I like your spiral image sister, I experience it like that too but don't forget the spiral gets smaller and smaller like a conch shell as you get to the top (or look up from the bottom big rungs). Mouse's T's telescope image is right too.

I remember the exact instance when my T said to me, "like that" when I was sad from a memory for a moment and then let it go and moved on. It turns into a momentary soft sadness instead of being so sharp and "sticky".