1️⃣👂Latent Semantic Synchrony
Images & Examples
Using metaphors can help us expand the map of someone’s understanding. It helps us “feel out” their world using a template to guide us as we reflect on their experience. Here are some examples:
Waves
When it feels like every time we pop up for air, a wave crashes back down on us.
Mountains
Talking about the exhaustion of the journey. Feeling like we’ll never crest to “better”.
Cliff
Relapse can feel like falling off a cliff and having to start over from the bottom.
Castle
When things go poorly, we can build new walls and close off potential “goodness”.
Permission to Play
When listening to someone, try on a new metaphor. Some will stick, some won’t.
It’s okay to get things wrong. But listening can be a creative exercise. Searching for a new way to expand someone’s understanding of themselves through an image, an example, a story. Worst case, it’ll help them identify what their experience is not like that, and that’s helpful still. Practice using this tool when you support others, and it will expand your ability to creatively connect with others and offer fresh and expansive perspectives.