Liminalescence?
Of all the words I've come to know of in my adult life, liminal is one of my favorites because it speaks of living or existing in a space that is betwixt and between. It is to abide in the peripheries of human community as opposed to those who identify themselves as striving to be in a central place that ingratiates them to those who hold the power. The phrase liminal can also refer to a threshold; another of my favorite God words.
I picked up the word as a student at the Aquinas Institute of Theology and employed it quickly when I began creating new programs for students at the Church of St. Jude. One summer, perhaps in 2007 or 2008, I began a series of summer gatherings called Liminal Spaces for those high school and college students who would have just graduated and were about to embark upon a new chapter of life. I remember the great many questions I had back in the summers of 1982: what was to become of me? what should I study? what will happen to my friends going to school elsewhere? who will love me?
The best part of this group was the setting for these gatherings. The southwestern corner of the lawn, located at the far edge of the property, was hemmed in by a thick fortress of corn stalks. The portable fire pit was placed near the edge for us to circle up - a scene that couldn't help issuing a primal summons for life's more meaningful conversations. The brilliance of the fire illuminated this space as if it were a huge stately room in a great hall! To enter emotionally into the unknown of these student's lives, we had to embody the liminality of the land as well as the places in the heart where their stories lingered.
I am a liminal soul, a middle child born Aquarius a day from Pisces. I was born in 1964 and live on the cusp of the Baby Boomers & Generation X. I was baptized in the midst of that momentous Second Vatican Council that spanned a post-medieval church and one being born anew as the third millennium approached. As such, it is woven into the fabric of my being to be a connector, a conciliator, a communally-oriented person.
This is the background of one who is currently camped out on the edge of the circle of the Catholic Church with two tent pegs staked inside and two outside the circle. Yes, I still feel glad to hear the sacred chant coming from the bosom of the church, smell her incense and savor the stories of saints and Sacred Scripture. At the same time I look outward to see the animated bowing of Hasidic Jews at the wailing wall, hear Hindus reciting mantras from the ancient Vedas and watch the Dervishes whirling into a spirilic trans. I'm far enough from the center that I can see the expanse of stars and marvel at the vastness of the cosmic story that is yet unfolding. It is from this vantage point of liminalescence that an evolving story is being forged in fire by the God of Thresholds and long unfolding journeys.
I picked up the word as a student at the Aquinas Institute of Theology and employed it quickly when I began creating new programs for students at the Church of St. Jude. One summer, perhaps in 2007 or 2008, I began a series of summer gatherings called Liminal Spaces for those high school and college students who would have just graduated and were about to embark upon a new chapter of life. I remember the great many questions I had back in the summers of 1982: what was to become of me? what should I study? what will happen to my friends going to school elsewhere? who will love me?
The best part of this group was the setting for these gatherings. The southwestern corner of the lawn, located at the far edge of the property, was hemmed in by a thick fortress of corn stalks. The portable fire pit was placed near the edge for us to circle up - a scene that couldn't help issuing a primal summons for life's more meaningful conversations. The brilliance of the fire illuminated this space as if it were a huge stately room in a great hall! To enter emotionally into the unknown of these student's lives, we had to embody the liminality of the land as well as the places in the heart where their stories lingered.
I am a liminal soul, a middle child born Aquarius a day from Pisces. I was born in 1964 and live on the cusp of the Baby Boomers & Generation X. I was baptized in the midst of that momentous Second Vatican Council that spanned a post-medieval church and one being born anew as the third millennium approached. As such, it is woven into the fabric of my being to be a connector, a conciliator, a communally-oriented person.
This is the background of one who is currently camped out on the edge of the circle of the Catholic Church with two tent pegs staked inside and two outside the circle. Yes, I still feel glad to hear the sacred chant coming from the bosom of the church, smell her incense and savor the stories of saints and Sacred Scripture. At the same time I look outward to see the animated bowing of Hasidic Jews at the wailing wall, hear Hindus reciting mantras from the ancient Vedas and watch the Dervishes whirling into a spirilic trans. I'm far enough from the center that I can see the expanse of stars and marvel at the vastness of the cosmic story that is yet unfolding. It is from this vantage point of liminalescence that an evolving story is being forged in fire by the God of Thresholds and long unfolding journeys.
How enlightening, Dan. Your thoughtful words articulate, to me, the characteristics of the liminal existence... fostering the needed honoring, compassion and understanding of different worlds. In your "betwixt and between" you provide a safe space for many of varying, sometimes opposing opinions to be explored.
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DeleteThank you Bob for reading this and and for sharing your thoughts. I greatly value your keen sensibilities. I'm not sure if you have to have a profile on Google since blogspot is a google product.
DeleteHaving just read several definitions of liminal After reading your blog. Cambridge.org comes closest to capturing the spirit of your use of liminal, thusly:
Delete"between or belonging to two different places, states, etc" and "IE: the liminal state between waking and sleeping"
Though their definition may convey alot of the meaning from the root word limina:
"Noun:(plural) thresholds"
From Limen:
"Noun:(singular) A liminal point; the threshold of a physiological or psychological response."
or "Verb: (third-person plural present subjunctive) of limar
But it misses the simplest and most essential interpretation of the root word limar:
"verb: to file (with a file or rasp) (sic)sharpen"
and its root Limo:
"to sharpen"
Cambridge.org's example calls forth related Latin based psychological terms, like supra-liminal and the more commonly used sub-liminal.
Wakeful perception"Supraliminal" I fully in my mind (above Liminal perception)
Sleeping perception "Subliminal" I removed from mind (below what is perceivable)
Furthermore if we take another Latin word and try to find how adding a(n) "L" at the end, or utilizing the latin suffix "-al" the end changes its meaning; In effect (Limina : Liminal :: Vicera : Viceral)
Vicera:
"the large organs inside the body, including the heart, stomach, ect..."
Viseral:
"relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect(Sic knowledge)"
Anima in Latin means "life" (this one is just biological bits and pieces, {General chicken?})
Animal in latin means "living" (this one purrs and thinks and moves, {Kitten?})
same thing "liminal : limo :: Anima : Animal"
The "threshold" is not a door way that you stand in, it is what you become, as you are honed as a blade is honed, to a fine, pure, straight, and true edge...
...the edge that which seperates the known from the imperceptable.
The latin origin of the suffix "-al" is -alis.
-alis:
"Used to form adjectives of relationship from nouns or numerals."
...closer to the word as your using it is Liminality, as used in anthropology Liminality:
"the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage"
If I understand your meaning Dan, what your saying is...
...To be a "Liminal soul" one must seek to sharpen(limo) their Knowledge(intellect), without losing sight of that which they imperceptibly understand(feel deeply, inward).
Sir you had my attention with your blog yesterday, now you have my respect aswell.
ps. Red letter bible question did Jesus literally say "...I am the way(threshold/gateway)..." or was he saying, literally "...I am the rasp(that sharpens your mind with perception)..."
pps. I gotta learn latin.