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anon173412
Post 67

Last night I came up with a theory of what hypnagogic hallucinations are. Although these hallucinations can occur by relaxing your eyesight and looking into your mind's eye whilst in bed before sleeping, they are much easier to access, more intense and more varied if you have been taking narcotics and are sleep deprived.

Last night in bed with my girlfriend (noodled) we both realised we were seeing the same phenomena. The same patterns the same shapes, changes, and time lapses.

I was amazed by this, as I had assumed the exact nature of a hallucination to be a very personal experience.

Anyway, to make sure we weren't verbally influencing each others descriptions, we both "meditated" for half an hour without speaking, and then separately wrote down what we experienced on a time line. We both then categorised as many of the individual phenomenon as possible.

When I compared they were identical. I think that is amazing, and not a result I was expecting.

In a semi darkened room looking at a plan white ceiling. The categories are as follows.

Dots, cells, small tiles, large patterned tiles and mosaics.

The first thing to note is that across our field of vision, all phenomena were performed as if on perfectly spaced grid.

Faint dots appear first, sometimes in perfect squares, others more complex sequences. The colour always starting at a vivid lilac turning to deep purple.

Dots got to cells. This one is easy to describe. Peacock feathers, or rather, the iridescent eye. These cells then join together in various conglomerations such as strands or Mandelbrot sets. These conglomeration of cells move interact and fold around each other in an ever-changing and infinite variety. Total number of cells I estimate vary between 70-300.

From out behind the cells, "pushing the cells out" come the small tiles. These tiles are perfect squares, a quarter size of a cell. At first they completely fill your field of vision, and stationary.

They then like the cells, they conglomerate into two to four separate groups. For no other better way to describe this organic, yet at the same time geometric movement is swarming. Dark blue then shimmering across the spectrum to an intense purple.

These swarms then close in on themselves, becoming denser, rounder more vivid until disappearing behind the background curtain.

As this is happening to the first swarm, it is surrounded by another, ready to take its place and restart the cycle. Bioluminescent type flashes occur as the swarm compress.

Again the tiles are replaced by large, patterned tiles, or a whole, complete mosaic filling your field of vision. These many move on block around your field of vision, but always maintain their structural identity and pattern.

It's very difficult (and embarrassing)to try and convey an accurate impression of a hallucination.

But what is important in the small flavour I've tried to give above is of infinite geometric patterns within defined and unchanging categories, seamlessly combined with an organic quality. That may seem contradictory, but in reality it is very natural.

Ok you've read the above blather, my conclusions are: Your brain makes a construct for you to accurately interface the outside world. In order to do this it must use algorithms to digitize and process the information received from your eyes. I know comparing computers to brains is not the best analogy, but like a computer you brain has to make efficient use of memory.

We use compression applications such as JPEGS to compress digital photos to less memory intensive chunks. I think hypnagogic hallucinations are brains compression algorithms at work.

The very geometric nature of the above patterns I described could be the usually unconscious part of your brain, scanning what you are seeing, looking patterns it can then bundle up and compress.

It's just in idea, but I think in reference to my mention of Mandelbrot sets, fractals are integral in the use of compression software.

The sheer ingenuity of the unconscious brain in producing an ever changing array of geometrical shapes leaves me in awe. It's the best art exhibition in town.