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Aphantasia
Why Can’t I See in My Mind’s Eye?
Have you ever had an aha moment? I had one yesterday. A friend had posted about a condition called aphantasia on her social media page. It was a poster that described how people are able to imagine things in their mind’s eye. The subject was an apple and I have replicated the diagram above.
This is what happens when you close your eyes and try to imagine something. Though I have not been diagnosed with having this condition, I believe it might have been why it was so difficult for me to learn how to meditate and how to channel. It also might explain why I have a hard time drawing. I’m okay if I have a photograph but ask me to draw a real horse who moves around and twitches their ears, and I just can’t do it.
It was a relief to me to think that there might be an explanation why it was so hard. The directions to meditate are: Imagine that you are looking at a candle flame. I don’t know about you, but what I see is a candle flame, flickering in the draft of air around it and it vanishes. Poof. It’s gone.
That took me years to learn how to do that and all the exercises to learn to channel involved visualizing things.
My visualizations now are like bits of a movie reel. I can see motion. Not long sustained motions, just real quick ones. A guide holding his nose to indicate my idea might stink. A thumbs up or down in regard to something I am considering. A quick hug which involves touching me which is easier than the sight.
There is a reason I had trouble. Does it make the channeling I do now any less? No, I had to struggle for years to get there. I did it and once again, if I who had so much trouble achieving the ability to visualize could do it, I really known others can do it too.
Does it explain why I was so dumb? No, I wasn’t dumb. It’s just how my brain works. At 68 years old it is a revelation to me, and I am feeling a tremendous sense of relief right now.
Thanks for listening.
The Links
What is Aphantasia ?— From Aphantasia.com
