Hello,
I'm Aaron Hugh Bach.
Welcome to this guided exercise for people with aphantasia.
If you're here,
You may have aphantasia,
And I'm sure you're aware of what it is.
For those joining that are curious,
Aphantasia is a characteristic some people have related to how their mind and imagination works.
Having it means you don't have visual imagination,
Which keeps you from picturing things in your mind.
Say for example,
If anyone were to say,
Close your eyes and imagine an apple.
People with aphantasia cannot picture an apple in their mind.
They see nothing.
They know they're supposed to be imagining an apple,
But nothing shows up.
You may know cognitively what it's supposed to look like,
But just cannot visualize it in your mind.
People often don't realize they have it,
And it's not a disability or a medical condition.
There are many guided meditations here on Insight Timer that calls for visualization,
So this can be challenging or not useful to those that have aphantasia.
This exercise we'll go through is designed to help someone with aphantasia build a mental understanding of an object using touch,
Sound,
Logic,
And emotion instead of traditional visualization.
This can help those further their experiences better here on Insight Timer,
Where meditations may call for visualization.
Step one is to choose an object.
When talking about aphantasia,
The most popular example is using an apple.
Let's use an apple for this exercise,
But feel free to pick another object if you prefer.
Step two,
We're going to think about physical sensation,
So think about touch and shape awareness.
Imagine you're holding an apple in your hand.
What do you feel?
Is it smooth?
Is it slightly waxy?
Is it cold?
Is it warm?
Run your fingers over its surface in your mind,
And can you sense any bumps or imperfections on the apple?
Step three,
Let's think about the weight and size and spatial awareness.
Is the apple heavy or light?
Can you wrap your fingers around it completely,
Or does it take up your whole palm?
If you move it from one hand to the other,
How does it feel?
Step four is to think about sound and texture awareness.
Now,
Imagine tapping the apple with your finger.
Does it make a soft,
Dull sound or a light,
Hollow tap?
What if you gently scratch the surface of the apple with your fingernail?
Can you imagine how that might feel or sound?
Step five,
Let's think about taste and smell.
Imagine lifting the apple to your nose and smelling it.
Can you sense a faint,
Fruity scent?
Now,
Picture taking a bite of the apple.
You don't need to see it,
Just focus on the experience of biting it.
Is there a crisp snap of the skin breaking?
Is there a juicy rush of flavor spreading into your mouth?
Does the apple taste sweet or is it tart?
Step six is to use emotional and logical association.
So,
Think about the last time you ate an apple.
As you imagined in the previous steps,
Does it remind you of a specific moment?
Maybe a packed lunch as a kid,
A visit to an apple orchard,
Or just a crisp autumn day?
Now think,
If you had to describe this apple to someone who has never seen one,
What words would you use?
The seventh step is going to be the last step in this exercise.
So,
Take a deep breath and release any effort.
In the future,
For any object or visualization that you might need to do,
Instead of forcing an image,
Notice what thoughts,
Feelings,
Or impressions that came up.
So,
As you went through these steps,
Did you actually visualize an apple at any point in any of the steps?
If you did,
Then you may have made some progress towards visualization.
But even if you did not see an apple,
You still experienced it through different senses,
And this is what this exercise was really for.
This method can help people with aphantasia conceptualize objects using experience rather than visualization.
If you have aphantasia,
I hope this helps in a different way.
With any guided meditations that you run into here on Insight Timer that calls for visualization,
Try this technique to hopefully make those more worthwhile for you.
Thank you for listening to this exercise,
And I wish you luck on your journey here on Insight Timer.
