--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This usually occurs at the moment when my…" description: "\"“This usually occurs at the moment when my head hits the pillow at night; my eyes close and … I see imagery. I do not mean pictures; more usually they ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/oliver-sacks-2132_imagery_this-usually-occurs-at-the-moment-when-m_3067250.jpg" --- # This usually occurs at the moment when my head hits the… ![“This usually occurs at the moment when my head hits the pillow at night; my eyes close and … I see imagery. I do not mean pictures; more usually they are patterns or textures, such as repeated shapes, or shadows of shapes, or an item from an image, such as grass from a landscape or wood grain…” quote by Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/oliver-sacks-2132_imagery_this-usually-occurs-at-the-moment-when-m_3067250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/oliver-sacks-2132_imagery_this-usually-occurs-at-the-moment-when-m_3067250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/oliver-sacks-2132_imagery_this-usually-occurs-at-the-moment-when-m_3067250.jpg) > ““This usually occurs at the moment when my head hits the pillow at night; my eyes close and … I see imagery. I do not mean pictures; more usually they are patterns or textures, such as repeated shapes, or shadows of shapes, or an item from an image, such as grass from a landscape or wood grain, wavelets or raindrops … transformed in the most extraordinary ways at a great speed. Shapes are replicated, multiplied, reversed in negative, etc. Color is added, tinted, subtracted. Textures are the most fascinating; grass becomes fur becomes hair follicles becomes waving, dancing lines of light, and a hundred other variations and all the subtle gradients between them that my words are too coarse to describe.”” [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When falling asleep, the mind creates vivid, rapidly shifting visual patterns and textures that transcend ordinary perception. **In simple terms:** The brain generates complex visual imagery during the hypnagogic state. Key Takeaway Observe and note these fleeting images. Themes neuroscience creativity perception Mood curious dreamlike Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - sleep onset - artistic inspiration - mindfulness practice Key Concepts hypnagogic imagery visual processing Questions to Reflect On - How can you record or use these images? - What do they reveal about subconscious thought? A Different Perspective These images can be fleeting and hard to capture accurately. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagery/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I dont see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. 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But now she is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/sardis-often-turning-her-thoughts-here-you-like-a-goddess-and-in-your/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [That way of inspiration is always open, and open to everyone; it acts as go-between, interpreter, it explains symbols of the past in to-day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/that-way-of-inspiration-is-always-open-and-open-to-everyone-it-acts/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [Perhaps, if science is clever enough to see, it will realize that religion may not be too far off with its concrete imagery; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lanza/perhaps-if-science-is-clever-enough-to-see-it-will-realize-that/) [Robert Lanza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lanza/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. 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But it's also very important with other sorts of patients, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/the-rhythm-of-music-is-very-very-important-for-people-with-parkinson/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) [Explore all 177 Oliver Sacks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) ## More Imagery quotes > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. 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But now she is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/sardis-often-turning-her-thoughts-here-you-like-a-goddess-and-in-your/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [ Probably the high-watermark of \[Bob\] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/probably-the-high-watermark-of-bob-dylan-s-career-came-after-he/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [“Thousands of mosquitoes had already bitten all of us on chest and arms and ankles. 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