Faces

Devia

I might start off by saying I'm a scientific man and quite the skeptic but I've had this thing now for several years and a recent experience has made me think about it a bit more.

Basically when my eyes are shut and I concentrate on the darkness I sometimes see people coming towards me. These people will always have really distinguished facial features and gesture as if trying to somehow communicate. The faces are never of people I've met but they will always be detailed and each will express their own individual emotions, usually joy and occasionally sorrow.

So for years I've put this thing down to my imagination. I know how the brain can work in weird and wonderful ways and I was never convinced it was anything more than that. However it gets a bit strange when no matter how much I try to think of something else (for example an animal or an object) the images I see persist and don't disappear and similarly when I want to actually see these images I can't.... its impossible to make them appear at will.

Location seems to be a big factor. I rarely see anything when at home, its mostly in strange places. Sometimes I'll see one individual and none else, on other more rare occasions I'll see streams of people coming at me. I stayed in an old hostel in Stockholm a couple of years ago and was absolutely swamped, I saw literally hundreds of faces before finally getting to sleep. More recently I was staying in a hotel here in Ireland (which I won't name) and I had a particularly restless night when I started seeing angry, aggressive faces of a kind I hadn't experienced before. Almost intimidating and definitely not something that would have been on my mind.

So psychics and skeptics.... is this in line with some sort of extrasensory perception or is it just simple brain chemistry?

maccored

thats just your mind - I know quite a few people who see faces when they close their eyes. doubt it actually means anything - I sometimes see shapes when I close my eyes. its just your brain, eyes and imagination.

MrMojoRisin

The same thing actually happened to me last night (and happens often, no matter where I am, I might add) while I had my eyes closed and was trying to fall asleep. I could see a young-ish woman with dark-green eyes and dark hair tied back who was looking at me meaningfully and sort of gesticulating at me. I didn't know who she was.

When I was younger, I'd often see a series of shapes (such as squares and triangles) increasing and decreasing rapidly in my mind, which I found really distracting and annoying.

I wouldn't call any of it paranormal really. I think it's a normal, common thing. According to this, a person's sensory activity might increase when their eyes are shut.

crushproof

Wow, this happens me alot, pretty much exactly how you describe, I haven't a clue who the faces are but they are distinguishable and it's almost as if they want say something but can't.

They kinda slowly flash up towards me...then vanish but are followed by others. I never, ever understood this and it only really seems to happen to me when I'm alone in bed or on a bit of downer for a while. Most of the rest of the time my mind is occupied with other stuff so I don't see it.

I rarely recognise the faces, I wrack my brain trying to figure out but alas they disappear and occasionally it seems like they do transform into scary figures which makes me open my eyes pretty dam quickly. But it hasn't varied depending on where I am.

Only told a couple of people about this, they all think I'm crazy!

Maudi

Devia wrote: »

I might start off by saying I'm a scientific man and quite the skeptic but I've had this thing now for several years and a recent experience has made me think about it a bit more.

Basically when my eyes are shut and I concentrate on the darkness I sometimes see people coming towards me. These people will always have really distinguished facial features and gesture as if trying to somehow communicate. The faces are never of people I've met but they will always be detailed and each will express their own individual emotions, usually joy and occasionally sorrow.

So for years I've put this thing down to my imagination. I know how the brain can work in weird and wonderful ways and I was never convinced it was anything more than that. However it gets a bit strange when no matter how much I try to think of something else (for example an animal or an object) the images I see persist and don't disappear and similarly when I want to actually see these images I can't.... its impossible to make them appear at will.

Location seems to be a big factor. I rarely see anything when at home, its mostly in strange places. Sometimes I'll see one individual and none else, on other more rare occasions I'll see streams of people coming at me. I stayed in an old hostel in Stockholm a couple of years ago and was absolutely swamped, I saw literally hundreds of faces before finally getting to sleep. More recently I was staying in a hotel here in Ireland (which I won't name) and I had a particularly restless night when I started seeing angry, aggressive faces of a kind I hadn't experienced before. Almost intimidating and definitely not something that would have been on my mind.

So psychics and skeptics.... is this in line with some sort of extrasensory perception or is it just simple brain chemistry?

wow..! i went out with a girl from wexford some years ago.and you have described exactly what her mother used to tell me she sees..unknown faces comming out of the dark and sorta flying at her...very odd

krd

Are there any colours in the faces?

This is kind of an important question.

Devia

Thanks all for the input. I've no doubt that these are just brain processes as suggested but I'm interested in finding out why exactly its occurring and I'm especially interested in hearing other people's experiences. To me, the cases I mentioned above feel different to the normal thought/imaging processes of the brain which is why I posted in this form. The images are vivid and unprovoked but of course a biological explanation is viable.... they could easily be images from the depths of the subconscious which are unlocked and involuntarily processed in the brain. The thing is we could use this to explain a lot of things.

krd wrote: »

Are there any colours in the faces?

This is kind of an important question.

No, the faces are detailed in white light. Why do you ask?

krd

Devia wrote: »

No, the faces are detailed in white light. Why do you ask?

People often see these kinds of things in colour.

Most people just see shapes. I think it's so often people don't even pay that much attention.

It is just your brain.

Devia

krd wrote: »

People often see these kinds of things in colour.

Most people just see shapes. I think it's so often people don't even pay that much attention.

I'm still not sure why it was such an important question?

krd wrote: »

It is just your brain.

I'm not really debating that to be honest, I'm more interested know why. Its always good to get opinions on the matter but saying 'its just your brain' doesn't really explain much. I know where you're coming from but its a completely different experience to seeing shapes.

krd

Devia wrote: »

I'm still not sure why it was such an important question?



I'm not really debating that to be honest, I'm more interested know why. Its always good to get opinions on the matter but saying 'its just your brain' doesn't really explain much. I know where you're coming from but its a completely different experience to seeing shapes.

Read through this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed-eye_hallucination And then look at the see also at the bottom.

There are a whole bunch of these effects. Things like the Tetris effect - if you play Tetris for hours, and you're tired - when you close you eyes, you will see Tetris blocks falling.

Most people, if they look at a cloud long enough, they will see faces. In fact most people can see a face in nearly any random pattern. We're attuned to seeing faces.



See....did you see the face?

Vision is very complex. Different parts of the brain handle different bits. If you get a bad bang on the head, you can have weird kinds of blindness, where you can see certain objects, and movement and not others. Or be able to recognise some objects but not others. You only ever see what your brain decides it sees - not what's actually there.

When you close your eyes - it a bit like the fuzz on television set when it's not tuned to a channel. Your brain might just decide to make faces out of the fuzz.

Devia

With respect, the above is common knowledge and if it was as simplistic as you're implying I probably wouldn't be posting here.

krd

Devia wrote: »

With respect, the above is common knowledge and if it was as simplistic as you're implying I probably wouldn't be posting here.

If you're seeing recognisable faces again and again. While neither tired nor under the influence of any psychotropic chemical.

Maybe you have something.

If you're just seeing indistinguishable faces, or face shapes, when you close your eyes to go to sleep, then you don't really have anything. It's a normal experience

And if you are seeing faces, and seeing people, and things appear to you, that shouldn't be there. If you're hearing voices, and sounds, that you shouldn't be hearing. You may not be experiencing anything from the supernatural world - but you may be in the early stages of a psychiatric illness.


I'm not joking. I'm not trying to insult you, or upset you, or worry you, or take the piss out of you. If you're having persistently strange experiences - if you're having persistently strange thoughts. If you think anyone is trying to communicate with you. Please...go and see your GP.

Devia

krd wrote: »

If you're seeing recognisable faces again and again. While neither tired nor under the influence of any psychotropic chemical.

Maybe you have something.

If you're just seeing indistinguishable faces, or face shapes, when you close your eyes to go to sleep, then you don't really have anything. It's a normal experience

Ah I see, so if I recognise them I'm psychic but If I don't I need psychiatric help? Thanks for the input.

krd wrote: »

And if you are seeing faces, and seeing people, and things appear to you, that shouldn't be there. If you're hearing voices, and sounds, that you shouldn't be hearing. You may not be experiencing anything from the supernatural world - but you may be in the early stages of a psychiatric illness.

I'm not joking. I'm not trying to insult you, or upset you, or worry you, or take the piss out of you. If you're having persistently strange experiences - if you're having persistently strange thoughts. If you think anyone is trying to communicate with you. Please...go and see your GP.

I don't take medical advice from people on the internet. Thanks though.

krd

Devia wrote: »

I don't take medical advice from people on the internet. Thanks though.

I wasn't giving medical advice. I was saying, in a round about way, if you're anxious and having strange experiences. Don't make an internet paranormal forum your first stop. Go talk to your GP.

I wish you all the best.

If you're having difficulties, this is one of the last places you should be. Okay.

Devia

krd wrote: »

I wasn't giving medical advice. I was saying, in a round about way, if you're anxious and having strange experiences. Don't make an internet paranormal forum your first stop. Go talk to your GP.

I wish you all the best.

If you're having difficulties, this is one of the last places you should be. Okay.

Nowhere did I mention anxiousness or difficulty.

Now that your patronising tone has lost all subtlety I think its time to end this exchange.

crushproof

I'll back Devia up, no mention of anxiousness, just a question wondering what it's all about, it's definitely not that closed eye hallucination. Maybe all the faces are of people I've walked past in town today, maybe people from Tv, who knows.....one thing for sure though, I haven't a bloody clue who they are!!!

Maudi

Devia wrote: »

krd wrote: »

I wasn't giving medical advice. I was saying, in a round about way, if you're anxious and having strange experiences. Don't make an internet paranormal forum your first stop. Go talk to your GP.

I wish you all the best.

If you're having difficulties, this is one of the last places you should be. Okay.

Nowhere did I mention anxiousness or difficulty.

Now that your patronising tone has lost all subtlety I think its time to end this exchange.

that pictured that idiot eejit put up is doctored.devia nobody knows what the are and only fools would try and diagnose you...as i said my friend in gorey gets them..she aint crazy...in fact shes just puzzled by them in an amused sorta way..shes an elderly woman and only told me about them bcause she knew me to be open and interested and have had (odd)occurances myself...yesterday as part of a night course i had to do a paper on a 13th century church in wicklow...now ive been to most of the old ruins about here and all are pretty with positive atmosphere .but the ruins i went to in kilcroney...brutal is the feeling i got..and ugly...brutal...just kept coming into my head..now id be as scientificy as the next person but how does one explain that??anyhoo as i always say to my missus...in their own way...everyones a little bit mad...