Black and White cartoon during phosphene meditation

Question: yesterday we did a phosphene meditation with friends and one said he saw a whole movie. Black and white. I also saw sometimes movies, black and white cartoons. These just go on if you keep your eyes closed as autonomical. Even if you try to think of something totally different they go on. Spontanious. Have you come across such description in the net somewhere and is it not the expolanation for dreams….dreams are activated phosphenes and you crate a movie our of it….

Answer: The experience during the phosphene meditation aligns closely with phenomena observed in the hypnagogic state, the transitional phase between wakefulness and sleep. In this state, individuals often report vivid visual experiences, including dynamic, movie-like sequences that can be monochromatic or colorful. These visuals are typically spontaneous and can persist even when one attempts to focus on unrelated thoughts, indicating a degree of autonomy in their occurrence.

Phosphenes, the visual sensations of light without external light stimuli, are commonly experienced during this phase. They can manifest as simple patterns or evolve into complex, dream-like imagery. This progression suggests a continuum from basic phosphene experiences to more elaborate hypnagogic hallucinations, which are considered precursors to dreams. The persistence and autonomy of these visuals during meditation highlight the brain’s intrinsic capacity to generate rich sensory experiences independent of external input.

The phenomenon described supports the idea that dreams may originate from these spontaneous visual events. As the brain transitions into sleep, these hypnagogic images can coalesce into the narratives we recognize as dreams. This perspective aligns with the notion that our dream experiences are deeply rooted in the brain’s inherent visual and cognitive processes, which can be accessed and observed through practices like phosphene meditation.

The observations above contribute valuable insight into the understanding of consciousness and the brain’s ability to generate complex experiences, bridging the gap between meditative states and the nature of dreaming.