Thursday, May 28, 2009

When Your Eyes Are Closed, What Do You See?

I've drafted the eighth and final chapter of my book in progress (working title Perplexities of Consciousness). Chapters 4 and 7 are not yet in circulatable form. Like the other chapters, this chapter is written to be comprehensible in isolation. As usual, I welcome feedback, either by email or as comments on this post. Unlike the other seven chapters, this chapter is not based on a previously published article.

Here's an abstract:

This chapter raises a number of questions, not adequately addressed by any researcher to date, about what we see when our eyes are closed. In the historical literature, the question most frequently discussed was what we see when our eyes are closed in the dark (and so entirely or almost entirely deprived of light). In 1819, Purkinje, who was the first to write extensively about this, says he sees "wandering cloudy stripes" that shrink slowly toward the center of the field. Other later authors also say such stripes are commonly seen, but they differ about their characteristics. In 1897, for example, Scripture describes them as spreading violet rings. After Scripture, the cloudy stripes disappear from psychologists' reports. Other psychologists describe the darkened visual field as typically -- not just idiosyncratically, for themselves -- very nearly black (e.g., Fechner), mostly neutral gray (e.g., Hering), or bursting with color and shape (e.g., Ladd). I loaned beepers to five subjects and collected their reports about randomly sampled moments of experience with their eyes closed. Their reports were highly variable, and one subject denied ever having any visual experience at all (not even of blackness or grayness) in any of his samples. I also briefly discuss a few other issues: whether we can see through our eyelids, whether the closed-eye visual field is "cyclopean", whether the field is flat or has depth or distance, and whether we can control it directly by acts of will. The resolution of such questions, I suggest, will not be straightforward.

Thanks very much, by the way, to all the people who wrote about their eyes closed visual experience in response to my queries about it in earlier posts.

67 comments:

Fiona said...

I decided to google 'seeing through closed eyelids' and was shocked when I saw how many different experiences were being had. There did however seem to be 1 trend, being that most people found they had this experience when in a particularly relaxed state and many when attempting astral projection. My experience is somewhat different to this, I remember as a young child being convinced that I could see the reflection of my pupil on my eyelid if i looked a certain way with my eyes closed and applied slight pressure to my eye with my fingertip and I have always seen black images like collidascope ink splodges with either a redish or yellowish background when my eyes are closed; recently however (the last year or so) I have been having trouble falling asleep, my doctor says it is due to the inordinate amount of stress in my life and the grief I am currently suffering; this may be the case and the fact that I suffer from temperal mandibular joint disfunction would certainly further suggest that I am far from a relaxed state when going to bed.
When I close my eyes in the dark I see absolutely no difference between having them open and closed to the extent that i press my eyelids with my fingers to check that they are actually closed. I had wondered if it was an extreme case of retention of vision, but frankly am confused by the whole thing, my doctor and family think it is in my imagination. I found your article interesting to say the least and am going to buy your book, so cheers for spreading some light on the subject and making me feel less wierd.

Eric Schwitzgebel said...

Thanks for the kind words, Fiona! As you say, I don't think you there's any need to be alarmed by your experience. Normal people report all sorts of different things!

Salt Lake City Real Estate said...

Ok, I have wondered what other people see when it is dark and their eyes are closed for some time. It has always interested me ... wondering if anyone has written about this experience. I see a dark, almost black field with some gray or lighter than black area. I also see often what I distinguish as a black circle, void of anything but black.

It seems similar to what one other person posted. However, I can percieve some degree of depth as well as can definitly know that what I am focused on in the dark is viewed by one opf my eyes or the other. Usually, the images are from my dominate left eye. I can at will switch the view to my right eye. The very dark black images are basically the same.

In my mind I am pretty sure that what I am viewing is not my imagaination but is really caused by stimulus to my eye from its surface in the are of normal vision.

Likewise, if I look at the sky and attempt to focus not on any object, but adjust the focus to close, I see things floating on the eye surface, rods dots with a visable outline but transparent. Again, I was able to distinguish which eye was see the images and also percieve depth that I could adjust my focus to bring a fuzzy image at a diffent distance into focus. These images could be best described as what one would see through a microscope.

I did discuss this with my optician several years ago and he confirmed that what I described sound like I was viewing matter floating either on the surface or inside my eye.

I later had a similar experience where I would see black specks. They were explained to me by an eye doctor as floating matter that had detached from the back of my eye and was floating around. They were distrating at first but have since disappeared or no longer a distraction.

When I started researching this question on Google, most of the references were about imagination of what people viewed. I wanted to have confimation and a discussion of what other people experienced similar to me. I knew it wasn't just specific to me. At least I thought I was not that "special".

Thanks,

Doug

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I see black and white or sepia photos of people from the past, groups of people I don't know. The other night I saw black globules moving (like a lava lamp) on a lavender background with a bright light like a bright moon in the background. Sometimes I see purple. I look forward to closing my eyes for sleep and wondering what will I see.

Unknown said...

Since I was a small child, I would lay awake in bed in my dark room and compare what I would see behind my eyelids to what I would see in the complete darkness. It never differed - and is still the same today - what I see is exactly like a snowy tv screen after the station has stopped airing - remember THOSE days?! :) I was speaking with my sister-in-law last week, and she experiences the same thing. She also experiences Synaesthesia (seeing letters with colors). I've asked others what they see at night - it's always "nothing" or "total blackness."

Ross Barton said...

Quite interesting stuff, I was surprised when I done some extensive googling on this that they're is not much scientific explanation, research or writings on this topic. All I got was a whole load of pop culture bull.

I see all kinds of things in the dark, closed eye and opened eye, and indeed in light as well (closed eye). I can see people moving around in spaces, rooms created, mechanisms kind of like lamps and cameras on walls, myself occasionally, an eye in my centre of vision, lots of different eyes, opening and closing, gaining and losing colour. The people (usually my friends) move in a kind of slow motion, but in a lot of detail. I feel very relaxed in this state and I'm interested to see what happens. I get this a lot more when I'm hungover, or after days of drinking. Sometimes I can feel my eyes shake, what I imagine is REM.

Anonymous said...

After going to bed but before falling asleep some nights I close my eyes and feel as though they are wide open. It's like the muscles in my eyes won't relax. During these times I see as though my eyes are open. I can see the room that I'm in perfectly. It took me a while to realize that even though I see the room, it's not the way the room really is. It's the room as my mind would make it. It's interesting when it happens because you really believe you can see through your eyelids, but it's just your body not ready to shut off and sleep yet. Upon waking and turning on the lights, I normally just see red and dots in my eyelids before my eyes open and adjust to the brightness. If I'm sick sometimes the red dots swirl in circles. Anyone else get these things happening to them?

Anonymous said...

For as long as I can remember, when I closed my eyes at night I could still see items in the room but they were like tv snow. I thought everyone saw this when they closed their eyes but I recently found out that was not the case. I had an experience when my eyes were closed where I vividly saw a flowing gloden sun rayish activity that engulfed my vision (hard to explain) but I watched this in awe and mentally questioned "what is this?" After the "sun" experience I could no longer see the way I previosly mentioned (snowy items in the room). Now when I close my eyes, I see blackness then a slow flowing purplish or blueish color as if it is coming from me going outward. I've had other strange experiences; flashing photos of people I do not know, watched scenes of things I've never seen before so it's not like recollection - I found myself watching a women from the Victorian era window shopping, a ballet scene and a man putting in blue carpet and a locker room scene surrounded in an oval lavender cloud. When these things happened I even asked myself "am I asleep/dreaming!" but I was awake trying to go to sleep. Also, I rarely remember my dreams but I have had lucid dreams recently and also while sleeping was talking to two silohette figures that seemed to be an inch from my face. I have no idea what that was, who they were or what they said to me but I felt I was supposed to be doing something related to the conversation. I could hear myself saying "I know, I know' I have to go now!" because my son was waking me and I could hear him as well. My son asked me what I was dreaming because my head was going back and forth and my eyes were rolled in my head and I was saying things he couldn't understand. This has all taken place over the past year and a half. I know, very strange, and these experiences are so out of the ordinary for me but I have no fear related to any of it. It's weird and I'd love to know what this is all about which is why I am searching for information now and days.

Anonymous said...

I had experienced seeing motionless and moving photographic images behind my closed eyes for years, it seemed to come quite naturally as a child - and considered it "normal" until I began to see accurate images of things that would later actually happen. Once I saw the detailed image of a room I had never seen before - and a few days later I visited a colleagues house for the first time and found myself in the exact room, everything was as it was in the image - the patterns on the wallpaper, the pictures, the furniture - every detail. This opened up a whole new world for me and I discovered that was once known as "clairvoyance" or "second sight" is this very same phenomena.

It definitely occurs in a state of mental relaxation. For me, there first appears a 'dark veil' in my path of vision. Just like viewing a magic-eye image, if you attune to your peripheral vision and see the 'depth' within it, lights start emerging and then from within the lights emerge amazing detailed photographic and/or motion scenes. Often these scenes depict places, people and events that are not familiar. Sometimes the people notice you and gather around you, othertimes they don't - depending on what you're viewing.

I then learned that with intention alone, I could see most things I wanted. I began seeing detailed, motion images of places around the world. They are so vivid that I could focus upon and describe every small detail - from the statue of liberty to the pyramids in Egypt.

After making the right connections, I learned to hold objects and receive photographic impressions from its past. Furthermore, I discovered that you don't even need to physically hold the object and can simply have the intention to receive impressions from it.

I don't identify as a clairvoyant or anything along those lines, (its a private affair and something I've toyed with for a number of years) and while this can be explained in arcane terminology, I also feel that it could possibly be explained by quantum physics. One thing it made me learn about life though, is that we can believe in theories and our own mentally created concepts to explain reality, but ultimately this is all in our mind - as a species we don't actually know anything and this existence is more unusual and profound than we actually realise.

Anyone who is experiencing this, I urge you to experiment with it and take it further.

DestroyerOfSense01 said...

I do not have much scientific knowledge or the like around this topic at least, but there is something I'd like to share. During meditation I can make two-digit numbers appear with my eyes closed. I usually see faint varieties of colors, but now I can control it to that extent at least whenever I close my eyes. The numbers are faint and they fade away within about a second, but there is no doubt they are there. It is not just me imagining the numbers. I would probably believe I was imagining them if I didn't actually see the color of the numbers. If you have any question email me at HannibalDay@gmail.com. I hope this is of use to you.

Mani Singh said...

I have the same case or problem generally i know about it.Actually when i was young a very relegious person told me that you will see every kind of force and powers or spirits in future but i did not trust him perfectly but during my age when i tried to sleep then mostly i sees the objects in room in closed eyes sometimes i were thought that i am going to be mad but it was real not just only this and suppose during sleep if i want to see any place in closed eyes so that picture or view comes according my wish so it means i can see any place from anywhere but not every time its possible when do i sleep i know some peoples sees any men or women during closed eyes and when they open their eyes it does dissappear actually its a spiritual connectivity and its called third eye and not a real eye but its a inner eye the people who sees things in closed eyes are special.In indian relegious teachings there is a lot of explanation about this topic i am a relegious person i sees so many things it can be soul deity or evil things but i am not yet perfect to see the perfect views during my closed eyes and sometimes i sees the incredible views of universe means things that happens to me are unknown and incredible means its a gift from god use it to see the beautiful objects of nature here and beyond..One more thing for those who have this power should meditate daily with true heart then they shall see better in same case.

baroquemoonluver said...

I am glad I googled "what is it called when you can see scenes with your eyes closed?" I was thinking that no one else could see things. I have asked people what they see when their eyes are closed and they say nothing. Your eyes don't shut off, just like your hearing does not shut off. I don't see blackness, if fact I get a bit peeved because it is too bright. (I sleep in a dark room) I see many things, people I don't know in color. I see things like it is a movie, you are driving a car from the point of the driver. I never recognized a location until just the other night when it happened. I see space from the view of a person flying thru space it startles me and then I start to lose the vision but sometimes I can control it. I see a huge flying creature. Have not been able to see everything of the creature just it's wings flapping up and down. The other time I was asleep, I felt as if I was seeing things so clear that my eyes were open but then I realized I was sleeping(in a meditative state) and my eyes were closed. Like others have said I know it is spiritual and that I can Astral travel but I don't know if it is Astral traveling or another dimension.

Unknown said...

I decided to do a search for seeing through you eyelids, as I once nearly blacked out after having stood up to quickly and the blood rushed to my head. I was actually looking towards my brothers DVD collection when this happened and was amazed that I could see through my eyelids in as much detail as normal. It occured to me that this may be a confirmation that we are living in a holographic universe.

I have had numerous light body OBE experiences, and when this happens I find that my physical body is asleep with my eyes shut, but as i am in a light body double I can see though my eyelids and have felt the lids to check several times to confirm this.

There is another related experience that I believe is something anyone can do. Applying pressure to the eyes when shut, I can see clearly large spheres floating around that have a geodesic effect, which reminds me of pixellation on a computer, and wonder again if this is somehow related to being in a holographic reality. Thanks.

augusta marian said...

Wow. My heart is racing because I am so excited to have found this. I'd like to say more, but I find it difficult to comment from the keyboard of my phone.

Unknown said...

my name is warren evans and never in my life have I seen the images in my eyelids when i close them exept for the last 3 days I dont know if its do to so much stress that ive had in my life for the past 10 years or what ive read about the third eye awakening but ive only slept about 4 hours since this has staarted do to all the images i see when i close my eyelids from faces,trees, lakes,and much more but today i laid on my bed and saw a woman with black stringy hair at 1 moment she was beautifull and others her eyes turned almost evil with a distinc shine wich i couldnt stop trying to look in to the until i opened mine and every time i tried to close my eyes for atleast 30 minutes it was her doing the same thing hovering over my legs as i laid there each time it got more peacefull please somebody resond to this if it is a gift and can be controlled i dont waant to loose it i have had very pretty and interesting images ty

cyndabell said...

I just decided to google this to see if anyone else has had similar experiences and am happy to discover that I am not the only one.

Sometimes when I am going to sleep and my eyes are closed, I see moving images. at first, I thought the images were merely shapes, but then I realized that if I focused on them, the images turned into faces of people and animals and other things. I remembered one time my dad told me he used to see cartoons. I remember thinking that was kind of wierd, but now I see images that are more realistic than cartoons. More like a movie, but so far the images have been on such a dark background, that they are not completely clear. After reading what someone else wrote, maybe if I tried to focus on these images more closely, I could see them more clearly. I have been a little afraid of seeing scary things, which is why I haven't done so so far. I have had some paranormal experiences in my past that made me worry this might be something like that. Once, I saw demon faces when I was awake. My family and I lived in a house where we would here voices every morning and the clanking of dishes, etc. My little brother heard his name being repeated over and over in his room and was scared for a long time. strange things would happen as well... like once when a friend was spending the night, my stereo went on suddenly and my friend was scared and wanted to go home.

Anyway, thank you for this post. I find it very interesting to read about other's experiences.

Anonymous said...

Omg. I also see what you see when pressure is applied in a certain section on the lower eyelid while starring upwards. I thought I was the only one.

Anonymous said...

A couple of times I have been able to see detailed coloured images with my eyes closed in the dark I believe, and I can switch through them if I want to. The first time there was a lot.
The colour green was a lot- grass.
It was like they were mental pictures but I could them as if real.
It wasn't the kind you see when you rub your eyes, it was detailed mental images. At first it was not very detailed.

Anonymous said...

Since childhood I have a steady flow of color and b&w active images when my eyes are closed, such as people, scenery, architecture, machines, geometric designs. Some of the active images are longer, like watching a movie, while others last for several seconds.Colors and geometric designs are undescribable.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your explanation bro, I can't believe how many people are out there that can do the same thing! Its awesome, I'm not as far along down the path as you but reading this has encouraged me to take this thing further and and see where it leads, so thanks. P.s I think its kinda funny cos the life I lead is entirely unfitting to this kind of thing, I'm sorta like a educated gangster type lol just goes ta show it doesn't matter who you are right? maybe we all get these gifts for a reason, I always thought it would be cool if I could use this thing to somehow find some better purpose in life

Unknown said...

Listen to this shit... Craziest experience ever.. I'm an 18 year old kid and have always been fascinated by space and time. Yesterday as I was sitting on the couch just trying to fall asleep I began to wonder about what I saw when my eyes were closed.. I just felt there had to be something else there.. Anyways what I would do was find something in my vision such as a light or even odd structures and not look straight at it but straight foward.. If I look directly at it I lose sight of it. The figure would then began to flow in a beautiful variety of directions such as a leaf in the wind. I felt like I was seeing the flow of energy. That's the best way I could describe this. What amazed me significantly was when I found a very faint slinky like tunnel tube thing in my vision, and by just watching it In my vision, it led my vision down a 10 second path of flows and motions. I literally thought I was being sent through a wormhole. When I approached the end of it, I was shot out into open space where all that was visible was stars in space. It looked like I was out in open space just spinning around. I tried repeating this process after and noticed that I could tap into this space vision without any of the steps. All I had to do was close my eyes and look deep enough.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous144 from SLC - Famous Author Daivd Willcock in his latest book, suggest that we may go to a Parallel reality, by time-space when we dream. Perhaps we are seeing previews of that dimension before our mind (not brain) enters that other place ? Page 271 of "the Source Field Investigations" Penguin Group August 2012 As for me, most times it just a bunch of Milky designs and patterns But on some occasions (1/3) of the time, they are very organized coherent images of people and/or events, like a silent movie. They seem to be independent of the dreams I can remember. (more to follow)

Tiny Lost Worlds said...

I've more recently discovered these moving black and gray shapes that vanish toward the center. They sometimes morph into more colors and sometimes I will see a very bright light in the distance, then when I try to focus on it or think about it, it fades. Since these shapes seem to grow stronger the more I relax, could what we're seeing be attributed to the third eye and possibly seeing a slight glimpse into another dimension or level of consciousness?

Unknown said...

In the dark, with my eyes closed, I am able to control which color I see. Sometimes, it takes awhile to get to the color, but it always comes within a few minutes. Is this totally strange?


Unknown said...

Hi Fiona. I do the exact same thing, often checking to see if my eyes are open! It doesn't happen all the time but it does happen a lot. I was thinking that I was kind of looking with my third eye as i've had a lot of energetic sensations in that area a couple of years now. Weird eh!

Anonymous said...

When I close my eyes I see people, patterns, and colors so vibrant they're more high definition then any tv. I often see things that happen the next day in bright green. The colors get darker and darker the farther away the events are. When I open my eyes all I see is brown patterns taking over my vision and then I get a sudden head ache. I stumble and lose all motor skills. The images in my head are always right. I don't know why this happens but I have almost gotten hurt once when it happened.

Unknown said...

Me too. I see just their faces only in black gray and white. Many different people like their coming at me and disappearing as they get closer. Then a new image of a person I don't know or recall seeing will appear and form before me and then fade away as they float to me. It's only the face never the full body. Weird.

Anonymous said...

I watched a pregnant women stabbed to death, along with another man shot and thrown in a bush.

Unknown said...

Hello guys, I'm having similar things. I am seeing things when closing my eyes, and I am not sure what to do. I can see the outlines of my arms and legs, if I move them I lose focus for a second and then am able to see the exact location again. Works with most objects too. I'm a young adult and have never had this before. I am 100% sure it's accurate vision as I've tried touching things I've moved while my eyes are closed etc. I'm unsure what this is and it is really freaking me out. I've been crying for a while now and don't want to close my eyes, can somebody please enlighten me on what is going on. I would really appreciate any and all replies. I will be trying to sleep it off and hope someone gets to me by tomorrow. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I see this during the day too. Look up visual snow.

Anonymous said...

I have been worried about this phenomenon in my life. When I close my eyes ,sometimes near sleep as i lay in my bed at nights and sometime even in the days when i am sitting around my computer are vivid and real colorful images. just before I started typing this i closed my eyes and and i saw a brown lady sitting in a blue Honda SUV with short cut hair, and, glasses kind of serious looking with her hand on her chin.Most of what i see involve scenes of rolling countryside with farms and Victorian type houses scattered apart,winding roads,sometimes with farms and cattle on either side and smokey mountains.Sometimes i see rivers running under bridges.Many times its as if i am in a vehicle moving along.Sometimes a noisy flock of birds flies away. What is sometime disturbing when i am either just entering sleep or fully asleep is that i gets lost in some rural village and trying to find my way back to civilization and no one can supply me the information.In these scene i typically have no cell phone to call anywhere but it would seems that even if i had ,no cell towers for miles.Sometime i am walking along these country road and meets up with very mean animal like mean dogs growling at me and gaining on me if i ran.Sometimes it is cows who broke out of their pasture and took over the road where i am walking.I am suddenly spotted by a mean black bull who starts chasing me which triggered a chase by the whole herd.Sometimes at this point i wakes up. Sometime the scene are more pleasant.I am on a farm and reaping green corn oranges or other things such as tomatoes that i will take home.The only problem i dont know the direction to reach home.I invariably always seemed to be in a tropical scenery green countryside. Once i was directed to a village shop where i was told that the lady who operates the shop would direct me how to reach home to my dismay she knew nothing and could not help me.Suddenly i am a suspect and is being surrounded by the village people,at which time i wake up. One dramatic one was when i was flying over farms above the trees and loving it and began to loose height over a premises with some vicious barking dogs. Althought i tried to steer clear of the fence,i lost height and control and was falling into the said yard with the cross dogs waiting for me .before i hit the ground,i woke up.

Unknown said...

hi my name is monet. when I close my eyes and night and try to relax I see and flesh color sphere change from huge to small VERY rapidly. it first is a small little ball then grows huge till all i see is pinkish tan. sometimes it will get super thin and flat and vertical. and when I mean rapid I mean RAPID and it's kinda uncomfortable and makes it hard to relax. it gives me anxiety. and on certain days a see a cartoon man go from super short and fat turn in to a super tall and thin person and this makes and anxious as well. I have searched this before and no one else seems to have experienced it. it got very scary one night bc i began to see it with my eyes open and I called my boyfriend to see what's up. he's very smart and he found a name for it but I forgot. anyone else see this?

Anukriti Lamaniya said...

i can see everything with my open eyes as if everything is going on in front of me. and sometimes i forget what is going on around me as i became so busy seeing thing.
and i see lucid dreams almost everyday as if i was in the dream and it was so real that i can even feel it on my body. sometimes i see a black image in my dreams approaching me for something . i m so tired of these lucid dreams .sometimes they are good sometimes they are scary.
one was that i killed my sister and i started crying in my dreams.
what does that mean and what do i do .
please someone answer me on my mail id anukriti.lamaniya@gmail.com.
i need answers please help me.

Anonymous said...

I often see cartoon like images play out when I close my eyes and try to sleep. To me it feels as though my mind is just going a mile a minute and won't slow down. I have some major insomnia going on in recent years. I am only able to sleep 5 or 6 hours each night.
I'm 58 years old. I also remember when I was young and whenever I had a fever, which I seem to be prone to I would have many vivid full color dreams that were at times quite scary. And yes what I just said sounds like a Pink Floyd song it's VERY REAL AND TRUE. I have often pondered if that song was written because of similar experiences or was it the LSD? I would really love to have a chat with David Gilmour to ask about it. Many may think I'm some kind of crank but it's not so!!! I am also an amateur musician, does this have anything to do with it? What's wrong with me? The last think I will add is that back in the 70's I did use LSD 3 times and my experience was always so damn fun and we laughed all night long and when I went home for the night around four or five am I would look out my window and see colered clouds floating by.

Anonymous said...

I often see cartoon like images play out when I close my eyes and try to sleep. To me it feels as though my mind is just going a mile a minute and won't slow down. I have some major insomnia going on in recent years. I am only able to sleep 5 or 6 hours each night.
I'm 58 years old. I also remember when I was young and whenever I had a fever, which I seem to be prone to I would have many vivid full color dreams that were at times quite scary. And yes what I just said sounds like a Pink Floyd song it's VERY REAL AND TRUE. I have often pondered if that song was written because of similar experiences or was it the LSD? I would really love to have a chat with David Gilmour to ask about it. Many may think I'm some kind of crank but it's not so!!! I am also an amateur musician, does this have anything to do with it? What's wrong with me? The last think I will add is that back in the 70's I did use LSD 3 times and my experience was always so damn fun and we laughed all night long and when I went home for the night around four or five am I would look out my window and see colered clouds floating by.

Unknown said...

Hi, I posted on this blog a number of years ago about what I see. Everything I see, whether my eyes are open or closed, and 24/7, is seen as if on a snowy television screen. It's annoying as heck, claustrophobic at times (because it never stops), and is especially noticeable at night. Tinninitus accompanies this condition, so I sleep with a fan turned on, and meditate often to keep my stress levels down. The condition has continued to worsen, my depth perception has been impacted and night driving can be challenging at times. If you too have this condition - you can learn more by googling it. Also, there are private Facebook groups you can ask to join and connect with others around the globe who have this condition. Best, Lisa Campbell, Boston, MA 5 August 2016

Anonymous said...

When I close my eyes I fly through the Universe, sometimes I see flashing colors or cartoons seemingly out of my control, but if I focus I can turn the stars to mountains or tall trees yet my pace doesn't slow, everything generally moves rather speedily. I'd like to learn to gain more control of this so as to get a good night's rest one of these days, lol.

Evelina Baguzaite said...

Hi! I have a question.
I see paintings then i close my eyes, they feel like its mine but i never have drawn them also there is dots both are blured out, but today i found out that these dots are letters and numbers in order, is my brain messing with me?

Unknown said...

I am excited to know that there are more people who experience these things. It all began for me in 2012. It was really strange. I happened to close my eyes and I saw a black square. I opened them to see if maybe it was a residual image of something that I saw in the room, and I did not see anything that resembled a shape of a square. I then felt really sick to my stomach. I got a little scared and returned to my daily activities. I have never meditated and was wide awake when it happened. Anyway, it was the beginning to my experiences of seeing colors, going down black holes, and now seeing other people and places that don't make sense to me. I have never again seen any shapes like I did on my first experience that I described since then, just color, motion, and other places.

I am able to manipulate what I see. For example, if the colors (black and purple usually and resemble outer space) are turning counterclockwise, I am able to reverse the motion to clockwise. I can focus on what I am looking at (seeing every detail) and I can see the colors/places instantly within a few seconds of focusing.

Another change that I have noticed since all of this began is that my dreams are like a double of the life that I am currently living instead of off the wall things. My family members are always there, if my van window is broken in real life, it is also broken in the dream. I can purposely go back into my dreams if I wake up in the night and so on. Its as if I never really go to sleep.

I don't talk to other people about what I see because I am sure it probably won't make sense to them. It seems that all of these "abilities" could be used to help others in some sort of way, I'm just not sure how.

Two more things I want to mention,....1)Someone had mentioned in one of the blogs that these abilities are linked with people who hear high pitched noises...which I have heard since childhood. 2) Each of my eyes sees different colors... if I cover my left eye and look at a white wall, I see a shade of pink. When I cover my right eye, I see a shade of blue. I have mentioned this to the eye doctor multiple times, but they seem clueless about what I am seeing.

Anonymous said...

I also have seen images on the back of my eyelids while they are closed. It happens when I am trying to go to sleep. I thought everyone saw images until a few years ago when I was told I needed my cataracts removed and mentioned I hoped it didn't take away my ability to see images with my eyes closed because I use this ability to block my brain from racing, keeping me awake. Thankfully, it didn't. I was equally as surprised to find out only one other person I knew had this ability and it was my grandson. I generally see the image of an eye and it is in color and most of the time it is a baby or young child but it can be an old eye with wrinkles too. I have seen scenes but not very often. The eye floats around and then drifts off. The back of my eyelids are never black and almost always have light strips moving around. If I concentrate on the light, then the image will appear. I was hoping they had a name for this but it looks like everyones experience is different.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I experience this most of the time. I always wondered if it just happened with me, finally found someone with same experience. What is it called? Do let me know. Hope it's not anything serious.

Anonymous said...

When I close my eyes on occasion...I see a story drawn out...the images are outlines as if it were a drawing of moving images... one story was of a family drowning while sitting at the kitchen table and water rose quickly all around them...then fast fish with lots of sharp teeth were swimming in that same water under the surface...I was shocked to see so much vigorous and violent life where I expected death... one story was of a plane crashing into the water off of the coast of Newfoundland and a cartoon shark having a meal at the plane...the last was of an eagle and a bear violently fighting...the eagle drove the bear back into his den but the bear later emerged and embarked upon a journey over ground and what looked to be over water (a large ship appeared beside him)... they sort of scare me a bit...not sure what to make of them...

carefree said...

have you ever seen evil faces

carefree said...

From what ive experienced dont go into that realm when your sad,ashamed ect... things can attatch to you and its not fun

carefree said...

I do not know how long ago you posted this but i hope you didnt see her again. The more we see into other realms the better chance we are goibg to encounter evil. Those entities can attatch an cause destruction. My attatchment is still on my head. i feel it move,i hear different sounds in my ears all the time ugh. Ive noticed im more sensitive to everything these days. I sense spirits al the time an other things, trippy lol. I had tons of beautiful trips, seen lighting,rain,bright colors,oceans,rivers,trees,faces and the most vivid colors. Then one day going through stress I went to go rest in that peaceful place and i saw 4 spiders. Then all the sudden one ran after me and has ben here ever since. My kids have been affected by this gift or curse depends on the day lol. My advice dont seek the supernatural when your life is cauotic

Unknown said...

Glad to find this. I can go into a meditative state and the dark clears. I see whitish grey and then people and scenes. Like watching a movie. I can come and go into and out of it at will since I was a 5-year old child. I am frustrated as I don't know the people, but I see them doing detailed things like picking flowers or dancing, walking. I wish I knew them. Sometimes I wonder if am seeing things that are happening somewhere else, or in the past. But it seems a bit odd that I never know who they are.

Unknown said...

What I see varies constantly. Sometimes colors and light, other times definite images such as sand-shovel-bucket, next deep red image fading into pink then pale resembling a breast with the center a white glob w/small holes...then a figure of a little girl twirling in different frilly dresses..then a bright light slowly dimming. All this in succession.

Unknown said...

I've been seeing scenes from all kinds of movies with my eyes closed wide awake. This has happened for years.
I've seen ghosts when I was awake.
I also have horrifying night terrors when I sleep.
I've had continued dreams on the same subjects over 40 years.
I've seen psychiatists and
psychologists and they couldn't explain why.
They are all vivid and as real as seen in real life.

Anonymous said...

I had my first experience this morning. I closed my eyes in the dark and I describe it as a picture with a hidden picture in it that you have to stare at crossing your eyes to see...thats how I got there. Being in the dark was key for me as I did it two times this morning. Faced of things not human..faces of skeletons...other things nine had eyes just black in their places...some monster like...some I felt were wanting help, or sad, in eternal pain, some didn't see me, some I feared were evil so I push the energy of trying to make it known that I didn't want to deal with any evil and to stay back because I call upon God to protect and walk with me. No bodies just faces and some with hands coming into view with blue type colors around them but otherwise dark and it looked like air around them and when they faded out it was like how it looks when you wave your hand in air...the faces would only be there for a couple seconds then disappear then another would come back to back it seemed like never in the same space as the other. I also saw a alien face (the oval head with the dark eyes) and a lion face with thick fluffy light colored hair...also saw something that looked like that alien from the movie Alien with soujorney weaver. I had my eyes closed but i wasn't sleep so I was conscience. Anyone out there that understand please help me to understand what has happened and why I feel the need to figure this all out.

Unknown said...

I also have seen faces appear. Most are women...I think they are ghosts. Some are not good but I rarely feel threatened. It's as if they show themselves because they know I can see them.... and they are only there for a couple seconds...but I can always focus on them with my eyes.

I also see lots of insects. Especially spiders....but they are always fast moving. I get startled a lot but rarely feel scared.

Thank you everybody for sharing your experiences. Perhaps one day we can figure this out!

Unknown said...

I had an experience lasr night where I saw small areas of light with my eyes closed, that when I focused on it, moved closer and into focus and became detailed moving images of common subjects. It seemed very strange to me as it felt foreign and had no apparent connection to what I was thinking or had been thinking. It was like I was looking at some other world, or a movie without any sound. I've had many dreams, day dreams and lucid dreams. This was unlike any if them. It was also entirely different from the colorful caleidescope images I've seen many times when my eyes are closed. If anyone has any insights on this I would love to hear them.

HimRightThere said...

I also see the moving images with my eyes closed. I think its dimension jumping, time travel or something. If you focus on e everything thats going on in the images they same futuristic

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid I often saw bright red dots and neon green rings when I had my eyes closed.

Unknown said...

I have had all sorts of visions. Women sitting at work answering phones. Watching people walk down hallways. Just random people doing random things. I did however "pop" into a cave and caught a reptilian being in a sort of trance just sitting there. I don't think he knew I was there at the time but did figure it out cuz next day I did this he was standing in front of me looking very angry and menacing. Cuz when I saw him first time he looked kinda nice and not scary at all. Anyway. Stuff is weird

Anonymous said...

It has a name: CHARLES BONNET SYNDROME. Look it up. Author Margaret Atwood mentions it in her book "The Stone Mattress". There is a support group on Facebook. I found out what this phenomenon was called when I did an Internet search after acquiring these fast-moving, black-and-white cartoon figures behind my eyelids at night when trying to fall asleep. It is apparently associated with eye problems and the brain scrambling to fill blanks in what it perceives as missing detail. It doesn't happen to me often but looking back on it this started when I began to have trouble with my eyes and eventual holes in both my retinas.

Unknown said...

I have same experience with faces and scenes, mine are outlined in a red hue. If I see a bad face, I open my eyes then close again no longer searching....It Definately can be scary

DeepThinker said...

Bingo, young man! For the past three nights, while laying in bed, I close my eyes and what do I eventually see? A spiraling black and white circle, which extends in depth; like the beginning of the show, The twilight zone.

When I reach the end of the tunnel, there is light and then I start to see images of people and places I've never been. I feel like I can enter into the scene. However, I get nervous and retreat backwards and eventually open my eyelids.

Something that's not talked about in the educational system is going on!
I
there anyone else in here, that sees the twilight zone type black and white spiraled circles, leading down a tube?

Anonymous said...

I know you posted this some time ago but I wanted to share that I too see two different color tints in my eyes, with one eye open everything has a magenta overtone, with the other eye everything's is greenish blue.

Also, I do hear a high pitched noise that is different from the regular tinnitus I have experienced.

Unknown said...

I see a blue square flash once when in meditative state. Meaning? Arc Angel making a appearance, being download with frequency, crown opening up?

Chris said...

I see the snow as well but after a while it becomes clear and I see a movie or TV show. Just like a real movie but with no sound. I don't recognise it as anything I've seen in real life. I have to check my eyes are really closed and I get the urge to blink as it feels like my eyes have been open for too long even though they ate closed.

Anonymous said...

This is the third time I have close my eyes saw a flaming lion coming out of a portal sitting down in front of me and putting its forehead on mine could anyone help me understand what's going on what I need to start doing or should I just keep projecting and see where it takes me?

Anonymous said...

Hi there. My experience is very similar to yours. I close my eyes at night and feel very relaxed, then I see the shapes. A cartoonish man or woman that goes from unrealistically skinny (like in a fun-house mirror) to stretched-out/wide and fat. My vision will zoom in and out of teeny tiny objects to super-sized objects! I follow these objects around for a while without any worry or anxiety. Sometimes I see faces that are abnormally distorted, like in a strange cartoon. Always in black and white mostly. Not entirely my imagination, not entirely "floaters" being my eyelids, but sort of a mixture of both. I've been experiencing this ever since I was a kid I think, though I've never seen these things with my eyes open. I have OCD, Depression and ADHD. I am also a Maladaptive daydreamer. Could there be a link? I'm not entirely sure. All I know is, you're not alone. ��

Anonymous said...

CHARLES BONNET SYNDROME? I'm going to look it up.

Anonymous said...

"Closed-Eye Visualizations in the Setting of Hyponatremia" I found this on the web and it may give all of us some insight. Give it a look see.

Anonymous said...

For the longest time immediately after I wake up if I keep my eyes closed and look up I see what can only be described as a TV screen only perfectly square taking up about 20 percent of my vision.On this screen for many years I would see cartoons that I did not recognize.Then for some reason this changed to people and places very much in a TV show type fashion with camera pans etc .These are usually in sepia or black and white and in rare circumstances full colour a few times I was behind the wheel of a very fast vehicle in a race.I never recognize any of the scenes or people thought I take mental notes while it is happening and do not recall seeing the same thing twice.The disappointing thing is these only last a minute at a time tops and stop very suddenly like a TV being switched off.Lately this screen has been only white noise which lasts also just a minute then disappears.I'm starting to miss the experience as it is very intriguing and after many many years I have never got sick of it and actively look for it whenever I wake up.Before the internet I just kept this experience to myself now I can see I am not the only one with this unique experience at night.Even so I am only willing to make this comment anonymously .

Anonymous said...

I have had the exact same experiences as the comment made November 8. Faces, but in color, fading in and out towards me then away. Lately I see a light blue oval of light with darkness all around, it almost feels like a door but looks like the pupil of the eye with lines almost rays that extend outward from the center point. If I press my eyelids it goes more white than blue and when I remove one hand at a time it flashes red with a black outline and jumps towards me and back very fast. Other hand removed does the same thing. As a child, I saw a grid of dots like a grid that each square held a dot like a light but it different colors. There were 1000’s of dots and the grid would rotate on a plane every direction. It was very distracting to sleep. Haven’t seen the grid since childhood. Definitely see patterns and circles swirling on the regular with eyes closed. Weird.

Anonymous said...

It has happened to me too.