Spiritualism and colours when meditating

[blameitonthesunshine]

Over the past year when meditating, having a stressful time or thinking about something spiritual, I occasionally see purple, white and green colours when my eyes are closed.

They look like smoke or clouds and come and go very quickly, they seem to kind of come and then disappear into a sort of black hole and then reappear.

I’d really like to try and understand them better and how I can start learning more about spiritualism.

Has anyone else has anything similar? And what are your thoughts on the what this is?

Sorry about that the text format, I copy and pasted as was going to post under a different topic? Thanks so much!

Hi, I don’t have an answer to your question, but you might like to check out Ben Smith’s channel on YouTube. He has lots of videos about meditation and just recently there was one about what it means when you see colours. I’ve been meaning to watch it myself!

@Buttheywereonlysatellites51 oh great! Thank you! I'll give it a watch!

Nothing spiritual about that @blameitonthesunshine. I see green and golden swirling shapes all the time if I close my eyes in the dark and focus on the inside of my eyelids. They're called phosphenes.

www.theswaddle.com/seeing-colors-when-eyes-closed-phosphenes

Same here @snowfakles but I didn't previously know what they are called. Thank you for the interesting link. I agree that they are not spiritual.

It's interesting because after a lot of meditation some years ago I started to see a violet light everywhere - whether my eyes were open or shut. It was literally where my third eye is, between my two eyes.

So I don't believe there is a purely scientific explanation for these things (or other stuff I've experienced). Trust your intuition. If these lights come when you're stressed, that sounds lovely and reassuring.

existentialpain I agree.

Yes there may be rational reasons why we see these colours, but we can still use them in a spiritual way if that helps us cope with life.
Eastern philosophy gave us ideas such as Chakra points within the body as part of our energy system, blue relates to the throat, our expression and communication, green is the colour of our heart chakra, and is an expression of love, abundance and self compassion.

Science is a discipline based on system of models, progress is made through the refuting or deepening of previously held theories.

Quantum physics shows us a very interesting universe, where time and space interact, where matter is an energy, and rethinking of understanding.

I am a scientist- and an atheist- I worked for many years in research, and there is no doubt science has brought us many tools and allowed for greater understanding and wonderful inventions.
I have also witnessed "weird" happenings within research laboratories which are difficult to explain.

Good scientists need to have open minds, we can move to closer understandings of our world, but there is always so much more to learn.

To be skeptical can save us from harm, and make sure we are not being duped by charletans and their unicorn tears. But in throwing the baby out with the bathwater we may be discarding ideas and practices that are life enhancing.

My local NHS physio department uses acupuncture for pain relief, has posters on the treatment room wall with chakra points and meridians. Having had treatment for crippling sciatic pain I was shocked by the efficacy.

The prominent colour that comes for me when in meditation is orange as in a beautiful sunset.
Also people's faces. People are unknown to me , and sometimes animals. Like kind of making a visit to say hello.

You see, I would beg to differ. All that article is doing is stating some mechanics of how we see light. It doesn’t discount any spiritual meaning at all.
Wasn’t it Pasteur who said a little knowledge of science makes you an atheist an in-depth knowledge of God makes you a believer - or words to that effect.

Many systems of belief both exoteric and esoteric use colour symbolically/as correspondence.

The prominent colour that comes for me when in meditation is orange as in a beautiful sunset.
Also people's faces. People are unknown to me , and sometimes animals. Like kind of making a visit to say hello.

I think we can confidently say in this case @Devonbabs it's just light.

When you say “just light” what do you mean though? How is the brain interpreting that and why? Why has the human body been designed in such a way to still see this light even when eyes are closed.

Nothing in this takes away any spiritual dimension.

Most spiritual beliefs see spirit in everything inc, and often esp, in light. It holds an immense amount of symbolism. Yes it’s light but I would counter any use of the word “just” in connection with light.

@Devonbabs

The most common phosphenes are pressure phosphenes, caused by rubbing or applying pressure on or near the closed eyes. They have been known since antiquity, and described by the Greeks. The pressure mechanically stimulates the cells of the retina. Experiences include a darkening of the visual field that moves against the rubbing, a diffuse coloured patch that also moves against the rubbing, well defined shapes such as bright circles that exist near or opposite to where pressure is being applied, a scintillating and ever-changing and deforming light grid with occasional dark spots (like a crumpling fly-spotted fly screen), and a sparse field of intense blue points of light. Pressure phosphenes can persist briefly after the rubbing stops and the eyes are opened, allowing the phosphenes to be seen on the visual scene. Hermann von Helmholtz and others have published drawings of their pressure phosphenes. One example of a pressure phosphene is demonstrated by gently pressing the side of one's eye and observing a coloured ring of light on the opposite side, as detailed by Isaac Newton.

Most vision researchers believe that phosphenes result from the normal activity of the visual system after stimulation of one of its parts from some stimulus other than light. For example, Grüsser et al. showed that pressure on the eye results in activation of retinal ganglion cells in a similar way to activation by light. An ancient, discredited theory is that light is generated in the eye. A version of this theory has been revived, except, according to its author, that "phosphene lights are [supposed to be] due to the intrinsic perception of induced or spontaneous increased biophoton emission of cells in various parts of the visual system (from retina to cortex)"

Wikipedia.

In a similar way, we're able to see the outline of bright objects with our eyes closed after staring at them.

Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. Yes we can describe the mechanism of their creation. What we struggle with in the scientific world view is the argument that there is spirit in everything. So our bodies are designed to create these lights through certain actions. Some will see spirit in the results and interpret this in accordance with their beliefs.

Use a radio as an example. I press the on button, tune it to a creation frequency (ie the mechanics) and it picks up certain radio waves and converts that back into sound I can hear. Now if I speak the language that is being emitted from the radio then I can understand the message being broadcast, I can use my imagination to give meaning to what is being said, I can use it as a spark for other thought processes. I can integrate into other things I’ve learned or experienced to enrich my life.

Yet, if I didn’t speak the language it would just be noise even though my external senses were picking up exactly the same stimulus.

Spirit isn’t something physical to be measured and observed by the physical senses but spirit can be carried within physical phenomena which our souls can filter out.

@Devonbabs I see what you mean. I'm not an atheist but I think we should use caution when ascribing something to the supernatural though. Some people take these things to the extreme and see meaning in just about everything. Peter Kay and the empty Quavers packet at a funeral springs to mind!

I think people misunderstand the spiritual all the time as we are so focused on the physical in this world. People often can’t conceptualise something beyond the physical. And yes often the spiritual does manifest in the physical but there’s a lot more to it. i think even Peter Kay’s crisp packet shows that. Some people attribute it to litter, others to a dead relative. Both are equally real to the relevant person - what is real? Does it matter?

I think it does matter. Say somebody asks for a sign from the universe/God/whoever whether or not to do something and along comes a flock of geese/rainbow/butterflies/whatever. This can create misleading interpretations and a potentially negative chain of events or confirmation that person is on the "right track" (when in reality they aren't). See synchronicity, apophenia, frequency illusion and cognitive bias.

Actually that’s not how spirituality works at all.

What do you mean by that?

What do you think people see as a “sign from God” why do they think one thing is a sign and others not? It’s usually related to something deep within them

That's my point - some folks see signs everywhere. It's not a great leap from that to "The guy on the radio/God/the dog told me to do it".

But that’s my point. Why do they think one thing is a sign and something else isn’t

I've no idea, maybe we should ask them. 😆

You could ask them but they wouldn’t be able to offer a rational explanation except maybe symbology and just “knowing”

Oh and if you’re trying to equate spirituality and mental illness you’re being extremely derogatory about something you clearly have very little knowledge in.

You're obviously not interested in a constructive discussion so I'll leave it there.