# What are some recurring scenes in human consciousness (e.g. light at end of tunnel)?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 15, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039 "2010-01-15T03:38:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/1 "2010-01-15T03:38:49Z")
I’m not really sure how else to phrase that, but are there any other examples?
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/2 "2010-01-15T03:46:39Z")
Do you mean things like Jungian archetypes?
Or maybe common dreams, like falling, flying, being naked in public etc.?
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### Author:  [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/3 "2010-01-15T04:14:47Z")
I guess what I mean is literal _scenes_ (like the light at the end of the tunnel) that people in various states of consciousness have experienced across time and across cultures.
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/4 "2010-01-15T04:17:16Z")
The most common example that comes to mind is the hallucination/sensation of bugs crawling all over you.
No cite ( it’s something I read somewhere quite a few years ago ), but I recall a claim that some hallucinations/false memories seem to be universal, but the details change. The one I recall offhand is abduction scenarios; being taken, carried up, unable to move, probed etc. In our culture it’s aliens and UFOs. In historical ones, it was djinni and flying carpets; or angels and clouds; the Fair Folk, etc.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/5 "2010-01-15T05:24:53Z")
Certain [phosphenes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphenes) would fit I think: checkerboard patterns, filigrees, a glowing ellipse. Actually, the light at the end of the tunnel thing (I assume you are talking about near-death experiences) is probably a type of phosphene.
Also, the “[fortification spectra](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/1351873/)” that some migraine sufferers experience.
In a way, things like migraines, or even ordinary headaches, are recurring things in human consciousness. Lots of people get them. Of course, as they are not visual, so you wouldn’t call them “scenes.”
People on hallucinogenic drugs, like LSD, often experience vivid images of geometric repeating patterns in the early stages of their “trip.” They are often an influence on the psychedelic art from the hippie era. It is not easy to know how similar these patterns are for different people, but a common hypothesis is that they have something to do with the physiological structure of the visual system, which would suggest that they would be fairly consistent across individuals (and that they, also, are related to phosphenes).
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/6 "2010-01-15T06:37:18Z")
There is the hag that sits on your chest while you sleep. It is generally associated with waking sleep paralysis.
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/7 "2010-01-15T20:30:43Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> The most common example that comes to mind is the hallucination/sensation of bugs crawling all over you.
>
> No cite ( it’s something I read somewhere quite a few years ago ), but I recall a claim that some hallucinations/false memories seem to be universal, but the details change. The one I recall offhand is abduction scenarios; being taken, carried up, unable to move, probed etc. In our culture it’s aliens and UFOs. In historical ones, it was djinni and flying carpets; or angels and clouds; the Fair Folk, etc.
On of the most interesting examples of this is in _The Professor and the Madman_. Dr. Minor, the madman of the (true) story, started having hallucinations in the 19th century. At that time, he thought there were people in the rafters of his house climbing down and attacking him, etc. After the invention of the airplane, suddenly they were flying around in airplanes and attacking him. I’m sure if he’d lived long enough, he would eventually have hallucinated attacks from aliens in UFOs.
I’d say “out of body experience”, the sensation of being outside your body looking down on yourself, is one that has been experienced by many people throughout history.
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### Author:  [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-recurring-scenes-in-human-consciousness-e-g-light-at-end-of-tunnel/525039/8 "2010-01-15T21:59:54Z")
Thanks, everyone. I’m a little surprised (though I’m not sure why) that there are so few recurring visions.