To: K-list
Recieved: 2000/06/01 10:08
Subject: Poll suggestion was Re: [K-list] Digest Number 167
From: John Rushworth
On 2000/06/01 10:08, John Rushworth posted thus to the K-list:
A Poll suggestion. I'd like to clear up a matter and I'm curious as to how
the list compares to the average populus in the areana of - visulise v
imagine. i.e. what percentage can visualise and what percentage imagine.
Let me be clear. There is a difference. And it is possible we don't all
actually realise that. It was not till 40 some years into my life (post my
wake up) that I even realised there was a difference between those words.
Until that point I had never (to my best recollection) seen a clear mental
image or picture either with my eyes closed or open. Up till then I'd only
ever been a feelings based person. i.e. If someone asked me to recall say a
pleasant experience I'd feel it rather than see it. If I closed my eyes and
tried to recall a clear mental image (which I never did because I didn't
know it was possible) it would just be blackness and I'd feel rather than see.
It came as a massive shock one day to suddenly see behind closed eyes a
clear colour mental image. This I learned was sponataneous hypnagogic
imagery. Imagery when falling asleep. I learned the opposite also happened
- hypnopompic imagery - when waking up. Fine. Now I had some terms for my
first images. Next came a Lucid dream and clear full motion colour video(as
it were) with sound. Then some more sponataneous imagery behind closed
eyes, whilst resting:- precognition of a death in the family and another
time a beautiful fairy creature with wind chimes sounding. I just about
fell off my couch! So..so..so beautiful. This didn't happen to Engineers!
After settling to the notion that I wasn't going crazy it prompted me to
ponder that if this happened spontaneously, then could one actually create
images at will. You can imagine it came as one heck of a surprise to me -
that most do. Feeling a little subdued I decided to check it out. I
discovered that some folk (who had visualised all their lives) simply could
not understand what it was like, not see too clear mental images at will.
Naturally the converse was true for me, although now I had a clue as to
what these folk did. Doing more research I found that most esoteric
traditions taught visulisation. The Golden Dawn called it Flashing Colours
I think and in India it was a Kryia or cleansing technique that was taught
by gazing at a candle, then burning the after image onto the retina behind
closed eyes and then waiting for the image to fade and trying to recall it.
Asking friends, I learned that folk visualised to differing degrees. e.g.
some could only do it in stills behind closed eyes, others with open eyes
in full colour motion with sound. A bit like running a film whilst still
having normal vision. Difficlut for me to imagine as that is not my primary
mode of functioning in that area. Naturally I wondered if a friend who had
recently gone blind could do something similar too to light up his visual
world, even if not the day to day carnal seeing as I refer to it. It turned
out that the general consensus was that folk unless blind from birth could
create these clear mental images with training or they did it anyhow and
didn't realise others did not.
I also became aware of my third eye chakra (Once I discovered there was a
word for it so I could name the experience!), by a pulsing in my brow and a
shift in vision from carnal eyes as it were to a different way of seeing.
It was about this time that auras arrived for me...which is another
story...but floored me nonetheless. One thing at a time!
Anyhow my query for a suggested poll is to learn what folk do and to what
level and if they always did one or the other or both or have learned to
visulaise when they didn't before. Maybe if you have learned to visualise I
wonder if it came around the time of your awakening. I guess this can
include past, present and future events.
Pondering what you do may give more precise results and reminds me of
something a Psychiatrist once told me. Long before kids speak they do
something she referred to as pre-conscious processing. I guess even when we
can speak we pre-process as it were before the words come as sound. That
for me begged the questions as to whether very young kids see in pics or
experience as feeling before they articulate? It also makes me wonder when
I see the interchangability and mis-use or mis-understanding of the words
visualise v imagine, what our educators do to kids when in school and if in
fact they realise themselves there is a difference. The ability to
visualise and to teach that in schools would to me at least make sense even
if some will learn and some won't. At least then folk would be aware of the
difference between fellow humans. Maybe it's a wee booklet I should write
for educators?
The clearest dictionary definition, for this purpose, I take from Chambers
Dictionary.
visualize or visualise: to make visible, externalise to the eye; to call up
a clear visual image.
imagine: to form a mental image of; to conceive; to think; to fancy; to
conjecture, suppose.
These are not the full definitions, but for the purpose of a suggested poll
it clarifies, I hope, the difference. I note other dictionaries deal with
the words differently, so yet again it begs the question of etymology and
persons compiling dictionaries, realising that we function differently in
the world of imagine v visualise.
What do you do?
I thouroughly look forward to what others views are.
John R.
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