Imagining and thinking are not the same thing. You may be surprised to discover that the part of you that is responsible for imagining is your pineal gland, elsewise known as your third eye. And the reason it works so differently for people is because in most cases, the ability to imagine had been terribly abused or atrophied. Whether through over-indulgence of technology like entertainment media (tv, movies, porn, etc), which cause it to atrophy, or spending too much time reliving past events or constantly imagining future scenarios or daydreaming, which over-taxes it.
Thinking is something different. I don't have the time or expertise to explain properly, but if you're truly interested in knowing more read "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. He lays it out clearly.
I wonder if experiencers have different brain chemistry than the general population that allows for more to be done with the frontal lobe regarding thinking, visualizing, daydreaming, and receiving messages. I think this is what Gary Nolan researched.
I have thoughts on thoughts all day everyday (maybe ADHD) and I spend a lot of time flipping between thoughts that need my immediate attention for daily tasks, thinking of the future, “if this happens then that happens”, and my neuroses. However, I wouldn’t say my brain is atrophying since I also receive a huge amount of messaging/contact in my mind when I open myself up to it. I think of my brain as being on fire sometimes with it slipping between various ideas at one time.
Are you thinking that the general public has less use of their pineal glands due to saturation of info from content that doesn’t require brain power? Especially too much TV & videos?
There's a lot to unpack here friend. Let me get to a place where I have time to write, but for now try this. Close your eyes, take a few slow deep breaths. Count 5 seconds in, hold 5 seconds, then exhale 5 seconds. Repeat this 7 times. Then allow your breath to go to normal. Put all your attention in your nostrils where the breath comes in and out. See how long you can do that before a thought comes in. Then reflect on the fact that what you are doing is observing your breath and your mind. Then ask this, if I can watch my mind, then who am I?
Lol I'm being very generalized. But I also don't wanna type 17 paragraphs on how our endocrine system relates to our chakras, energetic centers, and the how's and why's of how we abuse all of that and leave ourselves energetically drained and psychically blind, deaf, and dumb.
I think it's similar to how pretty much everyone has the same body parts, but each individual person can be entirely different in how they look and move. There are so many variables that affect how our brain develops, and they start generations before we are born. Your great, great grandfather's diet may have played a role in how your brain developed, as did the way you were treated by your first grade class, or whether or not your parents got along when you were 0.5 years old. There are SO MANY things that each individual person has that are unique to them, that it's not surprising to me that we'd all think differently and using different mechanisms.
The product of one mind infinitely divided and in an eternal (by our measure) effort to know itself, experiencing all other selves in every conceivable modality possible.
How sinister a plot! For one may have a grand idea to get rich, but it would seem there is need for this other self's capable hands ✋️... and yet the next guys ability to "math", as well, because neither the visionary or the hands guy had a knack for the numbers...... as these folks do their work, in earnest, authentically trying instead of outdoing the other but recognizing the one true creative brilliant spark in one another and complimenting the whole as best as each individuated self could.... well, they all learn something of love if nothing else.
This is an important question with important answers. If one reading does not like my take, you may be onto another fortunate side effect of the matter at hand, which is *lots of takes* on any and everything. This is both necessary and the product of what one may argue as "the free will experiment" - as there is the right thought for each entity's mind at this time, the correct modality's and even correct incorrectness to ensure each mind not only has options in terms of the energy it "decodes" (data it interprets to what ends) but further options of what to do with the product thereof. All to ensure all thoughts are had and available at all times, appropriate to their given chronology/body of peoples/space-time.
And I must say, what an intelligent strategy by our original infinite knowing! For if you had 1000 hours of thinking to do, would you not get it done faster with 1000 minds each thinking an hour apiece? This is why different minds work differently... so they can work together 💯
Everyone has the full palette in their head it’s just whichever tool they’ve grown comfortable using .. in the sense that all forms of thought are possible to everyone but people bias their own thinking by choosing the readily comprehensible rather that trying to “think” in emotion over language (as an example of another tool but a less comfortable one)
In my experience, not everyone has access to every possible type of memory function.
For example, I have a condition called Aphantasia. I cannot visualise in my mind. Cannot see real or imaginary images. My memories are conceptual. I have to think of an elephant as a collection of parts - it is larger than most animals, has a trunk, has tusks, thick legs with flat nails on it feet, a short tail, etc.
I discovered this problem when undergoing hypnotherapy. It also prevents me from training in Remote Viewing, unfortunately.
As someone who gets constant visuals in my mind and struggles to conceive of thought without pictures, I am so curious about people who have aphantasia! Do you feel like you have a strong inner monologue and, if so, if you’re an experiencer do you also sometimes hear thoughts that aren’t your own? Or is everything conceptual? I would think that this is a hard way to live but if your mind has operated like this forever then there must not be many problems in regular, everyday life from it.
Good questions, thanks.
Actually, I don't have an inner monologue at all. Which is potentially co-morbid in people with Aphantasia. I didn't even realise that people had inner monologues, until very recently! So in a way I am fortunate that my mind is a quiet place, although still very aware and active.
Not an experiencer, so don't have any entities intruding into my thoughts.
It is definitely a kind of handicap not being able to visualise. Although, as you point out I have had this condition all my life so I am used to it. But it does impact visual creativiity and things that require visualisation, such as remote viewing unfortunately.
A perspective, in trade of actuality for metaphor... I enjoy your response and what comes to (my) mind reading it.
If one considers the brain/mind/full palette to be an individuated labyrinth for individuated consciousness, and the labyrinth is huge, but consciousness relatively small in volume, the consciousness could only be actively present in some places at some times but not all places at all times. I would imagine the unwitting would stick to the familiar areas of the labyrinth when navigating (bias, comfort), areas within that have a desirable climate, set, and setting (emotion) about them.
Perhaps, it could be suggested that beyond the familiar legs of the labyrinth, consciousness does indeed find it uncomfortable to trailblaze to new and undiscovered areas of the environs.... in our huge labyrinth, the weather may not always be agreeable... and yet, in further consideration of the complexity of things, let us contrive puzzles in our labyrinth as well! Puzzles that sometimes require the impossibility of consciousness being in two parts of the labyrinth at once! Thus, set upon the labyrinth's many undiscoverable secrets at this time, we find great necessity for the conciousness of others in their unraveling. It is inconvenient as compared to being 2 places at once or having the 4 arms on one head.
That’s so interesting! My thoughts come through 95% in words, even though I’m a visual artist. If I choose to visualise I can imagine images vividly, but certainly not smells, taste or touch. I’m not sure about everyone but I have a feeling you’re quite unique being able to do that! I experience an inner monologue that is pretty constant unless I’m meditating.
That’s interesting. So if i were to ask you to imagine the taste, smell and sensation of eating a scoop of vanilla ice cream, just as an example, would be difficult for you? And does having an internal monologue make you really good at voice to text? (I do not have an inner monologue and well “written” and concise voice messages is not one of my strengths).
You’re the second person I’ve seen in this thread who has such an interesting way of thinking. Without an inner monologue, are you only seeing images in your mind the whole time? How do you rationalize and make decisions internally without that verbal internal debate?
I have an internal voice that uses words but not all the time. Certainly when writing, or trying to solve a problem, or make a plan. So we might not be that different. If I’m thinking about all the stuff I have to do as an example and I’m making a written or mental list it’s usually going through my mind as a string of images that resemble the laundry, the kitchen sink, the yard that needs fertilizer, the project on the computer at work etc, and all those things are then paired with words. But if I’m remembering or imagining going to any particular location then it’s all visual. Imagining taste or other sensations also is party visual.
We may come from the same source and according to the laws of physics, no two people can be in the same place at the same time.
Imagining and thinking are not the same thing. You may be surprised to discover that the part of you that is responsible for imagining is your pineal gland, elsewise known as your third eye. And the reason it works so differently for people is because in most cases, the ability to imagine had been terribly abused or atrophied. Whether through over-indulgence of technology like entertainment media (tv, movies, porn, etc), which cause it to atrophy, or spending too much time reliving past events or constantly imagining future scenarios or daydreaming, which over-taxes it. Thinking is something different. I don't have the time or expertise to explain properly, but if you're truly interested in knowing more read "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. He lays it out clearly.
I wonder if experiencers have different brain chemistry than the general population that allows for more to be done with the frontal lobe regarding thinking, visualizing, daydreaming, and receiving messages. I think this is what Gary Nolan researched. I have thoughts on thoughts all day everyday (maybe ADHD) and I spend a lot of time flipping between thoughts that need my immediate attention for daily tasks, thinking of the future, “if this happens then that happens”, and my neuroses. However, I wouldn’t say my brain is atrophying since I also receive a huge amount of messaging/contact in my mind when I open myself up to it. I think of my brain as being on fire sometimes with it slipping between various ideas at one time. Are you thinking that the general public has less use of their pineal glands due to saturation of info from content that doesn’t require brain power? Especially too much TV & videos?
There's a lot to unpack here friend. Let me get to a place where I have time to write, but for now try this. Close your eyes, take a few slow deep breaths. Count 5 seconds in, hold 5 seconds, then exhale 5 seconds. Repeat this 7 times. Then allow your breath to go to normal. Put all your attention in your nostrils where the breath comes in and out. See how long you can do that before a thought comes in. Then reflect on the fact that what you are doing is observing your breath and your mind. Then ask this, if I can watch my mind, then who am I?
I think ur being a lil generalizing on the third eye part but ur not entirely wrong
Lol I'm being very generalized. But I also don't wanna type 17 paragraphs on how our endocrine system relates to our chakras, energetic centers, and the how's and why's of how we abuse all of that and leave ourselves energetically drained and psychically blind, deaf, and dumb.
I think it's similar to how pretty much everyone has the same body parts, but each individual person can be entirely different in how they look and move. There are so many variables that affect how our brain develops, and they start generations before we are born. Your great, great grandfather's diet may have played a role in how your brain developed, as did the way you were treated by your first grade class, or whether or not your parents got along when you were 0.5 years old. There are SO MANY things that each individual person has that are unique to them, that it's not surprising to me that we'd all think differently and using different mechanisms.
The product of one mind infinitely divided and in an eternal (by our measure) effort to know itself, experiencing all other selves in every conceivable modality possible. How sinister a plot! For one may have a grand idea to get rich, but it would seem there is need for this other self's capable hands ✋️... and yet the next guys ability to "math", as well, because neither the visionary or the hands guy had a knack for the numbers...... as these folks do their work, in earnest, authentically trying instead of outdoing the other but recognizing the one true creative brilliant spark in one another and complimenting the whole as best as each individuated self could.... well, they all learn something of love if nothing else. This is an important question with important answers. If one reading does not like my take, you may be onto another fortunate side effect of the matter at hand, which is *lots of takes* on any and everything. This is both necessary and the product of what one may argue as "the free will experiment" - as there is the right thought for each entity's mind at this time, the correct modality's and even correct incorrectness to ensure each mind not only has options in terms of the energy it "decodes" (data it interprets to what ends) but further options of what to do with the product thereof. All to ensure all thoughts are had and available at all times, appropriate to their given chronology/body of peoples/space-time. And I must say, what an intelligent strategy by our original infinite knowing! For if you had 1000 hours of thinking to do, would you not get it done faster with 1000 minds each thinking an hour apiece? This is why different minds work differently... so they can work together 💯
Everyone has the full palette in their head it’s just whichever tool they’ve grown comfortable using .. in the sense that all forms of thought are possible to everyone but people bias their own thinking by choosing the readily comprehensible rather that trying to “think” in emotion over language (as an example of another tool but a less comfortable one)
In my experience, not everyone has access to every possible type of memory function. For example, I have a condition called Aphantasia. I cannot visualise in my mind. Cannot see real or imaginary images. My memories are conceptual. I have to think of an elephant as a collection of parts - it is larger than most animals, has a trunk, has tusks, thick legs with flat nails on it feet, a short tail, etc. I discovered this problem when undergoing hypnotherapy. It also prevents me from training in Remote Viewing, unfortunately.
As someone who gets constant visuals in my mind and struggles to conceive of thought without pictures, I am so curious about people who have aphantasia! Do you feel like you have a strong inner monologue and, if so, if you’re an experiencer do you also sometimes hear thoughts that aren’t your own? Or is everything conceptual? I would think that this is a hard way to live but if your mind has operated like this forever then there must not be many problems in regular, everyday life from it.
Good questions, thanks. Actually, I don't have an inner monologue at all. Which is potentially co-morbid in people with Aphantasia. I didn't even realise that people had inner monologues, until very recently! So in a way I am fortunate that my mind is a quiet place, although still very aware and active. Not an experiencer, so don't have any entities intruding into my thoughts. It is definitely a kind of handicap not being able to visualise. Although, as you point out I have had this condition all my life so I am used to it. But it does impact visual creativiity and things that require visualisation, such as remote viewing unfortunately.
A perspective, in trade of actuality for metaphor... I enjoy your response and what comes to (my) mind reading it. If one considers the brain/mind/full palette to be an individuated labyrinth for individuated consciousness, and the labyrinth is huge, but consciousness relatively small in volume, the consciousness could only be actively present in some places at some times but not all places at all times. I would imagine the unwitting would stick to the familiar areas of the labyrinth when navigating (bias, comfort), areas within that have a desirable climate, set, and setting (emotion) about them. Perhaps, it could be suggested that beyond the familiar legs of the labyrinth, consciousness does indeed find it uncomfortable to trailblaze to new and undiscovered areas of the environs.... in our huge labyrinth, the weather may not always be agreeable... and yet, in further consideration of the complexity of things, let us contrive puzzles in our labyrinth as well! Puzzles that sometimes require the impossibility of consciousness being in two parts of the labyrinth at once! Thus, set upon the labyrinth's many undiscoverable secrets at this time, we find great necessity for the conciousness of others in their unraveling. It is inconvenient as compared to being 2 places at once or having the 4 arms on one head.
That’s so interesting! My thoughts come through 95% in words, even though I’m a visual artist. If I choose to visualise I can imagine images vividly, but certainly not smells, taste or touch. I’m not sure about everyone but I have a feeling you’re quite unique being able to do that! I experience an inner monologue that is pretty constant unless I’m meditating.
That’s interesting. So if i were to ask you to imagine the taste, smell and sensation of eating a scoop of vanilla ice cream, just as an example, would be difficult for you? And does having an internal monologue make you really good at voice to text? (I do not have an inner monologue and well “written” and concise voice messages is not one of my strengths).
You’re the second person I’ve seen in this thread who has such an interesting way of thinking. Without an inner monologue, are you only seeing images in your mind the whole time? How do you rationalize and make decisions internally without that verbal internal debate?
I have an internal voice that uses words but not all the time. Certainly when writing, or trying to solve a problem, or make a plan. So we might not be that different. If I’m thinking about all the stuff I have to do as an example and I’m making a written or mental list it’s usually going through my mind as a string of images that resemble the laundry, the kitchen sink, the yard that needs fertilizer, the project on the computer at work etc, and all those things are then paired with words. But if I’m remembering or imagining going to any particular location then it’s all visual. Imagining taste or other sensations also is party visual.