10.07.09
Wednesday’s Wonderful Word
Yes, it’s back!
Most every Wednesday, I’ll share a word that’s unusual, unfamiliar, or otherwise interesting (well, from my point of view, anyway).
When I attended the A Room of Her Own Foundation’s writer’s retreat in August at the Ghost Ranch, I heard a new word that resonates with me on many levels. I simply love it.
Today’s word:
liminal (adj):
1. of or relating to a sensory threshold
2. barely perceptible
3. of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition; in-between, transitional
usage: The old man was in the liminal state between life and death
Wikipedia describes it quite well (below). At AROHO, we also talked about it being like a snake shedding its skin. It’s vulnerable, open, raw. And absolutely an essential part of life with the transitions, passages, and events we must experience to get further on our journeys. Either that, or we stay in a shell and stop growing.
Wikipedia:
Liminality (from the Latin word līmen, meaning “a threshold”) is a psychological, neurological, or metaphysical subjective, conscious state of being on the “threshold” of or between two different existential planes, as defined in neurological psychology (a “liminal state”) and in the anthropological theories of ritual by such writers as Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner, and others.
In the anthropological theories, a ritual, especially a rite of passage, involves some change to the participants, especially their social status.
The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy. One’s sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed - a situation which can lead to new perspectives.
Do you have a favorite word that needs a little publicity? Send it on over!