Blind People

[cockknocker]

I just wondered, would it be possible for blind people to experience hallucinations from psychedelics? I dont really know any of the science behind vision, so im not sure if its possible. itd be cool if it was though

 

[JamBar]

I don't know but your user name cracks me up. :lol:

 

[cockknocker]

Lol, its from the film JAy and Silent Bob Strikes Back, its hilarious

 

[aryaman]

depends from the type of blindness I think.
If they became blind after some sort of incident and only the eyes are damaged (not the brain), I think yes.
If they born blind, maybe they'll notice something if only the eyes have problem, but in both cases if there are neurological problems I think they wouldn't.

But it's only an idea

 

[????????]

even if the eyes have some problem you still have the processing area of the brain that does the interpreting of the incoming data. if there's no data maybe the brain could just make up stuff, like it already does on a regular basis (a cause for a lot of optical illusions). plus, i see no reason why they wouldn't see the kaleidoscopic geometric mandala stuff, though i'm not sure how to explain why this would be so. to me, that sort of stuff appears to be more related to the continual process of awareness than with everyday visual stimuli.

i also think the question only has meaning for born blind guys. i think they should "see" stuff, like CEVs, their blindness wouldn't prevent them for experiencing basic concepts such as movement since they have the proprioceptive sense. plus, let's not forget all the other senses which bring about rich activity in perception. maybe they would "see" sounds or odors or something.

edit: look what i found, reports on born blinds seeing stuff in NDEs. don't know what to make of that...

 

[Mr.Smith]

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[IJesusChrist]

i once asked somebody blinded (later killed) by diabetes if he had visuals on LSD and he told me he saw nothing visual

.

That is extremely interesting..
Extremely. I.. don't know what to think of that.

It would seem to me someone who is blind is always "seeing" but their mind blocks it out... i.e. they see constant patterns, like we do when our eyes are closed - but they have no relevance to anything so the brain filters them out - almost like ignoring the sounds you hear sitting at your computer but are completely unaware.

I believe that yes a blind person from birth would see something from large, LARGE doses of lsd, but we would never know, they wouldn't know how to describe it. They wouldn't be able to relate it to vision...

It's definitely another paradox of conciiousness.

 

[cellcommunity]

This is a nice experience of a blind user no visuals though...

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=130011&postcount=3

I'd rate this as a level 2 trip. Well, it happened last Sunday. First, a little background.
I'm 35, blind, being treated for depression and anxiety disorder. However, I've always wanted to go on a psychedelic trip. I researched as much as I could. I decided in favor of the "magic mushroom" experience, rather than acid.
Because I've been blind since birth, I wondered if a trip would allow me to "see", that is to imagine what sight might be like--particularly color.
After eating about eight mushrooms, I waited. I was a little nervous, but also excited as this is something I've always wanted to do but never had the opportunity before.
I didn't feel any nausea or anything. After a while, I started laughing about almost every line of dialogue in the "Star Trrek" episode I was listening to. I couldn't understand why the characters were so angry. Why be angry about anything, I was thinking. By the way, that is not normal for me. I was very relaxed--but where were the hallucinations?
I asked my husband, who is also blind and who has done shrooms before. He said "Be patient." Okay, I went with it. Soon, everything began to
feel pretty. I felt small and dainty. Standing out on my balcony, my long nightgown, moved by Maui's gentle trade winds, became for me a
wedding gown. My head was filled with Aladdin's lamp, a sense of great beauty. Not visual; emotional. At midnight, I went for a walk around
the complex where I live. Hawaii, beautiful anyway, felt more so to me. I just had to be outside. I felt in no way "on drugs", "stoned" or high. I felt absolutely in control. I didn't even feel the anxiety I would have normally felt when I discovered that I had gotten turned around
in the parking lot. I thought: So what? I'll figure it out, and in the meantime, I'll enjoy this beautiful Hawaiian night.
When a lady drove into the complex, I waved an aloha, and she stopped. I asked her if she could get me back on track. Then I told her I'd done some shrooms, that I was feeling wonderful, and wanted to go for a walk. So, that's what we did. Not immediately back to my place, but around the block. Still, no hallucinations.
I got back inside, lay down on the couch and Wham! What felt like light began to shine upon my head, about where the third eye is. I have never seen light, but that's what it felt like to me. Light. I realized then, that Mother Earth was gentle, God is good, and there was nothing to
worry about. I felt little-kid happy for the first time in a long time. I realized intuitively, not judgmentally, that I was sometimes cross with my kids because they had this little-kid happiness, and I had grown up and lost mine. I realized that I envied them their youth, their lightness of heart, and their sight. This realization was gentle, not shaming. The couch I lay on seemed to rock me in its arms. The air smelled like chocolate. Beautiful presences were near me. I felt a loving God smiling above me. I came down gently, and went to bed.

To tell the truth, I have experienced more anxiety or paranoia on marijuana and coffee. I wish my doctor could prescribe psilocybin for my depression and anxiety disorder rather than Paxil. Or both. Perhaps I had beginner's luck; I don't know. But it was wonderful, and I am, at this writing, definitely a psilocybe fan.
Peace,
Thea.

Interesting question, maybe your brain needs to have seen something earlyer to make something visual, ruling out the possibility to have CEV's for blind people who where blind at birth...

 

[Crimzen]

that trip sounds wonderful

she seems to have experienced light, which is really interesting...

 

[????????]

wow really interesting anecdote. i wonder: was the husband blinded after birth? it's like he did have CEVs and was on the wait to see what happened to her. this seems to confirm that born blinds indeed do not see stuff when tripping... i guess we need to use our eyes at least once so the brain goes wild with it.

 

[LsDxMdma]

I was thinking that they would be able to use 'the minds eye' to see...but that report...Hm... there needs to be some research here! cool topic

 

[Sticki]

Could any one here enter into and remain blind folded thru a trip to experience later loss of sight?

Imagine giving a blind person (from Birth) a hit of LSD and after they come up completely and are on the plateau, Then asking them to hold objects of certain colours (ie. An Orange). You then describe to that person the orange as best you can too as they smell, feel and taste the orange.

Do you think they could create a CEV of imagination, A Perception of the Colour Orange?

Very interesting subject 8)

 

[cockknocker]

I'd guess that someone who became blinded after birth, but still remembered what seeing stuff was like, they might be able to get CEV's, but someone whose never been able to see, probably wouldnt get anything.