Abstract
Words are powerful tools of thought and communication, but visual imagery has a similar role that is more archaic, powerful, and encompassing. The human infant represents the world to himself or herself in imagery and fantasy long before he or she says his or her first word. The signs of the use of visual imagery still remain in cave paintings that go back thousands of years. In more advanced cultures, the legacy of complex mythologies rich in visual representations of personal and archetypal themes attest to the fact that men and women have used this medium in diverse and sophisticated ways for millennia in their quest for understanding and mastery of self and environment (Samuels & Samuels, 1975).
One picture is worth 10,000 words.
Ancient chinese proverb
A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound.
Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons (1862)
So the soul, being strongly elevated, and inflamed with a strong imagination, sends forth health and sickness.
Cornelius Agrippa, 1510, cited by McMahon & Sheikh, 1984, p. 20
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Edwards, D.J.A. (1989). Cognitive Restructuring through Guided Imagery. In: Freeman, A., Simon, K.M., Beutler, L.E., Arkowitz, H. (eds) Comprehensive Handbook of Cognitive Therapy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9779-4_15
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