Dark demon in sleep

[Piney]

Just now, Deborah72 said:

Sounds like you've been through a lot.  

My grandfather was a "Medicine Man" who specialized in "dark woo" and taught me how to work it. My mother was into the occult but her mind was ruined with drugs. I was raised around "woo". 

[Deborah72]

3 minutes ago, Piney said:

My grandfather was a "Medicine Man" who specialized in "dark woo" and taught me how to work it. My mother was into the occult but her mind was ruined with drugs. I was raised around "woo". 

What is dark woo?

[XenoFish]

Just now, Deborah72 said:

What is dark woo?

Things like "black magick", sorcery, etc. 

[Deborah72]

3 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Things like "black magick", sorcery, etc. 

Interesting

[preacherman76]

Hey Deb. I just have a question. When this happens, is it like you woke up and cant move, while hearing/seeing this entity? Is it like a sleep paralysis episode? Or is this completely inside a dream?

Edited June 11, 2018 by preacherman76

[Deborah72]

1 minute ago, preacherman76 said:

Hey Deb. I just have a question. When this happens, is it like you woke up and cant move, while hearing/seeing this entity? Is it like a sleep paralysis episode? Or is this completely inside a dream?

No, I am inside the dream.  Once awaken I am fully functional just in a state of "really this demonic f*ing dream again"  terrified at first but then I stay awake awhile analyzing it

[Piney]

19 minutes ago, Deborah72 said:

What is dark woo?

Bad Things. Evil Spirits. Psychological problems.

[preacherman76]

36 minutes ago, Deborah72 said:

No, I am inside the dream.  Once awaken I am fully functional just in a state of "really this demonic f*ing dream again"  terrified at first but then I stay awake awhile analyzing it

Ahh I see. Sounds like a Carl Jung shadow type dream. Heavy stuff. Now I'm not really the guy to explain this, as I'm not as well versed as a couple other people here, but it seems to me though that entity is a part of you. A part of who you actually are. We all have a shadow side. The fact that its repetitive probably means it really has something to say to you. Perhaps you have been repressing the darker side of yourself?

What sucks about this kind of thing is it's always in riddles. They never just come out with it. Its always something you have to figure out. I'm gonna send over a my boy eight bits. He's the dream guy. You may find what he has to say very interesting.

Edited June 11, 2018 by preacherman76

[Deborah72]

2 minutes ago, preacherman76 said:

Ahh I see. Sounds like a Carl Jung shadow type dream. Heavy stuff. Now I'm not really the guy to explain this, as I'm not as well versed as a couple other people here, but it seems to me though that entity is a part of you. A part of who you actually are. We all have a shadow side. The fact that its repetitive probably means it really has something to say to you. Perhaps you have been repressing the darker side of yourself?

What sucks about this kind of thing is it's always in riddles. They never just come out with it. Its always something you have to figure out. I'm gonna send over a my boy eightbits. He's the dream guy. You may find what he has to say very interesting.

It's usually laughing and mocking me.  It's always the same dark figure either sitting at the end of my bed or hovering over me in my face growling.  It's always the same feeling like I am fighting it off.  I do have a bit of a dark wicked side but I am also one of the most giving, kind hearted, easily taken advantage of people.

[Deborah72]

8 minutes ago, Piney said:

Bad Things. Evil Spirits. Psychological problems.

I am sure all three apply

[preacherman76]

17 minutes ago, Deborah72 said:

It's usually laughing and mocking me.  It's always the same dark figure either sitting at the end of my bed or hovering over me in my face growling.  It's always the same feeling like I am fighting it off.  I do have a bit of a dark wicked side but I am also one of the most giving, kind hearted, easily taken advantage of people.

That could be very relevant. I sent eight a message to stop by this thread. You will probably hear from him before the day is through.

Personally I find it interesting that the stage is set for these dreams in your bedroom, right where you are actually sleeping. You physically engage with it?

[preacherman76]

Oh I have another question. Are you lucid while this happens? Are you aware you are in a dream during it?

[Deborah72]

3 minutes ago, preacherman76 said:

That could be very relevant. I sent eight a message to stop by this thread. You will probably hear from him before the day is through.

Personally I find it interesting that the stage is set for these dreams in your bedroom, right where you are actually sleeping. You physically engage with it?

By physically..define?  It's in my dream?  I always scream at it saying "get behind me satan"  followed by "the lord is my shepherd...." If I am sleeping alone this wakes me but if I am not alone the other person in the room shakes me awake.  My son has said I bumble and make scary sounds

[preacherman76]

17 minutes ago, Deborah72 said:

By physically..define?  It's in my dream?  I always scream at it saying "get behind me satan"  followed by "the lord is my shepherd...." If I am sleeping alone this wakes me but if I am not alone the other person in the room shakes me awake.  My son has said I bumble and make scary sounds

Well you mentioned that you try to fight it off. I was just curious what you meant by that. I understand now.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but because this has repeated I'm guessing several times, maybe you want to try and engage it differently. Maybe instead of trying to banish it, just flat out ask it what it wants.

[Deborah72]

2 minutes ago, preacherman76 said:

Well you mentioned that you try to fight it off. I was just curious what you meant by that. I understand now.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but because this has repeated I'm guessing several times, maybe you want to try and engage it differently. Maybe instead of trying to banish it, just flat out ask it what it wants.

Tried that about ten years ago.  It's reply a simple "you"

[preacherman76]

17 minutes ago, Deborah72 said:

Tried that about ten years ago.  It's reply a simple "you"

Yeah, its always a damn riddle lol. If this was happening like a sleep paralysis episode, I'd have completely different thoughts regarding it. But because its within a dream, I believe, well believe is a strong word, I suspect this is the shadow part of you trying to get across a message. Trying to express something you haven't dealt with. Trying to get you to see something you have overlooked.

Having dealt with shadow type dreams myself lately, I know this is gonna sound strange, it even sounds strange to me, but I don't think its there to hurt you. I think it's there to help you. In its own twisted scary way. These things can be difficult to understand.

[Deborah72]

4 minutes ago, preacherman76 said:

Yeah, its always a damn riddle lol. If this was happening like a sleep paralysis episode, I'd have completely different thoughts regarding it. But because its within a dream, I believe, well believe is a strong word, I suspect this is the shadow part of you trying to get across a message. Trying to express something you haven't dealt with. Trying to get you to see something you have overlooked.

Having dealt with shadow type dreams myself lately, I know this is gonna sound strange, it even sounds strange to me, but I don't think its there to hurt you. I think it's there to help you. In its own twisted scary way. These things can be difficult to understand.

I agree to a certain extent.  If this only happened to myself but.. the kicker is when my son was 14 he woke me up in the middle of the night to this "mom wake up I just had the worse dream ever"... you know what comes next...."mom this dark ugly shadow creature was holding me down and growling in my face".  Coincidence?  I think not.  I never told him about my nightmare content.  He only knew that I would have bad dreams.

[Deborah72]

I would only have them like once every four months or so but this past year I have the dream once a month

[Rlyeh]

In your sleep? So a dream right?

[Deborah72]

1 minute ago, Rlyeh said:

In your sleep? So a dream right?

A dream is the only way to describe it.  Dream, experience, trance who knows?!? If this is just a dream why would my son experience the same?

[Rlyeh]

Just now, Deborah72 said:

A dream is the only way to describe it.  Dream, experience, trance who knows?!? If this is just a dream why would my son experience the same?

Does your son experience it when you're sleep or he is?

Have you checked you home for carbon monoxide?

[Deborah72]

Just now, Rlyeh said:

Does your son experience it when you're sleep or he is?

Have you checked you home for carbon monoxide?

He had it years ago.  Has nothing to do with places I've lived.  I am in another country now and still have them.  

[Deborah72]

2 hours ago, preacherman76 said:

Ahh I see. Sounds like a Carl Jung shadow type dream. Heavy stuff. Now I'm not really the guy to explain this, as I'm not as well versed as a couple other people here, but it seems to me though that entity is a part of you. A part of who you actually are. We all have a shadow side. The fact that its repetitive probably means it really has something to say to you. Perhaps you have been repressing the darker side of yourself?

What sucks about this kind of thing is it's always in riddles. They never just come out with it. Its always something you have to figure out. I'm gonna send over a my boy eight bits. He's the dream guy. You may find what he has to say very interesting.

Sounds good thanks

[eight bits]

@Deborah72

First, welcome aboard!

Then: Disclaimer: I don't interpret other people's dreams, but some dream motifs and characters are dreamt by many people, and I sometimes recognize those motifs and characters. I might be able to tell you what several people who have dreamt dreams like yours have thought about their dreams, but only you can decide whether that has anything to do with your personal dream.

It's been very interesting reading this thread. Thank you for posting.

I'm going to proceed on the assumption that it is really and truly a dream character. So, if @Piney is right, then I'm not even wrong, because I am trying to solve the wrong puzzle. But suppose it is a dream, then what have you got?

Quote

I do have a bit of a dark wicked side but I am also one of the most giving, kind hearted, easily taken advantage of people.

That's pretty much the nub of the story, I think. The tricky part of a Carl Jung style shadow is that it is both the "dark wicked side" (basically anything about yourself you'd rather not think about too much) but also, at the same time, that part of a person which isn't "easily taken advantage of." It is something we need to have in order to develop and thrive, in balance with that giving and kind hearted aspect - both together, not one or the other. Better to have it consciously, than to have it cut off from the possibility of healthy expression - but either way, we will have it.

So why does the dream recur? I don't know you, but there you are reacting to the very icon of what you need (not to be taken advantage of, and maybe some other strengths, too), with the very icon of giving and kind heartedness (quoting Jesus and Psalm 23). If you wanted to act out the self-division that the dream is about, then you could hardly do so more bluntly.

A mythical prototype of this dream is Prince Five Weapons and Sticky Hair (searchable). It is now told as a Buddhist story, but I think it's older. Instead of recurrence, it has repetition (the prince uses each of his five weapons in sequence, and each one completely fails to do anything to the monster). Eventually, the prince runs out of weapons (we run out of time), and finally it's just the vulnerable prince face-to-face with the monster.

The prince, who is now unable to do any longer what hasn't ever been effective anyway, does something wise instead: he appoints the monster guardian of the forest ( = acknowledges him as that which prevents the innocent from being taken advantage of, and gives him a function).

Back to you. You didn't get off to a good start ten years ago when you asked what the character wanted . OK, but that was the right idea.

If it were my dream (famous last words for anybody else to follow), I'd start with a simpler question. I notice that you call the dream character "it." So, you could be very 21st Century and ask this character "What are your preferred pronouns?"

OK, you can probably think of a better ice breaker than that. You don't want to get rid of what the character represents, you just want the representative character not to disturb your sleep anymore. There's a deal to be made. I recommend making it.

Edited June 11, 2018 by eight bits

[Piney]

16 minutes ago, eight bits said:

A mythical prototype of this dream is Prince Five Weapons and Sticky Hair (searchable). It is now told as a Buddhist story, but I think it's older. Instead of recurrence, it has repetition (the prince uses each of his five weapons in sequence, and each one completely fails to do anything to the monster). Eventually, the prince runs out of weapons (we run out of time), and finally it's just the vulnerable prince face-to-face with the monster.

 

One day I'll relate a serial dream I had during a long term vision quest to you.

The older story is the Swan Mother and her son the Copper Man. It was adopted by Yellow Path Vajrayana