Metaphors of Mind – The Story of Your Life

Our life is created by the story we tell ourselves INSIDE our mind, so bringing your awareness to the themes and metaphors you tend to think in is a powerful way to take control of your self-concept and how you FEEL about your life. Here’s a quick story before we learn more about how metaphors work, and how you can use them to change your life and how you view and experience it.

You may be wondering why I’ve included a session on metaphors and metaphorical thinking.

Well, our brains organise our experience & understanding of the world and our life by automatically cross-referencing & linking concepts, events & things together through association (kind of like how leaves are attached to twigs which are attached to branches, all of which are supported by the trunk and roots that give the tree its strength). Therefore metaphors which help us understand one thing in terms of something else we already know can be really powerful. Through association metaphors can crystalize HOW we think of ourselves, our lives, or of a particular situation or context we find ourselves in.

As you grow and change you’ll notice that the metaphors you think in change too. They are are like a mirror to your life, so of course what you see changes over the years! If you think of life as a battle for example, you’ll naturally look at events in your life as things to be won/lost at all costs. If life is a game to you, you’ll be naturally playful and inclined to stay in the moment. My young son thinks of people in terms of ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’ – he’s thinking in metaphors – not literally seeing super-villains & heroes everywhere. This idea of good vs bad and contrast in life is therefore something I can use to talk with him in a way that resonates with/’makes sense’ with the way he thinks.

But sometimes the metaphors we’re using become outdated as we grow. And that’s appropriate because your mind is like a garden – what you tend to and water and give the light of day, will grow (I hope that these metaphors aren’t getting lost on you, or you’re not ‘losing the plot’ because I’d hate to get ‘off track’ on our journey through this topic. And yet, even if we do take some tiki tours along the way, I think you’ll find some gems along the way at an unconscious level. Metaphors are fantastic because they give your conscious mind stuff to figure out, and while you’re doing that, all sorts of helpful, aligned and positive ideas may be sinking in, having ducked past many conscious resistance that may otherwise keep out the good stuff. Because we tend not to think of our metaphors consciously, its worth tending to them regularly and weeding out the ones that are blocking the light that helps us grow.

Now, logically, you can see that very little of what I’ve said above makes sense logically, and you may even feel a bit discombobulated or have chosen to read that last paragraph a couple times. And, you may also notice that what you did imagine was in fact quite vivid, clear, resonant and powerful. That’s the power of metaphors – both for you in your inner dialogue, and for the people in your life you wish to influence.

If you’ve liked this so far, stay tuned, because I’m going to help you synchronise your metaphors with the life you want to lead, so you can conduct yourself and your fellow players like the true maestro you are.