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Meditation and Visions.

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Koduckushi

Koduckushi

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I've been sitting on this for a little while. I have noticed several instances of seeing fairly vivid objects (albeit mundane like lamps and ceiling fans) or places (also mundane empty rooms or brick walls) during a few attempts at meditation. I've done my best to look through the forums and find others talking about such phenomena. I'm not sure of the etiquette when it comes to much older threads and their resurrection, let alone my value of content with this post.

I have no idea what I have caught a glimpse of means, but I can confidently say that I was not dreaming. Virtually all of these were while I was on a lunch break during work. At first I thought that they were byproducts of recent spice use, but I continue to see things occasionally after a couple months of abstinence. After the first few, I started to look into meditation and how some can achieve OBE, OEV, and CEV. I understand that this isn't unique to me by any means, but it leads me to wonder why I'm seeing anything in the first place and why they're so vivid.

The closest thing I have to explain my experiences circle back to the Tibetan Buddhist practice of consciousness transference. Maybe this is transference into the realm of dreams without enough time to actually fall asleep? If so, why are the visuals so mundane and ordinary?

I'm not sure where to go from here without being redundant in my commentary.

Thanks for your attention,
~Duck
 
Check out "The Mind Illuminated" by John Yates, especially Stage four. Also, I recommend the "TMI" Thread on Reddit, there are pretty knowledgeable people there.

I can only speculate, but when you truly were meditating, and not daydreaming, it could have been a trance-like state. In the TMI system, these would be avoided, because they only distract from progressing through the stages.
 
Have had similar visions. Didn't really result in much... Possibly due to consciousness shifting do to prolonged practice. Keep going the fruition will be stronger.
 
This could be, and most likely is, a manifestation of the shadow of the third eye chakra. While visions can sometimes be fun, maybe even magical, they are still considered noise and can be a distraction from deep meditation. I would recommend HRV Resonate Breathing (deep inhale, and a long slow exhale is the easiest way to start if you unfamiliar) and after you feel yourself relax, then chant Om into the third eye chakra. Now here is the kicker, the actual chakra is the medulla (where the spine meets the skull), not between the eyebrows. The spot between the eyebrows is the reflection of the medulla. If you eventually see things like your higher power, or anything else with spiritual significance, don't just Om it out, take it in and absorb it. What chanting Om does is it dissolves the projection of the limbic brain and provides a clean slate so to speak so that chakra is now free and clear to be energized. This may not be a quick solution for some of us and that's okay. Om japa in the chakras is therapy. Try it out and enjoy.

Pranam!

🙏🕉🌹
 
Very vivid visions during meditation I believe are uncommon, but maybe we are on a continuum on how lively our imaginations are. Sometimes visions can be a distraction, but if you develop mindfulness you can observe the visions without being absorbed into them.

I frequently look my surroundings through closed eyelids if I take a nap during daytime on the couch. It's something that has arisen as I have developed my meditative skills. I remain aware of my mind without falling asleep when the consciousness begins to descend into more relaxed states. The contents of these visions aren't particularly interesting and they are more like rather muddy reconstructions of the surroundings rather than real extrasensory perception, but who knows. I sometimes see my body in a different posture than it really is and I know this already when having the visions.

Strange things happen when you begin to master your own mind.
 
This has been something in my experience that I have been closely monitoring.

Part of me is wondering how much of this kind of experience could be traced back to "attunement" shifts, in which, through specific aspects and ways of our usuage, we become more attuned to the subconscious and unconscious and/or alternative states and planes of existence.

And it's possible to interact while also staying removed and outside of distraction through focus on balance, temperance, and mindfulness. But, like Th3_tRuTh said with their advice, it takes pactice and time.

One love
 
Tomtegubbe said:
Very vivid visions during meditation I believe are uncommon, but maybe we are on a continuum on how lively our imaginations are. Sometimes visions can be a distraction, but if you develop mindfulness you can observe the visions without being absorbed into them.

I frequently look my surroundings through closed eyelids if I take a nap during daytime on the couch. It's something that has arisen as I have developed my meditative skills. I remain aware of my mind without falling asleep when the consciousness begins to descend into more relaxed states. The contents of these visions aren't particularly interesting and they are more like rather muddy reconstructions of the surroundings rather than real extrasensory perception, but who knows. I sometimes see my body in a different posture than it really is and I know this already when having the visions.

Strange things happen when you begin to master your own mind.
Click to expand...

I have experienced mild versions of this phenomena (seeing with eyes closed). Usually at night, while I am doing my stretches before meditation, I will play around with it. My "sight" is very dim and I don't do much with it very often. This is actually a good indication that you are utilizing the right brain more in that moment. The right hippocampus takes in the entire environment, including what we have stored about the environment as well, and the left hippocampus is the side that identifies and labels. So when we access our right brain more, we are actively observing more of the whole picture. That's really cool that you are able to do that, and the reason that your body is different positions is because our mind's map of the body gets distorted as we withdraw our energy from the senses. The left brain loses its points of reference. As far as visions during meditation, it really all depends on the practice, the current level of growth, and whether or not your consciousness is rolled up to the medulla center.

A lot of what I shared is over simplification and kind of tough to explain without getting scientific, and I'm not trying to write a report, but I am sure y'all are picking up what I'm putting down. One of my favorite experiences in deep meditation is the body map distortion. My brain comes up with some weird shit lol. I typically keep my hands folded in my lap, but as I start going deeper, it will feel like one hand is way up and to the left, and the is way down and to the right and everything stats getting twisted, it's wild.
 
Th3_tRuTh said:
One of my favorite experiences in deep meditation is the body map distortion. My brain comes up with some weird shit lol. I typically keep my hands folded in my lap, but as I start going deeper, it will feel like one hand is way up and to the left, and the is way down and to the right and everything stats getting twisted, it's wild.
Click to expand...
This happens to me a lot! I keep my thumbs pressed against each other and at some point I don't feel them touching each other anymore. The sensation spreads from there and I begin to dissociate my hands from their real positions. When this happens I know that my meditation is getting deeper and it inspires me to continue. I haven't actually thought about it for a while. Thanks for bringing this up and providing some inspiration to continue the practice.
 
Maybe we should start a club :p . I experience the oddity of changing awareness of the body, the closed eye visuals in just meditation, as well as the "seeing" with eyes closed.

The somatic perceptual awareness shifts seem to be dictated by the depth and flavor of the meditation at that time. I experience slants of proprioception, somatic dissolution, as well as discharges.

As for seeing with my eyes closed, I'm still learning about that one. It's not something I can do on purpose, but it occurs often. Sometimes it will be coupled with closed eye visuals that are more reminiscent of psychedelic spaces, though low in vividness.

One love
 
I still have much progress to make with my meditation. I too love that feeling of altered proprioception that is common with the practice. I've personally noticed that if I keep my eyes open, the meditation becomes a little easier as I focus on a singular point. The borders of my vision begin to fade into a more focal point, as well as colors/textures changing in some mild way.

With eyes closed, things are a little more difficult. I have a hard time quieting the storm of thoughts in my mind. It's strange. The clearer I become within my mind, the more I notice it and generate more thoughts. Part of it is trying to be more aware of everything around me, to listen to the birds, the wind, and other people going about their lives. This does tend to lend itself to "I wonder what..." etc.

I thank you all for your input, gives me more to dwell on during the day :) It's truly a lifesaver while I'm at work. Feels nice to think of / get lost within something other than the job.
 
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