Navigating uncertain terrain. Six years ago, I was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor the size of a cantaloupe. I was (understandably) scared. I work with metaphor with my clients. The metaphor that showed up was an image: I saw myself walking through uncertain terrain, but there was solid ground under my feet. The image said: [ Read more … ]
psychology of metaphor
check out my article in Medium: The power of thinking in shapes
There’s a reason bank buildings are square. There’s a reason that when we need rest we go to a large body of water… or the desert. There’s a reason web designers use lots of white space. (Space allows readers’ eyes — and brains! — to stay calm so they can absorb the material.) There’s a [ Read more … ]
Metaphor is an act of genius.
Metaphor is at the core of nearly all scientific breakthroughs and acts of genius. Celebrated scientists like Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman, and Albert Einstein relied on metaphor to help them make new discoveries. Clearly, fundamental change depends upon our ability to engage with metaphor. In other words, metaphor is an act of genius.
Check out my new article in The Psychologist: What’s Your Metaphor?
An excerpt from my book, Deep Knowing, published in The Psychologist: “The ability to comprehend our experience through metaphor can be thought of as a sense like seeing, touching, or hearing. Metaphor is connected with intuition. For example, someone might walk away from a conversation and say, “I can’t put my finger on it, but [ Read more … ]
Lessons on creativity from ‘Top Chef’
Cooking is my favorite metaphor for the creative process. The creative is JUICY. When we work on a creative project, we STIR things, QUICKEN the energies, and let ideas SIMMER and COOK. We also need a STRONG POT. On that note, here are 12 important tips for a winning ‘dish’ from the reality tv show [ Read more … ]