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I have aphantasia but somehow I am having a feeling it is self induced. Let me explain. You know how in movies sometimes people who have hallucinations (basica
by NiceWayToDoIT 5y ago
I have aphantasia but somehow I am having a feeling it is self induced.
Let me explain. You know how in movies sometimes people who have hallucinations (basically uncontrolled prophantasia) start screening in terror because of the horror images they see.
So, good portion of my life my dreams were black and white and they look like room with under the strobe light. Only rarely I could see horizon in "outdoor dreams" or colors in my dreams. But, from time to time I have vivid color dreams, and even fewer of those, look like a reality.
So, when I started practicing meditation coupled with imagination and visualization of objects phantasia improved a bit, but dreams improved ten fold. But, soon as it improved a bit I stop practicing, I did not know why.
So, few weeks ago I started again, and few days I had a extremely sharp dream in which I saw viper snake attacking me, it was so vivid that I jumped out of bad. And while opening eyes, that image was still there, "snake" in the dark, on my bed.
So, my question is what if subconscious mind is doing it in order to protect us? Basically shutting down parts that feel unbearable for emotions to handle. Has anyone else had similar experience?
Additionally, when I have gimps during visual streaming (practice designed to improve visual imagination) objects are too complex and moving to fast, it is like video is streamed into my mind and I cannot control it. Last thing I remember is seeing some kind of very complex puzzle, element that was reshaping in breathing very rapid motion. Also those streams look more like AI generated visuals, they kind of looks as something but you cannot recognize anything.
Something like: https://twitter.com/revrart/status/1463518351498563585 https://twitter.com/revrart/status/1463518351498563585
and "Name one thing on this image" https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/029/455/Screen_Shot_2019-04-25_at_3.51.55_PM.jpg https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/029/455/Scr...
So, I guess if I would have those all the time, my sanity would be in question, so I suppose "slow conciseness" in order to sustain itself needs to "shut down" certain brain function, or optimize skills we used the most on expense of others, for instance I am good with imagining abstract things and logic.
I would like to know how to invoke those visualisations on demand, but it seem they just happen.
What I also find strange is that people who can vividly imagine, cannot recollect people faces.
On the other hand, I cannot describe any face, not even my closest love ones, but I can recognize them.
I could not describe anything to let say a police photo robot how crime suspect looks like, but I could pick it from the line among thousand of faces.
I am finding that very strange, it is like having one directional mind, in the sense you can understand foreign language (read/listen) but you cannot create your own sentences, write or speak.
- godDLL 5y agoDescribing faces is like drawing. Drawing is like constructing. If you don't notice the relationships of parts, don't break things down – you can't do it. Don't be afraid of your dreams. They are part of you. Part of your mind, consequently brain, which is a body part. When dreaming you can do much more than visualize. Dreaming is a different skill. You can learn dreaming too.
- NiceWayToDoIT 5y agoI am good at drawing, but only for things that are in front of me. Issue, is I can recognize face in split second, but I cannot recollect face. And, as I cannot recollect I cannot describe, if I say let say friend John, what I get is just abstraction of John, void blob. Someone already mentioned - imagine there is hash function, so once someone uses his password (face) I exactly know who is the person, but if you say persons name, nothing comes back, even remembering what he said, how he behaved or else, will not give me picture of person so I can use it from memory do describe and give distinctive features except he has two ears, nose, two eyes, maybe glasses, is bald... issue is you could explain same way most of the people.
- godDLL 5y agoPractice takes care of that. Start with a subject that is simpler than faces, and progress incrementally.