In an article in Newsweek “The Creativity Crisis,” Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman describe a study of people who received MacArthur genius awards. In the study, researchers discovered that MacArthur recipients spent time in their childhoods creating “paracosms,” or alternative fantasy worlds. These kids visited their fantasy worlds repeatedly, often creating their own unique languages [ Read more … ]
right brain
When you’re grieving or need to rest, work with the metaphor of ‘heavy’
As I was packing up my mother’s nursing home room after her death, I found a little heart-shaped stone that said ‘serenity’ on it. I took it back to California with me and I hold it frequently. It’s heavy, it has form, it feels soothing, and it reminds me of her. I love the weight [ Read more … ]
Do you think like an artist?
The physicist Arthur Zajonc says that our culture needs the artist’s cognitive capacities. But what is it that poets and artists do that take them beyond ordinary capacities of knowing? Perhaps it’s the artist’s willingness to be confused, welcoming any unlikely connection that shows up; or his or her sensitivity to nuance and qualities [ Read more … ]
Metaphor’s terrain is the spiritual realm of the inner life
No matter our culture or upbringing, metaphor helps us process our inner world. At any given time, we may be “on fire,” “stuck,” “in over our heads,” “overwhelmed,” “burnt out,” or “in flow.” Metaphor helps us understand how we’re feeling and thus, better navigate our lives. What is not so well known is that metaphor [ Read more … ]
Metaphor allows us to enter mystical realms
It’s both astonishing and brilliant how metaphor connects the human and spiritual dimensions. Metaphoric knowing not only provides a way in to shamanic realms, it also allows us to directly engage and channel those potently intelligent Source energies. Metaphor allows us to experience mystical states that we humans have only previously accessed through spontaneous and unplanned [ Read more … ]
