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11 universal metaphors for change that are present in all cultures

October 22, 2017

Metaphors function to stimulate and catalyze inner transformations.

When we define and clarify these deep metaphoric structures, we uncover a common human language that is largely subconscious.

Certain foundational metaphors occur over and over again in the world’s literature. They are:

  • Transitioning from caterpillar to butterfly
  • Awakening from the dream of reality
  • Uncovering the veils of illusion
  • Moving from captivity to liberation
  • Purification by inner fire
  • Going from darkness to light
  • Moving from fragmentation into wholeness
  • Journeying toward a vision
  • Returning to the source
  • Dying and being reborn
  • Unfolding the tree of our life

*Note: The list above is adapted from Ralph Metzner (2010). The Unfolding Self: Varieties of Transformative Experience. 
** Click here for my signature Psychology of Metaphor course.


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Kim Hermanson, Ph.D. is a visionary educator and faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is an international expert on the psychology of metaphor and recently published a new book, Deep Knowing: Entering the Realm of Non-Ordinary Intelligence. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of The New York Times bestseller, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, said of Deep Knowing: “Not since Carlos Castenada’s books 40 years ago have I had such a strong reaction. This is very powerful stuff.” Kim is also the author of Getting Messy: Taking Risks and Opening the Imagination, Sky’s the Limit, which received an Independent Publisher Award, and several articles with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago.

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