Metaphorology

Expand Your Thinking - Change Your Life

What is metaphorology? The word has been invented, forgotten and then reinvented several times, but here's my definition: The study and conscious use of metaphors as a "thinking technology," or a kind of "science of personal transformation." You can consciously change the way you think, the way you experience life, and the way you respond to life by using different metaphors. The bottom line? A better understanding that leads to better results. My purpose in creating this Metaphorology web site is to explore how we can tap into the power of metaphors.

Metaphorical Playtime - Get creative and see things in new ways... What is a belief? Some would say (optimistically) that it's a "truth." I think beliefs are "tools." The metaphor chosen can totally alter our perspective, but we don't have to see it only one way...

I Am A Metaphor -The Metaphorical Nature of Consciousness - The idea that consciousness is a metaphorical creation is not so strange as it might seem at first. Consider for a moment what happens if you tell yourself "I am James Bond." If you adopt this metaphor of yourself as James Bond, and play along with it for a moment, you'll notice that...

The Metaphors We Live By - The metaphors we live by include life as a journey, a game, a dream, and a movie. But how do these metaphorical perspectives affect our actions and our lives? Here's a look at a few of them, and how to best use them...

Spiritual Metaphors That Work - ...spiritual metaphors that work? I'm referring to the fact that the words are not the things themselves, and are only tools. Using metaphors is one of the most powerful ways to communicate an understanding of something, but they are tools, and so we have to...

Metaphors in the News

Of course metaphors influence how we think about things, in good and bad ways. In a recent column on Nature.com, Philip Ball addresses the question of whether scientists use metaphorical imagery in ways that mislead the public. He says;

"In a paper in PLoS ONE published today, Paul Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky, psychologists at Stanford University in California, show that people approve of differing responses to crime when it is presented as either a 'beast' or a 'virus' ravaging society. In the former case they are most likely to call for strong law enforcement, whereas in the latter they are more open to solutions such as rehabilitation and the understanding of root causes."

He goes on to show how metaphor is considered not just useful, but perhaps necessary in the sciences, and says, "Maybe we are too eager to find a neat metaphor rather than just explain what is going on as clearly and honestly as we can."

Newest Pages

Creating Personal Metaphors - An example and three questions to get you started developing your own.

Tips for Creating Great Metaphors - I let someone else do the writing for once...

Spiritual Awakening and Other Metaphors - They resonate, but do these metaphors help us understand?

A Change of Perspective - I was reading a magazine article and suddenly realized how many metaphors were in the first sentence alone, and what they suggest about...

Metaphor Quotes - Some of my favorites.
A Short Metaphor Poem - Are we trapped in our words?
Metaphors - Some thought-provoking ideas based on playing with metaphors.
Metaphors For Life - How to use the perspective they provide.
Using Metaphors - Examples - The difference between "understand" and "overstand."
Great Examples Of Life Metaphors - And how they give us new understandings.
Good Metaphors - What is it that makes a metaphor so useful?
Metaphor List - The Less Common Metaphors - Ego is a slave master and more...
Metaphor Therapy - Be your own doctor with metaphorical medicine.
Money Metaphors - The common ones and some better options.

Other Pages:

Lists of Metaphors - From several areas of life...
Examples of Metaphors - Some common and unusual metaphors.
Using Metaphors for Problem Solving - Find creative solutions with metaphors.
More Metaphors Gone Wild - An unleashing of metaphorical ideas.
Metaphors in Poems - A look at two poems that use metaphors.

Thought for the Day: If human consciousness is a metaphorical creation as some speculate, could it be that spirituality is a way to radically change the metaphorical structure that determines our form of consciousness and therefore our actions?

Other Sites:

Radical New Thoughts - Go sign up for the free Radical Thinking Course
Beyond Mental Slavery - Discover traps in your mind and read from the book.
The Thousand Mile Hole - Read excerpts from this book on deeper thinking.

Other Pages

Using Metaphors
Metaphors for Life
Metaphor Poem

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Metaphor of the Month

Business Is a Game - If business is a game, does that mean it is unimportant? Not at all! You and all the other players are real and valuable, and the game itself is a wonderful teaching and transformational tool. But it does mean that money is just a way to keep score, and if you lose you can always play again. Remember this when you start to take the "results" too seriously. Also, unlike other games, in this one several players - or even all of them - can win at the same time.