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I am using a (medical) bright light therapy lamp in the morning for 30 minutes during the darker months.

I have also been meditating for about 30 minutes a day.

I lately noticed myself almost reaching a meditative state during this activity anyway. So, I thought about combining the two.

The difference to meditation as I am used to would be that instead of sitting with my eyes closed, I would look at a really bright light (not harmful to the eyes), which usually blocks out everything else, visually speaking.

Has anyone tried this or can anybody offer thoughts on why or why not this is a good idea?

(The reason why I have not tried it yet was that I usually listen to a news broadcast programme of about 20 minutes during my bright light therapy.)

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  • You could have a look here
    – user14148
    Oct 28, 2018 at 16:37

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You can get the citta into samadhi with what the buddha calls āloka·saññaṃ which is sanna of light. The result of this samadhi is the knowledge of karma and before that, it energizes you.

And what is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision? There is the case where a monk attends to the perception of light and is resolved on the perception of daytime [at any hour of the day]. Day [for him] is the same as night, night is the same as day. By means of an awareness open & unhampered, he develops a brightened mind. This is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision.

http://www.buddha-vacana.org/sutta/anguttara/04/an04-041.html

Unfortunately, this samadhi is the least detailed of the 4 samadhis. Some puthujjanas claim it is just perceiving light, some say the light means the light of the jhanas (because they claim that the mind is luminous in jhanas), some say it is a kasina and some say it is light of wisdom...

Do not forget to perceive the origination, establishment and cessation in order to become an arhant.

For more info you can read

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