@marjorie1210195
Joined over 3 years agoMarjorie Schuman, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist whose work combines the wisdom of Buddhism and the clinical knowledge of psychoanalysis. The leading edge of her work, which she calls “Inquiring Deeply”, examines how the experience of Self and Other is involved in emotional pain and relational suffering. Marjorie is the author of the acclaimed text, Mindfulness-Informed Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis: Inquiring Deeply (Routledge Press, 2017). She also writes INQUIRING DEEPLY NEWSLETTER, which publishes probing commentary on meditation and psychotherapy (freely offered and available on her website). Currently, Marjorie is in private practice in Santa Barbara, California. In addition to her writing and clinical work, she teaches workshops and does clinical consultations on Inquiring Deeply and relational mindfulness.
@marjorie1210195
Joined over 3 years agoMarjorie Schuman, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist whose work combines the wisdom of Buddhism and the clinical knowledge of psychoanalysis. The leading edge of her work, which she calls “Inquiring Deeply”, examines how the experience of Self and Other is involved in emotional pain and relational suffering. Marjorie is the author of the acclaimed text, Mindfulness-Informed Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis: Inquiring Deeply (Routledge Press, 2017). She also writes INQUIRING DEEPLY NEWSLETTER, which publishes probing commentary on meditation and psychotherapy (freely offered and available on her website). Currently, Marjorie is in private practice in Santa Barbara, California. In addition to her writing and clinical work, she teaches workshops and does clinical consultations on Inquiring Deeply and relational mindfulness.
Meditative practices based on bodily sensations (e.g., breath coming in and going out) or the touch of the hands on your lap are wonderful anchors for practice of mindfulness meditation. Aphantasia is not an obstacle to cultivation of deep meditative consciousness.
There are all kinds of cognitive tasks and different components of “intelligence”. Everyone has their own profile of strengths and weaknesses. The capacity of the mind to make images is only one of many interesting things. Personally, my sense of direction is poor. I wonder whether this is a function of visual memory. For example, I can’t recall what’s at different street corners, even though I may have walked by them hundreds of times.
Absolutely, cannabis seems to enhance image-making, but this effect pales in comparison to effects of opium (which I once smoked, back in the day).
Did you get any interesting responses to your post about cannabis last year? I am writing an article about visual imagery and meditation and would like to find as much information as I can.
And, BTW, my short answer to whether I would use electrical stimulation to change my imagery is an enthusiastic YES -- assuming I was convinced that it would be safe. I'd also be VERY interested in being a subject for research on TMS and aphantasia if there were any opportunity to do that was geographically convenient.
PS: If you still read/post on this site (I am a new user), I would love to know your ideas about how the pre-frontal cortex is involved in this, and whether you think that there are unusual states of coherence among different brain areas?
This research is EXCITING but needs much more sophisticated subjective/phenomenological methodology.... there are so many different kinds of imagery. Any guess about whether "mind's eye" engages same brain mechanism as "pareidolia"? Personally, I have been experimenting with various kinds of meditative methods to see if I can stimulate imagery that way.
Meditative practices based on bodily sensations (e.g., breath coming in and going out) or the touch of the hands on your lap are wonderful anchors for practice of mindfulness meditation. Aphantasia is not an obstacle to cultivation of deep meditative consciousness.
There are all kinds of cognitive tasks and different components of “intelligence”. Everyone has their own profile of strengths and weaknesses. The capacity of the mind to make images is only one of many interesting things. Personally, my sense of direction is poor. I wonder whether this is a function of visual memory. For example, I can’t recall what’s at different street corners, even though I may have walked by them hundreds of times.
Absolutely, cannabis seems to enhance image-making, but this effect pales in comparison to effects of opium (which I once smoked, back in the day).
Did you get any interesting responses to your post about cannabis last year? I am writing an article about visual imagery and meditation and would like to find as much information as I can.
And, BTW, my short answer to whether I would use electrical stimulation to change my imagery is an enthusiastic YES -- assuming I was convinced that it would be safe. I'd also be VERY interested in being a subject for research on TMS and aphantasia if there were any opportunity to do that was geographically convenient.
PS: If you still read/post on this site (I am a new user), I would love to know your ideas about how the pre-frontal cortex is involved in this, and whether you think that there are unusual states of coherence among different brain areas?
This research is EXCITING but needs much more sophisticated subjective/phenomenological methodology.... there are so many different kinds of imagery. Any guess about whether "mind's eye" engages same brain mechanism as "pareidolia"? Personally, I have been experimenting with various kinds of meditative methods to see if I can stimulate imagery that way.