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Comment by ThalesX | Hacker News Reader

I've been trying for years to visualize. My SO is an artist and my mother a psychologist, so I've been trying to gets tips and tricks from them. I never managed to even get a hint of color.

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I definitely think the ability is there and can be unlocked. Like the way you can sometimes figure out how to fire some random muscle on your body with practice.

While I was in jail I managed to imagine images in vivid color and detail several times, but never on demand. It would happen randomly when I was just lying, bored, thinking about stuff. Each time was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was like going from being a caveman looking at scratchings on a wall, to straight into a 3D IMAX movie. The quality was that spectacular, with bright colors and completely 3-dimensional. Since I left jail it hasn't happened again a single time.

I have to wonder if that's how others see inside their minds? If so, I am in awe.

You sound similar to me, girlfriend is an artist with an incredible visual imagination, mother is a therapist, and I was at a 0 on the scale before I met her. My gf and I have had some deep conversations, sometimes assisted by MDMA, and at times to the point of crying in front of her in a state of completely trusting her which uncovered some past trauma, social fears, and other discomforts I needed to work through. Anyway after each of these times it would get a little easier to visualize; simple colors at first, then colorful shapes, now small snippets of images that come in and out. Maybe a 2-3 on the scale. Also my memory has improved, not so much for technical stuff, but just remembering the details of my life which before had huge spans (in years) that I mostly didn't remember.

Anyway this might just be specific to me but something to think about.

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