Conference hydra::dejavu

    I see them too.  In fact, I see several kinds.  My eyes are normal
    and probably so are yours.  There are several kinds of "static on
    the line."
    
    The blobby gray strings are odd buts of crud floating in the aqueous
    humor inside the eyeball.  When they float too near the retina,
    they come partially into focus and, if you are staring at a blank
    background, like the sky, you see them.
    
    While you are watching these ("floaters" I have heard them called),
    you may also notice tiny circles, sometimes in clumps.  These are
    the blood cells circulating in your retina, perhaps made more visible
    by diffraction.
    
    I sometimes see a brilliant point of light that moves a short way
    though my visual field then vanishes.  I don't know what this is.
    It might be the "fortification pattern" from a micro-migraine (they
    happen most often when I am tense) or a temporary glitch in the
    circulation to my retina, or a cosmic ray striking the retina or
    the optical cortex.  Anybody know?
    
    In any event, I never heard any claim that they were paranormal.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    re: .1
    
    I also see the "floaters".  If I move my eyes back and forth, these
    "floaters" rotate.  The spots I was referring to seem to have zigzag
    path independent of my eye movement.  Also, they seem to be more
    of a disturbance on what I'm looking at (like the disturbance heat
    waves make). The spots seem to be brighter than the background and
    leave a vague trail behind.  I read once that they are something
    to do with sunlight, but I'll have to find the book again.  They
    (the spots) were mentioned in a book on learning to see the human
    aura.
    
    		Dave

    The stuff you're talking about is non-paranormal.  There is also
    the so-called "lightning flashes" effect, where once in a while
    you may get something like a momentary bright "flash" over your
    vision, as if there was a lightning strike nearby.  My optician
    tells me this has to do with the changing density of the aqueous
    humor as we get older <sdigh>.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    

    Gneeches, obviously gneeches...
    
    For more information, try any of tthe Alan Dean Foster SPELLSINGER
    series of books.
    		     :-)
    
    Dave
    (No disclaimer necessary... the company has already disclaimed me.)
    

    Re .3:  Steve, any idea what my occasional wandering pinpoint of
    light might be?
    
    ESW

    re .5:
    
    Not just from the description.  However, it might be worth knowing
    whether or not you wear/use glasses.  
    
    Also, once in a long while, eye fatugue will produce very interesting
    results, including kaleidoscopic patterns in the periphery of one's
    vision.  If you see rainbow-colored haloes around bright, point-source
    lights, however, have your eyes checked immediately, as it might
    be a danger sign for glaucoma.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    

    re: .0
    
    I believe those spot are red blood cells "swimming" across your
    retina.
    
    Tom

    My optician told me that my floaters were due to dead cell material
    floating around inside that jelly like substance inside the eye.
    She also told me that it was normal for this to happen as I get
    older.  If it gets realy bad though it could be a sign of a detached
    retina.  Mine seem to float around in response to what ever interia
    my neck and head are generating at that instant.  Boo Hoo Hoo, I'm
    getting old!

                                   (*)

My optometrist told me at one point thet the circles/spots that I see
are actually blank sectioons of the retina. The areas in question
being damaged at some point by being burned by looking at infra-reds and
ultra-violets.
	They can be seen if you stare at a cloudless blue sky or any
pastel single color. This is basically the same as providing a blank
background with nothing to focus on. Try it!.
	The reason why most of us don't see it is the eye/brain can't 
handle that much detail in most things we look at. It would be like
looking at a graphic and trying to find where a pixel or two was missing
from 8-10' away. Pretty tough!
	I agree on the floaters, a lot of stuff gets washed in ad out 
of the eyes during the day. Cateracts also are an insight(no pun intended)
as to what can affect the vision.



							AL

    Dave,
    
    Congratulations on your natural ability.  I believe most people
    who have responded to this notes file are interpreting the wrong
    visual phenomena. The tiny pinpoints of light that you see (if you
    are seeing the same things I am thinking of) may the intersections
    of the luminous fibers that form the "web of life". Send me mail
    message with your DTN and I will call you to further interpret this.
    
    Kevin

    Re: .10
    Sounds interesting Kevin, why not share it with the rest of us?
    
    Addie
    

    I'll add my vote for the discussion in the notes file.  I think
    this group can can handle almost anything (except maybe gneeches)
    Even if I'm not the "Dave" referred to, (there are two "Dave" entries
    in the note), I like this file enough to want to keep it in here.
    
    BCNU,
    Dave
    
    "There is no counter for a spirited woman except spirited drink."
    							Rhett Butler
    

    re .11
    
    My apologies for taking the topic out of the file and onto the phones.
    This is a phenomena that I can only explain person-to-person. I choose
    to do it this way because I need to talk to each person about the
    experience to 
    
    1)make sure that I am explaining the "correct" phenomenum
    
    2)learn enough about the person on the "receiving" end of this
    experience   that I can put the explaination into terms that the
    individual can relate to
    
    
    Much of the stuff involved with this or any other psychic phenomena
    can only be explained by someone with experience.  There are many
    people in the world (yea verily even in this notes file) who try
    to explain things with "book knowledge".  The lack of experience
    shows to someone who has the experiences. I will be more than happy
    to provide the answers to anyone who has had the same experiences
    as Dave, but I refuse to depersonalize such a major observation.
    
    

	    The "floaters" are often also known as "phenomes" (I think).
	I'm told they are at the root of swirling psychedelic hallucina-
	tions that a user of mescaline (or, presumably, any other hallu-
	cinogen) sees.
			<_Jym_>

>    I sometimes see a brilliant point of light that moves a short way
>    though my visual field then vanishes.  I don't know what this is.
>    It might be the "fortification pattern" from a micro-migraine (they
>    happen most often when I am tense) or a temporary glitch in the
>    circulation to my retina, or a cosmic ray striking the retina or
>    the optical cortex.  Anybody know?
>    Earl Wajenberg

The explaination I got from my eye-doctor was that these are caused by fatigue
of the eye muscles. I am not sure how they could cause such a thing, but it
may be a result of the muscle "twitching" and thus causing bogus stuff to
be sent along the optic nerve.

DDA

    re: .10
    
       Thank you Kevin....I was beginning to think that I read entirely
    too much Seth Material.  I happen to see those little pinpoints
    of light all the time (well, not always).  I always thought that
    I was percieving "the edge" of another reality.  The intersections
    on the "web of life" hadn't occured to me.  Makes sense tho!  I'm
    glad to see that there's someone out there who doesn't rely on purely
    "physical" explanations.
    
    					Phil
    

    re: .16 (Phil)
    
    	There are lots of us who don't rely solely on "physical"
    	explanations...  =8*)
    
    						Carla
    

I always thought those "pin-points" of light were molecules!  Picture this, if 
you will; when I was in third grade, I told one of my teachers that I could see 
molecules, and she reacted from her mundane level, and told my parents in a 
conference later on that I was impudent.  I wonder what she would have said if 
I had, instead, told her any of the preceding??

    
    I see'em too, but there are not always "dots."  Some of them are
    little lines, like hair, about an inch long, but kinda bent.
    
    -Dwight

    RE: .19
    
    Those are "floaters."  They are cells that have sloughed off the
    retina and are suspended in the vitreous humor, the fluid that fills
    the eye.  When lighting conditions are right, these floating cells
    can be seen.
    
    The bright dots people report seeing are neurological in nature;
    everybody sees them from time to time ("seeing stars").
    
    John M.

    re: .20
    
         I thought I remember hearing it told that the tiny 
    movement of light particles that we see is Brownian Movement.
    Is what you are talking about something different?
    
    Frederick
    

    I believe the bright dots John M. refers to are called Phosphenes.
    
    I read a study of their nature a few years ago and will try to remember
    where I filed it.
    
    Bob
    

    I see these "spots" too, but mine vary.  Sometimes they are just
    dots, sometimes they move, sometimes they are still.  Other times
    they are like the lightening flashes described earlier in this
    conference. But...  everytime I see them I get a migraine headache.
    Does anyone else get migraines along with the "spottings?" ;-D
   

    re Migraines
    My understanding (from my mother, an RN, and my brother, an LPN)
    is that the "visual flash" is in fact a standard precursor to
    some migraines.  (I have noticed it in myself, hence the questions.)
    I understand it is useful, as medication can be taken _before_ the
    migraine itself hits full force.
    
    NO guarantees, your mind may differ....
    
    thanks
    dwp