like someone was trying to use all their strength to push me down through the mattress in that one place. I was able to speak and ordered whatever it was to get off of me. This stopped the situation. I have had sleep paralysis before on several occasions, but have never felt physically assaulted. My chest still hurt even after it was over. It was still sore in the morning, but no marks.
So I go back to sleep. After a while I found myself just floating. Kind of like I was levitating or flying. I am suspended with dark all around me. I notice a hallway beside me. It reminded me of a hospital corridor. It just was kind of there in the nothingness. No building around it, just a hallway. It was illuminated by a golden light. It appeared to go on a ways and then turn a corner, so you couldn’t see all the way down. There appeared to be a woman around the corner. She would peek around at me and then hide. She did this several times. I thought she was interested in meeting me, but too shy to come forward. So I decided to go to her. I floated/flew up the hall and around the corner until I was right in front of her. I smiled and said hello. It was a big mistake. I have never had anyone act as terrified of me as she did in the next moment. I was totally surprised by her reaction. She had a pure look of horror on her face, and she began screaming as loud as she could. Then something happened that has never happened before or after to me in lucid dreaming. I basically got bound. I could not move at all. What I could see froze and sort of smeared, and all I could hear was one tone of her scream. The best I can compare it to is the tv when a video game malfunctions and locks up. I could still think. So I decided I would throw myself against the walls of my invisible prison and try to break free. As I did this I could feel my sleeping body move and it allowed me to wake up. Looking back I wonder if it was “The” tunnel of light, and how I chose to perceive it. Everyone describes it differently in the NDEs. Not sure why I got treated that way if it was. Usually they seem to just say it’s not your time. Never heard of anyone coming upon the tunnel of light while dreaming. Don’t know if it is a thing. I only have thought of that possibility after the fact.
You don’t have to make yourself big and scary to fight stuff. If you “know” they can’t hurt you, then they can’t. I don’t have nightmares anymore ever.