Time Flies Like… What?

Jan 9th

Posted by Judy in Body-Mind

2 comments

What’s the relationship between metaphors of movement and Clean Language?

One connection is the way in which time and space are linked – through metaphor.

It’s almost impossible to talk about time except in spatial metaphors. Time flies. Days drag by. Diaries are packed or empty.

Wherever there’s space, there’s almost always movement – or stillness.

Apparently, even basic temporal terms like “then” or “when” have etymologies rooted in space and movement – those words come from a Germanic word meaning “from that place” according to James Geary in his excellent book on metaphor, I Is An Other.

Geary adds: “Brain scans show that when we think about time, the regions devoted to motion and spatial relationships are active as well.”

Exploring people’s metaphors for time can provide you – and them – with insights into why they do what they do.

When people think about time, they typically put it in specific places. And the places they choose are their own.

NLP enthusiasts will be familiar with the notion of the “timeline” – commonly in the West the past is behind and/or to the left, the future in front and/or to the right. But not everybody has a line – and of those that do, everyone’s is different.

I’ve More >

Metaphors Of Space And Movement

Jan 5th

Posted by Judy in Body-Mind

5 comments

I’ve posted often about the relationship between our bodies and our thoughts. You are not a disembodied mind or brain or personality who happens to inhabit a physical body – you are a whole person, and your body is essential to the way you think.

And I’ve recently been asked by several people, “What’s the relationship between all of that and Clean Language?” (What is Clean Language?)

One connection is that the late David Grove, creator of Clean Language, was fascinated by the role of space and movement in thought, and by the way people used metaphors – often unconsciously – to connect things.

His later work was all about space and movement. First came a process called Clean Space… then something called Emergent Knowledge… then another set of processes which have been called the Powers of Six, which he was still working on when he died in early 2009.

Each of these therapeutic processes involved moving the client physically, either on the therapist’s instructions or actually strapped into a device called a whirlygig, operated by the therapist and an assistant. (Read about my experience of this here)

Even within his Clean Language period, David was very into space and movement, and embodied metaphor.

He used the Clean More >

Get 2012 moving

Jan 3rd

Posted by Judy in Body-Mind

3 comments

Want to get things moving for the new year? Then get moving.

No, really… MOVE!

Research is increasingly supporting the idea that what you do with your body enhances your thinking in lots of interesting ways.

For example, enacting common metaphors for creativity (eg. by going “outside the box”) makes people more creative, accord to this article in the Huffington Post.

Author Wray Herbert summarises the findings: “These results, taken together, suggest that common metaphors for creativity tap into a kind of deep wisdom about physical experience. Actual physical acts appear to activate the abstract processes that overcome mental rigidity and make new connections — the nuts and bolts of creativity. Something as simple as gesturing with alternate hands, or literally getting out of the box, may eliminate unconscious barriers that restrict thinking.”

And apparently, people learn a new language more easily when words are accompanied by movement. Full article in New Scientist here.

So if you want to get your life, your career, your thinking, moving in 2012, then MOVE. Take a walk, run or bike ride.

What are you waiting for?

More >

Poets, bards and Listeners

Dec 30th

Posted by Judy in Listening

1 comment

The role of listeners has never been fully appreciated. However, it is well known that most people don’t listen. They use the time when someone else is speaking to think of what they’re going to say next. True Listeners have always been revered among oral cultures, and prized for their rarity value; bards and poets are ten a cow, but a good Listener is hard to find, or at least hard to find twice.” Terry Pratchett, Pyramids

Thanks to Paddy Landau for the quote.

All I Want For Christmas…

Dec 22nd

Posted by Judy in Clean Language

No comments

I had an inspiring conversation yesterday with Caitlin Walker, one of the world’s most experienced Clean Language facilitators. Among the things we talked about was her approach to selling her consulting services… without “selling”.

She’s an expert in using Clean Language with groups and organisations.

And she described how, instead of “pitching” for work, she’s devised a way of using the Clean Language questions in the sales process itself, by using them to find out what key people in the organisation really want.

Luckily the whole conversation was recorded for a podcast series I’ll be unveiling in the new year. (Make sure you’re signed up to my newsletter to be kept informed.)

And meanwhile, it got me thinking about a lesson I keep having to re-learn.

There’s not much point in trying to sell people stuff that they don’t want. It’s much more effective to find out what they want and offer them that.

The snag is that people often don’t know what they want. They know what they don’t want – but that’s as likely to bring success as heading out to the supermarket with a list of what you don’t want.

The key to commercial success, then, may be to help people find out what they want. And More >

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