Part 1 -Liminal Space

A recent conversation with a friend has brought the subject of 'liminal space' to the forefront of my thoughts this morning. I consider myself blessed because I have spent little time in this place of 'holding, ambiguity, and indeterminacy'. Here is a proper definition:

liminality is a period of transition where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed
- a situation which can lead to new perspectives.

Amazingly enough, liminality comes from the Latin word līmen, meaning "a threshold." Carl Jung referred to liminal space as '...the betwixt and between place, the limen or boundary from one place to another.'

My conversation with this friend about liminal space has somewhat clarified my life for the past two weeks. I have been in liminal space for fourteen days, minus two.

Here are some of the big idea's from a night of processing this theory. I'm still in the beginning stages...
  • my anxiousness about not being in control
  • needing reassurance that God is present and active during the fearful days I'm experiencing
  • resisting the 'betwixt and the between place' and pleas for normalcy to return
  • caught in the despairing abyss of uncertainty

Will you think with me? I am still sorting out my observations on liminality. Managing my feelings, frustrations, and uncertainties is exhaustingly hard work.

Offer me your thoughts about this ambiguous, confusing and hazy place. Have you ever experienced the 'betwixt and between place'? Is it a good thing that I have '...spent little time in this place of 'holding, ambiguity, and indeterminacy'?

I'll leave you with a quote that may help you put your arms around the idea of liminal space...

"Few of us know how to inhabit liminal space. If we are security-needy by temperament, we will always run back to the old room that we have already constructed. If we are risk-taking by temperament, we will quickly run to a new room of our own making and liking. Hardly anyone wants to stay on the threshold without knowing the answers..." -Richard Rohr

1 comment:

  1. OK - so, I really should be working but instead I've spent the last hour "googling" liminal space. I found an awesome article on this subject, Forty Years in a Narrow Space by Len Hjalmarson. I will bring you a copy.....beware, it's nine pages of nothing but liminal space talk! It sounds like being in a liminal space is where we can grow and change.

    Seriously, I'm questioning if this weird place my head's been in since my dad died is a liminal space????

    Awesome post!

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