Hi there, I just stumbled upon this site and the whole concept of aphantasia today. I must admit that I have long been of the opinion that I wasn't seeing quite what other people see, but had also assumed the the "mind's eye" was not all it was described to be, and that perhaps people have verying degrees of mental visuality, and mine was either very poor or perhaps even non existent.

All of which is even more fascintating to me because I spent over 10 years training as a medium. Whilst my abilities in the psychic world were not as stellar as some psychics/mediums I've seen, I was often able to describe things to people that they were able to acknowledge, but without me being able to "see" what I was describing.

I appreciate that this dialogue is not for everyone, so hopefully I've not caused any offence. I had planned to start out by replying to a recent post by Paul Tracey, but can't see how to do so.

The interesting part for me here, is that whilst I have read about people with aphantasia describing things from memory rather than visualising them, it brings an extra twist to it if you are trying to describe something to somebody that you personally have never seen before.

I'd love to discuss things further with any others on here that have done any kind of psychic development. Long shot I know.

Aphantasia and psychic abilities

January 31, 20232 min readByJames Kingman

Curiosity

I appreciate that this dialogue is not for everyone, so hopefully I've not caused any offence. I had planned to start out by replying to a recent post by Paul Tracey, but can't see how to do so.

I'd love to discuss things further with any others on here that have done any kind of psychic development. Long shot I know.

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athalyn90yrrs•recently•edited

Hello James, So, I stumbled on the fact that I have aphantasia. I knew for a long time I did not see things when I closed my eyes. I knew I recalled from memory but...I did not know other people could SEE things when they closed their eyes. I dream so vividly and that never made sense to me. I'm a mental health therapist and over the years have recognized I get clear downloads. It has helped me in therapy so much but once again...I thought it was what every therapist experienced. Come to find out..."downloads". Who knew. I also experience what I call drop ins from spirit. They actually drop into and share my space with me. It's and interesting feeling for me. Anything I have, I have not worked to hone, it just happens. I guess what I'm trying to share is I don't think aphantasia is a barrier to having a clair... you will just experience it differently. Don't try to do what others do...do it your way and you'll flow with it. Best wishes

Auri'An Lay•recently•edited

Hi James, Welcome.I'm a meditation therapist, holistic counsellor and spiritual awakening facilitator amongst other things and discovered a few years ago that I have total multi-sensory aphantasia. I also have SDAM and a few other 'quirks'. I'm not a psychic medium - although I have dabbled, I mainly work with the Collective Consciousness of Humanity. I am also an advanced meditator and frequently travel within meditation. The way I describe what you are experiencing is Knowing. With a capital K. It is probably based on Claircognisance. I touched upon it in an article I wrote here in October 2022. It took me many years to fully trust what I Know to a point where I could confidently talk with others about it and now I rely on it a lot in my daily life. My best advice is to learn to use the things that you know - how your body feels. It gives you a lot of information that we process without fully recognising the process. Learn to be conscious of that process. Ask yourself constantly - Where do I feel that? How does it feel? What emotion does it evoke. I'd also like to say that you are not alone. I am frequently asked that question "How do you 'see' in meditation?" My answer is "I don't. I feel in my body and I Know in my Consciousness."

Naomi Anderson•recently•edited

Hi James, I don't claim to have terrific abilities but I am aware there are different ways to 'know' things than visually. Years ago I met with a celebrated psychic locally. Speaking about my daughter she declared 'she loves spicy food' which is very true. The psychic explained that as she was talking about her she got a strong taste of pepper. All the senses can come into play in psychic experiences. I have smelled someone close days after they passed. I have heard voices tell me facts I couldnt have known. I have felt the presence of another. But I have never ever seen anything and now I know why. I've heard it said that blind people have other senses heightened. Their hearing is more acute, their touch more sensitive. I suspect the same applies in the psychic sense. Interesting topic, thanks for opening it up.

Melissa Howard•recently•edited

Hi James, That's interesting that you have spent 10 years training as a medium without beingable to visualize in your mind's eye. I'm the opposite and only here because a friendhas aphantasia and I wanted to find out more about it. I have hyperphantasia. I seeeverything in extreme detail in my mind's eye. And, I've had psychic medium abilities sinceI was three. As a child my mother was always wanting me to read for her friends which I didn't always enjoy doing, but I have learned to enjoy helping friends and family with it when needed. I'm always amazed at how psychics and mediums can work without being able to see the exact thing they are talking about. For me, I see the person who has passed as a three dimensional moving person. As if they were right in front of me. And, I hear them talking to me in full sentences. I also have very vivid dreams, frequently dream thefuture and saw the man who is now my fiance in my dreams for 25 years before I met him.

Sarah Naughton•recently•edited

Hey James! So I realized I had aphantasia through TikTok in 2020, and went through I'm sure the confusion and frustration that all of us have when realizing that people can actually see pictures in their minds. Now, I've always been strongly connected to the spiritual realm, having odd experiences ever since I was a kid. One of the weirdest things, though, was that many times I would have dreams that would then actually happen in real life; either in the next couple of days or in the future. I've always wondered if this was a form of manifestation, or simply having a sense of what will happen in the future. Also, whenever I get a random, bad gut feeling, usually something in either my family's or friends' lives had just occurred. There have been moments where I have been searching for something, and, with my eyes open, for a split-second I would actually see what I would do next - like deja vu, but it would go away the minute I would blind. I don't know if this is at all relevant to what you are questioning; but I do think that aphantasia allows for fewer distractions when we are thinking and focused on one particular instant - whether it's predicting what number a die will land on, or what a person's actions will be, our senses are more easily honed in, because we don't have the normal distractions of the outcomes. Now, one side of my family is Puerto Rican, and I don't want to scream Santera, but I think that psychic ability lies within generations, especially one's roots. Being able to have a strong connection with the universe and the environment, as well as maintaining a constantly open mind to the fact that no one knows why we are here or how close the spirit realm truly is to the world as we know it, I find that aphantasia might actually make it easier to communicate with the other realm. I've also found that I rely more on muscle memory and the way things feel. Whether you are trying to connect a stranger to a passed loved one, or even your own family reaching out to point you in the right direction, aphantasia or not, we all can feel that influence. Hope this makes sense, and I hope more people give their input to this discussion.

Jay Black•recently•edited

Hello James, I am really glad you made this post. Personally I am a beginner energy worker and have been unable to visualize the same things my mentor was instructing, despite many tries. This really puts me in a unique position as well, as you surely know with the same experience! I try to figure out more descriptive and creative ways to work with my craft.