Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

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Yadid dee, modified 6 Years ago at 11/29/17 7:21 AM
Created 6 Years ago at 11/29/17 6:43 AM

Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

Posts: 258 Join Date: 9/11/09 Recent Posts
I am looking into Altered Visual Perception Changes occurring as a result of meditation practice.

Please take this short ONE MINUTE survey, and send to anyone who may be relavant. Thanks!


https://goo.gl/forms/UUQLStdIBBcvyhX52
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Dream Walker, modified 6 Years ago at 12/3/17 6:37 PM
Created 6 Years ago at 12/3/17 6:37 PM

RE: Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

Posts: 1657 Join Date: 1/18/12 Recent Posts
Yadid dee:
I am looking into Altered Visual Perception Changes occurring as a result of meditation practice.

Please take this short ONE MINUTE survey, and send to anyone who may be relavant. Thanks!


https://goo.gl/forms/UUQLStdIBBcvyhX52
What are you interested in knowing? What are you attempting to measure with the survey?
~D
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jhana sais quoi, modified 6 Years ago at 12/4/17 12:11 AM
Created 6 Years ago at 12/3/17 10:11 PM

RE: Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

Posts: 28 Join Date: 11/10/15 Recent Posts
Yadid dee:
I am looking into Altered Visual Perception Changes occurring as a result of meditation practice.

Please take this short ONE MINUTE survey, and send to anyone who may be relavant. Thanks!


https://goo.gl/forms/UUQLStdIBBcvyhX52

Hey Yadid,

I'm pretty sure I interviewed with the teachers right after you last winter at Lumbini for your last month or two. I think the visual distortions that occur are really pretty cool and would love to compare notes. Mapping these, along with auditory phenomena, to the nana-s would be very interesting. here are some of the more apparent distortions/changes I noticed:
 
1) Sayadaw Vivekandanda said blurriness after meditation is due to seeing the endings of things. I first noticed this during home sits, either in dissolution or, more likely, a little bit later but before reobservation. I did not know about the maps back then, and was a little puzzled why meditation would make me feel like I was going blind. I wondered if I was doing damage to myself, and it turns out that’s the whole point.
 
2) A few months my long retreat at Lumbini, Sayalay Bhaddamanika said that seeing motion as stark, very apparent and almost jagged was due to high mindfulness (it was surprising to hear something that could be taken as a praise of practice from her). With this visual effect, any motion in the visual field is kind of highlighted against a static background, such that it is very apparent even if a single blade of grass flitters in the wind. This started during what I think was reobservation, and persisted through what I think was EQ and has mostly abated 7 months after retreat but is still apparent when I look for it.
 
5) At times, stuff got really weird and uncomfortable, like the sidewalk would buzz and the walls would melt. I would have worried about psychosis but Sayadaw Vivekanda just said "good." This was really intense. It preceded drops into "void"-ness that preceded (I think) the transition into equanimity nana (this is talked about in the Visudhimagga, in Chapter XXI, section "Discerning Formations As Void")
 
4) During the last month of my last retreat, during what I think was solid 11th nana, visual acuity would vary between sits. After one sit, everything would seem extremely crisp, vibrant, and sharp, and after the next it would be slightly blurry.
 
5) With a relatively weak off-retreat practice, other visual effects are more apparent today. Looking at the clear blue sky there are a million little vibrating sparkles or waves, as if infinitesimal parts of the visual field are continually arising and passing or just melting away. I would think this is an effect of dissolution, but I'm not sure.
 
6) At times, the objects in the visual field don't seem to meld together to form a cohesive whole. Its like the continuity of space is somehow violated, with a bunch of disjointed objects thrown together at impossible angles and geometry. Other times, everything seems melded together and blended perfectly.
 
There's so much more, too, but these are the first that came to mind. Why are you interested in this stuff?

Edit: The survey, including writing this, took WAY MORE than one minute ; )
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Yadid dee, modified 6 Years ago at 12/4/17 2:27 AM
Created 6 Years ago at 12/4/17 2:27 AM

RE: Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

Posts: 258 Join Date: 9/11/09 Recent Posts
Dream Walker:
Yadid dee:
I am looking into Altered Visual Perception Changes occurring as a result of meditation practice.

Please take this short ONE MINUTE survey, and send to anyone who may be relavant. Thanks!


https://goo.gl/forms/UUQLStdIBBcvyhX52
What are you interested in knowing? What are you attempting to measure with the survey?
~D

Curious about the visual changes that occur as a result of meditation, I wanted to see how other people's experiences pan out.
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Dream Walker, modified 6 Years ago at 12/4/17 1:28 PM
Created 6 Years ago at 12/4/17 1:28 PM

RE: Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

Posts: 1657 Join Date: 1/18/12 Recent Posts
Yadid dee:
Dream Walker:
Yadid dee:
I am looking into Altered Visual Perception Changes occurring as a result of meditation practice.

Please take this short ONE MINUTE survey, and send to anyone who may be relavant. Thanks!


https://goo.gl/forms/UUQLStdIBBcvyhX52
What are you interested in knowing? What are you attempting to measure with the survey?
~D

Curious about the visual changes that occur as a result of meditation, I wanted to see how other people's experiences pan out.
Have you had some permanent visual shifts yourself? Or are you just wanting to validate other peoples experiences?
~D
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Yadid dee, modified 6 Years ago at 12/5/17 1:50 AM
Created 6 Years ago at 12/5/17 1:50 AM

RE: Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

Posts: 258 Join Date: 9/11/09 Recent Posts
Dream Walker:
Yadid dee:
Dream Walker:
Yadid dee:
I am looking into Altered Visual Perception Changes occurring as a result of meditation practice.

Please take this short ONE MINUTE survey, and send to anyone who may be relavant. Thanks!


https://goo.gl/forms/UUQLStdIBBcvyhX52
What are you interested in knowing? What are you attempting to measure with the survey?
~D

Curious about the visual changes that occur as a result of meditation, I wanted to see how other people's experiences pan out.
Have you had some permanent visual shifts yourself? Or are you just wanting to validate other peoples experiences?
~D

Yes, some permanent shifts have occured for my since my last 3 month retreat (spent 6 months out of the past 2 years on retreat),
Mostly around movement, animate beings and vividness / sharpness.
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Yadid dee, modified 6 Years ago at 12/5/17 3:39 AM
Created 6 Years ago at 12/5/17 3:38 AM

RE: Visual Changes As A Result of Deep Meditation

Posts: 258 Join Date: 9/11/09 Recent Posts

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