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I haven't tried it but this person claims to have a technique you can practice as an aphantasic and learn to visualise: https://photographyinsider.info/image-st

I haven't tried it but this person claims to have a technique you can practice as an aphantasic and learn to visualise: https://photographyinsider.info/image-streaming-for-photographers/ https://photographyinsider.info/image-streaming-for-photogra...

afro88 2y ago
That's incredibly interesting, thanks for sharing. I'm not aphantasic but when deliberately picturing something the image starts correctly but changes to something else quickly. They are also not vivid at all. However when I think or remember things (consciously or day dreaming) the images / video is better. But as soon as I focus on it directly it changes and I lose it so to speak. Gonna give this a try.
IncreasePosts 2y ago
I read about something a long time ago, maybe in a lucid dreaming context, but it was about a man who was sitting on a train in the early 20th century daydreaming, and the shadows from trees rapidly passing over his eyes basically kickstarted his ability to visualize with his mind's eye. I think he might have even gone on create a device with a spinning circle with slits on it and a lamp behind it in order to play with the effect. Anyways, I tried it a long time ago, and it definitely enhanced my ability to truly "see" mental imagery. Give it a shot! All you need to do is close your eyes and relax in front of something that is generating a lot of bright/dark areas in motion. Even sitting in front of a TV in a dark room with the TV muted would probably work.
brotchie 2y ago
I've tried this for an extended period of time and it hasn't yielded a huge improvement. When I'm laying in bed at night, close to falling asleep, if I concentrate really hard, I can sometimes get a little glimpse of mental imagery. Like a fleeting moment (perhaps ~500ms) of seeing a full scene (a forest, mountains, a city) but then it's gone. I think a mistake people make is trying to "see" things in the blackness of their eyes. I've noticed when I get these fleeting images it's when I'm kind of not "looking" at the black, but kind of relaxing my eyes on turning off my attention to my "photon-based" visual system.
lilyball 2y ago
Trying that right now, when I rub my eyes I can see the phosphenes, but they never do anything more than just float around for a bit and then vanish. Sometimes when I stare at the back of my eyelids hard enough I get the impression of static, but that's it, the static doesn't ever turn into anything.

afro88 2y ago

That's incredibly interesting, thanks for sharing. I'm not aphantasic but when deliberately picturing something the image starts correctly but changes to something else quickly. They are also not vivid at all. However when I think or remember things (consciously or day dreaming) the images / video is better. But as soon as I focus on it directly it changes and I lose it so to speak. Gonna give this a try.

IncreasePosts 2y ago

I read about something a long time ago, maybe in a lucid dreaming context, but it was about a man who was sitting on a train in the early 20th century daydreaming, and the shadows from trees rapidly passing over his eyes basically kickstarted his ability to visualize with his mind's eye. I think he might have even gone on create a device with a spinning circle with slits on it and a lamp behind it in order to play with the effect. Anyways, I tried it a long time ago, and it definitely enhanced my ability to truly "see" mental imagery. Give it a shot! All you need to do is close your eyes and relax in front of something that is generating a lot of bright/dark areas in motion. Even sitting in front of a TV in a dark room with the TV muted would probably work.

brotchie 2y ago

I've tried this for an extended period of time and it hasn't yielded a huge improvement. When I'm laying in bed at night, close to falling asleep, if I concentrate really hard, I can sometimes get a little glimpse of mental imagery. Like a fleeting moment (perhaps ~500ms) of seeing a full scene (a forest, mountains, a city) but then it's gone. I think a mistake people make is trying to "see" things in the blackness of their eyes. I've noticed when I get these fleeting images it's when I'm kind of not "looking" at the black, but kind of relaxing my eyes on turning off my attention to my "photon-based" visual system.

lilyball 2y ago

Trying that right now, when I rub my eyes I can see the phosphenes, but they never do anything more than just float around for a bit and then vanish. Sometimes when I stare at the back of my eyelids hard enough I get the impression of static, but that's it, the static doesn't ever turn into anything.