Do you have a mind’s eye?

[sserafim]

Do you have a mind's eye? Like can you see images in your mind? Personally I think I have aphantasia because I can't see images in my mind, if I do they're really hazy and I can barely make them out. I didn't know that other people could visualize things when they close their eyes

 

[R_N]

I always had a very vivid imagination. It is not just pictures, I can basically see a glimpse of anything that comes to mind if I put some effort into it. Like a video.

 

[sserafim]

I always had a very vivid imagination. It is not just pictures, I can basically see a glimpse of anything that comes to mind if I put some effort into it. Like a video.

Oh wow, I think that's called like hyperphantasia. I have an imagination as well, like I can imagine things because I'm creative, but I don't think that it's visual in nature

 

[Final_Choice]

I was always able to imagine things pretty well to the finest detail, I've heard most people can't imagine colors (not sure if true or not) but I can perfectly imagine different shades of colors as well.

 

[sserafim]

I was always able to imagine things pretty well to the finest detail, I've heard most people can't imagine colors (not sure if true or not) but I can perfectly imagine different shades of colors as well.

Oh wow, that's super cool. Unfortunately I can't imagine colors…my mind's eye is like static



This is what it looks like, but darker

 

[R_N]

Oh wow, that's super cool. Unfortunately I can't imagine colors…my mind's eye is like static



This is what it looks like, but darker

That is what I see if it's too dark or I close my eyes.

But when I imagine something it is somewhere else. It is weird to explain, I never thought about this actually.

Wait, I can visualise things even when my eyes are open.

There is also this. I had dp/dr almost my whole life. When I dissociate even more it feels like I am living in my mind. That probably has something to do with me being able to do the things I mentioned...

 

[RemainingDubious]

if I do they're really hazy and I can barely make them out. I didn't know that other people could visualize things when they close their eyes

i've never really given this any thought and don't actually know much about a "mind's eye" if i anything at all.

i kinda have a photographic memory but the image that's sort of imprinted in my mind is rather hazy and difficult to see. If that's what you mean? For example if i've misplaced something or even if someone in my company has misplaced something and asked if i've seen it. Sometimes if i close my eyes i almost picture the last place i'd seen It. It does seem to be fairly accurate.

i guess i must have assumed that it was "normal" and everyone could do it.

i seem to notice if something has moved slightly or wasn't the way i left it too.

my spelling is pretty bad too, yet if someone asks me if they've spelt something right i can notice if it's wrong even when i don't actually know the correct spelling. It's like i have a blurry image of the correct spelling in my mind (it isn't clear enough to actually read) so kinda know when it doesn't match.

Sorry it's really difficult to explain and i don't know if that's even a mind's eye or what the hell it actually is, especially if it isn't common.

 

[wait.what]

I think I can imagine images all right, but I'm probably wrong about that. The reason I think I'm wrong is that if you actually put me in an environment I'm supposedly familiar with, I'll fail to recognize it a significant percentage of the time. It doesn't necessarily matter how recent my recollections are, or how many times I've seen the familiar thing. I can get confused by the spring and fall time changes, because everything looks different in the changed angle of the sun. The first snow of the year is likely to throw me for similar reasons. If I've only ever seen a place in daylight, I am guaranteed not to recognize it after dark. Unfortunately, this applies to people's faces as well. I can sort of recognize hairstyles, glasses, and clothes, so God forbid anybody update their wardrobe. Workplaces that require uniforms are nightmares.

 

[ali.hamza]

Do you have a mind's eye? Like can you see images in your mind? Personally I think I have aphantasia because I can't see images in my mind, if I do they're really hazy and I can barely make them out. I didn't know that other people could visualize things when they close their eyes

Yes, I can visualize things when I close my eyes.

 

[sserafim]

i've never really given this any thought and don't actually know much about a "mind's eye" if i anything at all.

i kinda have a photographic memory but the image that's sort of imprinted in my mind is rather hazy and difficult to see. If that's what you mean? For example if i've misplaced something or even if someone in my company has misplaced something and asked if i've seen it. Sometimes if i close my eyes i almost picture the last place i'd seen It. It does seem to be fairly accurate.

i guess i must have assumed that it was "normal" and everyone could do it.

i seem to notice if something has moved slightly or wasn't the way i left it too.

my spelling is pretty bad too, yet if someone asks me if they've spelt something right i can notice if it's wrong even when i don't actually know the correct spelling. It's like i have a blurry image of the correct spelling in my mind (it isn't clear enough to actually read) so kinda know when it doesn't match.

Sorry it's really difficult to explain and i don't know if that's even a mind's eye or what the hell it actually is, especially if it isn't common.

Yeah, I kind of have a photographic memory as well but I can only barely see it in my mind's eye, it's like a blurry outline. I think I had a better mind's eye when I was a kid but it slowly deteriorated as I grew up. Yeah same, I also notice if something has moved slightly as well or wasn't the way I left it. My spelling is pretty good, bad spelling and grammar is my pet peeve haha.

 

[tsumihoroboshi]

I used to have a photographic memory and could vividly imagine things, but as I got older it's become muddier and muddier. I can picture the apple in my head. It's a realistic apple, but if you asked me to draw what I just imagined, I couldn't get the details right bcus I've instantly forgotten it.

 

[4am]

i can't imagine stuff in my head too, it's just always blank slate. i'm curious tho, do other ppl with supposedly aphantasia dream? like personally i have dreams, i remember walking, interacting w/ ppl etc. as if it was irl, stuff that i could never imagine in my mind, but my dreams are hazy and w/o colors. or idk, maybe that's how all dreams work

 

[sserafim]

i can't imagine stuff in my head too, it's just always blank slate. i'm curious tho, do other ppl with supposedly aphantasia dream? like personally i have dreams, i remember walking, interacting w/ ppl etc. as if it was irl, stuff that i could never imagine in my mind, but my dreams are hazy and w/o colors. or idk, maybe that's how all dreams work

Yeah, I dream. I have super vivid dreams that feel real. I remember walking, interacting with people, etc as well. My dreams have always been in color. They're not hazy, they're super clear and seem like real life. They're usually really weird and strange. I didn't even know that some people dreamed in black and white until I was looking into dreams. I read a study on it and I think it's bc they watched black and white televisions back in the day.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Hmm, that's interesting. Do you dream?

Yes, I can imagine all senses- visual, audio, tactile, taste.

 

[sserafim]

Hmm, that's interesting. Do you dream?

Yes, I can imagine all senses- visual, audio, tactile, taste.

Yeah, I do. I have very vivid dreams that feel real. They're super detailed and clear. They basically look and seem like real life. They're in color, and I experience all senses in them - visual, audio, tactile, taste, smell. I can't imagine the senses in my mind though...

 

[Forever Sleep]

Yeah, I do. I have very vivid dreams that feel real. They're super detailed and clear. They basically look like real life. They're in color

I think there's certainly a difference between dreams and day dreams. Dreams are so immersive and detailed whereas, I think trying to picture just a single thing in waking life takes a lot of concentration- I think anyhow.

But- can you close your eyes and imagine you are somewhere else? You know- like they do in guided meditations? On a beach or, in a cool forest? Start imagining the temperature, the feel of the sand, the sounds of the ocean or birds singing, the brilliant blue sky. Part of it is drawing on memory but then, you start to improvise.

 

[UsagiDrop]

I'm pretty sure I have aphantasia, too. I literally just found out that's a thing a few years ago. It was so surreal because I thought everyone was joking or exaggerating when they talked about imagining things lol. My mind has always just been a dark monologue. If I try to imagine something my brain won't even produce a fuzzy image— I think of an apple, and my brain says it back to me, "apple."

I dream but not visually. I don't know how to describe it, it's just like I'm having an experience that I don't really picture. I can't remember any visuals when I wake up, just the feelings. But I rarely have dreams in the first place anyway. I can't picture things in my mind and I can't bring up old memories in graphic and visual detail, which is probably very useful to me. If I can't forget, I at least don't want to be living in those moments by imagining them. It also kind of helps me with grief over people, I think. While I do miss them when they're gone, I don't picture them in my mind, I don't visualize any good memories and ruminate on them over and over, so I'm pretty quick to get over the initial shock of things whether they die or just cut our relationship off or something. It would be cool to be able to picture things but I'm so used to the way my boring mind is that I don't think I want it any other way.

 

[sserafim]

I think there's certainly a difference between dreams and day dreams. Dreams are so immersive and detailed whereas, I think trying to picture just a single thing in waking life takes a lot of concentration- I think anyhow.

But- can you close your eyes and imagine you are somewhere else? You know- like they do in guided meditations? On a beach or, in a cool forest? Start imagining the temperature, the feel of the sand, the sounds of the ocean or birds singing, the brilliant blue sky. Part of it is drawing on memory but then, you start to improvise.

No, I can't close my eyes and imagine that I'm somewhere else. I can think about it but I can't imagine the sensations. Maybe that's why my past life regressions failed...

 

[RemainingDubious]

Yeah, I kind of have a photographic memory as well but I can only barely see it in my mind's eye, it's like a blurry outline. I think I had a better mind's eye when I was a kid but it slowly deteriorated as I grew up. Yeah same, I also notice if something has moved slightly as well or wasn't the way I left it. My spelling is pretty good, bad spelling and grammar is my pet peeve haha.

i wonder if it's some kind of ability we're born with? but since we're not taught to use it or even encouraged to use it it pretty much becomes dormant? If it was used often would the pictures become crystal clear?

i guess there probably isn't actually a correlation between the mind's eye and spot the difference between how things were left and their current position.

Language is an annoying necessity
And I depend on all the regular things

 

[leavingthesoultrap]

I can see whatever I want to. As a kid whenever I was bored during a car ride I would imagine dragons or other creatures flying/running through the landscape. And I would make up little stories about it in my mind

 

[RemainingDubious]

No, I can't close my eyes and imagine that I'm somewhere else. I can think about it but I can't imagine the sensations. Maybe that's why my past life regressions failed...

The more information i'm finding out, the more i don't understand how the mind's eye works, or even what actually plays a part and what doesn't.

i barely ever remember dreams, but i must dream often since my better half would often say i'd talk in my sleep or occasionally shout and randomly throw my arm about or kick. There was times i'd wake up to her being annoyed at me for disrupting her sleep with mine. She'd bruise very easily, so sometimes she'd have a bruise where I'd throw an arm about or kick and end up hitting her i don't know how on earth she got used to it. It didn't sound pleasant for her. Either being asleep or relaxed and falling asleep to suddenly hear me talk or shout then fling an arm or leg it's strange how i've only ever recalled one dream (that was in colour) which would have explained it.

i know i can have nightmares if my medication has changed or something. For some reason nicotine patches give me nightmares. i've left them on deliberately at times since ridiculous nightmares amuse me. i like the feeling when i wake up and momentarily not know if what i experienced is real or not. It's kind of refreshing after months or even years of not remembering any dream. The only time i dislike nightmares is when they could happen, for example a family member has gone missing and authorities believe they've been abducted or something. Them type suck.

i don't have an imagination whatsoever. It annoys me since it sounds fun. It seems my mind won't allow me to even consider things i know to be untrue.

i can't close my eyes and visualise myself somewhere i'm not. That whole guided meditation type thing doesn't work for me. In fact it actually has an adverse effect on me since i become frustrated i can't be invested in it. It seem my mind won't allow me to actually escape reality no matter how much i'd like to. It's rather annoying.

 

[falling_snow]

im color blind when i try to imagine. i can imagine pretty vivid details, but only in black and white

 

[Arachno]

Well, I have what seems to be excessive daydreaming, I can imagine things in great detail, even made up a few somewhat complex characters that I use in all sorts of scenarios in my head and to be honest, I really like it, but at times it can be distracting. So I would say my imagination is pretty vivid.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

I can picture things in my head pretty well. If I were to imagine an apple I could picture a pretty detailed apple in my head. I also daydream a lot.

I heard about aphantasia a few years ago and I think it's pretty fascinating, especially since it's hard for me to imagine going through life not being able to picture things in your head. I also think it's interesting how it can extent to other senses, like imagining the smell, taste, and feeling of things.

 

[Meteora]

Same, I don't have that either. In my case I think it is due to early childhood trauma.

 

[BlessedBeTheFlame]

Oh, that's called hyperphantasia. A while ago, I found out a streamer I watched back then had aphantasia. It made me a little interested and I apparently have hyperphantasia myself. It's a common thing with autism apparently.

 

[R_N]

Imagine if we could share our mind creations with each other telephatically. Well, neuralink kinda opened the pandoras box.

Future seems scary tbh.

 

[Ferdinand Bardamu]

Yes

 

[DarkRange55]

Synesthesia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[sserafim]

Synesthesia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Lol I've heard about synesthesia but how is it relevant? I don't have it…maybe other commenters in the thread do?