Thread: Who here can actually SEE what they visualize

Originally Posted by SaMaster14

I think that I 'see' what I visualize. Some people's brains work in concepts, others in words, equations, pictures, etc.

I tend to think in pictures and concepts. When I think of an apple as someone else stated, an apple pops up in my head. I can even block out what I'm really seeing and see the apple. I can be so into a daydream sometimes that I see the daydream and completely block out what my eyes are really seeing in front of me. It is as if I am in a trance. But once my concentration falters, I loose the day dream. When I was younger I thought everyone was able to do that, but as I got older I realized how differently people's brains and imaginations work.

Interestingly enough, on the topic of dreams: my dreams are almost always vivid, especially with sight and feeling. At times hearing as well (but usually I somehow know I'm not really hearing what is going on in the dream... although I've had some interesting dreams where I've spoken in Spanish and Japanese fluently (I'm just about fluent in Spanish and I'm learning Japanese now). BUT... I've never had a fully complete lucid dream - I always wake up once I begin to realize I am dreaming and attempt to attain lucidity.

I think you can do something with this. If you can try and visualize that apple, then try to 'touch' the apple and pay attention to how it feels. I think when one visualizes you are creating a dream world but you just can't interact with it, but with those with super visualization skills like you can interact with this 'image'. So go ahead and try it.

i think anybody can visualize to some extend. i can just visualize apple, touch it feel as it is real even when writing this, i have now my mouth full of salivia, i can cut it, remove skin from it and see it in real time but in my mind, not physically as sythix.

Originally Posted by memtest81

i think anybody can visualize to some extend. i can just visualize apple, touch it feel as it is real even when writing this, i have now my mouth full of salivia, i can cut it, remove skin from it and see it in real time but in my mind, not physically as sythix.

Wow thats freaking amazing man! If you can touch it and feel it as if real already then have you tried 'immersing' yourself into your image?

immersing while being awake ? i dont know how to do it, if i try what i think it cut off my senses for few moments i can integrate myself with this apple. feel it from inside..better is when i image it inside my mind, and spin my awareness around it, this is really awesome because after few spins i 1 - can see it very clear, even clearer and 2. there is nice head pain.

this would be awesome if i could totally cut of reality and be in this apple inside for as long as i want, but there is only few moments..

what do you mean by immersing into it ?

Originally Posted by memtest81

immersing while being awake ? i dont know how to do it, if i try what i think it cut off my senses for few moments i can integrate myself with this apple. feel it from inside..better is when i image it inside my mind, and spin my awareness around it, this is really awesome because after few spins i 1 - can see it very clear, even clearer and 2. there is nice head pain.

this would be awesome if i could totally cut of reality and be in this apple inside for as long as i want, but there is only few moments..

what do you mean by immersing into it ?

I think that when one visualizes you are actually creating a mental world like a dream but since you are awake you can only just look at it but not be inside it. So what I mean by immersing into it I mean creating an image like a forest then try to put all of your consciousness into that world and interact with it sorta like a dream. Think you can do that?

It is a skill developed through awareness of unconscious abilities learned or not. The unconscious remembers everything so its just a matter of recall.

This is what helps...

Take a memory, any memory, and attempt to recall the memory in as much conceivable detail as possible. Your mind will then illuminate connected memories and you can do the same with each consecutive memory. You must take your time, thinking of each sensory perception and environmental detail with supreme exactness. This will increase your eidetic memory.

I learned this concept in waking life through my intuitive knowledge of dream recall. As a child, at night, I would lie in bed and recall memories of the day; then slowly work my way backwards through dreams and waking memories.

Part of this is my natural ability. I have the most unique(rare) psychological type of mind according to the Myers Briggs test. Through various circumstances, I have learned to take advantage of my specific "mind skills".

Also, these experiences can get weird. I often experience synesthesia as well as extremely vivid memory recall brought on by sensory inputs. For example: I will smell something and an entire memory block from my past will be recalled instantaneously. I can then explore that memory and its connections as I outlined before.
These practices will greatly help dream recall as well...Only downside I have seen is some of the emotional reactions I have. Other than that its pretty great...

Thats awesome man! I will definitely take try what you said.

Originally Posted by Chimpertainment

Also, these experiences can get weird. I often experience synesthesia as well as extremely vivid memory recall brought on by sensory inputs. For example: I will smell something and an entire memory block from my past will be recalled instantaneously. I can then explore that memory and its connections as I outlined before.
These practices will greatly help dream recall as well...Only downside I have seen is some of the emotional reactions I have. Other than that its pretty great...

I have had this happen to me as well. Smells, and even sounds and tastes trigger memories from my past. Just yesterday the smell of grass in august mixed with the smell of a gardenia brought back a whole bombardment of child-hood day camp memories. My mom would always pick a gardenia from our garden for me to give to the van/bus driver on the way to camp every morning during the summer. Funny enough... thinking about that smell and remembering my remembrance has brought back even more memories...

I have vivid dream recall, and I recall my dreams often... but I am still unable to really become lucid - I am always so immersed in my dreams that they seem real at the time, even though they are preposterous when I am awake.

Originally Posted by Daredevilpwn

Thats awesome man! I will definitely take try what you said.

Cool! Ive started doing this practice again before I fall asleep. Unfortunately, its been so long since ive done it consistently that its pretty tedious. In the past, it was something I did every night. Eventually, I would begin to store and recall memories in a much different way. The form it reminds me of is the fractal. A large amount of memory can be stored in a space, then you can zoom out, and that once large memory is a smaller block yet everything has remained in the same shape. In my experience, once I became proficient in the practice, I could remember every moment for quite some time into the past, then older memories would meld into a string of consecutive memories. If I concentrated hard enough, the older memories could be accessed as well.

I didn't really mean to ramble on but its something that has been on my mind recently.
I retained that practice for a few years. Then I had a major turning point in my life and my dream practice was eradicated from my mind along with my memory exercises. These skills seemed to turn inside out and even work against me without my conscious knowledge.
It was almost like I willfully discarded my memory. Anyways, I am getting it back slowly but surely. I think everyone has this ability; however, adults are essential programmed which can make these exercises pretty rigorous.

Its linked pretty closely with the general concentration and focus a person needs when using intention towards dreaming. Teks like MILD, Dream Incubation, and general recall are greatly helped through this practice.

so yeah...

Originally Posted by SaMaster14

I have had this happen to me as well. Smells, and even sounds and tastes trigger memories from my past. Just yesterday the smell of grass in august mixed with the smell of a gardenia brought back a whole bombardment of child-hood day camp memories. My mom would always pick a gardenia from our garden for me to give to the van/bus driver on the way to camp every morning during the summer. Funny enough... thinking about that smell and remembering my remembrance has brought back even more memories...

I have vivid dream recall, and I recall my dreams often... but I am still unable to really become lucid - I am always so immersed in my dreams that they seem real at the time, even though they are preposterous when I am awake.

Good to know im not the only one.

Yeah, sometimes the experience is very powerful depending on the memory. If it is linked with a lot of repressed emotional energy, there can be quite a physiological reaction.

Perhaps trying a mantra before sleep would help. That seems to be what helps me become lucid the most, that and WBTB. I usually try "I will have a lucid dream" or something similar to a straightforward statement. According to some dream researchers, tone of voice is very important. To me, that would make sense because of the emotional reaction caused by vocal tones. Also, memories are more likely to be recalled if emotion is attached to them. So, in that vein, speaking in a tone that resonates(literally) with you personally could help. Personally, I try using a determined, confident, assured tone. This also helps produces a certain intention, and concentration on that state of mind. And the state of mind we want is lucidity.

Originally Posted by Chimpertainment

Eventually, I would begin to store and recall memories in a much different way. The form it reminds me of is the fractal. A large amount of memory can be stored in a space, then you can zoom out, and that once large memory is a smaller block yet everything has remained in the same shape. In my experience, once I became proficient in the practice, I could remember every moment for quite some time into the past, then older memories would meld into a string of consecutive memories. If I concentrated hard enough, the older memories could be accessed as well.

now this is amazing and i want to learn that...

Yes I am able to visual very well; now if only I could draw....

I can visualize full scenes from the past or imagine a creative world that is completely alien to our dimension.. or I can do the simple apple visualization.

I'm intrigued by chimpertainments comment; I have experienced something similar and didn't connect all the dots. I very often become nostalgic and will visually see the scenes of my life as they happened in the past and have been able to go farther and farther back; perhaps if I visualize a zoom out behavior I can improve my range.

Able to visualize the scene compared to having a second screen on a computer with my eyes open.. Meaning I can still see the world as it is and a secondary view of what I'm visualizing(star wars hoth scenes right now) or with my eye's closed it takes the black blank screen and fills it with whatever I feel.

Wow. Some many people on here with these awesome visual visualization skills...I am kinda jealous now lol

Originally Posted by Chimpertainment

I will smell something and an entire memory block from my past will be recalled instantaneously.

Smell is a very strong memory trigger. I get the same thing too. Mom's caught me practically shoving stuff up my nose in order to recollect a memory.

I wonder what its like for those with Synthesia. Being able to see sounds and taste colors seems trippy.

Originally Posted by Daredevilpwn

I wonder what its like for those with Synthesia. Being able to see sounds and taste colors seems trippy.

Yeah I wonder too, but they probably wonder how it's like to not have it. Just like we can't imagine not having the sense of touch or taste.

This is one of my way to avoid nightmares, whenever I feel like having a nightmare, I visualize other things and tries to control it until it becomes my dream and avoid the nightmare coming..

I didnt know that every one cant see what they visualize.

i used to be alot better at seeing stuff in my mind when i first was getting into visualization and meditation and astral projection, i would get to a point that what i was trying to see would become absolutely real looking it would spin me out when i tried to focus my eyes and look around it would vanish, then i started smoking alot of pot....and lost it... i dont know if weed had anything to do with it tho

Originally Posted by acillis

i used to be alot better at seeing stuff in my mind when i first was getting into visualization and meditation and astral projection, i would get to a point that what i was trying to see would become absolutely real looking it would spin me out when i tried to focus my eyes and look around it would vanish, then i started smoking alot of pot....and lost it... i dont know if weed had anything to do with it tho

Aww that sucks. You should quit the pot, I bet u can induce similar experiences u get from pot in a lucid dream state or other altered states of consciousness

It has been almost one year since I began meditating regularly, and about two years since I started taking acid/mushrooms and taking an interest in visualization and mental metaprogramming and that sort of thing, paying attention to my thought processes and such, and I've noticed a really interesting, dramatic transition in how my memory works. For most of my life my memories and thoughts were pretty much restricted to vague conceptualizations. For example, I could look at my desk, then close my eyes and have a general idea of what things were in what positions, and even have a sort of CONCEPTUAL understanding of what their appearance was, but I could never drum up any sort of image visualization.

Now I can visualize just about anything. I can re-experience tastes, sounds, sights, even feelings, textures, etc. To be clear, this is not 100% 'real' like it is when I'm lucid dreaming. These things all exist in my "mind's eye", as it were, but they exist there VERY VIVIDLY. If I picture an orange, imagine peeling it and eating it, I can ALMOST, but not quite, feel the tingle in my nose from the smell, and my mouth waters like crazy. Damn, now I really want an orange... The best way I can think to describe it is that when I imagine or visualize things, I tune into an imaginary duplicate of myself, who senses everything as utterly vivid, but the tuning is weak. It's like slipping just 1% into a lucid dream, if that makes sense. I can picture, say, a green field, and experience it QUITE vividly through a sort of alternate, imaginary sensorium, but the experiences in that sensorium never bleed into this one. I never ACTUALLY taste or smell the orange, though it feels ALMOST like I do.

Something I discovered that blew my mind at the time and is still impressive to me is this visualization trick. I'm curious if it works this vividly for others, you folks should try it and let me know? The idea is, imagine yourself standing in front of a door, and tell yourself in simple terms what is going to be on the other side of that door, then imagine opening the door. For example, if I say, "There's going to be a big dramatic church behind this door," when I 'open' it, my mind generates a complete building with quite a lot of detail AUTOMATICALLY, pews, pillars, stained glass windows, etc., much like in dreaming. I never noticed this prior, and I'm sure everyone can do it, but something about it impresses the hell out of me.

Originally Posted by acillis

i used to be alot better at seeing stuff in my mind when i first was getting into visualization and meditation and astral projection, i would get to a point that what i was trying to see would become absolutely real looking it would spin me out when i tried to focus my eyes and look around it would vanish, then i started smoking alot of pot....and lost it... i dont know if weed had anything to do with it tho

Within the past couple days I've begun making a concerted effort to Astral Project based on how easy it was to get into Lucid Dreaming regularly once I gave it a serious effort. Today when I did it I experienced something new. I've always gotten interesting and vivid hypnagogic imagery when I manage to stay conscious during the initial falling-asleep process, but it was always sort of vague flashes, and generally consisted of shapes and patterns. Today, however, when I was trying to project, it was fairly different. In the blackness of my vision I'd see light forms appear, and then those forms would abruptly become windows through which I could *see* with utter clarity and vividness scenes. I spun around a mesa in a vast desert, saw a strange dining room/coffee shop type thing, and a variety of other really vivid, LIVE and moving images, as though peering directly into a dream. I wasn't able to shift into these or anything, but it was really interesting. Like you say, acillis, if I would attempt to move or focus my eyes or do just about anything at all, it would immediately collapse back to darkness. However, you may be relieved to know that I was QUITE stoned while doing that this morning and that I smoke quite a bit of weed, so I don't think it really has any actual limiting effect on these sorts of things.

Dude...man i see like that sometimes. sometimes i can see it vividly only with my eyes closed and sometimes i can see it in my actual vision. But i dont have 100% control over what i see like for instance one time i saw a little chapel then this wave came through the front door and turned into a line of witches and they were going for my friend so i tried controlling it and it made these black hooded things with scythes kill them. I only seem to be able to see things during the end of the day.

During the past year my visualization skill has hit new level. Largest breakthrough was when I realiced connection between visual memories and made up visualizations. I've always been able to remember visual cues of past, mainly faces of friends and places I've been most connected. Then (thanks to psychedelics and morely half a year of meditation / dream yoga practice) I started get a clue what the minds eye really ment. Basicly I started to percive the moments when my mind held a picture. Before this I've given it a notice only when I've tried to picture a face of a friend who I've lost a connection with. Ironicly I hadn't put an effort to visualization up until the memories had allready began to vanish.

Now it has started to change quite dramatically. First I started to pay heed to those moments when I imagined something. Some of the pictures have always been there. Like when I read a book or invent a story, place or characters (for text or rpg session or elsevice). There have always been vague pictures. But they've been so short and at the edge mind that I've been left mostly with a experience of having only conceptual ideas, not images.

Now after noticing that there has been images, I've been able to prolong those images and give more intent to images than conceptual matrices. Then I realized that I've been trying to rewind myself to dreams of previous nights for many years now with varying results. Meaning that I've often succeeded of those recallings even visualy. Dream recallings had existed in different moods and states of mind than reading a book or trying to remember some old memories. So it was after practice and notion that I started to connect these things and give larger notion and difference to this part of memory and imagining that was visual, hence the minds eye. After noticing the ammount of visualization I've allready had done, it was more easy use it and stop and prolong the moments I was using the 'eye'. There has been short glimbses of visualization all a long, but the conseptual and verbal, rather than visual thought has overriden the images so that I've had no lasting memory and no belief of my visual capacities. I've discussed with couple of my friends who had always experiences books with wide and vivid mental pictures. I hadn't done that rather thought that I didn't posses visual kind of mind. Now I slowly started to change the self-image from no-visaul-type towards hadn't-give-a-notice-to-visual-type.

Another thing that has changed was skill to remember more distant past. I've had a belief that couple very ruff and even traumatic episodes of my life had made barriers that kept me of crossing them. I've had allready accepted fact of living with only past five years and having only vague memories past that. When that barrier began to broke (I'like to say that learned pastwalking) I spent couple of months drunken of meditation that showed me images and memories ranging backwards and even reaching my childhood, as well as larger spectrum of my own being changing while growing. Though I still see that places, people and, to pick one important clue: smells are doorways of memories, they can be feched with practice and by overcoming psychological barries that block the memory. After starting to cultivate skill of recalling it let me slowly but rewardingly backwards to person and history I had given up hope to ever meeting. Most psychedelic part has been with places that hold strong memories of past happenings. In those places I can see glimbses of myself as well as situation and company I'm with like interpolarated with present. Not automatically but with little effort. Sometimes I can see more than two moments simultoniusly and (in my crazy mind) even time crossing interconversation.

After noticing new things about visualization, memory and way senses work with enviroment and state of mind I've come to conlcusion that my field of experience is best described as layered one. Like when I'm wrapped up to myself I notice only first layers of reality (still having illusion of sensing). When aware and present I see past first layers of memories that think that if I've been in place before I know it even though it's made up mostly of my prejustices and mind state. After spending time in one place and luckily grasping more meditative state I get to see and sense deeper into the space I'm in. Reason why I use term layered is that space can hold matrices of categories I can tune in that really resemble some workings of computer graphic editing program strenched into worlds of multiple senses and field of time and memory. It's like I can tune into colorscape of some color and it pops up into surface of my sensing. Or even form. I can for example start to search for cigarette filters and all-the sudden I pick tincans, batteries, coffee thermoses, rolling pins and other resemblances of the given form at the surface of my experince.

These kind of tunings were shamanistic practices I read about couple of years ago. When I tried them then I didn't get much of the results. Then after last year launched by couple of trips and continuing with almost daily utilitarian meditative practices, they proved to be quite easy and blocks were suprising places and quite easy to overcome. Mostly I have a feeling that I mostly started to pay attention to things I've been doing all the time and giving more intention to them.

Easy and rewarding way to try this is color blue. Atleast if you live in downtown or other place where buildings are tall. I realised I've been cutting or layering out the sky in urban landscape. By tuning into blue colourscape it feels like my visual fields is suddenly strenched into three times as pick visual field with attention of the beauty of clouds added to previously poorer visual experince.

I read that DMT as well (maybe) being part of REM-sleep state is also part of process where mind builds sensual experience of surroundings. By my experience this makes sense

I can see realistic images..like watching a movie in hd...but i dont control it...it goes from one to another

Originally Posted by Daredevilpwn

Aww that sucks. You should quit the pot, I bet u can induce similar experiences u get from pot in a lucid dream state or other altered states of consciousness

thanks man, i will someday