Are You in a Liminal Time?
We all experience times of liminality. And when we are experiencing a lack of clarity, uncertainty, “fogginess” or even being stuck, looking at our lives through this lens can be helpful.
What is liminality or liminal time? Liminality as human experience is that uncomfortable ambiguity when we are in the middle of significant change. “Limen” is the Latin word for threshold, the space betwixt and between, a place of transition, a boundary.
Thinking about literal, physical thresholds – a doorway, a gate, or anything that delineates two spaces can help us understand our experience. If you stand in a threshold, doorway or gateway, you are neither in the space you left nor in the space you are entering. An example of liminal time is twilight, that time just before dawn or just after sunset. It’s not fully dark or fully daylight.
In our collective lives right now, we are no longer in the familiar place we were, and we’re not yet in the next place or phase in life. There’s no way back to the way it was and yet it’s still difficult to see the way forward or what’s next with any certainty.
I have found, especially in working with my clients, the importance of naming things. When we can name an experience we are having, it allows us to regain some sense of power. At the same time, it also gives us tools and resources to deal with it.
How do you know if you are in a liminal time? See if you relate to any of these feelings and experiences associated with liminality
A disorienting vagueness
An ongoing or recurring lack of focus or inability to regain focus
Feeling lost, overwhelmed, anxious, or empty
A lost sense of identity ("I’m not sure I know who I am anymore or how I fit in.")
While the experience of liminality can include some or all of these unsettling feelings, it can also be a time of formation when more options for the future and new perspectives become available. This can be exciting and unsettling.
What can help during times of liminality? Here are a few suggestions
Accept and surrender to the chaos. It is what it is. Let go of trying to make sense, to finding the right path forward.
Create some rituals – daily habits of prayer, meditation, lighting candle, create altar, daily walks, special readings.
Do the spiritual/inner work – journaling, time with spiritual friends or mentors, engage in some formal process of learning about spiritual growth, the true self/false self, etc.
Use your imagination, explore what you most deeply want.
Use music, poetry, or the visual arts.
If you have questions or want some specific resources to help you in the liminal time, please feel free to send me a message with the Contact form or schedule a Free Clarity Call with me. I am always happy to recommend books, podcasts, music, or other resources.
Photo Credit: Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash