Have you ever been blind? (Blind people cannot see darkness.)

[Dowlphin 459]

Occasionally I am reminded of a popular misconception: The erroneous belief that for blind people, there is always darkness, everywhere. This even bothers me when used with poetical intention, since poetry should open new worlds and not further limit perception.
 

Darkness is a concept that can only occur in a world where light exists. This is according to Daoist ideas of duality, which I have somewhat studied, but I also got practical confirmation once. When I was ill and had low blood pressure, my vision started to fade. This resulted in difficulty reading text and such. It wasn't darker, or blurry, it was actually quite like how you often cannot read text in a dream. It's there, but it also eludes your awareness - you cannot focus your mind on it.
A moment later, when I got up, I was blind, and probably due to the general effect of the low blood pressure on the brain, I at first didn't really notice it. Pretty much like you also cannot notice the process of falling asleep. I definitely didn't panic or anything.
And that's how I know from own experience what blindness feels like. There is no darkness. It's nothing like closing your eyelids.  ... Well, it's a little bit like extending the line from open eyes in complete darkness way past closed (rolled up) eyes in total darkness. ... Anything visual is simply no longer part of your world, your reality. It's like there is no visual in the world - it only consists of smell, taste, touch and sound.
Once I realized I was blind, I instinctively used my hands to find the way to the bed, and when I laid down, again, just like the blurry awareness you can have in a dream, my vision slowly came back, and the perceptive experience was like waking up from unconsciousness, but only affecting the visual senses. My vision was waking up from a nap.

And now imagine yourself in such a situation, but try to imagine that there are perceptions in addition to the ones you consider normal. There's smell, taste, touch, sound, vision ... and then there are some other senses that you never experienced. You cannot possibly imagine them. You very likely wouldn't even believe they exist. But psychedelics for example can open that world to you and give you a brief glimpse into what else there is. ... Then, later, it is lost again, and what you remember is but a shadow of the real thing. You might remember the fact that you were perceiving more than usual, but it's like you are blind again and have amnesia. Those things are no longer part of your reality, thus you couldn't possibly imagine their existence.

Ever wondered what ultraviolet light looks like? Well, duh! It looks ultraviolet. ... And not like anything else, so don't even try explaining or imagining it, believing you might be on to something. You either can see it or you don't have the slightest clue what it looks like.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Dowlphin

[Sunshower Raindrops 3,227]

Yes I was blinded for 2 hours when an accidentally homemade bomb (Air dust canister) blew up on my face when I was cleaning a T.V which was OFF for a good FIVE MINUTES. Besides the shear pain and humiliation of being striped washed, and having all possessions burned for safety reasons. I couldn't even cry because my eyes were sucked of all water. Thankfully my eyes were perfectly fine.

[Dowlphin 459]

Yes I was blinded for 2 hours when an accidentally homemade bomb (Air dust canister) blew up on my face when I was cleaning a T.V which was OFF for a good FIVE MINUTES. Besides the shear pain and humiliation of being striped washed, and having all possessions burned for safety reasons. I couldn't even cry because my eyes were sucked of all water. Thankfully my eyes were perfectly fine.

How was it? Was your "blinded" the same as "blind"? Normally what you describe would temporarily injure the eyeball and thus impair the quality of the visual impression more or less. It would not affect the visual center of the brain ... unless it was some kind of psycholgical shock trauma I guess. The bright flash of the explosion might have harmed the receptors, but then I'd be curious about whether it is different from blindness caused directly in the brain.

Because, as you might know, if you close your eyes in perfect darkness, you will not see perfect darkness, but various dim sensations and/or flickering and such; signal noise if you will.

[Sunshower Raindrops 3,227]

How was it? Was your "blinded" the same as "blind"? Normally what you describe would temporarily injure the eyeball and thus impair the quality of the visual impression more or less. It would not affect the visual center of the brain ... unless it was some kind of psycholgical shock trauma I guess. The bright flash of the explosion might have harmed the receptors, but then I'd be curious about whether it is different from blindness caused directly in the brain.

Because, as you might know, if you close your eyes in perfect darkness, you will not see perfect darkness, but various dim sensations and/or flickering and such; signal noise if you will.

 

The only thing I could see was darkness. I was blinded by the sheer light. Any light that entered my eyes at that time hurt so much. The pain was a 10.

[child of the night 271]

I was blind once, I think it is because of a neuron problem I have. I got up from the position I was in and walked out into the kitchen. After a moment I couldn't see or feel anything. In fact all of my senses were gone. I came back and I was on the floor with a pain on the back of my head. According to my family member I had fallen on the counter pushed off and hit my head on the other counter before falling onto the ground. I wasn't technically blind but I had no sense at all. In a way I was dead in my brain and the only thing functioning was my heart.

Edited June 11, 2014 by child of the night

[Dowlphin 459]

I was blind once, I think it is because of a neuron problem I have. I got up from the position I was in and walked out into the kitchen. After a moment I couldn't see or feel anything. In fact all of my senses were gone. I came back and I was on the floor with a pain on the back of my head. According to my family member I had fallen on the counter pushed off and hit my head on the other counter before falling onto the ground. I wasn't technically blind but I had no sense at all. In a way I was dead in my brain and the only thing functioning was my heart.

How is that not 'technically' blind? If your visual sense was offline, you were blind.

It sounds like a very interesting (spiritually relevant) experience though, comparable to an imagined perfect isolation tank setup. The whole world must have seemed to cease to exist for you, yet your awareness of your own existence remained. Ever wondered how that can be? ;-)

Did you have a perception of passing time during the experience?

Edited June 11, 2014 by Dowlphin

[child of the night 271]

 

 

yet your awareness of your own existence remained. Ever wondered how that can be?

 

actually my existence blinked out too, either I had instant amnesia about that point in time or my brain stopped functioning for a period of time enough for me to fall to the ground. Either way I have had instances lately where it nearly happens again but I manage to prevent it by holding myself up on something. I ought to go to a doctor but nothing seems wrong with me... 

[Dowlphin 459]

actually my existence blinked out too, either I had instant amnesia about that point in time or my brain stopped functioning for a period of time enough for me to fall to the ground. Either way I have had instances lately where it nearly happens again but I manage to prevent it by holding myself up on something. I ought to go to a doctor but nothing seems wrong with me... 

Uhm... sorry, but why didn't you just say you fainted then?

[child of the night 271]

Uhm... sorry, but why didn't you just say you fainted then?

because I didn't, I just don't know what happened, but your bran doesn't stop functioning when you faint and fainting isn't a often recurring thing. anyway I feel we are done talking about this.

[Sunshower Raindrops 3,227]

because I didn't, I just don't know what happened, but your bran doesn't stop functioning when you faint and fainting isn't a often recurring thing. anyway I feel we are done talking about this.

 

Yes, but I might say it not really your brain but mainly your Brain stem that kept you alive. Now this is finished. :okiedokielokie:

[Dowlphin 459]

because I didn't, I just don't know what happened, but your bran doesn't stop functioning when you faint and fainting isn't a often recurring thing. anyway I feel we are done talking about this.

Why the sudden urge to stop the dialogue? There seems to be another misconception: When all your senses stop working AND you have no awareness and no memory of how much time passed during the incident, then I don't see how that is different from losing consciousness through fainting ... or sleep for that matter. Of course during sleep your brain still works, but you are unconscious. And from the information you provided so far, it sounded like that.

Also, when you say you ought to go a doctor but nothing seems wrong with you, how can you know nothing it wrong with you? The doctor is supposed to figure that out. (And for a diagnosis, should a medical examination not yield results, it helps to give an accurate description of what happens.)