Metaphoric Mammal - Part II

S/he/They Are US

Metaphoric Mammal — Part II

S/he/They Are US

Don’t take this in an S&M way. Please. Unless, of course, you’re into that brand of kink, in which case, as is said in some acting circles, take a private moment. We’ll be waiting here, patiently, sans ‘judgement.’

We find ourselves tied in a double bind. Often too tightly bound. We live in an historical time characterized by swirling change and sweeping confusion. Unsettled. Insecure. Our desire to know and control is thwarted. We tighten and inhibit creativity when we need it most.

What to do? How? What’s going on? 

The tried and true responses of ‘yesterday’ appear tired and useless. They don’t work. We grow increasingly frustrated and fearful.

We try harder and the bind tightens.

Double bind theory was first promulgated by Gregory Bateson, an anthropologist, and his colleagues in the 1950s. 

Note: Gregory Bateson was married to Margaret Mead, they had a daughter, Nora Bateson. Before long, we will run into the whole family.

Bateson was searching for causes of schizophrenia and hypothesized that mixed signals in family life and society were at the essence of deep disturbances that produced disabling symptoms owing to disruptions of personality at the level of identity.

Who am I? A vexing dilemma. What’s ACTUALLY (not artificially) Human is up for grabs. More vexing. Vexatious!

The nature of Self/SELF is at the heart of ACTING HUMAN practice. While the question, ‘who am I?’ is a perennial, as old as humankind, it has never been more central to our health, wellbeing, and creativity as it is in this day and time. In this new NOW!

We must create ourselves with robust creativity and integrity. “Acting is doing things TRUTHFULLY with robust intentions in imagined circumstances.”

To ACT HUMAN, the first principle of practice is TO PAY ATTENTION. Without keen and skilled observation we cannot align with life as we find it. No only must we align, we must simultaneously create both self and ‘reality.’ It seems an oxymoron. 

We must embrace ‘don’t know’ and ‘passing thoughts’ as play. Thinking is part/whole of the infinite game. It is NOT the whole game. If we envision life strictly as a series of thoughts, bits of ‘knowing,’ we have engaged in a finite game. It’s all over unless we, as infinite players, see that the thoughts we’ve mistaken for answers are actually questions in drag. Let’s have fun getting to the naked truth.

Our individual and social experiences, in families, schools, occupations, have not prepared us to play in flowering fields of complexity. On the contrary, as has been said here many times, complexity has been hidden and we’ve been mislead. Misdirected. Tricked.

While there has doubtlessly been malicious motivation in the mix, by far it’s been and continues to be the tricked leading the tricked. We’re in life together. Compassion for ourselves and each other, although not always easy, is of the essence.

The search for causes of schizophrenia associated with double binds assumed that identity was a singular phenomena. We now, more than ever, recognize that our identities are processes with protean qualities. We change creatively. With skill, this truth promises vitality and innovation in our lives and cultures.

The underlying phenomena we’ve been studying can serve us or master us. We, while not entirely free agents (another discussion to come) we do have a role to play. Lack of absolute freedom, unfettered free will, does not mean we are inert. The tendency to see in black and white, to exclude the middle, is the product of training. It’s been intensified by institutions of society. We are meant to produce and consume. We’ve been carefully taught.

We have come a long way in setting a foundation for ACTING HUMAN practice, drawing on history, philosophy, science, wisdom traditions, and the arts. 

Recognizing the power of metaphor goes well beyond the arena of mere language. We are familiar with the deceptions lurking in language when used without discernment. Mistaking symbols for living processes drops us half alive into a half dead world.

I likely have the proportions wrong. Who cares? It is, after-all, a metaphor - not a formula.

Fortunately, Korzybski has schooled us. “The map is not the territory.” Nor is GPS, although I don’t know how I lived without it for so long.

Pauly Cohen taught me if you want to play fast, first learn to play slowly. Let’s take our time to get the hang of analogy, simile and metaphor.

ANALOGY

Similes and metaphors are kinds of analogies. All are literary devices used to show shared relationship. The difference can be slippery and difficult to see.

Analogies are generally more explicit than similes or metaphors. They make use of something familiar to describe something unfamiliar. 

Analogy is often found in the context of argument. This is, to make a point. A is to B as C is to  D. 

Example: Baby is to adult as kitten is to cat.

SIMILE

Similes always use a comparison word. 

Usually like or as. 

They make the similarity explicit, though not necessarily for the strict purpose of making a point,

Rather they establish equivalency.

They often express a comparison where comparability is not immediately obvious.

Examples: Nutty as a fruitcake; Strong as an Ox; Fight like cats and dogs

METAPHOR

Metaphors are magic! They are not bound by reason. Poetry frees them to live alive. 

They are true and natural. They speak directly. 

One singular sensation.

The way in which we connect as Metaphoric Mammals (here’s a simile: like verb and story), we are metaphor, metaphor within metaphor ad infinitum, our focused attention invites strong embodied responses. Deeply embedded processes that move us profoundly. Life as infinite game that gives rise to story forms.

We ACT HUMAN.

We live life ALIVE.

We are not separate from the whole. There is nothing to compare. We ARE the WHOLE STORY.

Learning to notice how metaphoric process lives at the implicate level in our lives, always available, enables a full sense of our Metaphoric Mammal nature. 

It amplifies how we understand ourselves in relationship to intention and to our natural creativity. 

When seen clearly it enhances our sense of play in every new moment. Repeated ‘aha’ moments arise. Tears and laughter. We live life alive.

A Gift For The Season

An extended metaphor compliments of Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyric).

Spring Is Here

Spring is here! Why doesn't my heart go dancing?

Spring is here! Why isn't the waltz entrancing?

No desire, no ambition leads me

Maybe it's because nobody needs me

Spring is here! Why doesn't the breeze delight me?

Stars appear, why doesn't the night invite me?

Maybe it's because nobody loves me

Spring is here I hear

Linger on the last line. Pure genius.

Until next time,

Lights Up!