David J. Hufford

Sleep Paralysis as Spiritual Experience

Transcultural Psychiatry March 1, 2005 David J. Hufford

Sleep paralysis involves a robust, complex phenomenological pattern that, for most people, is interpreted as a spiritual experience, largely due to the common perception of a non-physical 'threatening presence.' Examples from diverse cultures, including contemporary America where no widely known tradition about sleep paralysis exists, show that this pattern and spiritual interpretation are not dependent on cultural models or prior learning, contrary to the 'Cultural Source Hypothesis.' The article argues that modern medical and religious views labeling such experiences as psychopathological or heretical suppressed their report and discussion, causing confusion in scientific literature about prevalence and core features. It places sleep paralysis among other 'direct' spiritual experiences and proposes an 'Experiential Theory' to explain cross-culturally distributed spiritual experiences.