Is this Lucid Dreaming or Astral Projection ?

[delirious]

Dear forum members,

as my first question to this forum I'd like to address some unsettling experiences I've had while sleeping which I can't quite place. I know it is a long post but your advice would be most welcome.

I've had about 5 experience while sleeping that I thought were astral projections but after reading Erin's post about the difference between LD and AP I'm not sure anymore.

On to the experiences:

• All experiences are involuntary and happen between 2 and 4am.
• The first time I did not experience loss of consciousness as far as I can tell: one minute I was lying in my bed semi-conscious, the next I was hovering in a shaft somewhere thinking "what the hell ???"
• I never see anything of my room or my body, any place or anyone I know
• I walk/hover in a material world whose physical laws matches ours but not exactly: I can fly but not easily, things seem out-of-focus or shift when I look away sometimes. I have trouble knowing what is in my surrounding and don't have the feeling I can really control what is happening. It feels very different from dreaming.
• The beings I encounter have human form but do not give me a human vibe. Their eyes are dead and, their bodies have an elastic quality to them that is not right and they often shape shift. I have the distinct feeling that these are not some fictional character from my imagination or past but independent forms of (lower) consciousness that want something from me (sex? energy?).

The first time I went in was magical; I was just taking everything in as I drifted along. Until I met those beings and had an unpleasant (sexual) experience; it gave me surges of panic and I wanted to leave badly. The lapse of time between the panic and waking up felt like dying. Wake up felt very heavy and it took me 2 or 3 minutes to recover physically from what I perceive to be some form of aggression. I got some tips from people telling me not to worry too much and just to imagine white light around me. At some level of consciousness I decided to try fighting instead of fleeing. During the latest encounter, I was able to calm my panic and tell the being that I did not want it (or something like 'go away') and suddenly I was somewhere else with other beings.

I am not pursuing LD or AP actively at this stage in my life but both times these experiences have happened were pivotal points in my life so I believe there is a message there. Without consciously looking for LD or AP I would like to know what I am to learn here and how to protect myself.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance,
delirious

[Zukin]

Could this be related to sleep paralysis?