Medical Mystery - Blind man sees when he OBE's

[Leyla]

This was on a popular prime time show last night. This blind man was on the previews "I can see when I dream."

I said "Just wait, these dreams of his are OBEs" Sure enough, he came on and said "I dream I'm flying, and I can soar in the clouds and see the trees and houses and cars." Even though he'd been blind from birth.

[MisterJingo]

That's interesting . I remember reading about Robert Bruce's work with blind people, he developed a technique to allow them to project, and it tunred into NEW. But in the cases he noted, the blind people couldn't see during projection. They described it being able to feel in every direction at once - further than their arms would normally stretch.
I'd be interested to read more about this person. People who are blind from birth do not grow the areas of the brain used for sight (as they are not used - it seems brain growth and development is directly linked to use) - usually the hearing areas take over those bits. As dreams, visualisations, day dreams and sight all use the same circuitry (which shouldn't exist in this person), the fact they believe they are seeing is a pretty amazing thing. Did they list any websites or at least give a name? Also, what show?

[Greytraveller]

It is indeed amazing.
I am a member of the yahoo group Astral_and_beyond ( //groups/yahoo.com/group/astral_and_beyond )
There is a member in that grouyp that is blind and yet can see quite clearly during both his OBEs and dreams! If you go to that website you will find that he is the most frequent poster of the website and his initials are J K.

[ParanoidAndroid]

I always wanted to see this. I am happy for these people, maybe more blind people will learn of it and work for it.

[dingo]

I don't doubt that blind people can see during OBEs, but if you've been blind all your life, is it possible that you might mistake "feeling in every direction at once" for vision?

[interception]

I don't doubt that blind people can see during OBEs, but if you've been blind all your life, is it possible that you might mistake "feeling in every direction at once" for vision?

There are more ways to perceive than just visible light spectrum based vision...

[catmeow]

Kenneth Ring describes a few cases of clear vision in NDE'rs. I think some were blind from birth:

http://www.amazon.com/Mindsight-Near-Death-Body-Experiences-Blind/dp/0966963008/

People who have never experienced physical vison, can experience something "vision-like" during NDE, although we have no way of knowing if what they experience is vision as we understand it. According to Ring's research they experience something which is as clear and detailed as vision, sometimes describing bright "light", colours and extremely fine detail (like snowflakes).  But sometimes they describe their "vision" in terms of "feeling" or "knowing".  It's hard to get a definitive answer.  However it does seem that people who were blind from birth can occasionally during NDE experience something equivalent to vision.

[PuRpLe]

I have heard of this before, although from what I understand if someone is able to project and they have been blind since birth then they can only percieve things in two dimensions because that his how their brain has become accustomed to understanding the world without vision.

[catmeow]

PurPle, yes that's the view of Robert Bruce in "Astral Dynamics", although it has always puzzled me.  I don't really understand what our brain has to do with perception in the astral, unless of course it's all "imaginary".  Kenneth Ring's accounts seem to disagree with what Robert Bruce says.  Personally I think Bruce wrote a great book, but I am puzzled by one or two things he said.  Certainly, according to Ring, people who have been blind from birth can occasionally "see" during NDE.

Here are some interesting links

http://www.near-death.com
http://www.near-death.com/evidence.html

[RD]

Couldn't it be that your physical brain is just a "filter" to receive and perceive to and from the mind? That makes a lot more sense to me then to believe that we are thinking with our physical brain, wich makes no sense to me at all. Most scientists and doctors don't understand the greatest part of the brain anyway and that figures, because they often approach these matters from a physical perspective.

Personaly, I think that we are thinking with our minds and that the brain only converts that thinking into the neural system, an impuls, in order to get a certain reaction and visa versa. So when a man's mind, not the brain, is thinking about a sexual encounter, the brain makes sure that thought or way of thinking is converted into the neural system and makes sure he gets an erection. But it starts with the mind, not the physical brain. And visa versa, when you weren't thinking about any sexual situation, and suddenly are being touched in a sexual way, then our brain converts that what the neural system passes through, wich is then being filtered through the brain to our mind, wich as an effect on our well being. But if we really create our own realities, then perhaps our subconsious mind was already longing for that sexual touch and thus evertyhing truly originates from the mind indeed; not from the physical plane or body. Ever.

So when you understand the above, then it's not so hard to understand that when you are an INFINITE spiritual being who's consiousness is projected into an astral body should be able to see without any problems. REMEMBERING that experience is another story, because it has to be downloaded into the physical brain afterwards in order to remember it. That was something Robert Bruce talked about in his book also. I think it's important to keep those things in mind...or better; to remember these important things while we are in the physical that our infinite minds already know.

[Zante]

I like to hear about these things. 

I remember a man who, having been blinded in an accident as a child, had his site restored by a medical treatment at around the age of 40. At first it was frustrating for him, he couldn't make out objects yet his vision was now "perfect". The researchers placed a can of pepsi in front of him and, much to his frustration, couldn't see it for himself until they placed his hands on it, after which it suddenly came into his view/perception.

On a sad note, he says he might have preferred staying blind. He doesn't like the look of his wife now that he can see and still insists on shaving in a dark room. With all the distractions sight presents to someone I can understand why he might feel this way. You go from spending a lot of time in your head to having to contend with a powerful new sense which is slowly turning your world upside down. He couldn't remember what it was, to be able to see (the accident took his sight when he was very young), he thought it would be a miraculous thing to have his sight back, he thought it would give him so much more understanding.

However, once up in a passenger plane he looked out of the window and fell in love with the clouds. Insisting it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, he then asked the man next to him what it was he was seeing because obviously he had no idea himself, "they're just clouds" the man replied. 

[catmeow]

Very thought-provoking post Zante. 

[zareste]

He's exiting in spirit form.  What's so mysterious about that?