Mark of the Dream Beast: A Modern Stigmata Story?
on February 5, 2013 at 12:24 am
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The phenomenon known as stigmata is the alleged appearance of marks or sores on the skin, which manifest in accordance with the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. Claimed experiencers the likes of Padre Pio and others have said that such anomalous bleeding of the palms is a divine mark or signature, of sorts, and helps provide proof of the life and purpose of Jesus, as well the holy spirit’s ability to manifest itself within physical bodies of the faithful.
Scientifically, the reason that a mark or other wound might appear on the skin, and solely as a result of spiritual belief founded in the resurrection of Christ, is quite perplexing. Is the mystery of stigmata really divine proof of God’s presence, or is it merely proof of the mind’s ability to override certain functions of the human body… or even to create new ones that defy logic or reason?
The story that follows is not an example of “stigmata” in the truest sense, but instead involves the alleged appearance of an inexplicable scar on a man’s left hand, in conjunction with an episode that he related to me as being some kind of “spiritual warfare” he endured, following an episode with the phenomenon popularly known as sleep paralysis. I can neither substantiate, nor detract from the claims made by this individual, whose scarred left hand, as seen in the photo above (which I recently took myself), is paired with a bizarre story of a malevolent entity from beyond this physical plane of existence.
Spiritual Warfare
The story began at a recent dinner party, where I was eventually joined by a number of mutual friends of mine, who attend church together here in Asheville, North Carolina. At one point in the evening, three of them–Parker, William, and Sam (I’ve chosen to use only their first name to honor their request for privacy)–retreated with me to the living room to discuss various strange stories and other anomalous happenings associated with the area. At one point, Parker began to tell us all about a strange dream he had experienced recently, in which he (being a very devoutly religious person) felt that he was being accosted by demons.
“They were coming at me from every direction in the dream,” Parker said. “At one point, I began to say the name of Jesus, and in the dream I had, one of these devils reached directly for my throat, as though to choke me.” Parker said that, after he awoke, he could still feel a burning sensation around his throat, as though literal hands had been there, trying to strangle him.
I find stories like this very interesting, as they seem to point to an actual, tangible element that may spill over from one’s dreaming mind in such instances. Alternatively, if viewed from a more spiritual disposition, perhaps such stories could also point to the literal existence of forces which, for lack of a better term, could be demonic in nature.
The Malevolent “Green Man” Leaves his Mark
As Parker related his story to us, I had noticed his companion, Sam, getting more and more quiet. Immediately afterward, we all left for the kitchen to refill our beverage glasses, while several of Parker’s family members could be heard laughing and talking down the hallway in the den. At this point, Sam took me aside, and rather candidly told me that he had a story similar to Parker’s that he wished to share with me while the others weren’t around.
Sam’s experience began with a strange dream, in which the environment resembled the town of Asheville, though a mangled, misshapen variation of it–perhaps even “post apocalyptic,” as Sam described it. At one point, Sam said that he and all his friends and loved ones were all gathered in a room together, when a large, strange man with green skin and a long knife appeared, barking orders at everyone.
“They all began to kneel before this man,” Sam told me, “but I kept telling everyone they didn’t have to follow his orders.” Sam urged them all to get up, and as he continued trying to warn the others, he watched in terror as the green man went to each of them, and began disemboweling every person with his knife as they knelt before him.
At this point, Sam became aware that he was dreaming, and awoke from the nightmare; however, he found that his body was still paralyzed, and that he was unable to move anything but his eyes. Then, casting his gaze to the foot of his bed, Sam was overtaken with fear at the realization that the green man, complete with his long knife, was now standing there.
“I will destroy everything that you love and hold dear,” the demonic entity taunted, as he began moving toward Sam, who, at this point, was struggling to find a way to cause his body to awaken from the paralysis.
“Just as this guy was coming in near to me, I finally began to snap out of it, and felt my body begin to move. Without thinking, I leaped up and out of the bed, and as I did so, the green man lunged toward me, swiping the blade of his knife at me and cutting the back of my left hand, just before he disappeared.” As he spoke, Sam lifted his hand into view, where one can clearly see the small, straight scar on his skin. As he consented to allow me to photograph it, Sam expressed that the reason for the “attack,” in his opinion, might have been due to a mission trip he had been planning, during which he would be visiting Kenya the following week. He has never encountered the terrifying knife-wielding entity again, following the incident which allegedly left its physical mark on his hand many years ago.
Sometimes the distinctions between real life and the dream-state can become greatly lessened… and as this case shows, in what may be a terrifyingly realistic way. It is clear that Sam had been experiencing the phenomenon known as sleep paralysis toward the end of this nightmarish episode. While many individuals will experience this phenomenon during their lifetime (an experience for which there are physical conditions known and recognized by medical science that cause it), such experiences that involve vivid manifestations, both visible and audible, remain in the minority. Over the years, having taken a clinical interest in sleep paralysis and, namely, the kinds of auditory and visual hallucinations that can occur during such episodes, I have had a number of people recount to me similar experiences to the one Sam described (a few of which I detail in my book Magic, Mysticism and the Molecule).
Whether real, or perhaps merely an archetypal “evil” from within Sam’s own subconsciousness, what was the significance of the malevolent green man? Had this strange marking, which I managed to photograph in the photo above just after Sam told his terrifying story, actually been left by the strange entity from his dream? Or is this perhaps an instance where an almost psychosomatic affliction, similar in many ways to reports of stigmata, had appeared as a result of the extreme terror surrounding an event that occurred entirely in Sam’s mind? Regardless, whatever actually happened to Sam seems to have left its unearthly mark on him, providing a constant reminder as to those things in our universe that “could be”… whether or not we want them to be.
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What I find the most interesting about your friend’s experience is that it manifested through a classical archetype: the green man –which is not explicitly malevolent in itself for it embodies the forces of Nature, which can either give life or take it away.
In this context, the oneiric background in which the dream unfolded –a ‘post-apocalyptic’ setting, presumably showing the effect of modern civilization crumbling after being run down by Nature– becomes significant.
Wow, red pill. How astute. Yes, the green man is a pagan symbol of nature and since the fear now-a-days is that if we destroy nature it will destroy us via wild hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes from fracking, etc. His dream did explain that it was post-apocalyptic (nature has been destroyed) and is now rising up against us, and threatening us. Sounds good to me.
Thanks. I do have my moments
It is interesting that the “green man” was not overtly demonic, nor did he seem to bear any other archetypal “devilish” qualities. I might have to follow up with Sam about whether we could get a slightly more thorough description of the character, and whether he seemed to resemble anything else (clothing, hair length, etc) that would have a symbolic significance.
From an anthropological standpoint, missionaries have acted as the handmaidens of capitalism, the vanguards that forcibly changed the ‘dysfunctional’ and ‘uncivilized’ peoples in functional wage-labourers. This is part of a disastrous process that still plays out today, and is tied to colonialism and imperialism.
Perhaps the Green Man was warning Sam to critically think about the work of missionaries, because missionaries are responsible for disemboweling the cultures, livelihoods and traditions of millions of ‘others’ across the globe.
If Sam really wants to help, all he needs to to is walk over to the nearest homeless shelter, and help make the lives of these people more meaningful, stable and worthwhile.
Sleep paralysis can be a wonderfully freeing experience, or a terrifying experience, depending on one’s state of mind. I have experienced it both ways.
Every time I’ve experienced, it’s been terrifying
Recently I had an interesting hypnagogic experience: It was a very colorful dream (I always dream in color) where I was in some kind of pond, or rather what is known in Spanish architecture as a ‘water mirror’, in which a couple of big colorful monitor lizards were crawling. Reptiles make me nervous, so I suddenly woke up, but what was interesting is that even though I had opened my eyes and moved my head to where my dresser is located, I could still see one of those damn lizards on top of my dresser moving towards me! I instinctly shouted “NO!” and the shock snapped me out of it.
After I calmed down I reassessed the experience: the ‘lizard’ did not look as ‘tangible’ as any of the physical objects inside my room. It was more like a transparent ‘layer’ super-imposed by my brain on top of normal reality, yet during the fraction of a second that the hypnagogic state lasted, my mind wasn’t bothered with the difference –it simply reacted instantly with fear.
Now, what would have REALLY put my head on a blender, is if the dream-lizard had knocked off some of the clothing I keep on top of that drawer!
RPJ,
My own most terrifying experience with sleep paralysis dealt with a weird dream, followed by me waking up, as usual, but as is familiar to the paralysis experiencers, I was unable to move. Over in the floor by the end of my bed, Linda Blair’s “Pazuzu” character from The Exorcist was writhing around in the floor, and as I was struggling to awaken from the experience, this mantra, of sorts, kept being repeated in my head: “the medium is the message!” I seem to recall “medium and “message” being variously replaced every other time with the word “mayhem.” Indeed, it was an odd experience, and when I finally snapped out of it, I awoke feeling particularly creepy and unsettled, with a literal feeling that I wanted to “cleanse myself.” Strange, the things our minds can accomplish while we’re still sleeping… or coming out of a sleep, of course.
On 10/21/10
I woke up with a perfectly healed 2.5 inch incision, complete with staple holes and a cut that was as fresh as you’d expect it to be after the staples were removed and had healed enough to just be black and blue marks. photographed it, showed it to m wife and some friends and family were shown the picture, but then it disappeared right off my camera card and I was forced to reformat the card to use it again. This happened around the time my mother-in-law, staying with us, asked me if I had company in the middle of the night as there were bright lights shining into her room. (leaving out dozens of details here) but the point is, it was 2.5 inches long! An incision! I never went to the doctor for anything and I sure would not cut myself and then staple it back up – would not have a clue how to do it. When I realized the pic was mysteriously gone, I took another and sent it far and wide. Still have that one. Staple holes are no longer visible but the “slash” is. Pic was taken 12/03/10. Still trying to figure out how to get an x-ray without getting committed…
If you could provide us with a copy of that photo, we would greatly appreciate it. Be assured that Micah & the rest of the GR staff would honor your confidentiality, should you choose to request it.
where do I send it?
Dang it…I was attacked by Civil War Rebs during a peroid of sleep paralysis. It was at my late hubby’s Grandmother’s house in Mobile Al. They showed me a house of depravity and rape, every room worse than the one before. I was aware, but paralysized. The imprint of the Chenelle Bedspread on my face was enough to convince me..
That sounds like a horrible experience
Thanks for posting this, Micah, a really interesting story. I have a post coming online about this article on the 12th but, briefly, I come at these incidents from a more magical/folkloric point of view. It seems to me that what happened to young Sam came to pass in what occultists call the etheric realm or plane – a place where injury to the etheric body (the vehicle for traveling in that realm) will result in injury to the physical. Now, why a being would chase him from the astral (the original vivid dream) to the etheric where this incident occurred, is anyone’s guess . . .
I haven’t looked much into OOBEs or astral traveling, but thanks to the Mysterious Universe podcast I’ve learned of experiences in which astral travelers have suffered ‘attacks’ from entities in those planes of existence. I don’t know whether such encounters would translate into a physical injury in THIS reality, though.
It’s all so reminiscent of that scene in The Matrix, when Neo finds blood on his mouth after he failed to jump off the building in the simulation program.
Micah:
It is very unlikely that someone will take physical damage in the astral – for the sake of simplicity, the plane of existence in which all our thoughts form images, from the lowest yuck stuff all the way up to the most exalted – but it is entirely possible for physical damage to be reflected to the physical body from the etheric level – the plane of existence that mirrors our own and might even be said to be the lattice upon which it is built.
Not trying to pander but, for those who are interested, here are my thoughts on some aspects of this incident:
http://monstersandmagic.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/a-modern-stigmata-story/
Can’t paste a photo here – need an email address to send it to you.
Hi GrandDaddy,
You can send us an email directly at the following address: info@gralienreport.com. Thanks for sharing, and we’ll look forward to hearing from you!
You guys wouldn’t be interested in one crazy picture of stigmata would you?
I saw your conversation with GrandDaddy above and thought you’d like to see mine.
Sure we are! But please share some background info with the image, k?
Ok. Send the picture to the email address above? I guess I could show you guys the picture of Mr. Scary.
I don’t know about the whole story though. If you saw her movie well, Patricia Arquette has nothing on me.
You’re not planning on hitting on Nicolas Cage, are you?
I really liked that movie, BTW