Awakening the Inner Sense: Subjective Visual Phenomena

Common to Sun Gazing practice is the experience of After Images, Phosphenes, Eye Floaters, and the Blue field entoptic phenomenon. Learn more about these phenomenon is this article by Floco Tausin as he takes a deeper look into the relationship of the physical eyes, spiritual eyes, and spiritual practices like meditation and yoga trataka. Learn how you can strengthen your eyes to gain spiritual vision and awaken the inner light.

Awakening the Inner Sense: Some Methods and Meditation Objects

By Floco Tausin

The subtle objects: Subjective visual phenomena

Subtle meditation objects can be feelings and thoughts. For developing the inner sense, however, those objects are particularly well suited which appear through the fusion of the inner sense and the visual sense. I’m referring to those subjective visual phenomena which are known in ophthalmology as “entoptic phenomena”. Entoptics are phenomena which are believed by the observer to be seen outside of him- or herself, though, physiologically explained, they are generated by the observer’s visual system. The following entoptic phenomena are suited as meditation objects for most people:

Afterimages: contrasting colored afterimages may be explained as the continuation of the effect of a visual stimulus when this stimulus has gone already. For example, blinking into the sun for a short time period will produce the colored afterimage of the sun in our visual field. Meditation on afterimages includes producing these images by shortly glancing into a light source, e.g. a bulb or a candle flame. Against a dark background or with the eyes shut, we observe these colored luminous spots until they loose their intensity. Again, we generate another afterimage and observe it until it fades and so on. Observing the afterimage, we actively move it with our view and watch it change its form and intensity; we study its proper motion and the influence of our eye movements on its luminosity.

Phosphenes: Phosphenes are colored spots and blurs in the dark, often seen with eyes closed. They are said to be discharges of visual neurons. Meditation on phosphenes works similar like meditation on afterimages. However, it is more difficult because it has to be done without the stimulating effect of an external light source. We close the eyes and watch the colored spots taking shape in the dark. They tend to disappear from our awareness and therefore have to be made aware again and again by realigning our attention. An elaborated system of consciousness development focusing on afterimages and phosphenes was created by the French scientist and inventor, Dr. Francis Lefebure; the exercises of his “Phosphenism” combine visual concentration on afterimages with (neuro)physiological rhythmics.

Eye Floaters (mouches volantes): Eye floaters are scattered semi-transparent dots and strands appearing with bright light conditions in our visual fields and following the eyes’ motions. In ophthalmology, they are regarded as a normal opacity of the vitreous due to progressing age. Eye floaters meditation means that we bring these the objects into our field of vision and consciously look at them. We explore them, get to know their forms, constellations, and movements. We notice that the floaters constantly drift away, mainly down, and try to keep them in the field of vision. More advanced meditators of eye floaters will begin to see changes in movement, size and luminosity. The teaching of my mentor, the seer Nestor, provides elaborated seeing and ecstasy techniques to work with eye floaters, as well as a spiritual interpretation of these dots and strands.

Eye floaters: Mobile transparent dots and strands in the field of vision.

Blue field entoptic phenomenon: this formal term refers to “flying corpuscles” or “luminous spots”, tiny luminous spheres moving fast along in wound tracks. It is best seen in the blue sky (therefore: blue field entoptic phenomenon), but can become very strong in situations with extreme physical challenges like shocks or blackouts. From a medical point of view, it’s related to white blood cells flowing in the capillaries of the retina.

Unlike the other entoptics, the luminous spots can’t be fixed with the eyes directly but are seen in the peripheral field of vision. Observing luminous spots, therefore, improves our alertness in the whole visual field, rather than our ability to concentrate on particular objects. Dr. Wilhelm Reich, the Austrian-American psychiatrist and founder of the orgon theory, explained the blue field entoptic phenomenon as a kind of orgon radiation. More spiritually oriented followers of Reich suggest to concentrate on these immaterial luminous spots, in order to silence the inner dialogue and find inner peace.

By consciously looking at entoptic phenomena like the above mentioned, we withdraw our five senses from the material sense objects and channel the energy usually needed to maintain their functioning to the inner sense. This way, we awaken the inner sense, which in turn will help us recognize and feel immediately and with great intensity the higher significance of these dots, spots and strands as well as their relation to ourselves. We then intuitively understand why such entoptics were watched by people of all times, often provided with religious meanings and used as concentration objects.

The author:
The name Floco Tausin is a pseudonym. The author has studied at the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of Bern, Switzerland. In theory and practice he is engaged in the research of subjective visual phenomena in connection with altered states of consciousness and the development of consciousness as such. In 2009, he published the mystical story “Mouches Volantes” about the spiritual dimension of eye floaters.

Source: http://writingraw.com/files/Awakening%20the%20Inner%20Sense.pdf

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Tags: ajna chakra, eye, eyesight, Sun Gazing, third eye, trataka, yoga