• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kim Hermanson PhD

Facilitating Creative Breakthroughs

  • Home
  • Events
    • Sacred Power Event
    • Arts Access to Non-Ordinary Knowing
  • Readings
    • Request a Reading
    • Testimonials
  • Products
    • Books
    • Self-Study Audio Courses
    • Courses to License
  • Blog
  • About
    • Official Bio
    • Lectures and Interviews
    • Personal Story
  • Doorway Sessions
    • Book a Session
    • What Clients Say
  • Contact
  • Show Search
Hide Search

What metaphors are guiding you… or your organization, family, or project?

February 24, 2021

Each of us has a primary metaphoric image that gives life to and feeds our passions and gifts. These primary images usually come from childhood, and they’re often associated with that natural world.

My metaphoric image is of my father and grandfather planting in their farm fields. One of my students who grew up in Mexico holds the image of festive Mexican markets in her heart—colorful, festive, and filled with lively people. A friend of mine’s metaphoric image is her family’s “ramshackle” summerhouse that she liked so much better than their ‘respectable’ house in the city.

Organizations, institutions, families, social networks, and entire countries also have metaphoric images that provide guidance and a sense of meaning for their members. One could argue that the image that lies at the root of the United States is a melting pot. Others may argue that the US’s primary image is of a Revolutionary War soldier fighting for religious freedom and liberty.

When we’re connected to the metaphoric image that lies under the surface, we experience a sense of meaning. Our experiences aren’t random—they’re ‘connected’ to something. We have a way to make decisions. We feel a sense of purpose. Conflicts occur when other people hold different (conflicting) guiding images.

In our culture, metaphor is often viewed as either a slick tool of language that poets use, or something that’s “make believe.” “That’s just a metaphor,” we say. But if we really understood how powerful metaphoric is in guiding and informing our actions, we would value it in a much different way.

Previous Post
Next Post

Learning & Creative Process, Metaphor, Social Change

Primary Sidebar

Blog Categories

  • Art
  • Books
  • Doorway Sessions
  • Earth/Nature
  • Imaginal
  • Inspiration
  • Learning & Creative Process
  • Metaphor
  • Social Change
  • Teaching, Coaching & Facilitating
  • Uncategorized

Blog Archives

Blog Tags

aesthetics albert einstein art artist beauty Betty Edwards Book Passage carl jung coaching consciousness creative process creative writing creativity depth psychology depth psychology alliance doorway sessions drawing on the right side of the brain eckhart tolle esalen institute george lakoff getting messy goethe heart learning herbert marcuse image imaginal imagination inspiration james hillman John O'Donohue kim hermanson learning marshall mcluhan martin foss metaphor nature picasso poetry Robert Henri social change Sophia Center stanley kunitz teaching The Art Spirit third space
Give your creativity a kick in the pants.
Get Kim's Guide: "15 Tips for Creative Breakthroughs"
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 Kim Hermanson, PhD

Website by Digital PDX

Header Image by California Artist Logan Payne.