Living Ancestral Knowledge | Sleep Paralysis, Culture & Consciousness
In this episode of Sleep Paralysis News, Dr Sheila Pryce Brooks is joined by Vanessa Lamorte for a thoughtful conversation exploring ancestral knowledge, embodied spiritual practice, and how cultural frameworks shape our understanding of experiences that occur in liminal states of consciousness.
Drawing on intertribal traditions and lived practice, this discussion considers how experiences now commonly labelled as sleep paralysis have historically been understood within wider spiritual, cultural, and experiential contexts, rather than solely through fear-based or pathological interpretations.
Rather than framing sleep paralysis as simply a neurological error or disorder, this episode invites listeners to consider how altered states, nocturnal encounters, and threshold experiences have long been recognised across cultures as meaningful aspects of human consciousness.
In this conversation, we explore:
1. Ancestral and intergenerational knowledge
2. Embodied spirituality and lived experience
3. Sound, vibration, and consciousness
4. Cultural perspectives on altered and liminal states
5. Rethinking sleep paralysis beyond fear-based models.
This episode is part of an ongoing effort to broaden how sleep paralysis is understood, situating it within a richer human, cultural, and consciousness-based landscape.
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If you have lived experience of sleep paralysis or related threshold contact experiences, or professional insight into altered or liminal states, you’re welcome to get in touch. Email: spn@sheilaprycebrooks.com
About Dr Sheila Pryce Brooks
Dr Sheila Pryce Brooks is a researcher, author, and experiencer reframing sleep paralysis through the Threshold Contact Experience (TCE) framework. Her work bridges science, spirituality, and consciousness studies to offer clearer understanding and meaningful support for those navigating liminal and nocturnal states.
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