Are some of you able to slow down thought by requiring yourself to formulate words and phrases for meaning within your heads (talking to yourself) and, when necessary, speed up thought by only going through visual images and/or emotions? Can thought be sped up in that way?

I definitely have different gears. When I am on a roll -- usually, when I have hit my stride in work-related writing -- I am unconscious of my thought processes or of my composition of what I am writing. During other, less lucky, times, I struggle a bit with slower thought and composition, and I am conscious of the words I am using.

Usually, I can easily be taken from the former state to the latter by an interruption. Returning to the state of mental grace is more difficult, but can be done. To me, it is a bit like the mental shift I experience when viewing those Magic Eye pictures.