On the inwardly generated image (by deformation of the eyeball) A visual perception activity based on an Eyeball ATM [Awareness Through Movement] a type of activity used in Feldenkrais, inspired through working with Teresa Brayshaw who led the original session at the [Re]Action lab atLMJU.

“When I close my eyes, they begin to shine, just like the dots and lines…It all ends with a dark rhombus with blunt corners, surrounded by a dull shine resembling a phosphorescent light. A total darkness follows.” Jan Purkyně 1819

Feldenkrais is a method of enhancing self-awareness through movement and the heightening of bodily perception. This floor-based activity involves exploring the movement and sensations of the eyeball as it moves, and what can be perceived while our eyes are closed.

Phosphines are a visual phenomenon in which light is seen without light entering the eye. Phosphines can be created by electromagnetic or magnetic stimulation of the visual cortex, Or in some cases by gently manipulating the eyeball. These create flashes of light and colour or manifest as ‘form constants’, recurring geometric forms reported through antiquity by the Greek philosophers. Phosphines are also reported through sensory deprivation, a phenomenon also known as ‘prisoners cinema’. Similar phenomena are reported through intense meditation. In Buddhism, these are known as known in Buddhism as Nimitta.

Newton also described phosphines and visual patterns generated when he presses a flat needle against the back of his eyeball. You can read his notes here…