I am thinking a lot about the relationship between metaphor, visualization and thinking. I am convinced that the mind's language is metaphor. Have you ever found yourself in situations where you could not express what you are feeling/thinking, only to have an image in mind that represents the thought or feeling metaphorically (such as "being in a tunnel with only a tiny light")? Sometimes we even catch glimpse of our mood by way of recollecting a song that conveys the exact feeling we had in mind. I think it's because the mind already has at its disposal a very rich vocabulary that is often overlooked by linear, logic-based thinking.
Metaphors could be ways to enrich an experience that is otherwise dry or intellectual. I am thinking about processes such as journaling in cognitive therapy, which often relies on making reasonable accounts of what happened in a person's life history to dispute "irrational" or negative thoughts. I often do wonder, does our emotional side really respond well to reasoning, or does it not require an imaginative reframing? Rather than trying to make a statement of something that is logical or reasonable, a reframing is often needed to infuse a situation with a new image that reorients a concept to be like something else. Perhaps an exercise might be in order. Take an abstract concept related to a difficulty and try to reframe it using a concrete image:
a) Problems are like trees because...
b) Confusion is like a cloud in the sky in that...
c) Anger is fire in the soul because...
d) Tears are the eyes' nectar from heaven.
By listing all the ways that the first is similar to the other, do new or unexpected insights emerge?
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