Aphantasia is a condition characterized by an inability to voluntarily visualize mental imagery. The basic idea behind visualization is that in order to get what you want in life, you have to be able to picture that thing clearly (and in as much detail as possible). Sit or lie down comfortably. To quickly and easily fall asleep, perform the technique in the way described in the video with one exception—rather than speaking the detailed descriptions of what you see out loud—say the words inside your head while you lie in your bed. Remember that you MUST describe what you are seeing. Thanks for sharing this! BEST regards. In the mind, this ability is translated into the reproduction of pictures of life, of our worlds, that can affect us in profound ways. It is a process that unfolds as you start doing it. And the stronger your imagery is the more frequently you will see the image you imagine. You can apply this to almost anything in your life to quickly prove to yourself that you are already using visualization. The fact that you are not drawing from your personal memory or personal experience is what mostly trips people up. Before you know it you start seeing that exact same negativity in your own life. And how am i supposed to add other senses like smell, touch and stuff like that? amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; For the most part, the idea has been that if yo… However, so too is it vital to realize tha… You can read more about using image streaming for falling asleep, together with other useful tips for getting a good night’s sleep, in the book “Fall asleep! Can you smell the lavender cologne he is wearing? Proper visualization by the exercise of concentration and willpower enables us to materialize thoughts, not only as dreams or visions in the mental realm but also as experiences in the material realm. It sounds to me as if you’re making progress. It would just make me feel better. I’ve been trying to do it since I was a teenager. There are no right or wrong answers. I’m confident that you don’t see just nothing. I’ll check back in a few months from now and let everyone know of my progress. Creative visualization is a skill but unlike ‘talents’ it is something we are all capable of. Just curious, thanks. Imagine the scene where you break the news with your family.See the smiles on their faces. I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you to research those. once again, thank you very much. If, just before you closed your eyes, you had looked at a window or a light buld or a candle, you will see an after image … Only after Image Streaming did I make any real progress. Sometimes it would be just shapes. Then open your eyes again and repeat the process. Here are the 5 biggest issues. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. That was literally it. One way is by getting them to imagine one of the two images beforehand. Here are answers to the most common questions: Just a few seconds and not at all hard. It’s freaking me out I want to continue properly with the technique you mentioned. Also, are you supposed to listen back on your recordings after your done with the excersise? Its maybe something like tired mind, and i hope this low border of mind power will be higher and higher. It can be hard to “see” beyond what you have or what you’ve created in the past. Hi Matt—thanks, I’d be really interested in hearing back from you. Eventually the images became stronger such that they took precedence over the insides of my eyelids. You just aren’t noticing the things that are there. Is this correct? If this is you, then you should know that is DOES NOT mean you can’t visualize. I couldn’t wait to try it. Ok. What progress did you see, and how long did it take? I see nothing but do see a light when I close my eyes after looking at a light and then the light disappears after a few seconds. I also cannot literally think in words, because I cannot imagine sounds: I literally have to express in sound or writing to even think, which causes trouble in situations where I have to be quiet. they either fade away to nothingness, or in case of phosphenes if i can still keep focus on seeing them while describing, they just keep on rapidly changing into mostly indescribable shapes. I have noticed a general defeatism among those with the condition. I’m an illustrator and I’ve been struggling all my life because I can’t see things clearly in my mind, so I draw and I draw and I draw and can’t really seem to memorize anything. That’s a totally new take on it for me. Try to make your friend (or voice recorder) understand what is that you can see. We may be paid compensation when you click on links to those products and/or services. Now you can see things with your eyes closed, try some of the 24 backup techniques mentioned in the Further Reading section at the bottom of this article. every other phosphene i see either flashes really quickly, a split second, or is continuously morphing into other shapes. One of the best I’ve ever seen. See and feel yourself active and participating in the accomplished goal. Meditation is a powerful way to still your mind and to stop this inner chatter. Not only can it improve your photography and potentially improve your intelligence it can help you fall sleep more easily! And sometimes my pictures are really intresting, this color storm have been transforming into more realistic views, but i saw it just once, i hope this will be stronger, better and more realistic with time. We only “see” things in our head. Doing it the old fashioned way with a journal or a pinboard works really well – but do whatever works for you. In fact, engage all your senses. Any suggestions for working on this? Thank you for your reply! Many of hands when up—I wasn’t unusual after all! It’s easy to learn. It is when you have very vague outcomes that you have to “reach” for ideas and you will usually come up short. I feel as though I have long periods of nothing in between light images. Feel the joy and pride of being in that moment. With an hour or two of practice I could recite Pi to hundreds of decimal places. It is your brain’s interpretation of reality. Do you berate yourself? i tried it with after images as well, but those only ever fade away and never sparked something new. For example, if I asked you to imagine a green image, you will be more likely to see the green image … The words you use have a huge impact in your life – mostly because they create images in your mind. Hi @cmj123:disqus. eval(ez_write_tag([[320,100],'comanifesting_com-box-4','ezslot_1',106,'0','0']));They try and close their eyes and “see” a perfect vivid image of something they wish to attract but they simply can’t hold the image or form it clearly or “see” it vividly. Rather, when we visualize our manifestation goal we elevate our frequency, bringing our energy in line with the thing we want to come into our lives. Getting very clear on exactly what you want is not a one-off exercise. Sadly, when I woke the next morning, it was gone, I could not bring it back. No, nor could I. Your mind is always moving towards an image that you have of your future. 🙂. Replaying these scenes is a really powerful exercise. Does this sound right? The great thing is that you don’t need to be able to see images to practice Image Streaming! If you have aphantasia as i think it could take more time. I am confused, after I close my eye, I see 2 type of image, one is just dark, which is what i see behind my eye lid; another one is the image in my mind (not in front of my closed eye), which is some movies/images that i have just watched. You need to get really, really specific and drill down until you know what you want in so much detail that you have no problem filling an entire page in describing it. They will be hard to describe at first but, if you have vision (ie if your eyes can pick out the shades of light passing through your eyelids) there are patterns and shapes. If you want to visualize images in your mind then words can be a great tool to do it. Can you see the elephant I was trying to imagine? So I read about this aphantasia thing and suddenly everything made sense. Related or not, I was never conscious of dreaming when I was asleep either. As you open and close your eyes you will start “blurring” the line between what you see in front of you and what you see in your imagination. Many people with aphantasia also report an inability to recall sounds, smells, or sensations of touch. But after reading up on image streaming again it seems like you are supposed to describe what’s happening instead on thinking about something and Then describing it. The more detail, the better. So, in case you're wondering, visualization is the art of forming pictures or images in your mind using your imagination. Talk out loud about them. Thoughts are in fact mostly visual (although the other sensors can also be involved). Thank you for sharing this approach. I came across this page by Googling “aphantasia cure”. When it seemed appropriate I began describing the next prominent image. I can remember a phone number reliably and easily (weeks later) after hearing it said just once. Not if you want to be able to improve your ability to see images in your mind’s eye! Yes, I really did do it the way I describe in the article! Yes, I am using my iphone recorder! Its an exercise and the more you do it the better you will get at it. Thanks for the detailed reply! @disqus_jDz7LsVGFd:disqus There are a lot of misunderstandings about visualization, what it really is and how to use it in your life. And my imagination maybe is better i Don’t know becouse imagination sometimes is stronger and weaker depends of day. Today is better but still not good. Under certain circumstances, I can hear entire orchestras or bands, sometimes being able to differentiate individual instruments in my mind’s eye. An image in your mind's eye is more like a diverse collection of rules, heuristics, 3D models, and scraps of images, memories, and impressions that you assemble to create the illusion of seeing. When you have an intention to manifest something in your life, look at the words you use to describe it. I will report later too. so far i can’t get further than the after images/phosphenes themself. I could, not only see pictures in my mind, but could control them. You can feel the atmosphere in the restaurant. Did you really just describe the colour dots you got from rubbing your eyes and stuff like this? The idea is to visualize an image in your head; by consistent visualization of this image, it will be attracted to you. Image streaming has been used as a dubious method to increase intelligence, but maybe this is a more useful application. Earlier this evening, I was talking with my wife about how poorly I visualize (I can actually visualize tiny bits and piece of images, usually without color, but that’s it). Draw and write as YOU see it in your mind. Basically has it given you a “visual memory,” or only the ability to imagine more creatively? Visualize the good times – Though visualization usually refers to future occurrences, it also implies to mentally recreating a past performance or scenario as a source of inspiration or recovery. Resistance is something you just have to push past. That’s my long-winded way of saying “thank you” for writing it. Some also report prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize faces.. Try to see color, and even bring smells into your visualization. This post concentrates on its uses for memory improvement. Better Photography and a Good Night’s Sleep! The phenomenon was first described by Francis Galton in 1880 but has since remained relatively unstudied. Hi Lee – thanks for your question. If you can, try to visualize the highlights of a whole day playing out as though watching a movie. YES! I was dumbfounded. So now, through this technique, can you visualize all the time..or just when focusing on an object or doing the image streaming? However, as the images grow stronger, you soon learn to ignore your eyelids. The real challenge is that we tend to visualize what we already have. Mnemonics is something I’ve also struggled with since grade school. Personally, I didn’t bother. So today i started with the eye rubbing technique and i am also looking at different shapes on my laptop and afterwards i am describing the after image. Someone will see progress after 6 days and somone after one month. it looked like a phosphene, but it stayed observable for what felt like about 10 seconds. Well, duh of course you are!? As in the previous exercise, when the image gets blurred, or you forget it, open your eyes, look at the photograph for a few seconds, and then close your eyes and continue visualizing it. More to the point for teachers, guiding your students to visualize as they read is an engaging and enjoyable way to … Hey @singinglark:disqus , have you any news? Have you heard of a condition called ‘aphantasia’? I’ll give it a shot! You can’t just visualize and go eat a sandwich. You can then take visualization a step further by visualizing certain things you want in your life, for example, a perfect partner, a new home or more abundance, to list a few examples. Good luck to you all! I am now. This is my best shot at showing you what it looked like. I wonder if you can help me out, here: I’ve been able to imagine scenes in novels and can conjure up an image (though I hesitate to call it that, because it seems almost transparent or hollow) at will, but I have a hard time doing this with my eyes closed. All the millions of things that require your attention. At this stage what you’re seeing is not the specks but very faint images created by your brain. What you say to yourself about yourself and your life will have a massive impact on how you visualize your future. However, the fact that I now do have a functioning mind’s eye means that either Image Streaming is a cure for at least one type of aphantasia or I was never truly aphantasic. I tried this last night by rubbing my eyes and looking for specks, but they went away so fast all I could say was, ” black circle with a green rim around it”. For me, there came a time when I could concentrate on things and make them stay. I’m looking forward to trying this out. Also, I became able to control the images – adding new things, moving things, changing color and viewpoint. Imagine your brand new office with your name in gold-emblazoned letters on the door. You probably think that you are seeing with your eyes, right? Let’s say you want to envision that you get a promotion at work. Just keep practicing. Within minutes, I found Wenger and your article. Suppose your dream is to be a bestselling author. Both not very detailed at all but to me, after a life of nothing, is very strange indeed. Write it down and work on it as an artist will work on a painting where she keeps adding more detail, adjusting elements, refining proportions, etc. I can remember some things – events that stand out – but most of my past is ‘dark’. Mnemonics is all about using mental pictures to encode the information you want to learn. In this case, you were getting a negative suggestion through your sensory perception (sight and sound), that produced an emotion of fear which turned into the physical sensation of chills up your spine. It is a natural function of your mind to think in terms of images. No. We all have mental habits and patterns of thinking which is why you tend to re-create the same experiences in your life. If you want to visualize images in your mind then words can be a great tool to do it. When you look at something your eyes create an electrical charge through your nerve cells to your brain in a pattern of charges. Visualization uses positive images to produce positive emotions that manifest into positive physical sensations in the body. It’s something people sometimes do naturally after waking-up in the morning. Researchers have known for some time that imaging ability is a skill that varies from individual to individual. I’m pretty sure you don’t need to – your brain just needs to know what ‘someone’ is taking notice while you are actually doing the talking. As you train, you’ll be able to pull brighter, bigger, more detailed images from that part of your brain. This happened to me too. Everyone used to say how easy it was to memorize things that way, but to me, all it did was give me MORE things to remember! I was alarmed to discover that there are a lot of people with the condition who are frightened or otherwise unwilling to even want to visualize effectively, while there are others who (like me) feel sad that they lack the ability. Bye. I see colors, patterns which durning the session change to stronger fiolet and green patterns and sometimes this is stronger and i see storm of this colors, but i didnt reach realistic pictures yet. Once you get some traction it spins right out of the ditch and you can move forward. Unbelievable i clearly see results but reverse. I’ve also included some other links that you may find interesting. What you describe you are doing is EXACTLY how I did it 🙂 Good luck! If you are having trouble with creative visualization then it is not a matter of ability. It’s a bit like the fact that you can see the world around you through from the corners of your eyes (peripheral vision) but when you’re focused on something in front of you, you don’t notice the sides. Please let us know how it goes. You rub them only for a few seconds at the start. While your other senses play an important part, it is the visual that tends to dominate our thoughts. The image in your mind has more than just a plate of food, right? Now, look at the apple. All I did was begin describing the most prominent image and continue to describe it even when it had gone. This is something I’ve learned to do—I definitely wasn’t born with it. My suggestion is that you do it for at least 10 continuous minutes, at least once a day, for at least three weeks. Your mind just needs to know what the words are being recorded.