Rembrandt, The Philosopher in Meditation
Many cultures regard hallucination, like dreams, as a special, privileged state of consciousness – one that is actively sought through spiritual practices, meditation, drugs, or solitude. But in modern Western culture, hallucinations are more often considered to portend madness or something dire happening to the brain – even though the vast majority of hallucinations have no such dark implications. There is great stigma here.
Oliver Sacks, Hallucinations
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Level 0: Blank Screen
Level I: Central Focus / Mandala
Level II: Patterns / Tunnel
Level III: Luminous Mist / Shadowy Shapes
Level IV: Scenes / Settings
Level V: Filmstrips
Level VI: Participatory / Waking Dream
Level VII: Mystic Bright Light
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0: Blank Screen
No projection of visual imagery from the brain onto the flicker screen, which is seen as it is in objective reality. Reddish flicker of uniform hue covers the entire screen without any discernible lines, shapes, or shadows.
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I: Central Focus / Mandala
A dot, circle or blob of light (phosphene) is seen behind the central area of the flicker screen. It is of a slightly different brightness or colour from the remainder of the screen. It tends to fluctuate between brighter and darker phases. If the head is moved it appears to remain absolutely stationary. If the eyes are moved, it moves with the direction of gaze.
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II: Patterns / Tunnel
Elementary forms and geometric patterns emerge and may fill the entire screen, e.g. dots, lines, rings, zigzags, cobwebs, mosaics, chessboard, honeycomb, textile patterns. With increasing immersive absorption these evolve into concentric arrangements around the central focus of the mandala. As meditative absorption increases, the mandala enlarges and develops depth and 3D perspective, becoming a vortex, rotating spiral or a tunnel of light. Unlike the phosphene from which it emerged, the tunnel does not move with the direction of gaze but instead possesses greater visionary reality. There is a sense of being drawn into the tunnel with the impression of it enlarging and fanning out to fill the entire screen.
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III: Luminous Mist / Shadowy Shapes
The reddish screen has now become a uniformly grey or whitish mist. Lines and shapes begin to be seen in the flicker screen. They may be very vague shadowy silhouettes at first, and sometimes quite small, seen only at the centre of the screen as though located in the distance beyond the flicker screen. Often there is the impression of a confused jumble of structures and shapes which one cannot identify clearly. Sometimes a single isolated object such as a tree, door, window, eye, cup etc. emerges to become recognisable as such but the imagery has not yet progressed into the complexity of a fully formed scenario. The single object may be auto-symbolic of one’s mental and emotional state at the time.
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IV: Scenes / Settings
A setting can now be identified as being indoors, outdoors, under the sea, underground, in outer space, on another world, in another dimension, and so on. The visually perceived forms and figures may still be too vague to be clearly identified but there is an associated body-feeling which identifies the setting. It may initially be a small cameo at the centre as though situated in the far distance and one needs to zoom or float further in. The scenario may blend together fantasy and reality with some features identifiable as from one’s past. Some features are recognizable but the rest is strange. There may be associated intuitive thoughts connecting the visions to either memories of the past, or to concerns about the present, or imaginings of the future. One makes the connections and the associations with the outer world, and then attention returns to the inner world.
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V: Filmstrips
Instead of a static scene, movement and sequences of action begin to take place.The filmstrip is seen from an observer’s perspective. The user may see a figure of self, either realistic or embellished, involved in the action. The visionary material is symbolic and condensed, as with psychedelic drugs, as though long sequences of visual narrative have become compressed and concertinaed together. The dynamic features are dream-like, i.e. may suddenly switch location, figures may morph, multidimensional combinations and interweavings of sequences may occur. As with nocturnal dreams, the visions may be recognised as being symbolic and connected to emotionally charged issues or themes. The way in which the fantasy versions of the self seen in the filmstrips differs from reality can impart useful insights. Feelings of descent with a darkening of the screen can bring beneficial confrontation with emotional issues and traumas, and begin to resolve them with sufficient use of anxiety-neutralization techniques. Feelings and visions of ascent and a lightening of the screen are associated with positive affect.
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VI: Participatory / Waking Dream
As though one has moved into the filmstrip so that it enlarges to become life-size. It is now experienced as though you are present and involved in the action. It may begin with a life-sized figure coming into the field of vision from the periphery and interacting with you, superimposed upon the ongoing smaller filmstrip. Participatory imagery then replaces the filmstrip. Interaction and dialogue with archetypal entities and figures may follow. There is still a sense of ego-involvement and of decision-making, of being able to influence, but not control, the course of events. Encounters with figures of darkness may bring valuable confrontation with disturbing issues and themes, provided frequent use is made of anxiety-neutralization techniques such as eye movement desensitization and square breathing. Rapid horizontal eye movements can be used to immediately banish anything too overpowering or overwhelming. Strong residues of emotion may need to be offloaded by random rubbish noise and random rubbish movements during the trip. Encounters with figures of Light lead into beatific luminosity, and are associated with increasing immersive absorption in feelings of bliss and awe.
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VII: Mystic Bright Light
Increasingly condensed complexity becomes numinosity and luminosity. Swept up into the visions and carried along, often as though floating or flying, with progressively diminishing ego-involvement. Experiences of ascent, great height, awesome size and immense space, may develop into hypercomplex multidimensionality and interconnectedness. It may begin with the impression that two or more realities are superimposed upon one another, or interpenetrate, as the visionary material becomes increasingly translucent, condensed and concertinaed. The visions may interweave a flux of structural, mechanical, organic, animal-like, human-like and alien-like components,and be associated with strong numinous feeling tone. The emotion of awe evoked by numinous experiences, simultaneously both humbling and exalting, tends to be highly salutary to the soul. Visions of the numinosum, manifesting extraordinary structural hypercomplexity and multidimensionality, tend merge into the mystical luminosity of Bright Light Experiences, though brightness and structural complexity can at times be dissociated. With regular practice of ganzflicker meditation over the long term, figures and objects are perceived as progressively more luminous. Bright Light Experiences become increasingly frequent and prolonged with the intensity of dazzling whiteouts attaining beatific luminosity and supplanting all thought and feeling.
Gate Gate Pāragate Pārasaṃgate Bodhi Svāhā
(“Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O enlightenment, hail!”)
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