Spiritual Forum

Based on some scientific explanation sleepwalking (also called somnambulism) is a parasomnia or sleep disorder where the sufferer engages in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness while he or she is asleep or in a sleep-like state.  

Researchers studied four generations of a family where nine members out of 22 had the condition. They found that all the sufferers had a fault on a particular chromosome and carrying just one copy of this defective DNA was enough to cause sleepwalking. Analyzing saliva samples, the researchers found the problem stemmed from a fault on chromosome 20, which was passed down the family. They said more work was needed to pin down the exact genes involved. Dr Gurnett told the BBC: 'It is likely that several genes will be involved. What we have found is the first genetic locus for sleepwalking. 'We do not know yet which of the genes in this linkage region of chromosome 20 will be responsible. Until we find the gene we won't know whether this accounts for several families or a large number of families who have sleepwalking.

How then do sleepwalkers do strange things, like walking around while asleep?

It's abc simple and you don't need to be a specialist to understand this bit. Here is a simple comparison. Anytime you did something and said oh! My mind wasn't there or I wasn't thinking; you are actually doing the same thing a sleepwalker does in sleep. For example, you were engrossed in a conversation with a friend and cooking at the same time. If it was something you do routinely enough, like say boil some eggs and make some toasts, you could do the entire procedure, absent mindedly, engrossed in your conversation. You are at that point in time using your Procedural Intelligence(vestiges of a primordial inheritance from our reptilian ancestors) to do those tasks, exactly like a sleepwalker does.

 

However, the catch is that you cannot perform any task absent mindedly unless that task is pretty familiar to you, the reason being that you will have to pay some attention, no matter how little to such tasks, since it is not routine to you. Whatever is not routine enough or calls for thinking, no matter how little, is not sleepwalking compatible, as it will wake up the sleepwalker and we all know that true sleepwalkers never wake up, because nature never intended them to. Murder is neither a routine nor a casual activity and so is not sleepwalking compatible, because such activity will wake up the sleepwalker and so such individual cannot claim to be sleepwalking; meaning he is lying.

Another catch is if you had to use more than casual force in any of the tasks, like open a can with the old manual opener, then you will certainly not be doing that part of the task absent mindedly, as the force being applied will bring your attention back to that part of the action, even if briefly, no matter how engrossed in the conversation you might be. Therefore a sleepwalker can perform only tasks that are routine to her/him and which does not require more than casual force.

 

Now can you imagine grabbing someone by the throat and strangling her while she thrashed and fought and struggled wildly for her breath and life, absent mindedly, like Brian did to murder Christine? Put another way, can you imagine yourself leave your cooking and grab someone by the throat and strangle the life out of him/her, absent mindedly, still engrossed in your conversation? If the answer is No, Bingo! Furthermore, it is common knowledge that sleepwalkers do not, by themselves, wake up during the act and never remember a thing about their actions, when they wake up. Why? It's because nature so made it that the actions in sleepwalking are gentle, routine, mundane and casual so the sleepwalker does not wake and s/he is returned to sleep, careful to ensure that they are still not awoken.

Now, can you believe that anyone can take out a healthy human's life with the force and entire life and death struggle entailed to kill a human being, without waking up or remembering anything about it? If No, Bingo again! because it means they were not sleepwalking! It is impossible to act violently while sleepwalking because you must wake up for even the slightest act of aggression to occur, and we all know, true sleepwalkers don't wake up in the act! If you want the full scientific details written as easy - reading for everyone to understand and explained simple as abc, it's in the breakthrough book, 'The New Theory of Consciousness' by Delanin Fadahunsy.

Can sleepwalkers injure themselves in the act?

No. Sleepwalkers cannot injure themselves in the act any more than any other blind - minded organism such as a reptile or dog can hurt themselves in an activity. This is because they are doing whatever they do intelligently like the mentioned animals, for examples. The stated examples and the sleepwalker belong in the category referred to as blind - minded consciousness to which all organisms including young humans (that have not yet gained self consciousness) belong. They can climb staircases, for example, without tripping and perform other activities just as intelligently as the mentioned examples. Only a fully awake human being (that has gained self consciousness in young adulthood or adults) is an open minded organism, but open or blind minded, all organisms are intelligent. 

However Sleepwalking is still a Dream State, when subconscious controls physical body and Dreams directly connected to memories and emotions. So what is sleepwalking? Is it an indication of the subconscious and super-conscious minds trying to ‘catch up’ with important messages delivered by these dream phases, when individuals don’t get something important during the walking state tries to find other ways to deliver the message?

There are 5 phases of sleep:

When we lay down for sleep we migrate through 5 phases of awareness or sleep. These phases progress in a cycle from Alpha (being awake) to Epsilon (rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep). After REM the cycle starts over again, beginning with Beta. We spend almost 50 percent of our total sleep time in Gamma sleep, about 20 percent in REM sleep, and 30 percent in the other phases of sleep. Babies however spend most of their sleep time in REM.

William C. Dement, Eugene Aserinsky, Nathaniel Kleitman and graduate students at the University of Chicago in the 1950s discovered and documented REM. The discovery was published Sept 4, 1953. Criteria for REM sleep include not only rapid eye movements, but also a rapid, low voltage EEG and, in mammals at least, low muscle tone. Most of the memorable dreams occur in this stage.

The following is a brief description of these phases of sleep from the scientific perspective.

1. Alpha - the waking state.

Common to people who are awake and having a frequency of brain activity in the 8 to 13 Hz range. These are the alpha waves of the brain.

2. Theta - Light sleep state (Stage N1):

With a frequency of 4 to 7 Hz range. A person moves from alpha waves to theta waves of the brain. This stage is sometimes referred to as somnolence, or "drowsy sleep". This usually occurs when we first lay down and begin to drift in and out of sleep. This is the time when we can be awakened easily to light and sound. Our eyes move very slowly and muscle activity slows. People may wake up during Theta sleep remembering small fragments of dreams or disassociated images.

3. Gamma - Sleeping state: (Stage N2)

With a frequency of 12 to 16 Hz, it is characterized by "sleep spindles" and "K-complexes." During this stage, muscular activity is measured by electromyography (EMG). The EMG lowers and conscious awareness of the external environment disappears. This stage occupies 45 to 55% of total sleep. In this phase our eye movements stop and our brain waves become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles.

4. Delta - Deep Sleep: (Stage N3)

With a frequency of 0.5 to 4 Hz, this state produces Delta waves of the brain. This is considered part of deep or slow-wave sleep (SWS) and appears to function primarily as a transition into stage N4. This is the stage in which night terrors, sleepwalking and sleep-talking occur.

Here the brain becomes extremely slow. During this phase brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller and faster waves. It is very difficult to wake someone up during this phase. Up to this point there is no eye movement or muscle activity. If you awaken during the Gamma or Delta phase you often feel groggy and confused for a few moments.

5. Epsilon - REM Sleep (Stage N4)

Epsilon sleep is just a deeper progression of Delta sleep and continues to produce Delta waves within the brain. We slowly progress through delta sleep to reach the deepest state of sleep, REM sleep. When we move into REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow, our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe what scientists refer to as "bizarre and illogical tales".

According to the Journal of Medicine, "The first REM sleep period usually occurs about 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep. A complete sleep cycle takes 90 to 110 minutes on average. The first sleep cycles each night contain relatively short REM periods and long periods of deep sleep. As the night progresses, REM sleep periods increase in length while deep sleep decreases. By morning, people spend nearly all their sleep time in stages 2, 3, and REM."

 

From the metaphysical perspective, you have varying types of visions and dreams during these phases of sleep. Before you reach REM sleep, your visions or light dreams are a review of your day just past. What you did, what choices you made and how they have impacted your spiritual lessons, knowledge and relationships. REM sleep is astral travel time. Where you can communicate with your guides and other souls you interact with during your life, especially at this time in your life. And the dreams after REM are a review of your day to come.

     

Now the timing, reviewing the day past and the day to come are just small measurements. You can review several days past, or even longer depending on the events that occurred months ago and how they may be affecting your lessons and karma today. And the same is true for the future.

     

Remember everything you do creates an energy pattern. Decisions you made 3 weeks ago created a pattern that could still be manifesting today. Things you do today can set into motion events 5 weeks from today. In dream you can feel and see those patterns from a super conscious mind perspective and see the probable outcome of that energy you've already put into motion. These visions can be messages that you're on the right track, or warnings that you may have things to do to alter the path and improve the situation.

     

During REM sleep when you're traveling on the ethereal plane, you may review past lives and situations you went through in the past that are affecting you today. Reviewing decisions, lessons and patterns to help you make new choices today. These are the most important dreams you'll have during the night.

     

Everyone has the ability to remember the images from this travel time, but some have a hard time pulling those visual images back into their alpha state of awareness. If you take an interest in remembering and working with your dreams, you're likely trigger that desire in your conscious mind allowing it to be open to receiving the images and retaining them.

Findings of the Spiritual research conducted by the Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF) show that “The root causes of sleepwalking are 95% spiritual and only 5% psychological.” This is one of the reasons why modern science has not been able to come up with a cure or explanation for sleepwalking.