Lucid Dreaming

[etxmama]

My husband asked me last night, what I 'see' whenever I close my eyes. I told him 'nothing.' I asked him 'why' what do you see. He said he see's passing images or 'picture shows' as he really calls them, and they just pass by every few seconds. He said he thought everyone seen them. I told him NO, we don't. I asked him how long this has been going on he said 'always.' I asked him what he was seeing now...he said a field of tigers just walking around, then a few seconds later he said he was walking through a crowd of people..I asked him what they were wearing he said just normal clothes..then he seen what he described as a chandelier of sorts then something else after that and so on. I asked him if he can see these images when he closes his eyes during the day, not just before going to sleep. he said he see's these 'picture shows' WHENEVER he closes his eyes, he could be at work or walking or anything. I googled this and I ran into a term called 'hypnos agogeus' which is the time in between being awake and sleep..like right before you fall asleep. But this does not describe what my husband sees.

[steevey]

My husband asked me last night, what I 'see' whenever I close my eyes. I told him 'nothing.' I asked him 'why' what do you see. He said he see's passing images or 'picture shows' as he really calls them, and they just pass by every few seconds. He said he thought everyone seen them. I told him NO, we don't. I asked him how long this has been going on he said 'always.' I asked him what he was seeing now...he said a field of tigers just walking around, then a few seconds later he said he was walking through a crowd of people..I asked him what they were wearing he said just normal clothes..then he seen what he described as a chandelier of sorts then something else after that and so on. I asked him if he can see these images when he closes his eyes during the day, not just before going to sleep. he said he see's these 'picture shows' WHENEVER he closes his eyes, he could be at work or walking or anything. I googled this and I ran into a term called 'hypnos agogeus' which is the time in between being awake and sleep..like right before you fall asleep. But this does not describe what my husband sees.

 

What your husband sees is in fact something everyone sees when they close their eyes whether they notice it or not. Basically, its just the cells in your eyes as well as some very small veins in your eyes. If you focus on it, you can see a lot of detail of it, but because you generally move your eyes very slightly, the images change constantly which might be why its hard for you to focus on it. If you don't focus on it though, then you won't really notice it. If you look at a bright object and then close your eyes, can you see a blotch of the bright object? You should be able to, and that's sort of what happens with your eyes when you close them whenever.

Edited January 28, 2011 by steevey

[IM Egdall]

I donno. I think there is more to this man's visions than that. I'd like to hear what an expert psychologist or psychiatrist would say. My guess is that he is not alone. Maybe there is a medical name for this condition. I have had lucid dreams in the early morning just before I wake up. I am somehow aware that I am only dreaming. What is so cool is that the images seem so real. Sometimes I can will the dream - that is make things change inside the dream. It's fun. But having these oh so real images every time I close my eyes - I don't think I would like that.

[steevey]

I donno. I think there is more to this man's visions than that. I'd like to hear what an expert psychologist or psychiatrist would say. My guess is that he is not alone. Maybe there is a medical name for this condition. I have had lucid dreams in the early morning just before I wake up. I am somehow aware that I am only dreaming. What is so cool is that the images seem so real. Sometimes I can will the dream - that is make things change inside the dream. It's fun. But having these oh so real images every time I close my eyes - I don't think I would like that.

 

It's not a dream. He's seeing the cells and veins in his eyelids and eye fluids and he's imagining the shapes. Even I do it once in a while when I'm getting to sleep. It's not a condition, its just focusing on what your eyes see even when your eyelids are over them and then sort of making up shapes you see from them.

 

It's a lot like looking at the sky with amorphous clouds and still imagining specific shapes like lions or faces.

Edited January 29, 2011 by steevey

[etxmama]

What your husband sees is in fact something everyone sees when they close their eyes whether they notice it or not. Basically, its just the cells in your eyes as well as some very small veins in your eyes. If you focus on it, you can see a lot of detail of it, but because you generally move your eyes very slightly, the images change constantly which might be why its hard for you to focus on it. If you don't focus on it though, then you won't really notice it. If you look at a bright object and then close your eyes, can you see a blotch of the bright object? You should be able to, and that's sort of what happens with your eyes when you close them whenever.

 

What you described sounds like dots and patches of light, He see's actual "pictures" ie: field of tigers walking around... and it's one image after the next as you described. The images are very clear and 'real-like'???

[steevey]

What you described sounds like dots and patches of light, He see's actual "pictures" ie: field of tigers walking around... and it's one image after the next as you described. The images are very clear and 'real-like'???

 

As far as I'm concerned, if I get really focused on those "patches" and sort of shut out other things, I can see things that look like very clear defined but changing shapes. I even remember meditating and was focusing very hard on it, and I saw like some dragon flying into the rocks or something like that from those "patches" which lasted for a few seconds. Does he say how long the images last for?

 

I don't know exactly what you mean by real pictures though, and I don't know if you know either, so this is the best I can describe it as. Otherwise there's a very very very small chance that the chemicals responsible for his dream state are occurring during other times. I think there's even a drug you can take composed of those same chemicals and it causes you to go into a dream-like state while your still awake.

 

Maybe its somewhere in between where you'd focus so much on those "patches" you sort of lose track of the world around you for a brief moment and focus mainly on the images you make up. But it really seems over exaggerated. I'm sure the way I described it is something close to what it actually is.

Edited January 31, 2011 by steevey