Tony Crisp Interpretation:
paralysis, paralyzed Feeling a lack of confidence; fear; a sense of not being able to cope; feelings of hopelessness, or that there is no way out of a present situation. Dreaming one is paralyzed may depict the paralyzing effects either of fears we have, or what we have imagined as real in the way described in the entry on we may be “paralyzed” by feelings of guilt or inadequacy; internal conflict paralyzes us. pelvis The sexual function as a whole. So not simply sex, but reproduction and how you handle this power of life and death. The pelvis may also link with the way you merge into another person, or if you can allow that merging and emerging. Some dreams show the pelvis as connected with lizards or snakes, and this shows the powerful instinctive drives and energy that can either flow out in sexual activity, or flow up the spine as expanding consciousness. Our unconscious often connects sex with giving oneself, a death of self, and making connections or bonds—obviously reproduction also.
Many people complain of feeling paralyzed while they are partially awake but dreaming. This may be due to the fact that voluntary movements are inhibited during periods of the dream process. All brain signals to the voluntary muscles are stopped. Therefore, if we become slightly awake and attempt to move at that time, we feel paralyzed. This is not sensed as a problem if we are unconsciously involved in a dream. If enough self-awareness arises in the dream state, then awareness of the inability to move may occur, along with the anxiety this can arouse. In fact, this is probably only a problem to people who are frightened of the paralysis. For most people, active dreams manage to break through the inhibition enough to cause mild movements and vocal sounds. Another factor is illustrated by what Elsie says in the example below—the harder she tries to move, the worse it gets. Our unconscious is very open to suggestion. If this were not so, we would lack necessary survival responses. In a dimly lit situation we may mistake a shape for a lurking figure. Our body reactions such as heartbeat react to the mistake as if it is real until we gain fresh information. Whatever we feel to be real becomes a fact as far as our body reactions are concerned. The fear that one cannot move becomes a fact because we believe it. When Elsie relaxes, and thereby drops the fear of paralysis, she can be free of it. This applies to anything we feel is true—we create it as an internal reality. Example: “It starts as a dream, but I gradually become aware that I cannot move. The harder I try to move the worse it gets, and I become very frightened. I can neither move nor wake myself up. Sometimes I feel as if I am leaving my body. But to deal with the fear I have learned—it’s a recurring thing—to stop struggling, knowing that I will eventually wake.” (Elsie) The excellent description in the following example was given by Roy Herbert. It was taken from a feature he wrote. Unfortunately the news cutting did not have either the name of the paper or the date with it. Example: “In this condition, I can hear what others are saying to make me come to. The bedroom is the one I am in, though sometimes altered in layout, and the real persons in it may be joined by dream ones. I can speak and even offer suggestions on how to bring me awake, such as cold water on my head, though I am told that the words are not intelligible. I am aware that my mouth is dry. My brain is working on some levels that are far from asleep. I have been able to censor swear words from anguished advice I am offering the rousers, for fear of offending them, though I am not awake. The worst thing of all is that I have almost no power in my limbs while the struggle is going on. The prospect of sinking back into deep sleep, unable to move, is terrifying—so dreadful that I finally burst fully awake with the sensation of shooting up through water into the air. I don’t think that I can be unique in floating halfway, half awake and half asleep, paralyzed but speaking and thinking in a half-real world. It might be interesting to hear from other sufferers.”