Opening the inner screen — closed-eyes vision

When you close your eyes, there's a screen there. It's not a pretty metaphor — it's real. And it's not about imagining an image by force, by "pretending". It's about opening that screen and letting the vision appear on it by itself. These are two different things — and the Closed Eyes layer trains the second.

First: the screen really is real

• Your visual cortex stays active with eyes closed — "seeing" inside lights up the same machinery as real vision (Kosslyn; Pearson).
• The grey you see isn't empty black — it's eigengrau, and phosphenes are light the eye/brain generate themselves.
• Every night, as you fall asleep, vivid images arise on their own — hypnagogia. The screen shows images that appear, without forcing them.
• Some have a blank screen (aphantasia) and some a photo-realistic one (hyperphantasia): it's a real, measurable faculty — and, for most people, it can be trained.

The distinction that changes everything: forcing ≠ receiving

Forcing is building the image with effort (you feel it in the forehead, it tenses). Receiving is setting a theme and letting the image arrive — it appears, with detail you didn't put there. This is the mode in which inner vision and intuition operate. Effort breaks the screen; softness opens it.

The traditions already knew

In Buddhist samatha one trains the nimitta — an inner light that is not imagined: it arises by itself when the mind settles. The progression is exact: first a trembling, flawed replica; then the image purifies and becomes still, luminous ("like a pillar of gold"). It stops being "me holding it" and becomes "the image holding itself".

Real practices to open the screen

1. Trataka (fixed gaze). Choose a fixed, steady point — a coin-sized black dot on a white sheet, or a small point of soft, indirect light. (Avoid a candle flame: it's a fire risk and tires the eyes — a steady point works just as well or better.) Gaze at it softly, without straining, until the eyes ask to close. Close them and observe the after-image in the dark field (don't draw it). Let it migrate to the point between the eyebrows and hold it. 5-10 min/day. In time, the image arises without needing the point.

2. Chidakasha. Relax, close your eyes, bring attention to the dark space at the centre of the forehead. Look into it with attention, not with the muscle. Observe what appears on its own — dots, sparks, colours, shapes. Don't grab: witness.

3. Image streaming. With eyes closed, describe out loud everything that appears, without censoring. The more you describe, the more appears. The best training for the "receive" mode.

4. Third eye. Gently take your gaze up and inward, to the point between the eyebrows — only without effort. Close and rest attention there.

Honesty — the boundary

The inner screen is real and the vision that appears on it is real. What we do not promise is "seeing physical objects through a blindfold or wall" — that has no support and, under tight controls, vanishes. But you don't need that: opening your inner vision is already the treasure. That's where intuition gains an image.

This is the Closed Eyes layer

With eyes closed, before you say the number/colour/symbol, you take attention inward and let the answer appear on your screen — you don't build it. You notice how it arrived: I saw / I felt / I knew. Reveal. Repeat.

Safety: use a fixed point or soft, indirect light — never a candle flame (fire and burn risk). Never force the eyes; short, frequent sessions. Photosensitive epilepsy or glaucoma → check with a professional first and use only indirect light. (Full guide: PRATICAS-VISAO-INTERNA.md.)