yes, its common..

Some people experience this as a guide or angelic presence, but if you are afraid it has been described as Sleep Paralysis, Night Terror, The Old Hag, Succubus and Incubus . . . Anam Cara, Bonnie


“The word Nightmare itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon neaht or nicht (=night) and mara (=incubus or succubus). Literally means a 'crusher,' and the connotation of a crushing weight on the breast is common, . . . (Hufford, 1982:53)

The word "succubus" comes from an alteration of the Late Latin succuba meaning "strumpet". The word itself is derived from the Latin prefix "sub-" which means "below, underneath", and the verb "cubo" which means "I lie". So a succubus is someone who lies under another person, whereas an incubus (Latin "in-" stand in this case for "on top") is someone who lies on top of another person.[1]

Mare was also a term for the sighing, suffocative panting, or an intercepted utterance, with a sense of pressure across the chest, which occurs during sleep. These symptoms were also thought to be an incubus (or succubus), an evil preternatural being, causing nightmares and/or nocturnal emissions. This phenomenon is now thought to be an experience of sleep paralysis.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succubus

I once had a dream where a sorcerer friend of mine gave me a blue herb to smoke,
and I immediately became lucid and decided to fly off to another continent.
He had no knowledge of entering my dreams,
so I very likely placed my friends face on a construct in order to facilitate this event.
there is no way for me to know.
~
even simply being lucid in a dream can only be a portion of the game.
In a lucid dream I once decided to destroy my environment thru concentration.
The world I was in shattered, and I found myself in a dimension of violet light.
This is my standard of lucidity now,
and being aware that I am dreaming s only a gateway.

that's a fascinating dream. in my opinion, you were lucid dreaming. after all, you reminded yourself to wake up and write it down. that sounds like you knew you were dreaming, and not awake. i also don't believe that you have to be in control to be lucid - that's a separate part of the experience. if this were my dream, i'd say the guru figure was a signal to become fully aware you were dreaming. and the key is to know "when" you are. that's a great puzzle that i'm sure you're chewing on!

i have also experienced things in dreams like you mentioned - the spinning, the heaviness of body. physically, this is most likely a symptom of sleep paralysis. spinning, falling, drifting and other bodily sensations like that are common when I drift from a dream state into another state (like waking up which it sounds like began top happen when you became scared). this state may be hypnopompia. it's natural and if you focus on it, you can learn to stretch it out and linger there for longer stretches of time. a lot of people have astral projection-type experiences here. theres also an association with near death experiences (similiar phenomenal properties of consciousness) and this sleep state too like Artist priestess commented above. thanks for sharing - you're not alone!

wow thats interesting you say that..once I dreamt I was being sucked up into a vortex but knew if I allowed it I would physically die on this plane...and was never sure why that was so strong...

sleep paralysis
wake induced lucid dreaming
yay yayee

I totally agree Erin . . .
I have experienced Astral and lucid dreams all my life . . . it is one of the reasons I joined Tribe, to see if other experienced simmilar things . . . for many years my lcuid dreams were triggered by seeing familar, but usually dead people (my Dad, my dog, my best friend) . . . after a while I would say "Everytime I see you it turns out to be a dream, so this must be a dream" and then I would go flying off exploring the nether world . . .

I recently realized how many opportunities I have missed to receive messages for these loved ones, because I was trying to control my dream . . . While it is possible to invoke this state or project yourself into these realms, I have also been ask by my guides "what are you doing here, you were not called" . . . I realize that just because it is possible it may not be appropraite . . . these are special and sacred experiences not be taken lightly . . . so now I wait for these experience to come to me . .

The last time I astral projected I was outside flying around, and I remembered to center myself and ask my guide or the universe "why am I here, what do you want me to experience" . . . from there I I was lead through a guided experience . . . I was still in control, still lucid, but taken through a series of enlightening experiences . . . this was far more powerful than controlling my experience . . .
Anam Cara, Bonnie

i've had some luck with lucid to OBE although not recently. but it sounds like you're already on the right track: try to remember where you are actually sleeping first. what worked for me was to next "imagine" or "feel" myself laying in bed where i really am. this can result in an awakening, but it also can trigger an OBE if you don't actually wake up. but if you wake up, just close your eyes and try to keep aware as your fall back asleep. in either case, once you feel your body and the strange bodily sensations or "shifting sands" in the vision, try shifting upwards. if you're still in REM paralysis, you may cause an OBE.