Metaphors

The human mind is adept at playing with ideas at multiple levels and nowhere is this more evident or more powerful than in exploring consciousness.  Huge swathes of our minds are hidden from our conscious awareness. Simple, familiar story components like doors, paths, buried treasure, locked chests, temples, castles, caves, sanctuaries can be assembled in such a way as to explore parts of the hidden realm.

Metaphors are not exclusively verbal, but the story metaphor is extremely useful to express or articulate aspects of consciousness that are not easily accessible through language. Long used in teaching the story and the story-teller combine to create an emotional context to anchor a message or a lesson.

A good example of a metaphor in action is the recovery of the pleasure to be had in artistic expression. Many of us were told to put away our colouring pencils, our finger paints or our home-made story books and concentrate on homework or the like.  This was often done kindly or at least with good intentions, although not always.  Criticism or harsh judgement will drive the artistic spirit deep underground. Many people find that the child they once were put this artistic spirit in a safe place and through a self-directed story they can access that safe place and recover their childhood delight. Often this is all the motivation required to stimulate a new search for self-expression.

"These kids aren't going to make their living as artists, let's redirect their attention to something society can use" said the Ministry for Education