Modalities of the Visible Self

From the opening lines of the Proteus chapter of Joyce's Ulysses, a meditation on spiritual alternatives to physical sight, and whether the world vanishes when unobserved.

Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read…

The work turns on the intersections between inner and outer reality, perception, and consciousness, and the paradox of meditation: that closing the eyes can make the world more present, not less.