Preparing a structured optical beam for human observation

An optics method comprising:

• processing an optical beam to produce a structured optical beam for human perception of optical polarization, wherein processing the optical beam comprises:
• receiving the optical beam from a laser source;
• attenuating the optical beam to an exposure irradiance level that is safe for direct viewing by a human eye of a subject;
• expanding the optical beam to a size configured for a field of view of the human eye;
• and
• preparing the optical beam with a position-dependent polarization profile;
• illuminating the field of view of the human eye with the structured optical beam by directing the structured optical beam towards the human eye, wherein the structured optical beam comprises the position-dependent polarization profile, and illuminating the field of view of the human eye with the structured optical beam induces an entoptic profile that allows the human subject to perceive the position-dependent polarization profile.