Katherine Fusco
  • Home
  • Books
  • Essays
  • Scholarly Articles
  • c.v.
  • Works in Progress
  • Contact

The Mindful Academic Writer


A Blog on Practice

Powerful Metaphors

4/16/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
This post is a follow up on the previous post about trying different styles.

Do I "believe" in chakras? Hm, not so sure. The idea of chakras relates to what gets called the subtle, or energetic body, in yoga. It's not the physiological "gross" body. The chakras are the energy centers in this energetic body, and the idea is, that the freedom or blockage of these centers relates to areas of freedom or blockage in the way we live our lives. To me, talk of Chakras falls in the realm of new age spirituality--What I have occasionally dismissed as "hoodoo."

As an academic, as the child of an atheist household, I am very skeptical about taking things "on faith." Why would anyone do that?

But as a student of literature, I do believe in the power of a good metaphor. Emerson's  Eyeball
, Morrison's ghost Beloved, Melville's Whale. The metaphor isn't necessarily "real" but it does work nonetheless. Pinning a metaphor down and proving that, for example, slavery produced real ghosts (or didn't, for that matter) wouldn't make Beloved more or less powerful. Metaphors do work without being literal.

My very brief initial encounter with Chakra-based yoga was powerful. Using guided meditation, the teacher asked the students in the class to do a series of breathing and physical exercises with eyes closed, imagining the colors associated with the different chakra centers. For me, it was powerful to realize that while I could easily see yellow in my solar plexus (associated with personal strength), when it was time to see the green associated with the heart chakra (an emotional center) I came up with nothing.

Now, do I *believe* that I have a heart chakra--no idea. Maybe not? BUT, the metaphor resonated. As an academic, and particularly as a young woman in academe, it's not surprising that
I have grown out of touch with my emotions, which might be seen as liabilities on this career path. 

Though I retain skeptical about the "truth" of the metaphor, it nonetheless does work, all of which makes me think that academics, who are trained in various scientific and other methods of inquiry, might indeed try to be more curious and explore systems of thought about which we are VERY skeptical. Not that we will necessarily come to accept other accounts of reality AS our reality, but we may nonetheless find new metaphors to guide us.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All


    Blogroll
    Get a Life, PhD
    getalifephd.blogspot.ie/
    GradHacker
    www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker
    The Professor is In
    theprofessorisin.com/pearlsofwisdom/
    The Thesis Whisperer
    thesiswhisperer.com/
    Tenure, She Wrote
    tenureshewrote.wordpress.com/

    ​

    Archives

    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Ian D. Keating, Port of San Diego, Hey Paul Studios, smerikal, philosophygeek, brian.gratwicke, shirokazan, Maria Eklind, h.koppdelaney, ☺ Lee J Haywood, ninacoco, VinothChandar, apartmentshowcase, dickdotcom, Allagash Brewing, medchedli, flying_7ucy, taymtaym, blondinrikard, katerha, blumenbiene, Helga Weber, juhansonin, Evil Erin, danajackson58, Paul L Dineen, quinn.anya, Jarosław Pocztarski, Seabird NZ, wwarby, anshumanharsh, jenny downing, anna gutermuth, MacBeales, peddhapati, GreenRavenPhotography.com, gailhampshire, torbakhopper, cyberpunk65, Derek Bridges, Albion Europe ApS, Rennett Stowe, Daveness_98, Drew Coffman, 42andpointless, VinothChandar, Average Jane, h.koppdelaney, auspices, r.nial.bradshaw, Matt Callow, Lex Kravetski, nSeika, Toffee Maky, Rob.Bertholf, ilovememphis, Xtreme Xhibits, chrysav.koutroumanou, striatic, It'sGreg, Michiel Thomas, Maria Eklind, stimpsonjake, ikewinski, seyed mostafa zamani, mugwumpian, jude hill
  • Home
  • Books
  • Essays
  • Scholarly Articles
  • c.v.
  • Works in Progress
  • Contact