As I complete this project I end by circling back to the beginning. For my own sake as I create the outline for presenting this project, and for anyone who stumbles in here and could benefit from a metaphorical flashlight to highlight the steps of what’s ahead, consider first what your own relationship with uncertainty looks/feels like.
Perhaps you could pause and think of darkness, nothingness, or the proverbial crossing of the threshold from what was into the unknown.
Notice any reactions you have. How you breathe. Where your mind goes. What parts of you may have differing opinions and abilities regarding this liminal space of the “in between.”
Later in this project I note that according to Daniel Siegel, Integration is a “fruit salad, not a smoothie”, and how this is a process of differentiation and re-linking. What’s become clearer is the roots of this integration wisdom comes from Anthropologist Arnold van Gennep who wrote Rites de Passage in 1909. Gennep studied ritual and transitions through life and recognized there are three vital stages involved.
Separation (Preliminal Phase): this is the symbolic “death” of detaching from what was. The differentiation away from the status quo
Transition (Liminal Phase): where we meet ambiguity and disorientation in the “in between” space.
Incorporation (Postliminal Phase): re-linking, integration, back home yet not as the same version of you as before.
Similarly, Joseph Campbell (1949) writes about the Hero’s Journey as several steps within the three stages of departure, initiation and return (I also go into more detail about this later on). Neither Siegel nor Campbell refer to Gennep’s work, yet both the Integration process and the Hero’s Journey appear to be the same template.
I find myself leaning in more to Gennep’s version as the centrality of the liminal space speaks to me. Through my own personal journey these past two years I see the theme of learning how to familiarize and stabilize myself in that liminal space. That space akin to the dark night of the soul, the space between differentiation and re-linking that is riddled with uncertainty and triggers the parts within that fear the darkness and hold the charged memories of when that liminal space housed a life-threat. The space that we all have access to and are intricately impacted by. The space where we align for co-conspiritor work and the magic of communitas. This is the space to befriend as it is an essential aspect of holistic integration.
There are many ways to conceptualize this in between space. Notice the various examples, sensations, visuals, memories, words, and relational reactions you experience here.
That is what my capstone project is. The story and roadmap that, for me, highlights the befriending of the liminal space. A work in progress for sure, yet what’s also true is it’s done for now and I’m ready to share it and engage in it with those who are intrigued and interested to lean in.
As someone who can easily get stuck on a mode of “zoomed in” on details, categories, information gleaned from the past, content, and a burning desire for certainty (left brain mode of processing), the reminder to zoom out and see the forest through the trees has been awe-inspiring.
For many of us, to access our right-brain mode of processing, we first need an experience to trust the momentary free-fall as we drop into the liminal space. A space that is full of magic and possibility yet also carries the resonance of darkness/nothingness which triggers the parts within us that are holding onto charged memories from experiences when the liminal space landed as a life threat.
I feel this is like a road trip. A journey of its own but also a beginning, middle and end within a larger journey, and perhaps an even larger journey (and on and on, and in multiple different ways and directions). This is a way to hold the wisdom imbued in systems thinking and relationality. An intelligent rhythm of zoom in and zoom out, yet more and more from the seat of our core Higher/Essential Self. You, anchored to the core deep stability of the mountain and perceiving through a lens of multiplicity and the wisdom of as within so without.
I first drew this image as I was studying and practicing Villamil and colleagues (2018) description of The Three Pillars of mind training. This was an essential practice for me as I was continuously zooming in on details to capture complexity and then zooming out to remember the big picture purpose. All the while doing so from an anchored place of my Essential Self with its unconditionally compassionate, curious, inclusive and loving.
I had Kind Intention at the top peak, Focus on the bottom left of the triangle, and Open Awareness on the bottom right.
This symbol continued to pop up for me in various ways throughout the process of this capstone and took on multiple meanings while creating structure in what was previously uncertain or unorganized.
I add it in here, at the beginning, because this simple symbol encapsulates my entire project, and was the last symbol I added to my painting (which is a tad bit more busy and complex).
So, if/when you get lost in a zoomed in and cognitive way of being that is trying to figure it out, recognize you are stuck gazing at the trees through the forest. Come back to this page, look at that simple symbol, and remind yourself to feel your breath and look at the forest through the trees.
Lastly, I do not assume that every page or step of this project will be of interest to you. At any point, if you find you are drowning in the weeds or find you are disengaged, skip ahead to the next page.
Reference:
Villamil, A., Vogel, T., Weisbaum, E., & J. Siegel, D. (2018). Cultivating well-being through the three pillars of mind training: Understanding how training the mind improves physiological and psychological well-being. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 4(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.1901003