A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives

Abstract

The scientific study of Buddhist meditation has proceeded without much attention to Buddhist literature that details the range of psychological and physiological changes thought to occur during meditation. This paper presents reports of various meditation-induced light experiences derived from American Buddhist practitioners. The reports of light experiences are classified into two main types: discrete lightforms and patterned or diffuse lights. Similar phenomena are well documented in traditional Buddhist texts but are virtually undocumented in scientific literature on meditation. Within Buddhist traditions, these phenomena are attributed a range of interpretations. However, because it is insufficient and problematic to rely solely upon the textual sources as a means of investigating the cause or significance of these phenomena, these qualitative reports are also considered in relation to scientific research on light-related experiences in the context of sensory deprivation, perceptual isolation, and clinical disorders of the visual system. The typologies derived from these studies also rely upon reports of experiences and closely match typologies derived from the qualitative study of contemporary practitioners and typologies found in Buddhist literary traditions. Taken together, these studies also provide evidence in support of the hypothesis that certain meditative practices – especially those that deliberately decrease social, kinesthetic, and sensory stimulation and emphasize focused attention – have perceptual and cognitive outcomes similar to sensory deprivation. Given that sensory deprivation increases neuroplasticity, meditation may also have an enhanced neuroplastic potential beyond ordinary experience-dependent changes. By providing and contextualizing these reports of meditation-induced light experiences, scientists, clinicians, and meditators gain a more informed view of the range of experiences that can be elicited by contemplative practices.

Neural Correlates of Transmitted Light Experience during Meditation: A Pilot Hyperscanning Study

“…AF mastered his ability to give light after decades of silent vigils in French cathedrals and thus his meditation method is clearly idiosyncratic, although his description suggests more like an objectless meditation rather than an object driven state. Although the precise nature of this very large increase of gamma oscillations is difficult to decipher, we suggest that this could be related to with intense spontaneous visual imagery as experienced during "encounters with light" phenomenon (Lo, Huang et al, 2003;Lindahl, Kaplan et al, 2014). Interestingly, a recent paper (Braboszcz, Cahn et al, 2017) has studied Isha Shoonya meditation, which is based on a related concept "nothingness/ doing nothing", and found high gamma synchronization in both parietooccipital and frontal regions during meditation; the results are interpreted in terms of higher top-down control mediated by frontal oscillations (Ossandon, Vidal et al, 2012).…”

“…However, to our knowledge, no study so far has connected the documented increase in occipital gamma during meditation with spontaneous visual imagery. Interestingly, the process of "seeing things" during meditation is a commonly reported phenomenon -"encounters with light" -amongst meditators (Lo, Huang et al, 2003, Lindahl, Kaplan et al, 2014. For example, Lindahl, Kaplan et al (2014) wrote "Two practitioners also reported a proprioceptive dimension to their meditationinduced light experience.…”

“…Interestingly, the process of "seeing things" during meditation is a commonly reported phenomenon -"encounters with light" -amongst meditators (Lo, Huang et al, 2003, Lindahl, Kaplan et al, 2014. For example, Lindahl, Kaplan et al (2014) wrote "Two practitioners also reported a proprioceptive dimension to their meditationinduced light experience. One practitioner explained that "my body just was breaking apart into sparkles and like electrical sparks being sent off everywhere in all directions"; the other "felt like I was radiating, like there were rays of light coming out of me.…”

A qualitative study of motivations for meditation in anthroposophic practitioners

“…The design of this study was inspired by the “Varieties of Contemplative Experience” project [45,46]. Inclusion criteria for participants were: being at least 18 years of age, having Anthroposophic meditation as a main element of their meditation practice, having a regular meditation practice of at least one year, and having experienced at least one significant or unexpected effect of meditation, whether positive or negative.…”

Challenging and Adverse Meditation Experiences

“…Changes in the perceptual domain range from benign and even expected experiences such as hypersensitivity to light, sound, or body sensations, to more unusual and unexpected experiences such as distortions in space and time, derealization, and visions or visual hallucinations. Reports of visual lights are given varied appraisals across Buddhist traditions ranging from an unimportant side-effect of practice to a sign of progress in concentration that should become a new meditation object (Lindahl et al, 2014). A qualitative study of advanced Burmese meditators documented increased perceptual sensitivity and clarity, which were framed in terms of a valued insight into impermanence (Full et al, 2013).…”