Inner Light, Inner Seeing: A Phenomenological Inquiry into Phosphene Meditation and the Structure of Mystical Perception

This paper explores the phenomenology of phosphene meditation as a gateway to mystical perception, reframing visionary consciousness through the lens of structured inner experience. Drawing on decades of inner light meditation, we examine how phosphenes, spontaneous visual phenomena occurring in the absence of external light, unfold in 6 discernible stages, culminating in a nondual luminous field in which consciousness recognizes itself as multidimensional light in the absence of Ego. Our method follows Husserlian-style eidetic reduction and draws on classical mystical literature (including Christian and Tibetan sources) alongside insights from contemporary neuroscience. We argue that phosphene meditation offers a repeatable phenomenological entry into the dynamics of illumination and the unfolding process of enlightenment. Enlightenment as a state in which ego dissolves, perception becomes centerless, and the archetypal “One Light” emerges as both origin and structure of experience. We conclude proposing that phosphene-based vision serves as a bridge between first-person contemplative inquiry and emerging paradigms in neurophenomenology. Phosphene meditations can lead directly into the recognition of a non-dual state and could be the next step in meditation after mindfulness.