"A mental image that the mind creates when processing only words is verbal delusion." (Patanjali, "Yoga Sutra", cca. 5th c. BC
"The mind has five different names. The first is called the 'activating mind', for, without being aware of it, it breaks the equilibrium of mind by the force of ignorance. The second is called the 'evolving mind', for it emerges contingent upon the agitated mind as the subject that perceives incorrectly. The third is called the 'reproducing mind', for it reproduces the entire world of objects as a bright mirror reproduces all material images. When confronted with the objects of the five senses, it reproduces them at once. It arises spontaneously at all times and exists forever reproducing the world of objects in front of the subject. The fourth is called the 'analytical mind', for it differentiates what is defiled and what is undefiled. The fifth is called the 'continuing mind', for it is united with deluded thoughts and continues uninterrupted." (Ashvaghosha, "The Awakening of Faith", cca. 2nd century)
"Conscious apprehension seems to exist […] as happens in a mirror-image when the smooth and bright surface is peaceful." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)
“In the same way as regards the soul, when that kind of thing in us which mirrors the images of thought and intellect is undisturbed, we see them and know them in a way parallel to sense-perception, along with the prior knowledge that it is intellect and thought that are active. But when this is broken because the harmony of the body is upset, thought and intellect operate without an image, and then intellectual activity takes place without a mind-picture.” (Plotinus, “Enneads”, cca. 270 AD)
"On the assumption that all happens by Cause, it is easy to discover the nearest determinants of any particular act or state to trace it plainly to them." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)
"[...] so external sensation is the image of this perception of the soul, which is in its essence truer and is a contemplation of forms alone without being affected. From these forms, from which the soul alone receives its lordship over the living being, come reasonings, and opinions and noetic acts; and this is precisely where ‘we’ are." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)
"The noetic act is without parts and has not, so to speak, come out into the open, but remains unobserved within, but the verbal expression unfolds its content and brings it out of the noetic act into the image making power, and so shows the noetic act as if in a mirror, and this is how there is conscious apprehension and persistence and memory of it." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)
"Oh! Son of Sari! Forms of object as perceived by our mind is no different from emptiness, (and) emptiness is no different from form. Forms perceived are virtual. Virtuality is the reality of forms perceived. Such are the processing of the stimulus of perception, the mental image of the object perceived, the mental activities of analysing this object of perception and the forming of mental conception of this object." ("Heart Sutra", cca. 7th c.) [Akishi’s translation]
"[…] just let your mind be like space, without clinging to a mental image of space, functioning responsively without obstruction, unminding in action and repose." ("The Sutra of Hui-neng", cca. 8th c. )
"If you think you can become enlightened just by worshipping images and relics, this is a mistaken view. This is actually possession by the poisonous serpent of temptation." (Dogen Zenji, cca. 13th century)
"The strangest of the soul's experiences is this, that it finds, when it ceases to care for the image and threat of troubles, then the troubles themselves are nowhere to be found in one's neighbourhood. It is then that we hear from behind those unreal clouds God laughing at us." (Sri Aurobindo, "Thoughts and Aphorisms", 1913
"Change your mental imagery, and the feelings will take care of themselves." (Maxwell Maltz, "Psycho-Cybernetics", 1960)
"The ‘self-image’ is the key to human personality and human behavior. Change the self image and you change the personality and the behavior." (Maxwell Maltz, "Psycho-Cybernetics", 1960)
"The daily world exists because we know how to hold its images; consequently, if one drops the attention needed to maintain those images, the world collapses." (Carlos Castaneda, "Second Ring of Power", 1977)
"Meditation is the emptying of the mind of the known. It cannot be done by thought or by the hidden prompting of thought, nor by desire in the form of prayer, nor through the self-effacing hypnotism of words, images, hopes, and vanities. All these have to come to an end, easily, without effort and choice, in the flame of awareness." (Jiddu Krishnamurti, "Meditations", 1979)
"Everything possible to be believed is an image of the truth." (Orson Scott Card, "The Tales of Alvin Maker: Seventh Son", 1987)
"For most of us, generosity is a quality that must be developed. We have to respect that it will grow gradually; otherwise our spirituality can become idealistic and imitative, acting out the image of generosity before it has become genuine." (Jack Kornfield, "A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life", 1993)
"The use of mental imagery is one of the strongest and most effective strategies for making something happen for you." (Wayne Dyer, "Staying on the Path: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition", 2009)
"Everyone contributes a word, a sentence, an image, but in the end it all makes sense: the happiness of one becomes the joy of all."(Paulo Coelho, "Aleph", 2011)
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