Thoughts are Pictures; Pictures are Patterns

Articles In This Section:

· Thoughts are Pictures; Pictures are Patterns

· PICTURES ARE PATTERNS

· MENTAL TELEVISION - part 1

· MENTAL TELEVISION - part 2

· MENTAL TELEVISION - part 3

· EXERCISES - part 1

· EXERCISES - part 2

· EXERCISES - part 3

IF YOU SHOULD HEAR the word house, what do you see in your mind's eye? Do you see the letters h-o-u-s-e? No, you see a picture of a house. It may be your own house; a house you admire, or the dream house you expect to own some day.

The mind does not think in words, but in pictures. When you are reading you are continually translating the words your eyes see into pictures. In other words you see what you read.

Not all words can be changed into pictures: the word love, for instance. But, when we think of a word which does not lend itself to pictures, we do the next best thing. We associate it with a picture word. When you hear the word love, you are likely to see in your mind's eye the picture of one you do love: your wife or husband, or sweetheart.

When one has difficulty in remembering what he has read, it is usually because of a bad reading habit. His eyes have been following the words, but he has not been changing the words into pictures. In my books I often urge the reader to think while he reads. In reality, this means see while you read.

You can go to a movie and watch a play which may run for two hours or more. Later you can describe the whole film in most exact detail. This is because you have been watching the story in pictures.

Such magazines as Life and Look have thousands of pictures submitted to them which they never use. The picture editor on such magazines studies these pictures from the standpoint of reader interest. If he does not think that a picture will appeal to a large segment of the readers, it will not be used. The picture editor, therefore, is one of the most valuable employees on the staff. The growth of the magazine's circulation depends upon him.

Since thoughts are pictures, mental pictures will be either negative or positive, depending upon the trend of thought.

Establish this thought in your mind right now: Negative thoughts cause negative reactions; positive thoughts cause positive reactions.

Now then—since thoughts are pictures, does it not behoove you to appoint yourself as a picture editor to evaluate the mental pictures entering your mind? You agree, I am certain.