I have aphantasia, an absolute 0 on the visualization scale. Not sure about LSD, but I've had vivid open and closed-eye visuals on quite large doses of psilocybin. Even though those visuals tend to lean more to the involuntary side, it feels like there's at least some level of control, so it's pretty exciting to experience that for the first time in my life. I very rarely had lucid dreams as a child, but I couldn't control the narrative, I just knew I was dreaming.
Do you get any closed-eye visuals while falling asleep? Obviously psilocybin massively increases ability at this, but I've found practising daily at night can increase control and level of detail dramatically over the course of a few months.
And from there it's possible, with effort, to do it while awake and with eyes open. If you've ever read Roald Dahl's "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar", I've found the experience remarkably reminiscent.
I'm not sure if it's the same mechanism as aphants have, as it still feels far more laboured than what they describe and very much still in the realm of closed-eye visuals, but I've found it's better than nothing.
Yes, I rarely experience hypnagogia just before I fall asleep, and it seems like I can force it to happen if I focus on my eyelids. Though, paradoxically, as soon as I realize it's happening, it's gone.
