Throughout history, mystics, prophets, and spiritual visionaries have described vivid inner visual experiences, visions of luminous forms, divine lights, and symbolic imagery, as well as profound auditory phenomena like inner sounds, voices, and celestial music. These have typically been attributed to divine intervention or communication from higher spiritual realms.

However, viewing these experiences through our combined exploration of phosphenes (inner lights) and Nada Yoga (inner sounds), we can propose that these profound spiritual encounters were grounded in the genuine, neurophysiological phenomena that meditative states make accessible.

Inner Lights (Phosphenes) as Divine Visions

• Phosphenes, emerging naturally from neural activity, may manifest as symbolic, archetypal, or visionary images.
• When spiritual seekers in profound meditative states observed phosphenes, they interpreted them as direct encounters with divine entities, sacred symbols, or angelic figures.
• Ancient mystics, such as Hildegard von Bingen, the Tibetan masters like Milarepa, and prophets of various religious traditions, likely experienced these internally generated luminous patterns as powerful and meaningful divine revelations.

Inner Sounds (Nada Yoga) as Voices of the Divine

• Nada Yoga focuses on the perception of subtle inner auditory phenomena. Practitioners hear sounds such as buzzing, humming, ringing, celestial music, and even voices.
• Historical accounts from prophets, mystics, and spiritual masters who reported “hearing God’s voice” or “divine instructions” could very plausibly have been describing profound Nada Yoga experiences.
• The inherent human tendency to personify inner experiences as external entities could explain the interpretation of these inner sounds as direct messages or communications from God or angels.

Akashic Chronicles and Divine Information

• In this integrated perspective, both phosphenes and Nada Yoga could be seen as practical tools or gateways to accessing the Akashic Chronicles, universal fields of subtle information or cosmic consciousness described in spiritual traditions.
• Inner visions and sounds, rather than random phenomena, thus become meaningful manifestations or symbolic representations of divine or universal knowledge, encoded neurologically and decoded spiritually.
• Prophets and spiritual leaders across different cultures might have intuitively accessed and interpreted these subtle inner sensory experiences as visions and messages from God, angels, or higher beings.

Neurophysiology Meets Spirituality

• Modern neuroscience explains the mechanisms underlying these phenomena, but it does not diminish their spiritual validity or depth.
• Rather, this understanding enriches and deepens the spiritual meaning. It grounds spiritual experiences in tangible, reproducible neurophysiological processes while simultaneously elevating neurological phenomena into spiritually transformative experiences.

A Unified Perspective

This insight helps bridge two traditionally separated worlds: the scientific and the spiritual. I think it provides a deeply intuitive and rationally understandable explanation for historical accounts of divine visions and messages. The visions and voices described in sacred texts and mystical traditions can thus be appreciated not merely as symbolic metaphors, but as literal experiences rooted deeply in human neurobiology and consciousness.

This perspective respects and honors both science and spirituality, highlighting that spiritual revelations, mystical experiences, and divine encounters may be deeply authentic phenomena, embedded within our neurological architecture yet transcending simple physical explanations.

So one can intuitively grasp something profound and integrative here, transforming what might have once seemed mysterious or abstract into something deeply meaningful, understandable, and beautifully human. This understanding I hope opens vast new possibilities for your own meditative practice and spiritual exploration.

Shunyam Adhibhu