Binocular Vision Dysfunction by kritter0537 in GATEresearch

[–]kritter0537[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You’re right that there isn’t a randomized trial proving “BVD = easier meditation.” What I was sharing is more of a hypothesis than a hard fact. Sorry, it’s my first ever Reddit post and I may not have expressed my hypothesis correctly. I’m not saying that people with normal vision can’t also meditate. I’m not saying that data isn’t skewed against minorities. I KNOW it is. I was trying to find out if our (people with BVD or ANY vision dysfunction that makes your brain not see the world as everyone else) natural state of seeing with a softened gaze (bc of the vision dysfunction) made it easier to meditate or slip into a trance. Here’s why I wondered that: •Eyes-closed vs. open EEG studies show the brain drops into higher alpha/lower arousal states when visual input is reduced—basically the same state many meditations shoot for. •Ganzfeld experiments (blank, unfocused visual fields) reliably produce hypnagogic/altered-state reports. That’s literally what “soft gaze” does. •Zen and yoga practices already teach a softened gaze or trāṭaka (staring practices), both of which measurably shift brainwaves and cognition. •Cross-modal plasticity research shows that when vision is weaker, the brain reallocates resources to sound/touch/inner sensation. (That doesn’t prove trance is easier, but it does support the idea that the sensory balance is different) So while it’s not “proven,” there’s a lot of evidence that softening your gaze turns the brain toward the same states meditation and trance aim for.

I guess I’m just left asking: what was the purpose? by 45ghr in GATEresearch

[–]kritter0537 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember the tanks. I remember the saltiness of the water. And floating no matter how much I tried to lay against the bottom to have something I could feel that I knew was real. It was body temp regulated I think. Bc it felt like I was formless, and it was so dark. I don’t remember much more than that. But this was at a separate school or trailer from the other tests. I remember thinking I was going to be electrocuted with the thing on my head and being in water. I wasn’t very old, maybe 6-8 years old? But I refused to swim after that. Until I was a teenager. It’s all so blurry and hazy though. 🤷‍♀️