What I’m Really Doing with the Sleep Paralysis News Podcast
Why This Podcast Exists
There are thousands of podcasts.
But this one exists because it had to.
Because something vital has been ignored for too long.
Most people talking about sleep paralysis stick to the same script:
“It’s a brain glitch.”
“It’s harmless.”
“It’s a sleep disorder.”
“Nothing is really happening.”
But for many of us, something is happening.
Something modern frameworks haven’t yet named — or dared to fully investigate.
What if some of us are experiencing something real, something modern science hasn’t created a framework for?
What if the very thing that’s been pathologised and dismissed… is a doorway?
This podcast exists to explore a deeper, more complex reality — one that affects millions of people and is still widely misunderstood.
The experience of being awake but unable to move
The sensation of a presence in the room
The overwhelming terror that often comes with it — or the sense of something meaningful happening
What This Podcast Is Really About
For 30 years, I experienced what was labelled sleep paralysis — episodes where I couldn’t move or speak, and where something else was often present.
Over time, I realised what I was going through didn’t fit the standard explanations. And I wasn’t alone.
I created this podcast to give voice to these experiences — and to build a space for conversation, not dismissal.
I also gave the experience a new name:
Threshold Contact Experience (TCE) — see end of post for definition,
because “sleep paralysis” doesn’t capture the full reality of what people are going through.
This podcast is for:
– The experiencers
– The scientists, clinicians, and therapists
– The parents and partners who don’t understand but want to
– The seekers and the spiritually curious
– And those simply intrigued by the mysteries of the mind, consciousness, sleep, and perception
It’s for anyone ready to listen differently — to consider that sleep paralysis (or TCE) isn’t a malfunction, but sometimes a message.
What to Expect
Real stories from people who’ve experienced TCEs
Interviews with researchers, spiritual teachers, and clinicians
Explorations of contact, fear, healing, and perception
Tools and language to help you navigate or support others
Some guests are experiencers. Some are scientists.
Some are both.
How You Can Help Shape It
This isn’t just a broadcast — it’s a co-created field.
Right now, the podcast features mostly experiencers. But as it evolves, we’re inviting more voices into the space — including researchers, clinicians, and spiritual teachers.
You can help shape this next phase:
Share your experience
Message me directly on Substack, email spn@sheilaprycebrooks.com or use the contact form in my Linktree.
Nominate a guest
Yourself, someone you know, or someone whose experience or work belongs in this conversation.
Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber
This helps fund the next wave of episodes, including outreach, production, and deeper research threads.
How you can support the work
If this resonates with you:
❤️ Like this post to show support
🔄 Share it — especially with someone who might benefit (a therapist, friend, or family member)
💬 Leave a comment with your reflections or questions
🎙️ Listen to the podcast
🎁 Gift this post to someone else exploring these topics
The Threshold We’re Standing At
Sleep paralysis — or Threshold Contact Experience — is more than just a strange event in the night.
It’s part of a larger conversation about human perception, consciousness, and what it means to encounter the unknown.
This podcast stands at the junction of a new paradigm —
One that reclaims these experiences as meaningful, intelligent, and worth listening to.
Thank you for walking this edge with me.
Let’s keep going.
— Sheila
P.S. What is a TCE?
Threshold Contact Experience (TCE) is the term I use to describe a distinct category of encounters historically mislabelled as “sleep paralysis.”
These experiences occur in liminal states of consciousness and may involve a sense of immobility, a felt presence, vibrational surges, or perceived contact with non-ordinary beings or energies.
They are not hallucinations or sleep disorders — but meaningful, patterned events that can be spiritually, psychologically, or ontologically transformative.
TCEs share features with other threshold states, including out-of-body experiences (OBEs), near-death experiences (NDEs), and lucid dreams, and often serve as doorways into a deeper understanding of consciousness, contact, and the nature of humanity itself.