Seeing Things? Part 5 – Reflections And Conclusions

It is possibly because of how psychic abilities are portrayed in movies and television programmes that people develop expectations of being able to see energy or spiritual entities via their physical eyesight, and give their visual experiences prominence over many other ways of interacting with the spiritual world. As a result, confusion can develop over what constitutes a proper “psychic vision”, and many common physical visual conditions can be misinterpreted as having a paranormal foundation.

Throughout this series of posts exploring the main examples of commonly misinterpreted conditions, I’ve been reflecting on the implications of unquestioningly accepting paranormal explanations for visual experiences (beyond the obvious consequences, such as those from ignoring potentially serious physical ailments like a detached retina). I’ve come to the following conclusions:

When we are focused on seeing the spiritual world via our physical eyes, we can shut down our “spiritual sight” rather than opening it. Although psychics in movies are shown seeing spiritual entities external to themselves, it is far more common for people with psychic abilities to see energy and entities via their mind’s eye, which is developed and strengthened by nurturing an internal connection to Source energy.

This connection and the flow of Source energy is blocked when we keep ourselves “trapped” in the physical by looking for external evidence of the spiritual. It is especially difficult to maintain this connection when we become desperate to see signs of the spiritual in the physical world and begin labelling every anomalous visual experience we have as paranormal.

When we stop practicing discernment in spiritual matters we do ourselves a disservice. We can be distracted by “false” paranormal occurrences at the expense of seeing what is really there. Do we really want to be so focused on the face we see in the tree bark that we miss the angel standing behind us? When we allow ourselves to open up to a real and profound spiritual connection, it becomes clear that the types of visual experiences discussed in this series of blog posts are exceptionally poor imitations of the real thing.

Not practicing discernment also has wider implications than those that affect us personally. Not only do we lose our own ability to identify real paranormal occurrences, but, like the boy who cried wolf, we also damage others’ belief and trust in us and in the paranormal itself.

Do you have any further thoughts on the implications of non-discernment in spiritual matters? I’d love to hear them – please leave a comment below!

This is Part 5 of 5 in a series exploring common visual experiences often mistaken for paranormal occurrences. The other posts in the series are as follows:
* Part 1 - Floaters
* Part 2 - Flashes Of Light
* Part 3 - Pareidolia
* Part 4 - Retinal Fatigue & Afterimages

Seeing Things? Part 4 – Retinal Fatigue & Afterimages

Stare at the white dot in the centre of the following image for 30 seconds, and then look at a blank white wall or piece of white paper. What do you see?


Well, it’s kind of obvious that it’s the American Flag, right? That much is clear from the image above! The illusion in this case, however, is that when you transfer your gaze to a blank white wall afterwards, the red, white and blue of the flag appear correctly. This optical effect is known as an afterimage and it is caused by retinal fatigue.

Our retinas contain two types of photoreceptor cells that convert light coming into our eyes into signals that are sent to and interpreted by our brain – rods are sensitive to light and dark, and cones are sensitive to red, green and blue light. Together, red, green and blue light make white light, and other colours are a combination of different mixtures of these three primary colours, as seen in the image below.


When we stare at an image for at least 30 seconds, the cones that are maximally sensitive to the colour of that image become tired and stop transmitting signals to the brain. For example, fixating on a blue spot will cause cones sensitive to blue light to experience fatigue. When we then transfer our gaze to a white wall, even though all three primary light colours are entering our eyes, no blue is transmitted to our brain. Our brain therefore only receives red and green light, which it will interpret as yellow (red and green combined). It is for this reason that afterimages always appear to be the opposite or complementary light colour to the original image. As the cones recover, the afterimage will fade.

Although our eyes are fixated on a particular point when doing exercises such as this, it doesn’t mean that our eyes are completely steady. They do move slightly and this can also cause us to start seeing an object’s complementary colour around the edges of the object, particularly if we have been staring at an object placed against a plain background. This phenomenon can occur just as easily when the “object” in question is a person, in that the colour of a person’s hair, skin and clothes can all contribute to retinal fatigue of the corresponding cones if stared at for a long period of time.

While I in no way doubt the existence of an energy field (or aura) surrounding people, it is for the abovementioned reason that I am sometimes doubtful of various claims to have seen auras, especially if the reported aura appears to be complementary in colour to the person’s clothes. I am also doubtful of the method often cited to teach people to see auras, which involves staring at a person (or yourself in a mirror) sitting against a plain white background for an extended period of time, as these are prime conditions required to induce retinal fatigue and create an afterimage.

[Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

This is Part 4 of 5 in a series exploring common visual experiences often mistaken for paranormal occurrences. The other posts in the series are as follows:
* Part 1 - Floaters
* Part 2 - Flashes Of Light
* Part 3 - Pareidolia
* Part 5 - Reflections & Conclusions

Seeing Things? Part 3 – Pareidolia

Have you ever seen faces in the clouds? Or in knotted and gnarled tree trunks? How about the “man in the moon”? Or the Virgin Mary’s face in a grilled cheese sandwich?!

These are all common examples of Pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon in which a random stimulus is interpreted by the brain as something specific and recognisable. Pareidolia can be visual, such as seeing patterns of light and shade as a face, or it can be auditory, such as hearing words spoken inamongst static or white noise.

Pareidolia is a natural outcome of the fact that our brains are designed to process a great deal of information in our physical environment. In order for us to survive, our brains have to be able to recognise important patterns inamongst the noise. For example, Carl Sagan hypothesised that survival was dependent on being able to recognise the human face from a distance and in poor visibility using only minimal visual cues.

Although there are about twelve visual cues that have been identified as important for a random pattern to be identified as a face (such as eyes darker than forehead and mouth darker than cheeks), our brains don’t actually process each of these cues individually in order to conclude that it is seeing a face. Instead, our brains process faces holistically, seeing the whole image at once and immediately identifying it as an individual. Research into exactly how the brain does this and which parts of the brain are involved is still ongoing. The identification of the visual cues involved in this processing has been invaluable, however, in allowing facial recognition software to be developed and put to use in areas as diverse as identifying terrorist suspects amidst crowds at an airport to being able to focus correctly on faces using your point-and-shoot digital camera.

Does the existence of pareidolia rule out any paranormal explanation for seeing faces in nature or hearing voices in static? Is it still possible that these are evidence of nature spirits or spirit communication? My own feeling is that many experiences such as these are simply visual or auditory illusions. However, I do also feel that some such experiences are very real indications of paranormal activity. Rather than leaping to conclusions either way when something like this is experienced, I would urge you to keep an open mind (both ways!) and use sensitivity and considered judgement when coming to a decision about what you are seeing or hearing.

This is Part 3 of 5 in a series exploring common visual experiences often mistaken for paranormal occurrences. The other posts in the series are as follows:
* Part 1 - Floaters
* Part 2 - Flashes Of Light
* Part 4 - Retinal Fatigue & Afterimages
* Part 5 - Reflections & Conclusions

Seeing Things? Part 2 – Flashes Of Light

In my previous blog post, I looked at the topic of floaters, a common eye condition which is sometimes misinterpreted by people as evidence for paranormal activity, such as the presence of a spirit or ability to see energy. In this post, I’ll be looking at a related eye condition experienced by many people, namely small flashes of light seen out the corner of the eye.

Seeing small flashes of twinkling light in one’s visual field is often discussed in spiritual circles as evidence of angelic presence with the person seeing them. This blog post is not meant to debunk this belief in any way – I fully believe in angels myself and have felt their presence on many an occasion. However, I do think that it’s important to practice discernment when it comes to spiritual and paranormal matters. In other words, seeing small flashes of light may very well signify angelic presence, but it may also be a sign of a serious physical eye problem that requires immediate medical attention. Rather than making the automatic assumption that the experience has a paranormal cause, it is best to have one’s eyes checked first to rule out any health issues.

Light flashes can occur when the vitreous gel in our eyes detaches from the retina at the back of the eye. As mentioned in the last post on floaters, this detachment is a normal and natural occurrence, which usually occurs fairly smoothly. However, on occasion, the vitreous will sometimes pull on the retina as it detaches instead of coming away cleanly. When this happens, the photoreceptors on the light-sensitive retina are stimulated and are experienced by us as small flashes of light, often described as sparkles, lightning, fireflies, fireworks, or sparks. Although there may be nothing to worry about, the possibility does exist that the retina could become torn or detached as the vitreous pulls away from it. As a result, if you see flashes of light, it is recommended that you visit an eye care professional to determine whether or not you are at risk of damage to your retina.

This is Part 2 of 5 in a series exploring common visual experiences often mistaken for paranormal occurrences. The other posts in the series are as follows:
* Part 1 - Floaters
* Part 3 - Pareidolia
* Part 4 - Retinal Fatigue & Afterimages
* Part 5 - Reflections & Conclusions

Seeing Things? Part 1 - Floaters

Do you sometimes see grey or semi-transparent dark-edged specks, strands or squiggly lines in your field of vision, particularly if you are looking up at the clear sky or at a blank wall? As I’m writing this, I’m aware of seeing a couple against the white of my MS Word page –one is circular in shape, transparent with a dark nucleus and dark ring around its edge, while the other looks like a tiny grey worm! They are similar in appearance to the ones in the picture below.


People who experience these usually have one of two reactions: either they fear that there is something drastically wrong with their eyes or vision, or if they are interested in the paranormal, they often get excited that they are seeing energy or evidence of a spirit’s presence. The truth is much more prosaic than either of these, however.

These specks, strands or cobwebs are called floaters, otherwise known in technical medical terms as muscae volitantes, and they are a very common eye condition, particularly amongst middle-aged or nearsighted people. They develop when the vitreous gel, the clear jelly-like substance that fills the back two-thirds of our eye, undergoes very natural changes as we age – small pockets of liquid form within the vitreous, the strands of collagen within the vitreous become thicker and denser, and the vitreous shrinks and detaches from the back of the eye. The shapes that we see are actually the shadows cast by these liquid pockets or collagen strands floating in the vitreous as light travels through the vitreous to the retina. Because the floaters are in our eyes, they move with our eyes, either drifting across our vision or darting away as we try to focus on them directly.

Although the changes mentioned above may sound worrying, there is usually no cause for concern and they generally don’t affect vision beyond being mildly annoying. Our brains can adapt to the floaters’ presence and will learn to ignore them for the most part. Floaters also tend to decrease in size or darkness over time, or “settle” at the bottom of our eyes below our line of sight. However, if you experience a sudden increase in the number of floaters that you can see, or if your floaters change significantly, it is recommended that you visit an eye care professional, such as an optometrist or opthalmologist, so that they can check the health of your retina.

[Image credit: Acdx on Wikimedia Commons]

This is Part 1 of 5 in a series exploring common visual experiences often mistaken for paranormal occurrences. The other posts in the series are as follows:
* Part 2 - Flashes Of Light
* Part 3 - Pareidolia
* Part 4 - Retinal Fatigue & Afterimages
* Part 5 - Reflections & Conclusions