The Faculty of Visualization
The sense of sight has been wonderfully endowed with a duplicate power which we have come to call the mind's eye. With this visual faculty we produce some very important mental operations. We must first become conscious of this faculty and learn to use it intelligently and then to broaden its scope and increase its power to deal with details.
Visualization is the mind's eye reproduction of an impression made by the sense of sight.
When the name of Abraham Lincoln is mentioned you can see his face in your mind's eye. Hesitate a moment and become really conscious of this reproduction of Lincoln's face in your mind. See the details of the picture, the deep set eyes, the furrowed skin, the sad expression, etc.
Another Visual Test
In the same manner your mind can reproduce an unlimited number of pictures. Anything which you have once seen with the physical eye can be reproduced again in the mind's eye.
Make a few tests of this fact, if it is not well known to you. For example,—
See a pasture with a creek flowing through, willows hanging over the water, the green grass on the banks, and the stock grazing there. See several different kinds and sizes of animals, note their color, what they are doing. Add to the detail of the picture.
To close the eyes and thus to eliminate the more distinct impressions of the physical eye, will assist you in visualizing any picture.