A baby with colic is in pain, and wails. Does the baby know it's experiencing pain? We can't tell, of course, but I would guess that it doesn't know, it just experiences it.
I'm aware of the presence of God. I had a very enlightening discussion once with an atheistic scientist, in which I struggled to persuade her to admit at least the possibility that there might be something more to life. During the course of the conversation, she talked about her sense of awe when she contemplated the workings of physics - and I realised that she was talking about the same awareness. (I also realised how redundant my efforts at persuasion were, and stopped.)
That's just another example (to go with the sleep paralysis) of the same experience being 'known' in two different ways - which, I think, suggests the experience is prior to the knowledge. We can't talk about it, think about it or conceive of it without 'knowing' it one way or another, but that doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't there first.
Am I managing to address your point, or have I missed it?
