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Originally Posted by SnappingRope
Thanks for your reply. Some follow up questions if you don't mind answering them...
I've never heard of the who am I meditation. Did you discover you are an individual, or that you are One with all things after completing it?
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I discovered I am Nothing. The sensation was like what happens at the end of a reel-to-reel movie when the tape runs out, or a late-night TV station that goes off air. (Old concepts, I know.) My "screen" simply went blank. I describe the meditation on my blog here:
Thoughts of a Square Peg on a Round World: Who Am I?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnappingRope
-snip-
The coloured blobs you see with eyes closed used to be the same for me until I got some brain damage. Now not so much. If I cleared my mind of everything and passively watched those lava-lamp colours after a while I would emerge into another world. I figure it was my mind being overly starved of stimulation and producing its own as a temporary solution, or maybe I was in some waking dream-like REM state. Not sure. It was pretty hard to get there and stay there though because any kind of intention or desire or emotion or anything at all that wasn't just passive observation kicked me out of it.
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That's incredibly interesting! Sensory deprivation can lead to some profound experiences, I've heard. In his book D.I.Y Magic (chapter 9), Anthony Alvarado describes using the Ganzfield Technique to "tune into the background of your thoughts." Google books seems to offer that chapter here:
Google Books
But what you described might also be hypnagogia.
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Originally Posted by SnappingRope
As for seeing the room's contents with eyes closed, I didn't explain that well. The easiest way to get started with it is to wave your hand in front of your face with your eyes closed in the dark. I can see it move. It's not a defined shape, and I wouldn't be able to count fingers, but it's unmistakable, even if I also put a pillow over my head. For a long time I thought this was some part of my mind that kept tabs on where my body was and produced a low-resolution mental projection of it even in the absence of light, but then I noticed I saw general shapes also, like the line where the roof abuts the wall and where the doorway is.
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I'll try the hand waving tonight. I wonder if you're sensing electrical or aural energy. (Thermal energy would be impeded by the pillow.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnappingRope
Thanks again for replying.
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You're welcome; thank you for such a thought-provoking topic!