Intense, Multi-Layered Sleep Paralysis Episode

Hello ATS!

I used to post regularly in this forum, sharing my OBE, Sleep Paralysis, and Lucid Dream experiences. However, after posting frequently about the experiences, I reached a point where the experiences were not incredibly different than one another. Continuing to post about the experiences would've been redundant. Now I post the experiences that are unique, in comparison to my regular experiences.

I meant to post this thread yesterday, just didn't have time.

Here is a little background information on me, which will help explain why I may have experienced particular aspects of the dream:
I own a custom hardwood flooring mill & installation company. We do a lot of restoration work in the 'historic district' in various cities. There is a lot to learn about historic homes and their previous owners and I'm fortunate enough to learn some of those facts from job to job.

I recently finished building my house (4 months ago) and I live alone - just me and my dog. It's 4,900sq.ft. and, with the help of my dad & brothers, took me almost 8 years to build.

I replanted some 'friendship' bamboo into a bigger pot and it has grown - a lot, many of the stalks/branches stretch to more than 8' long.

I also like classic literature....



Early yesterday morning (4.30-5.00a) I had an unusual sleep paralysis experience. It was a 'multi-layered' experience. If you don't know what that means, I will describe it below.

It started with an odd dream, nothing exceptional, just odd. I was standing at the top of a staircase, in a hallway/landing area, outside of a bedroom (presumably my bedroom in this house) on the 2nd floor of a 2-story Victorian home.

A man, who was my dad (even though he looked nothing like my dad - more like Donald Sutherland, wearing a full length sleeping gown, like that worn by the grandpa in the original 'Charlie & The Chocolate Factory') in the dream, walked up the stairs and entered a bathroom on my right.

I must've just moved into the house, because my 'dad' said, "I knew these floors would impress you. You know, this is _____'s house (Can't remember the person he said, but it was someone like H.D. Thoreau or Mark Twain)."

I replied, "Wow, are you serious? These are the same floors that ______'s talked about in his books? That's so cool!!"

Staring at the floor as I was saying this, I noticed my 'dad' out of the corner of my eye. He turned his back to me and took a step into the bathroom. I noticed he raised his right hand and reached toward a vanity light. Before he could touch the light, I saw him go limp and fall down.

I don't know why, but I instantly got this feeling of, 'My God, not again!'. I knew what was happening, he had become possessed - again!.

The floor boards started bending, the railing spindles began to bow, and the finish & paint quickly aged (the same way cinema depicts a Vampire aging and turning to dust when you place a stake neatly into their heart).

I freaked out a little and woke up in my bedroom, in my current home. I realized I was having a terrible episode of SP (Sleep Paralysis).

Since I have become pretty good at controlling my sleep patterns and I know how to quickly identify SP, it is a rare occurrence for me to experience the pure fear that accompanies almost every SP experience. I am generally able to identify the SP and use it to enter OBE. However, this time it was so odd that I was unable to recognize it or escape the intense fear.

As my freak-out intensified, I knew I needed help to break out of it. Someone needed to shake me awake. I decided to scream out to my mom, hoping she would come wake me up. I tried to yell, "Hey Mom!!!", but it came out garbled and unintelligible. I yelled again, louder. No one came. Freaked out even more and yelled as loud as I could, 'Hey Mom!!!'.

Finally, my door opened and my mom came into my room with my dad (my real dad), in his boxers, standing behind her.

As my mom came to my bed, I noticed that she brought 2 branches of the bamboo I'd been growing. I realized it was a trick and I was still in big trouble! (I should've realized this when my mom & dad showed up, since they live more than 25 miles away).

I was still paralyzed in my room when my mom looked at me and saw that I knew it was a trick. She stepped to the side and my dad quickly passed her as he approached my bedside.

Completely paralyzed, I watched as my dad leaned over my bed. Less than 10" from my face, my dad became possessed!. His head and arms starting making extremely creepy movements, like the well-girl from 'The Ring'.

Before anything worse happened to me, I yelled very loud. I was relieved when I awoke in my bedroom and they were gone.

Realizing it was just a very bad dream, I stood up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. I tried to turn on the lights, but the power had been knocked out by a storm that passed through, so it was pretty dark.

After using the bathroom, I started back to my bedroom. I felt my way down the hall, trying to find my doorknob. I realized I missed my door when I found myself standing at the end of the hallway. I turned back around and looked down the hall. This explained why I missed my door... it was on the wrong side of the hall!

This creeped me out and I knew something wasn't right, but I didn't realize I was still dreaming.

I walked to the door and opened it up. I was horrified to see my possessed dad leaning over a body on my bed. My mom stood behind him, waving the bamboo around in a creepy way.

I didn't recognize the body on the bed, but realized it was mine! As soon as I realized this, my dad snapped his head around and stared straight at me. Still moving like the girl from 'The Ring' or 'The Grudge', he quickly made his way toward me again.

I screamed as loud as possible and woke up in my bed, again.

This time I was really in my room and awake, experiencing intense SP. Completely paralyzed, I looked toward the foot of my bed and saw an incredibly menacing 'goblin' staring at me. I've seen this same goblin, or incubus, during SP before, but it's been more than 2 years. It looked like an evil 'ewok', with beady black eyes and 2 rows of ultra sharp teeth on the top and bottom.

I kept staring at it while trying to break the SP. Finally I began to move my hands and neck and eventually my whole body. Each moment that I gained more movement, the 'evil ewok' dissipated more and more. It eventually disappeared into a dark mist when I regained full control over my body and became 100% awake.

I stayed pretty freaked out for 20-30 minutes after the experience and couldn't sleep in my room anymore that morning. I had to sleep on the couch...

So, that's it... My Intense, Multi-Layered Sleep Paralysis episode. Maybe someone out there has had a similar experience they'd like to share, give your thoughts, or ask questions about this experience.



*Multi-Layered SP = multiple dreams within a dream, where you are experiencing SP in more than one or all of them. Very rare for me. Not sure how rare it is for other who experience waking or conscious SP.

GOBLINS!!!
I wrote about them in a thread some time ago. I woke one night (many years ago) to see about four goblins coming up through the floor at the foot of my bed. The next thing I remember is waking up for real, and there was nothing to be seen.
It wasn't long after that dream that I got the internet, and what did I find? Pictures of those same goblins, but they were not being called goblins on the internet, they were known as The Grays!

Could the Goblin that you saw be likened to the Grays?

Dreams within dreams.
Yep had that happen a couple of times, and both times it was similar to your experience. I woke up on my couch where I'd fallen asleep. I got up and went outside. Outside I noticed that all the houses were new and I new this was wrong. I thought I must be dreaming and I tried to force myself awake. I woke up on the couch again, I sat up and noticed the floor was a highly polished marble, I knew that was wrong and I again forced myself to wake up. Again I went outside and everything was pink!! At this pont I said to myself "I not having this, this is all just a weird dream" and I finaly woke up for real.

Dreams can be fascinating, sometimes I wish I could get back into them

reply to post by VoidHawk


I've had others ask that about the 'greys', after I described the 'ewok'. Best answer I can give is a simple, "No". Maybe they could be very close in height, but, unlike descriptions of greys, the ewok dude is kinda pudgy. I wouldn't confuse the facial characteristics with a grey either.

The closest thing that some have suggested could be ET related comes from an SP episode a while back. I awoke to find myself in severe SP (auditory, visual, and touching hallucinations). Standing to the right side of my bed was a tall white, really white, dude staring ay me hard. He was wearing something similar to a monk's hooded robe. Hood was up on his head, but I could still see his face and the front part of his blonde, almost white, hair.

His arms were crossed in front of himself and he didn't move at all, never stopped staring at me.

He disappeared much like the 'ewok' goblin did, slowly disappearing into a mist.


What messes with me more than having SP, is the nature of SP at this time. I have become very capable of manipulating my sleep pattern and recognizing what stage I am in. I learned to do this by practicing induced SP. This is the first time I've ever experienced such an intense SP episode since learning how to manipulate my sleep process and how to recognize the various stages of sleep. 99% of the time I would've been able to take control of the dream and use it to induce an OBE or activate a Lucid Dream.

The lack of control is the most troubling aspect of this experience.

I think everyone should experience OBE at least once, even if it's accidental, but I wouldn't wish the fear/absolute terror that accompanies an uncontrollable SP episode on my biggest enemy.

reply to post by esteay812


Next time, don't yell for your Mom. Yell to God the Father for help... it works! If you can't say it out loud, call out in your mind.

P.S. I'd be interested in feedback on my suggestion.

reply to post by esteay812


Ive had some multi-layered paralysis before. I find that using Jesus' name stops the terrorization immediately. The paralysis usually wears off after a minute or two.

About every other night for the last year I have had sp. Uncontrollable to boot so I am very familiar with the terror aspect of it. And the dreams or should I say nightmares are unreal in the same time period. For me personally it has taken a toll recently as some nights I feel it is getting the better of me. What I would give for a normal nights sleep..... And sorry folks but the Jesus thing don't work, perhaps for u but not for me..

reply to post by Maigret


Different strokes...

It had never been about who I try to yell for, the words never come out and they never work. I've yelled for help from my, dad, Jesus, God, and just about everyone else who I thought could possibly help me, no one ever shows up for real, and no one helps from afar.

I'm glad it works for some, but I believe it is mostly what you want to work that helps - the only thing that has ever helped me is time... given enough time and I can come out of any SP episode, usually in 45 seconds or so. I could spend those 45 seconds praying to God, or learning about what's happening to me, either way, I'll be awake soon.

reply to post by jaynkeel


You should gain some confidence in the fact that you can do a lot with SP and use it as an enjoyable experience. It doesn't have to be terrifying, it can lead too some of the most enlightening experiences you will ever have.

I'd suggest reading about how to enter OBE from SP. You're nights of SP will become something of a blessing, instead of a curse.

esteay812
reply to post by Maigret

 

Different strokes...

It had never been about who I try to yell for, the words never come out and they never work. I've yelled for help from my, dad, Jesus, God, and just about everyone else who I thought could possibly help me, no one ever shows up for real, and no one helps from afar.

I'm glad it works for some, but I believe it is mostly what you want to work that helps - the only thing that has ever helped me is time... given enough time and I can come out of any SP episode, usually in 45 seconds or so. I could spend those 45 seconds praying to God, or learning about what's happening to me, either way, I'll be awake soon.

I am really sorry to hear this! And thanks for the feedback - not what I wanted/expected to hear, but at least now I know. Just as an experiment, which would be worth a try as nothing else seems to work - and I'd try it if I was ever in the same situation again (God forbid!) - try calling out to Yeshua. This is the real name of 'Jesus' [sic]. It's pronounced Yeah-she-aah - and if the last syllables are pronounced correctly, you'd be saying 'Yah' at the end which is the name of God Himself.

I really hope this will work!!

reply to post by Maigret


Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll tell you, after having Sleep Paralysis for so long, I have called out for help from everyone I could think of. I've tried Jehovah, Jesus, God, Yeshua, Yahweh, The Holy Spirit, Mom, Dad, Bro, Sis, neighbors, exes, even my dog.

The only one I can count on 100% is Father Time.

Other than him, the other best options for me are intelligence and focus.

Intelligence in the form of understanding what's going on, identifying the episode and learning how to achieve different things from SP - such as OBE.

Focus is really important, because all the knowledge in the world won't help if I can't focus long enough to apply it.

It's rare for me to have an experience that's this far out of my control, unpredictable, and intense. Hopefully it's not a sign of what's to come. Instead, I hope it's a rare anomaly that leads me to be more aware of my sleep states as they happen.

If you, or anyone else who reads this, can identify a sleep paralysis episode as it happens, I hope you will consider this advice; Try to realize it's only fear and you can control it, you don't need to call to help from anyone. Instead of spending the time doing that, try to subvert the fear and take control.

Once you realize you are in SP and the fear is a side-effect, almost instantly, you will gain control. There are a few likely results that will happen when you take control. You will either exit SP quicker, or you will be able to re-enter a sleep-like state, where you can exit your body and enjoy a completely lucid out of body experience. You'll be even more amazed when you realize your OBE is taking place in an exact copy of the place you've fallen asleep at.

If you've fallen asleep in your bed, you will enter OBE in your bedroom and will be able to move about your house and neighborhood by floating, flying through solid objects and walls, or simply think of a place you want to go and, 'poof', you're there!

I'm sure calling for Jesus will help you if you believe that, but I hope you will consider trying something different, by attempting to take control and enter OBE. It is literally such a great experience when successful, I am compelled to believe Jesus would want you to experience this. Maybe it is the reward to the task of overcoming the intense fear related with waking SP.

I've been having sp for at least 20 years now and around a few years o I too started to learn to relax and have obe's although I've never gotten further than floating around my bedroom, but over the last year i'll be having a normal dream and the sp starts while I'm in the dream which is always unpleasant. Like I'll be dreaming I'm sitting round a friends house watching TV and then I'll become paralyzed and start fighting to wake up before any of my friends notice me lol. I've not heard anyone mention this kind of scenario on here so just thought I'd mention it. Also never been able to lucid dream and would really like to.

reply to post by esteay812


You may well be right - that you're meant to have this experience. I do hope you get it sorted out, as I would hate to have to go through anything like this myself! All the best with it!

To break sleep paralysis you need to go into righteous anger. It does not matter if it is self induced (your body holding you still) or induced from an outside source of some kind. Once your brain waves change our of fear and into righteous anger you will be able to move.

In a nightmare there is lots of fear, our bodies keep us still through this fear it's part of how our brain works. Once we switch into "Don't you dare do this to me!" or "You have NO right to do this to me!" and lose the fear our brain releases our body because we are no longer in danger of harming ourselves during sleep.

Lose the violent anger, lose the fear and take the attitude of "How dare you!!!". It will break it every time within a second or so. Oh, and the "How dare you!" works even if it's self induced SP.

reply to post by ufochick


Thanks for the reply.

Believe it or not, I have tried just about everything to break SP. It seemed like a curse for a long time, because I experienced it so often.

One thing that I am very aware of now is that there are most definitely different intensity levels of SP. Severe SP can last for a couple of minutes, while mild instances of SP can be broken within seconds, sometimes before the experiencer even realizes they are in SP.

What I've found to be true for myself is that trying to judge which tool to break SP works the best is futile - due to the varying intensity level from one episode of SP to the next. It can seem as if praying to Gd may work for some, but it is probably a combination of a few things. Most likely the SP wouldn't be considered at an above average intensity level. Combine that with the conscious awareness of the situation and the time spent saying the prayer, using a different type of anger, or any number of SP breaking tools and it seems as if one method works better than an other. The truth I've found is that the SP breaks from elapsed time, based on intensity & conscious awareness - not the content of the SP breaking tool.

However, I can not say this is the standard for everyone who experiences SP, only for myself... though I wouldn't have a problem offering the information as an explanation to others who experience SP with varying levels of intensity, noting that it may or may not be indicative of what they should expect to experience.

Thankfully I've not had any of uncontrollable instances of SP since writing this thread, but I have had several run-of-the-mill induced OBE's. Things seem to be back to normal (whatever that is)... or at least they have returned to what I've come to expect of them.

Hopefully I can find some new tricks or angles to use during OBE, maybe find some level of enlightenment along the way.

Thanks again for your reply and the replies of others in this thread.

esteay812
reply to post by ufochick

 

Thanks for the reply.

Believe it or not, I have tried just about everything to break SP. It seemed like a curse for a long time, because I experienced it so often.

One thing that I am very aware of now is that there are most definitely different intensity levels of SP. Severe SP can last for a couple of minutes, while mild instances of SP can be broken within seconds, sometimes before the experiencer even realizes they are in SP.

What I've found to be true for myself is that trying to judge which tool to break SP works the best is futile - due to the varying intensity level from one episode of SP to the next. It can seem as if praying to Gd may work for some, but it is probably a combination of a few things. Most likely the SP wouldn't be considered at an above average intensity level. Combine that with the conscious awareness of the situation and the time spent saying the prayer, using a different type of anger, or any number of SP breaking tools and it seems as if one method works better than an other. The truth I've found is that the SP breaks from elapsed time, based on intensity & conscious awareness - not the content of the SP breaking tool.

However, I can not say this is the standard for everyone who experiences SP, only for myself... though I wouldn't have a problem offering the information as an explanation to others who experience SP with varying levels of intensity, noting that it may or may not be indicative of what they should expect to experience.

Thankfully I've not had any of uncontrollable instances of SP since writing this thread, but I have had several run-of-the-mill induced OBE's. Things seem to be back to normal (whatever that is)... or at least they have returned to what I've come to expect of them.

Hopefully I can find some new tricks or angles to use during OBE, maybe find some level of enlightenment along the way.

Thanks again for your reply and the replies of others in this thread.

One last thing. The reason prayer or asking God for help in SP works sometimes and not others is because sometimes the person requesting the help from God changes their brainwaves out of fear and into the righteous anger brain wave pattern. When we request help from something more powerful that ourselves we tend to have the attitude of "take that!" which eliminates the fear factor.
So if you can find how to change the brainwaves then you will be able to break the hold instantly.

Dreams are not dreams and they are our astral body visiting other dimensions and realities.

Go to YouTube and look up Rich2150x he has alot of videos on oobe (out of body experience) what to do etc.

I would suggest that you raise your vibration before you sleep by thinking of things that give you pure joy. These nasty entities hang out in the lower dimensions that negative emotions such as anger etc will push you into. We are the most powerful things to ever exist..creating with pure thought. Next time imagine them as fluffy bunnies and see what happens!

ufochick

esteay812
reply to post by ufochick

 

Thanks for the reply.

Believe it or not, I have tried just about everything to break SP. It seemed like a curse for a long time, because I experienced it so often.

One thing that I am very aware of now is that there are most definitely different intensity levels of SP. Severe SP can last for a couple of minutes, while mild instances of SP can be broken within seconds, sometimes before the experiencer even realizes they are in SP.

What I've found to be true for myself is that trying to judge which tool to break SP works the best is futile - due to the varying intensity level from one episode of SP to the next. It can seem as if praying to Gd may work for some, but it is probably a combination of a few things. Most likely the SP wouldn't be considered at an above average intensity level. Combine that with the conscious awareness of the situation and the time spent saying the prayer, using a different type of anger, or any number of SP breaking tools and it seems as if one method works better than an other. The truth I've found is that the SP breaks from elapsed time, based on intensity & conscious awareness - not the content of the SP breaking tool.

However, I can not say this is the standard for everyone who experiences SP, only for myself... though I wouldn't have a problem offering the information as an explanation to others who experience SP with varying levels of intensity, noting that it may or may not be indicative of what they should expect to experience.

Thankfully I've not had any of uncontrollable instances of SP since writing this thread, but I have had several run-of-the-mill induced OBE's. Things seem to be back to normal (whatever that is)... or at least they have returned to what I've come to expect of them.

Hopefully I can find some new tricks or angles to use during OBE, maybe find some level of enlightenment along the way.

Thanks again for your reply and the replies of others in this thread.

One last thing. The reason prayer or asking God for help in SP works sometimes and not others is because sometimes the person requesting the help from God changes their brainwaves out of fear and into the righteous anger brain wave pattern. When we request help from something more powerful that ourselves we tend to have the attitude of "take that!" which eliminates the fear factor.
So if you can find how to change the brainwaves then you will be able to break the hold instantly.

Thanks for the information. It's something to consider.

Would you be able to provide a link to the research or studies done that point to this as being fact? I'd be interested in seeing the study.

vivid1975
Dreams are not dreams and they are our astral body visiting other dimensions and realities.

Go to YouTube and look up Rich2150x he has alot of videos on oobe (out of body experience) what to do etc.

I would suggest that you raise your vibration before you sleep by thinking of things that give you pure joy. These nasty entities hang out in the lower dimensions that negative emotions such as anger etc will push you into. We are the most powerful things to ever exist..creating with pure thought. Next time imagine them as fluffy bunnies and see what happens!

Thank you for your reply as well.

I am not sure if you noticed, or if you have seen any of my other contributions to ATS, in regard to OBE, Astral Travel, Lucid Dreaming, and a little about NDE.

While I do appreciate your suggestions, I should point out that I've experienced OBEs, AT,(Astral Travel), SP (Sleep Paralysis), and Lucid Dreaming for what has become many years.

As with anything a person experiences that is not common and carries a lot of mystery with it, I've done tons of reading, watching videos, reviewing medical studies/experiments, practicing, and analyzing my own experiences. I've also been able to gain a measure of control over my SP and sleep patterns in general. Since I have experienced it so often and worked hard on understanding the different aspects of OBE & sleep patterns in general, I've been able to develop a method for inducing Out-of-Body-Experiences through sleep pattern manipulation and sleep paralysis.

When I have an experience like the one in my Opening Post, it is rare and very difficult to control. Unlike lucid dreams, where awareness of dreaming can allow you to manipulate the entire dreamscape and everything in it, episodes like this are uncontrollable - I'm sure control is possible, but it is very hard to attain.

As far as manipulating vibration, can you explain that? What is a person's vibration? How would you go about raising or lowering it? Are you suggesting there is a literal vibration, where the core of our material bodies - the molecules, are vibrating? Are you saying that vibration can be consciously manipulated without any external stimuli?

I do realize there is a vibrational state of our being and that state can be changed by various aspects of our environment. You can feel a vibration, similar to an electrical buzz, during SP and just before bodily separation into OBE.

I do not believe the vibration level of our bodies leads to an extremely different experience in OBE. However, the frame of mind can and the thoughts prior to inducing an OBE are critical to several aspects of the OBE, such as the level of pleasure and the intensity of the emotions encountered during an episode.

Even when we condition ourselves with nice thoughts prior to an induced OBE, we are still subject to an even deeper emotional connection that serves as the foundation for the dreamscape or astral plane. We can constantly think happy thoughts, but they will have little impact if they are not firmly rooted in our subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind is the true foundation in which all dreamscapes and astral realms are built upon.

Personally, do not believe - no matter how convincing it may seem - that we are literally visiting different material dimensions or material realities during the experiences. I do not believe they are real places that are tied to our waking material reality.

I do believe we are tapping into something that has yet to be scientifically identified. I believe the Akashic Hall of Records is real. I do not believe it exists in a different material dimension or material reality. I believe it exists in a different realm of consciousness. I think it is the product of a collective consciousness and I believe everyone is capable of reaching it. Even though we are all capable of reaching the Akashic, only a few are aware of it and even less are capable of successfully visiting it on more than 1 occasion.

I believe it is a compendium of all knowledge and can be accessed during a type of sleep/hypnosis/OBE/Astral Travel. The idea that we are part of a singular consciousness and are capable of consciously accessing it during one of the rare sleep episodes makes me feel like we are all consciously connected, on some level, in our waking/lucid material reality too.


I'll stop here before this post turns into a novel!

Thanks again for the reply and information!

Man have I had some horrible sleep paralysis/ dream episodes. The one most similar to yours occurred when I was a lot younger. In it, I had woken up confused and gone out into the corridor next to my bedroom. My dad stood outside his bedroom; vacant, apparently paralysed but also gave off quite a menacing vibe. This freaked me out so I gently kicked him in the leg and the top half of his body went limp and the top half of his body sorta leaned forward onto himself so his arms were hanging to the ground. I was very freaked out at this point. Then, suddenly, I was propelled by, what I can only describe as, a malevolent force downstairs and towards this outer-corridor area (where we keep a second fridge, freezer etc) where I met something innately horrifying. I apparently woke up at this stage, only to find that I couldn't, for the life of me, keep my eyes open. I was frightened and wanted to stay awake but it was almost like I was battling with something. Fell asleep, continued having more nightmares.

Another notable one (this is far more horrifying due to its apparent supernatural aspects) occurred aprox four years ago. Again, strange dream, apparently woken up only to find that I can't move, intense feeling of fear and dread. However, in this one, a horrifying voice laughed in ears and spoke in a strange, foreign tongue. Eventually, it said the words 'I am the master of an evil darker than breathing.' I didn't know what the hell that meant. When I got up the following morning, I thought 'Screw it. Let's type what I heard into Google, see what comes up.' Typed it in. First page that came up was a website with the words SLEEP PARALYSIS AND DEMONIC ENTITIES etc. How the hell did that come up from those random words? Seriously. So. Freaked. Out. Unfortunately, its not the first thing that comes up when you type that in anymore so I can't offer the same level of proof that I could four years ago (I did, however, show my dad and a close friend). Still freaky.

Another one I had was when (again, strange dream, apparently woken up) a weird, thin, fleshy humanoid leaped out of my wardrobe and ran out of my room. Scary but less interesting.

SP either self-induced (by the body) or induced by an outside source can be instantly broken by will and righteous anger. Switching the brainwaves and losing the fear. Think "YOU have NO right to hold me here!!!". Then move!

If the fear is gone and the righteous anger genuine it works every time. That is what sometimes calling out to a religious entity works because it brings out the righteous anger and the fear goes away.

Try it, it works.