My work with metaphor chose me; it was not my expected path in life. Through a series of experiences—harrowing, mystical, and profound—I came to be an advocate for a non-ordinary realm of profound beauty that we access through metaphor. Metaphoric images are the heart of the creative process and… I grew up in a family [ Read more … ]
Earth/Nature
Beauty is Life. If It Seems to be Dead, It’s not Beauty.
“Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously. Other happenings give us joy and afterwards a peace, but in beauty these are the same experience. Beauty is serene and at the same time exhilarating; it increases one’s sense of being alive…Beauty is the mystery which enchants [ Read more … ]
Do you have a guiding image?
I had a disagreement with an old friend recently about whether the images and metaphors that show up in our subconscious are “real.” I believe, just like with dreams, that when images and metaphors show up in our lives, they have something to teach us and I don’t think my friend would argue with that. [ Read more … ]
Working the Soil: Social Change and Metaphor
Don’t look for me in a human shape. I am inside your looking. No need for form with a love this strong. The lines above from Rumi can be interpreted in more than one way. As I teach courses on the psychology of metaphor, to my mind, Rumi’s lines refer to the power that metaphors [ Read more … ]
Too Much
One of my favorite art quotes is from Pauline Kael, the American film critic who was known for her witty movie reviews: “Art doesn’t come in measured quantities: it’s got to be too much or it’s not enough.” I always think of this quote when I see flowers blooming in the spring. They don’t hold [ Read more … ]