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by dr_dshiv 983 days ago
Wow, in summary what does the practice look like? What do you do?
1 comments

So, first thing, I have this inner monologue talking to me everytime. I have to first shut it up. This happens when I'm very relaxed and don't think about anything. Then, I slowly focus on the visuals I see (which is nothing). Then, suddenly some shapes come and go, and I try to keep them in my head as much as I can. To influence a flow of visuals, I look at a light and close my eyes. You see the afterimage of the light (which is a "eye" thing, not a "mind" thing). However, this has helped to start seeing some stuff in the mind, even though it takes 10-20 minutes of focus (and mentally exhausting!)

Also, this subreddit has many information and anecdotal experience on this technique: https://www.reddit.com/r/CureAphantasia/

I have seen some shapes and a few colors for now. Most importantly, I have started to see vivid dreams in the last few days, which has never happened before (before that it was just a feeling not a visual. However, my father suggested this might just be that I have learned to remember dreams more by becoming more conscious about it, which is a possibility). It's too soon to judge. So, I'll keep doing it for a couple more weeks to see if it can help me see visuals rather than random flashes.

I'm aphantasic, though I'm not entirely sure that I have always been that way. I've recently been using Lumenate to meditate, and while it hasn't actually changed my aphantasia (yet?), I do get very strong abstract visuals when using the app. It's closer to the kind of thing you might see while on mushrooms than any kind of physical form. I absolutely suck at meditation usually as I just cannot switch off the inner voices, this seems better as it gives me something else to focus on.

https://lumenategrowth.com

That’s really fascinating! Thank you for sharing.

If you are interested in internal visions, try flickering lights with closed eyes. Around 10hz they create strong internal visuals after about a minute. There are several apps that can do this— luminate is one, but there are free ones, too.

(Usual warnings about photosensitive epilepsy apply)