Yeah, sure.
Really weird, sometimes I find a position or prpblem I cant solve, and hours later the solution pops into my head without really thinking about it.
Quote: (cant remember who) It has been noted that Russian Grandmasters often stare at the ceiling on their move. However, not all chessplayers staring at the ceiling are Russian Grandmasters.
I think this fact is applicable not only to chess, but to almost every human activity that involves abstract thinking.
I have observed how sometimes our senses distract our mind (although my experience is more extensive in other fields, and not so much in chess). In those cases, "turning off" that sense for a moment enables the mind to work more freely and use imagination more easily (as it is, in a way, not tied to "physical" limitations).
It is not something mystical: it is something everybody does, and it is an unconscious process many times. Actually, I believe it is related to what we call "intuition".
(This could lead us to another topic, which is "how differently works the mind of different people when they are thinking the same thing". E.g. every one of us can count silently from 0 to 10; however, one person will "count" by saying the numbers in his mind, another person will "count" by seeing the numbers in his mind, or another one would see a clock and count 10 seconds, or who knows what! Well, I hope these comments are not too off-topic. I find this interesting, and I could not resist the temptation to write about it here.)
Yeah, even OTB once when I was 1300 I kept calculating this line over and over but when I'd get to the end I'd loose track, so I shut my eyes and did it slowly and I finally saw the end. Turns out I missed the best moves anyway but I was finally able to see the end of what I was trying to see 
You bring up some interesting points, Lievin. What I'm talking about isn't related whatsoever to intuition...it's very clear when it happens and not really a feeling. I don't find it mystical. It surprises me to get superior image clarity after I've closed a board. The mind is really a fascinating thing.
I would laugh if someone responds to this because 8 years later.
Because it feels better. Ultimately the game of chess is played in the mind, we keep staring at the board looking for an answer but it's better to get more visual from the environment since the mind find associations from nearby things which in some weird way conjure chess positions. The loci method or memory palace.
This may or may not sound odd. Does anyone find that they can calculate a little better when they look up into the air/space and visualize the board and pieces, rather than looking at the board directly while contemplating their moves?
Do you ever close the board and then visualize exactly how you've made an error because the picture of the board is still in your mind?
I wonder if looking at the board is sometimes cluttering...
*Obviously this is in relation to people who are not using the Analysis Board, I imagine.