Most people OBE when they are paralyzed (that is, when they are so deep in the trance that paralysis ensues- Robert calls this 'waking paralysis', I call it Deep Trance or Mind Awake Body Asleep) but the idea that you have to go to sleep first, then wake up (paralyzed) and then project is.... sooo wrong. This is because when people wake up paralyzed from sleeping they are usually not lucid and still in 'dreaming' mode- and that is when the bad experiences happen with dwellers and hags and panic. A lot to overcome.

Most people project when they are paralyzed, but not in sleep paralysis- when they're going 'into' the paralysis or are already into it, before the deep sleep sets in. This is because it is difficult for people who are beginning to project to 'accept' leaving the body while alive, (psychologically) and it is easier to do if your body is paralyzed.

The thing is, that when you get more and more experience with separation without dying ( ), then your subconscious accepts this as ok and the next series of 'barriers' get transcended- first, projecting with bilocation, and then projecting without paralysis. That is, you can project while in a light trance before paralysis sets in. This is actually difficult (because working an exit technique without moving your physical body requires practice and self-control).

So yes, it does happen, and even if you are 'starting out' with conscious projection it may happen, especially if you have been working with subconscious reprogramming (such as affirmations) and some of those built-in barriers are being taken down.

ps. I don't mean to say that wake back to bed doesn't work- it does, provided you get up and go back to bed, changing the cycle you're in- I do it all the time, but that's not sleep paralysis.

Cheers,
CF.