A few months ago I started painting with acrylics for the first time in my life and I’ve discovered that I love it. It allows me to step out of the physicality of the rational material world into a realm of creation and imagination. Recently, with numerous paintings scattered about the room, it suddenly dawned on me that most of them carry the theme of LIMINALITY. As you view each painting, click on it for an enlarged image. Let me share them with you….
Tropical Sunset. There is liminal time and space between day and night as the sun begins to set and dusk settles in, bringing with it a whole new sense of reality and a world of mystery. The tropical sun gradually moves beneath the horizon and disappears into the ocean. We can no longer see it, and yet, in other places on the planet the sun begins to rise to start a new day. The island of Grenada is located in between two large continents. It is neither in South America nor North America but in the Caribbean somewhere in between. (Grenada) (March 20, 2014)
Inukshuk. The Inukshuk stands regally against a barren landscape and delivers the message, “I’ve been here before … you are on the right path.” You’ve left the safety of the past behind and set out into the wilderness ahead not knowing what you will find waiting for you at the other end. There is liminal time and space between here and there. (Vancouver BC) (April 3, 2014)
Hot Air Balloon. There is liminal time and space between being bound to the gravity of Earth and drifting in space. The experience of hot air ballooning suspends you in liminality. You leave the safety of the ground and drift with the wind off to a new destination. You are floating above the surface of the planet, still able to see what is going on below you, and yet you now have a bird’s eye view. You have lost the ability to see the fine details that help you feel secure. (May 2, 2014)
Tree of Life. The tree of life represents the liminal time and space between the living and the dead. In a moment, relationships may shift from unhealthy to healthy, or vice versa, and the discomfort in between is liminal. The tree of life represents interconnection. As family system members we remain connected to our roots through blood at the very least, and strong energetic entanglements and ties at most. As life progresses, we spread out branches, creating new life. Reproduction… a liminal time, frequently a time of great anxiety and uncertainty for many, with a willingness to sacrifice ones life to continue the species. (March 30, 2014)
Winter. The winter months are liminal time and space. They end the active life of the summer and autumn, and prepare for new life to come in the spring. Some trees are evergreen while others transition visibly before our eyes. Winter is a liminal time of uncertainty as some natural flora never survive the bitter cold. (Calgary AB) (March 17, 2014)
Melbourne Sunset. Where the beach meets the ocean there is liminal time and space. It creates a division between those who live on land and must breath the air and those who live in the sea. Humans may dabble in the sea with scuba gear or a snorkel; however, a human needs a connection with land and air. The sea turtle may temporarily come on land to lay her eggs or a seal may sleep on the beach, but their survival depends on the nutrients of the water. (Melbourne, Australia) (March 23, 2014)
Goddess of the Golden Puma. The sacred energy of Machu Picchu in Peru creates liminal time and space. It provides a connection between the material and the divine. There is a great mystery that shrouds the site between what we know and what we don’t know. Beneath the tower of the Temple of the Sun lies the Temple of Pachamama, with the three-tiered step representing her presence. The cave presents a secret feminine space, a womb, for sacred private ceremonies. In 2012, whilst I stood alone before the Temple on the March solstice, the Goddess of the Golden Puma revealed herself to me. The sun’s beam hit the human-sculpted rock formation illuminating a golden puma upon the symbolic front stone that protects the inner sanctum. For that brief moment the feminine energy of the Golden Puma was definitely present to me and the Temple was transformed. A moment later it returned behind the veil of mystery. (Machu Picchu, Peru) (April 9, 2014)
Majestic Flight. There is liminal time and space between above and below. The majestic bald eagle soars above the Earth, waiting with anticipation in liminal space before she swoops down to pluck a salmon from the sea below with her sharp talons. It’s the nature of the food chain as one lives through the death of the other. (Bella Bella BC) (April 18, 2014)
Field of Flowers. There is liminal time and space between the flowers growing in the meadow and the shrubbery at the edge of the forest. It is said to be “the hollow” where those of the fairy realm like to live and play. They prefer to thrive there rather than out in the open or within the depths of the forest floor. It provides them with a portal to interact with the humans that abound. (Ronda, Spain) (March 15, 2014)
Fireweed. The fireweed is a plant that thrives in liminal time and space. It was so named for its propensity to be one of the first plants to begin growing after a fire has swept through a region. It creates liminal time and space between death and re-birth. It thrives in the chaos of desolation and leads the way toward re-growth. It is a prolific plant caught in liminal space between valued traditional herbal medicine and invasive weed. The plant transitions from purple flower to beautiful red leaves in the autumn. (April 26, 2014)
Black Jaguar. Almost extinct because of the destruction of its natural habitat in the rainforests of South America, the wild black jaguar is trapped in liminal time and space between life and death in a race for survival. It steps into liminal space to drink at the edge of the water, one eye always peering about the landscape for signs of danger. It feels the chaos of an open space and seeks refuge in the tropical forest beyond. It thrives under cover of darkness. The black cat represents transformation, mystery, and the perils of nightfall as we enter the liminal time and space that shifts our perception of reality. (March 25, 2014)
The Robin. The robin signals the arrival of spring. The liminal time and space between winter, when snow is often still lying on the frozen ground, and spring, when rain showers bring new growth and the opportunity for the robin to pluck a scrumptious worm from the ground for dinner. Creativity emerges with the laying of eggs and the hatching of young juveniles to carry on this species of harbingers. (July 19, 2014)
Australia Tree. This dead tree is a remnant of a long ago bush fire. It stood alone in the foreground of Uluru/Ayres Rock in the sacred dry desert region of central Australia. It is the traditional territory of the Anangu people who were caught in liminal time and space with the arrival of the Europeans. The Anangu engage with the liminal time and space of Dreamtime where the living, the ancestors, and the gods come together to understand their existence on Mother Earth. (Uluru, Australia) (March 18, 2014)
Peacock. The spectacular plumage of the peacock is the means of courting peahens. The male enters liminal time and space, stepping out of the normality of daily life. He fans out his tail feathers in a great display to attract the attention of the female. Peafowl courtship is a time of transition between being outside a reproductive relationship and being within a reproductive relationship. The impressiveness of the colourful display of feathers may mean the difference between success and failure for the peacock. Creativity emerges from this liminal space in the form of the little peachicks. (Victoria BC) (April 12, 2014)
Torch Ginger. The beautiful Torch Ginger flower is suspended in liminal time and space. Its purpose is not certain. It is neither here not there but somewhere in between. For some, it is a spectacular flower that brings light to any landscape, brightening the world through its wholeness. For others, it is a food to be chopped up in pieces and eaten, providing nourishment and sustaining life. (Grenada) (April 6, 2014)
White Buffalo. The white buffalo is a symbol of sacred life, abundance, and gratitude to indigenous peoples of North America. The Lakota Sioux story of the coming of White Buffalo Calf Woman to their community is a story of liminality between starvation and abundance, not only in a material sense but also in a spiritual sense. The people were taught by White Buffalo Calf Woman the way to shift from living without abundance to living the proper way in abundance with Mother Earth and all that is sacred. The white buffalo represents the promise of greater prosperity to come. It creates liminal time and space between the sacred and the material worlds. (July 24, 2014)
Liminality
Transition embodies liminal time and space. The term liminal or liminality comes from the Latin root word limin, which refers to a threshold (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/limen). It’s a term that was first used in 1884 and it was expanded upon in the 20th century in the field of anthropology, first by Arnold Van Gennep and then by Victor Turner. I believe that one of the most significant dynamics of systemic constellations is the potential to create liminal time and space. Liminality is a transitory time and space meant to get you from here to there. This may refer to a physical location or a shift in a way of being. Liminality has a starting point and a destination. It’s a time or space of infinite possibilities and infinite potential. Liminality is between and betwixt two points in time or space.
Liminality tends to yearn for resolution. However, the meaning of resolution is different for every individual. In systemic constellations, sometimes there is a positive resolution evident to all involved and sometimes things are left in a place in accordance with the client’s capacity to take in the experience. It may not seem like a resolution to one observer, but for the client participating in the constellation, it might be a huge resolution. Liminality is the stage between where you started and where you finished. Resolution may mean one small baby step forward, but it can be discerned that at least some small step forward did occur and the individual experienced a shift from here to there. That small step required a dip into liminal time or space for that recognizable change to occur.
Liminality pulls one out of the acceptable norms and daily structures of society. You are asked to leave behind the status quo. When you are in a liminal time or space, you are drawn out of your comfort zone and tempted with new thoughts, new beliefs, new surroundings, new experiences, new people, or new insights. Liminality implies a forward movement through an open threshold. You are called to move to the threshold of one thing, explore the unknown you are confronted with, and shift past the edge or fringe of the origin position to what lies beyond. Even if you don’t step through the threshold to the new existence, you have still reached a new destination. Once one has explored or learned something new, one never returns back to the same state of being. Once the process has been initiated, one cannot go back.
Liminality is that time and space between and betwixt what you know and what you don’t know. A feeling of chaos may settle in your body. Inner turmoil desires to be soothed. Liminal time and space provides an opportunity for creativity to emerge and soul expansion to occur. Rites of passage and ritual create liminal time and space. Systemic constellations in a workshop or a private session are ritual. The participants are no longer bound by the norms of acceptable social structure. In constellations, the client moves from where they were when they entered the room to where they are when they leave the room.
A healing journey could conceivably be called an extended liminal journey. I consider the human lifetime and our purpose on planet Earth to be a healing journey. Life itself becomes liminal time and space between birth and death. There is a tendency for human beings to resist change or transition. One could argue that every movement that occurs, every thought that is formed, and every word that is spoken by a human being constitutes change, and perhaps it does. It is a moment-by-moment creation of liminality.
Most humans cling to the general status quo position in their life. Humans strive for certainty and safety. Most human beings could not survive with constant significant change. Some might emotionally breakdown with all the instability. Others might become ultra resilient. A whole lifetime could only be a true liminal experience if one was unable to adapt to accepted social structures in any way. It could only be a true liminal experience if one stayed in a perpetual state of uncertainty with no ability to adapt to ones surroundings. Human beings tend to shift in and out of liminal time and space. Life has a way of ensuring that humans shift and change whether they want to or not.
I have spent a great deal of my life in liminal time and space. Stepping outside the box became a way of being. Living with chaos and uncertainty was a way of life. I have embraced extensive travel in my lifetime. Travel is a liminal journey. You are moving from here to there. There can be a state of uncertainty and discomfort created when the reality is different from what was expected. You are between where you came from and where you are going. You live out of a suitcase or a backpack, rarely settled enough to fit in with the locals. Whether you are on a journey to new places, or a healing journey in your own life, spiritual development and growth requires one to step into liminal time and space at least temporarily.