Confused about HI

[Led]

How can I tell the difference between HI and day dreaming? I don't think i've ever actually seen HI but I want to know what it looks like.

[Asclepius]

When I see HI it feels completely surprising and surreal. Images and colours flow without clarity and with little stability. Usually when I focus on a specific image I loose it. Sometimes I can sneak up on them and see them for a while. The WILDers can grab an HI and cross over into LD. Daydreams seem slower paced and are directly connected with my thoughts of the moment.

[wombing]

in my vocabulary: HI happen to me, and are generated completely subconsciously. daydreams appear before my dreamily drifting inner vision, and that vision's chosen path, and are moreorless controlled consciously (though also somewhat subconsciously).

[kafine]

I have hardly ever seen HI. When I do it's usually only for a second or so when I'm falling asleep because I'll start thinking again because it's made me say "that was weird...". I really don't know if this description will apply to everybody, but I'll have a go... When I lie quite with my eyes closed, I see a big pattern of dim coloured triangles. If I lie there long enough and don't stare at it, the surface starts to become 3d and slide around. I start to see stuff in it (like penny-farthings and spaceships, for some reason), just like looking for shapes in clouds.

[CalmoftheEye]

All I get from HI is white shapes going everywhere. Is that HI? If I look at anyone one thing, or move my eyes, it goes away. I'm not sure I have progressed far enough into it though, I usually lose interest. How long does it usually take to start seeing more than blobs?

[Asclepius]

Originally posted by CalmoftheEye All I get from HI is white shapes going everywhere. Is that HI? If I look at anyone one thing, or move my eyes, it goes away. * How long does it usually take to start seeing more than blobs? Not sure there is a standard length of time, will vary by person. I find a few challenges with HI, if I pay it too much attention it disappears, if I ignore it I may fall asleep. Usually there is a progression for me from abstract shapes and colours to images and scenes, if I"m continuing to relax it can change in less than 5 minutes. If I'm really tired it can be almost instantaneous.

[Placebo]

Yep, it's almost like swimming through an underwater tunnel - you can't go too deep or too shallow, you need to keep in the tunnel or you either have to come up or drown In this case 'drown' just means falling asleep unconsciously.

[Led]

Originally posted by Placebo Yep, it's almost like swimming through an underwater tunnel - you can't go too deep or too shallow, you need to keep in the tunnel or you either have to come up or drown In this case 'drown' just means falling asleep unconsciously. whoah, cool analogy, exept, in an underwater tunnel you can't go up

[Placebo]

Originally posted by ledzeppelin whoah, cool analogy, exept, in an underwater tunnel you can't go up Don't get technical on me now It's a 'virtual tunnel' - it's not really there but you have to try swim it

[phoenelai]

Its funny you mentioned two words that just happened in my last HI. Water and Tunnel. I was just laying there after testing my lucid induction mp3. All of the sudden it was like looking through tunnel vision but I was looking at something like new york city buildings in the morning (sunrise) I even glared at a bright sun or (light spot) it lasted a few minutes then I was submerged into underwater. Those visuals didnt last long but then was shaken up because sleep paralysis kicked in which usually follows HI's. It was some of the best HI I've seen for quite some time.

[Jalexxi]

I'm really confused on the subject of HI as well. Whenever I just relax I can get images floating into my mind, which are static and random. They always represent something, though, like a face or a person. It's usually only a few colours, mostly a white outline with a little green and blue mingled in. I have never experienced patterns, or colour waves like people describe HI. They seem to be consistent with HI in that they are fragile in themselves, but I can make my mind pick up on them and continue the image. It's weird how seemless that is. If I, for example, see a picture of someone running, it would normally fade away quickly, but by just an act of will, I can turn it into a full-motion sequence that lasts a few seconds. After that, I will have to start forcing it to remain there, and I'll have to actively imagine what would happen. The thing is, I can make absolutely no distinction between the image moving out of itself, or being ordered by me to stay and move, other than that I know I tried to make the image stay. It seems to completely 'fit' and blend in with the rest of the imagery. Also, I have not yet come very far with WILD'ing, but I seem to have no transitional stages in my HI. I have those outlines of objects that fade away, and I know I have short, full-colour, full-vision dream sequences, but there's nothing in between. That's why I'm a little confused on the subject, as most of the descriptions do not seem to fit with what I see. I see clear images of things, never patterns or colour waves, and they do not decrease or increase in intensity as I relax further. And there's no transitional or intensifying phase, at least not one that I am aware of.

[TravisE]

I sometimes have visions and sounds appear in my mind when I'm about to fall asleep, but I haven't actually hallucinated them yet. Usually they're more vivid than if I were to consciously imagine them. If I'm relaxed and my conscious mind isn't too active, then they will kind of "take control" of my mind and I won't notice it happening until a few seconds later. As soon as I become aware of it, it stops. In my case, I can easily tell the difference between this (it happens by itself without conscious intervention) and my own conscious thoughts wandering. Often the images are related to something I've done during the day, sort of like reliving some of the day's events in my mind. Other times, they don't seem to be related to anything in particular. They often resemble the types of images that I would experience in dreams. I'm guessing that the point where this happens is a good point for someone to give themself hypnotic suggestions.

[Led]

[quote]I sometimes have visions and sounds appear in my mind when I'm about to fall asleep, but I haven't actually hallucinated them yet. Usually they're more vivid than if I were to consciously imagine them. If I'm relaxed and my conscious mind isn't too active, then they will kind of "take control" of my mind and I won't notice it happening until a few seconds later. As soon as I become aware of it, it stops. In my case, I can easily tell the difference between this (it happens by itself without conscious intervention) and my own conscious thoughts wandering. yeah, I go through that aswell. I just gotta stay in that tunnel I guess 8)