Dissolve Metaphorical Blocks
Written by
Heidi White
I believe that we are on this planet to figure out the puzzle of our personalities so that we can fulfill our purpose. Our most important mission is to discover what is blocking our creative force and eliminate the blocks so that we can fully express who we are. When our energy is flowing freely, we are able to become the best version of ourselves and enjoy the success and abundance that is our birthright.
Noticing the subconscious “protector”
This is easier said than done, of course, because our subconscious is really good at “protecting” us from the pain we’ve locked away. I put “protecting” in quotes because it really isn’t protecting us from the pain—it’s just cloaking it so that we feel the pain as more generalized anger, anxiety, irritation, or some other discomfort that we can’t seem to shake.
We might associate the pain with something that is happening to us now. For instance, we may believe we’re angry at a friend who said something that triggered us, but what they said isn’t the issue. If we think about it, what they said would probably not trigger another person. We are triggered because it hits a nerve in us that is raw due to experiences that happened when we were much younger and less skilled at facing challenges. The trigger feels bad, but it’s also a clue that can help us begin to heal.
Using your triggers to heal is a courageous path. It requires you to shift your vision outward. Rather than seeing difficulty as something that happens TO you, you can begin to see it as something that happens FOR you. The fight you had with your spouse is no longer their fault or yours. It is an opportunity to identify what triggered you, why it triggered you, and what created the trigger so that you can remove it and heal the pain it is protecting.
When you are brave enough to notice that you are blaming someone else for pain that you are feeling, and can find the strength to look inside, you are on the path to healing. Your psyche will continue to protect you, so it will take some time and effort to uncover and clear all of the pain, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier. This is where metaphors come in.
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Bypassing the subconscious “protector”
Because many of our triggers are formed below the conscious level, they trigger fear and pain that seems scarier than it really is. It’s like the Great and Powerful Oz, who seems big and terrifying until the curtain is pulled back to reveal a little man, sweating in a tiny closet filled with a bunch of levers. Our pain is very much like that. It seems terrifying until we pull away the curtain and see it for what it is.
Metaphors are one tool you can use to pull back the curtain. They provide an image that contains vast amounts of information without triggering fear. Metaphors are available to everyone and are so simple to use. It’s both surprising and unfortunate that most of us don’t tap them every day for information about the small and large discomforts that mask underlying pain.
Questioning your metaphors
The first step to leveraging metaphors for healing is to notice when emotions arise and identify how they manifest in your body. Recognize that you are feeling discomfort like fear or anger and notice where it is in your body. Is it in your belly? Your throat? Your head? Touch that place on your body and allow it to become amplified.
When you’re ready, imagine what the emotion looks like inside you. Once you have pictured the image/metaphor, start pulling it apart. What does it look like? What color is it? What textures does it have? Is it hard or soft? Where exactly is it and what environment is it in? For example, I recently felt fear in my belly that I saw as a beach ball. I was going through change and feeling scared; the beach ball was floating about ungrounded and filthy, trying to grab onto something stable.
With a full picture of what it is, start asking it questions. Don’t assume you know the answers. Ask it questions and write or type them out. By writing/typing them out, you are keeping a record of the answers. If you are a more verbal person, you may want to record your answers and create a transcript.
Ask it why it is there, how it is protecting you, when it came into being, and what it wants for you. Ask it everything you want to know about the discomfort you’re experiencing and get curious about its surroundings. For me, the beach ball was being tossed about in water, so I also had a conversation with the water.
As you’re going through the exercise, make sure to investigate everything that comes up for you. You may find that other parts of your body get into the action. As you’re resolving issues in one part of your body, another part of your body may pipe up. For me, the ball that was bouncing about in the ocean of my belly was related to a back-lit stone in my heart center. It all worked together and led me to a collar I’d been wearing on my neck for years. All of these metaphors were linked and I spent about an hour investigating them all and getting really curious about where they came from.
As you’re doing this work, fear may spring up and make you want to walk away from your desk, notebook, or recorder. Don’t let it scare you away. Just get curious. Remember that your fear is smaller than it appears. Ask what the fear is protecting you from and ask it to help you get closer to the truth. It will let you do that. It will lead you deeper into your pain and, if you listen carefully, you will learn volumes that will help you heal and begin to let go of anger and fear that you no longer need to protect you.
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The eight-step process (simplified):
Here is the above-described process written in a simple step-by-step format. Adapt this process as needed as you inquire within:
- Identify the emotion you are feeling.
- Feel where the emotion is causing discomfort in your body.
- Imagine what the discomfort looks like (shape, size, texture, colors, etc.).
- Notice the environment of the image. (Is it floating, lodged, etc.? Is it doing something?)
- Ask it why it is there, what purpose it is serving (stay out of judgment and believe it is there to help and protect you); ask it what it believes about reality.
- Notice other metaphors that appear and go through the same process of describing and asking to learn more about the purpose of the metaphor.
- Allow the metaphors to talk to each other and to other hurting parts of you.
- Keep identifying feelings in your body and associated metaphors, and continue asking questions until you’ve learned all you need to know.
Proceed with caution
With metaphors, you can go as deep as you’d like. This work can be very powerful and healing, though it is not always easy. Stay with it and be gentle with yourself as you move deeper and deeper into the metaphor. As with any type of internal inquiry, don’t go to any depths you are not prepared to explore. If you have suffered deep trauma, consult with your therapist before trying this or any technique if you don’t feel ready.
Heidi White | Transformational Coach 