Think back to a happy event or moment in your life. There may be many thoughts and feelings that come up, but I would bet there is also a pretty strong visual component that allows you to “see” the event in your mind’s eye. Maybe it appears as a snapshot or maybe more like a movie. Maybe some aspects of the image (or images) appear in very fine detail while other aspects are more blurred. Regardless, it’s a good illustration of the richness the visual component of thoughts adds to our internal landscape and, with a little training, we can tap into it at any time. I believe using internal visual images is a fascinating and often overlooked way to do insight practice in meditation, especially when our sits are feeling a little stale or boring.
Here’s a simple exercise to try: open your awareness to all sounds. Now pick the sound that stands out the most, say, your neighbor’s dog barking. Are you able to “see” a mental visual image that corresponds to the sound of the dog? Is it an image of your neighbor’s dog specifically or one of a more general “dog” image? Are the dog’s surroundings a part of the mental image? Don’t try to create a picture, instead look to see exactly what image pops up as a direct result of hearing the dog bark. If it’s not clear or very well developed, that’s not a problem; just do your best to see what is there. Now move to another sound and repeat the process.
Some people seem to be more naturally attuned to their inner visual worlds than others, so if you experience difficulty at first, stick with it and give it time. Once you’re able to “turn on” awareness to this part of your mind, you may find you can stay with it completely, observing how one image leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another and so on. Do your best to let go of the desire to draw conclusions or analyze why the images are appearing and just try to focus on the images themselves. The result is the sensation of channel surfing the video element of your own thoughts, which can be incredibly interesting (maybe even a little trippy) and provide valuable insights into impermanence and no-self.