Is phantasia, the ability to visualize at will, similar to experiencing hypnogogic imagery?
1 min readByDianne McCarthy
I can't experience or perceive an image at will but I can access details of previous visual memories. I can also experience and perceive hypnogogic imagery before falling asleep. If I try to focus my conscious attention on it, then the image/video disappears and I'm back, looking through closed eyes. Do non-aphants "see with the mind's eye" the same as they see hypnogogic imagery? If so, then my issue may be a switching off of imagery by focusing conscious attention, switching to mechanically look out through my closed eyes, instead of maintaining access to some imagery function that comes as the conscious mind is falling asleep. If not, if visualizing is experienced differently than hypnogogic imagery, coming from a different mechanism in the brain, then idunno.