When we mentally picture an experience from our past or future, it’s not uncommon for us to say that we see that event unfolding “in our mind’s eye.” We use this expression figuratively, of course, meaning that we are picturing a past or future event in our minds as if we were seeing it with our eyes. A recent body of research, however, reveals that the expression may not be as figurative as we think. It turns out that the figurative “mind’s eye” gets a lot of help from our literal physical eyes when setting the scene for a past or future experience.

Any time we remember something that happened to us in the past or imagine something we might do in the future, that past or future event almost invariably takes place in a specific physical setting or spatial context. Our memories, not surprisingly, take place in the same location they did when we actually lived them. Imagined future events, which have not yet taken place because they are, well, in the future, are nonetheless also set in specific physical settings based on places where similar past experiences were set. If you’re about to walk into an important meeting in a venue you’ve never seen before, for example, your mental visualization of the meeting as you prepare for it will likely be set in the familiar conference room back at your home........

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