The use of imagined forms, scenes, and persons is only for beginners in meditation: it is to be left behind when the object has been sufficiently achieved. As Saint John of the Cross says, "For though such forms and methods of meditation may be necessary in order to inflame and fill their souls with love through the instrumentality of sense, and though they may serve as remote means of union, through which souls must usually pass to the goal of spiritual repose--still they must so make use of them as to pass beyond them, and not dwell upon them forever." Such a use of pictured forms must include the master's too. Saint John of the Cross even includes Christ's. For many this practice is a step forward, but aspirants must not linger all their lifetime on a particular step if they really seek to climb higher.
-- Notebooks Category 4: Elementary Meditation > Chapter 5 : Visualizations, Symbols > # 42
