False awakenings

[scout]

I had about 6 or 7 of these in a row yesterday morning after I listened to some binaural beat music and drifting off. Each one became more and more realistic. I was amused once I did awake but also kind of weirded out for a little while because I couldn't be sure I wasn't just dreaming again. Does anyone have any insight or tips in regards to false awakenings? Is it just a side effect of AP or trying to AP? Can it be avoided or is there a way to train yourself to recognize what's happening so you can go ahead and really wake up?
Thanks! 

[Greytraveller]

Hallo Scout
False Awakenings (FAs) are an altered state of consciousness where a person believes that they are awake but in fact are still dreaming. As far as I know FAs are Not directly related to OBEs (or the effort of trying to get out of the body) and are more closely related to dreams (or trying to wake up from a sleep dream). Although just recently I did read an account of someone who had a FA during an OBE. Yet this experience is quite rare as usually FAs follow normal, non lucid dreams.
Of all the different states of consciousness (including lucid dreams, non lucid dreams, OBEs, APs, meditation and mind altering substances) I think that FAs are the Least explored and understand state of mind. I have had many FAs. They happen for no apparent reason. Sometimes I can catch a FA during the experience and have transitioned FAs into OBEs and lucid dreams. Sometimes the FAs go by unnoticed and I sometimes confuse the memory of an FA with a dim memory of a waking event. Weird? 
Also it is unknown why FAs sometimes occur in bunches. Your experience of having 6 or 7 FAs in one night is in no way unusual as it happens to many people. I have had as many as 4 FAs in on night.

Regards
Grey

[scout]

Thanks Grey!

[Rudolph]

Although just recently I did read an account of someone who had a FA during an OBE. Yet this experience is quite rare as usually FAs follow normal, non lucid dreams.

I know this happened to me a couple times last month. I came back to my body from a conscious OBE and wrote it in my journal.

But I wasn't in my body and nothing was recorded in my journal!

This is messing up my criteria for judging the lucidity and level of Awareness when I try to evaluate the consciousness level of the OBE. Conscious exit along with conscious return to the body is one that I really liked to use. It makes me think many of my OBEs are closer to LDs, but now I am not so sure anymore.

... always sumpin' !

[Greytraveller]

Greetings and Happy New Year everyone! 
Randolph
Yes OBEs and LDs Can sometimes overlap one another. This Dual Consciousness state is usually shared between being OOB and being hypnagogic. But a person can also be in two other states of consciousness simultaneously as well. I have been in OBEs and dreams at the same time on more than one occasion.
So I think that OBEs and LDs are separate and distinct states of consciousness but that both can be accessed simultaneously when the conditions are right. So a person could experience both an OBE and a LD at the same time and that would account for much of your confusion.

Regards 
Grey

[loppoppy]

Recently experienced a rather disturbing event involving false awakenings. I was trying to AP and I all of a sudden lost control of myself and got scared, my fear created an experience I would rather forget, and all attempts to wake up resulted in a false awakening. When I finally woke up for real, my body was in sleep paralysis, the only thing I could do was project and before I knew it, was stuck in the cycle of false awakenings again. This continued all night until the other people in my house woke up and brought me to my senses.

Based on this experience I am certain that OBE's and FA are linked. For me, they seemed to happen because my body was in sleep paralysis, and my intense desire to wake up created the experience of waking up, over and over again....and over and over again.... D: the whole time that silly fear I somehow released was plaguing my thoughts...ergh, nasty.

[proyect_outzone]

Does anyone have any insight or tips in regards to false awakenings?

These false awakenings are the best things you can get. I call them chains, becauser there can be a lot (and i mean a lot) in a row. I had a chan with at least 15 OBEs and Dreams in a more than one hour lasting row. Chains with 5 till 10 are more common.

Is it just a side effect of AP or trying to AP?

Yes, its a side effect of very hard tiredness and / or very long OBE attempts without exiting. Some illnesses can also promote chains.


Can it be avoided or is there a way to train yourself to recognize what's happening so you can go ahead and really wake up?

They can be avoided if you take care to have stable and deep sleep. But there is no way to recognize shurely in such a chain, that you are in a dream or out of body experience or not. Sometimes you know it at every OBE of a chan and sometimes you have to make reality checks at every OBE of the chain.

Chains can consist of both. Dreams and out of body experiences. Some are EXTREMELY clear and others extremely blurred. But one thing got all chains together. They offer the great chance to get many experience in short time. Especially for separations.

[scout]

Does anyone have any insight or tips in regards to false awakenings?

These false awakenings are the best things you can get. I call them chains, becauser there can be a lot (and i mean a lot) in a row. I had a chan with at least 15 OBEs and Dreams in a more than one hour lasting row. Chains with 5 till 10 are more common.

Is it just a side effect of AP or trying to AP?

Yes, its a side effect of very hard tiredness and / or very long OBE attempts without exiting. Some illnesses can also promote chains.


Can it be avoided or is there a way to train yourself to recognize what's happening so you can go ahead and really wake up?

They can be avoided if you take care to have stable and deep sleep. But there is no way to recognize shurely in such a chain, that you are in a dream or out of body experience or not. Sometimes you know it at every OBE of a chan and sometimes you have to make reality checks at every OBE of the chain.

Chains can consist of both. Dreams and out of body experiences. Some are EXTREMELY clear and others extremely blurred. But one thing got all chains together. They offer the great chance to get many experience in short time. Especially for separations.

Thanks!!! I just had this chain happen and I was able to gain lucidity due to having headphones on playing pink noise. I was able to leave the FA twice!

[Greytraveller]

Greetings all
proyect_outzone
You mentioned FAs as being 'chains". And yes, I agree completely! One of my best nights going out of body included transitioning 3 FAs directly into OBEs. Three FAs and 3 OBEs might not seem like a lot to some people but to me it IS a lot.
Also I have read accounts from other people who experienced as much as 10 to 15 FAs in one night. And some of those FAs also led to either OBEs or LDs. So, again, I endorse your opinion that,

These false awakenings are the best things you can get

Regards 
Grey

[Ident]

I used to consider that FAs were the mind's way of trying to fool me into avoiding going into a LD. As I'd become aware that I was dreaming, I'd dream that I was awake and so stop making the effort to take control of the dream. Even when I was wise to its antics, the mind would still occasionally try it on. For me, the trick was to remain alert for signs that I might still be dreaming, so that I could then take control.