Further Holistic Vision News: Archive |
Subscribe to Newsletter |
Open
eye meditation on eye floaters
In
Western culture, the phenomenon of eye floaters (or muscae volitantes)
is primarily understood in line with modern ophthalmology as “vitreous
opacities”. However, the review of visual arts from former and non-Western
cultures representing mythical and spiritual ideas discloses abstract
symbols that resemble the typical structures of “shining structure
floaters”. This suggests that floaters have been widely
interpreted as a mythical or spiritual phenomenon; and that there
might be a perceptual dimension of floaters that is hardly known to modern
man. This article provides a trip to the visual worlds of Mesopotamia
and suggests that floaters have found their way into the art and imagination
of this ancient civilization. The Lead Story can be accessed by members only.
(Not a member yet, but interested in the unrestricted access to Floco Tausin’s articles, and ready to support the Holistic Vision project? Information and Registration)
Blogger Enck suggests a relationship between eye floaters and the concentric circles which appear when we concentrate on eyelashes that reflect and scatter the sun light. Is there really a relationship?
“Enck
states that “under specific conditions of visual perception, the
tiny circles [of shining structure floaters] become larger,
Enck states that “under specific conditions of visual perception, the tiny circles [of shining structure floaters] become larger, concentric circles”. The conditions he has in mind: squinting the eyes while gazing into the sun light. We should then be able to see large dots with several concentric circles in the rainbow colored background which appears in our visual field when light is scattered on our eyelashes. Enck suggests a close relationship between floaters and the rainbow circles: “Moreover, while squinting, the circles can become a rainbow of concentric circles when we enter a relaxation state and look at rays emanating from a full-spectrum light … The sun’s rays, after falling from above and being dissolved into rainbow components in the eyelashes, pass through the tiny circles by obtaining the rainbow ones.” Enck refers to Western optical concepts like the “Newton’s Rings” and “structural color” to explain the relationship between floaters and circles: “The rainbow concentric circles of floaters are structural colors caused by interference effects that take place at first in our eyelashes and then in the tiny spheres”. Very interesting, but also a big question mark to me: Regardless of the optical processes which, by the way, imply that floaters are located in the vitreous – to me, there is a clear visual difference between the rainbow circles and shining structure floaters regarding motion, structure, location and color. Of course, different appearances do not necessarily exclude a relationship or continuity between two subjective visual phenomena – in fact, I propose some relationships between phenomena that are completely different in terms of physiology (cf. Tausin 2012). However, as seers we should base any continuity on our subjective seeing. In the case of floaters and rainbow circles, I have not been able to comprehend the alleged continuity in my seeing. Maybe some of the readers have similar or different experiences with floaters and rainbow circles? Thanks, Enck, for sharing
your experiences and thoughts!
Eye floaters and their meaning were interpreted differently depending on the time, culture and personality of the observer. We learn a spiritually meaningful perspective about floaters from Nestor, the seer, with whom I have studied and whose teachings I recorded in the book „Mouches volantes – Eye Floaters as Shining Structure of Consciousness“. In this category, a particular statement from the book on floaters shall be presented and explained.
From: Mouches Volantes – Eye Floaters. The Shining Structure of Consciousness, p. 221. (source)
Based on the central notions about the “layers of consciousness” (cf. News 1/2012), Nestor explains why we are actually unable to reach the objects in our everyday world. To reach an object implies to reduce the distance between it and the observer. Visually speaking, the object appears big and near in our visual field. In everyday consciousness, we are used to approach the object or pull it towards us, in order to experience it big and near. This physical way of “reaching” something requires the concentration and aligning of our psycho-physical energy. We concentrate our energy and activate the corresponding bodily organs with it. Concentration means preventing the energy to flow directly and ecstatically into the picture as a whole; it means communicating with the picture indirectly, i.e. by the way of our body, our sensory organs, our mind etc. A seer directly sees what that visually means: The objects in the picture appear more intense and brighter, but also smaller and remote. In Nestor’s words: through concentration, we do not penetrate the layers of consciousness, just compress them. This is why the seers call it an illusion to believe that we can be close to objects and persons just by getting near them actively and physically. This also applies to the psychical or mental world: All kinds of mental concentration or effort reduce or interrupt the free flow of energy between ourselves and the picture. According
to the seers, getting near or being one in its profound sense
is possible only by penetrating the layers of consciousness. They have
observed that this happens when deeply relaxed in intense states of consciousness.
In principle, this corresponds to the philosophical and religious ideas
that propagate liberation through self-sacrifice, devotion, humility and
other forms of “relaxation” towards the divine, our predestination,
our duties etc. We all have experienced that doing things in a more relaxed
state often leads to better results. The seers tell us that this is a
profound mystical principle which leads, in intense consciousness states,
to metaphysical oneness with the observed.
Literature:
The
category "Quarterly Picture" introduces realistic, artistic
and/or spiritual/religious representations from different cultures
and times which could show entoptic phenomena, or be inspired by it. Shining
structure floaters are a subjective and very individual phenomenon: The number, shapes, movement and luminosity of our floaters
differ from those of our fellow observers’ floaters. Also, there
are different types of such phenomena, all of them are referred to
as “floaters”, although they do not have the same look
and causes. Plus, there are a number of further subjective visual
phenomena with different physiological terms, such as “after-images”,
“blue field entoptic phenomenon”, “phosphenes”
etc., which may be confused with floaters. It is difficult to share
such subjective perceptions with people if it’s not quite clear
what the other person actually sees.
Therefore, I have designed a diagram that allows observers of subjective visual phenomena to compare and relate their perceptions. Based on the current physiology, the diagram designates different types of such phenomena and provides the corresponding images. They are arranged according to the teaching of the Emmental seers and related to each other. For example, I distinguish phenomena that are produced by “matter” from those induced by “consciousness light”. It is possible, then, to differentiate between “vitreous floaters” (vitreous opacities) and “shining structure floaters”. In addition, I illustrate how these phenomena change their look according to three differently intense states of consciousness. Finally, the phenomena are explained by both Physiology and the teaching of the seers. The diagram is ready to view or download on eye-floaters.info. It is an attempt to classify some of the different subjective visual phenomena. It is not exhaustive. If you, dear reader, miss some phenomena, please let me know. Link: eye-floaters.info You will find simillar entoptic pictures in the gallery. Do you have drawings of eye floaters or other entoptic phenomena (flying corpuscles, afterimages etc.)? Do you know of realistic, artistic and religious representations of such appearances? Then send me the picture or give me the tip; I would like to publish it in the newsletter and/or in the gallery.
Publications by Floco Tausin You’ll
find a complete list with all previous publications in German
and English (monographs, anthologies, magazines) at Website. Lights
from the Other World - Floater structures in the visual arts of
modern and present-day shamans Published:
From
Prehistoric Shamanism to Early Civilizations: Eye Floater Structures
in Ancient Egypt Published:
| ||||||||||||||||||||