(This is my last article of the year, conceived during my recent vacation in Maui, Hawaii. Happy holidays and best wishes for the New Year.)
BESIDES THINKING AND OTHER FUNCTIONS, HUMAN BRAIN CREATES LIVE IMAGES, TOO
It always happens when we plan a vacation to an exotic place we have never been before; an indefinite image of the location gets created in our brains.
Close your eyes and imagine the white sandy beaches, the blue and turquoise water, the coconut trees, the resort room, etc., all appear vivid in the imaginary photography as we plan for holidays.
Furthermore, think of Bora Bora, Belize or Burj Khalifa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Maldives, or Maui, and many more places that we would like to visit; a visual appears at the very mention of such tourist attractions and destinations.
Mental imagery also happens in other situations we contemplate but do not physically experience. Reading a novel or listening to a story are examples of images of settings, scenes, and characters developing in the mind consecutively.
The brain forms images or generates visual experiences without external input through eyes, ears, or other sensory feelings. It visually represents things, people, and places in a split second.
The human brain is a marvel of complexity, and one of its most fascinating abilities is the perception and formation of images.
The human brain is a marvel of complexity, and one of its most fascinating abilities is the perception and formation of images.
The function of the brain is not only to produce thoughts and process thinking, knowledge, and information but also to create images of what we imagine, perceive, and receive in our mental and cognitive senses.
Besides regulating and acting as a command centre for most of the body’s functioning, image formation is a natural brain activity that happens in a flash the very moment we plan a discernible action.
The mental image is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving or noticing some object, event, or scene but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is absent from an individual’s visual field.
Brain image formation begins with mental imagery with or without external stimuli. Imagination leads to image creation.
It is a remarkable brain ability that tasks neural mechanisms to generate mental images based on imagination. For example, when artists visualize, images are created in their minds before translating them into physical forms.
Image creation plays a significant role in intuitive and intelligent clarity or understanding of situations, problems, places, and concepts.
In spirituality, mental image production in religions often involves the cognitive and imaginative processes through which individuals create representations of divine beings, spiritual concepts, rituals, or sacred narratives.
In Hinduism, the mental image formation of gods and goddesses faces no restriction. Instead, it is extensively endeavoured by image creators like painters and artisans and willingly accepted by devotees.
Renowned painter Raja Ravi Varma, as per his imagination, created the images of popular Hindu gods and goddesses that are now the accepted and established representations of the faith’s iconography.
For a long time, mental image creation has been the subject of intensive debate and research in philosophy, cognitive science, and neuroscience.
Are mental images as accurate as perceived by the eyes, or perhaps more?
Eighteenth-century philosopher George Berkeley believed physical reality is equivalent to mental images. Moreover, he says, “Our mental images are not a copy of another material reality but that reality itself.”
Believing in that reality, we can say the brain sees more than the eyes.
-By Promod Puri
Promod Puri.com 