The Magic of Liminal Spaces

Written By Lisa Sargent
 

It is no secret that we are living in contentious times. We are bearing witness to and experiencing the devastation that unbridled power is wielding on our bodies and our Earth. And yet, despite it all, these atrocities are not new to us. If there is any solace to be found, it is knowing that we have weathered these oppressive terrains before, in different variations across time and place.  

Oftentimes, our fear of venturing into the unknown eclipses our collective movement towards something better. These ongoing tensions have created a time traveler’s dilemma of sorts - a phenomena in which we find ourselves clinging to moments in the past, suspended in the present, while only briefly glimpsing into the future. 

Until we achieve collective liberation, we will continue to exist in this liminal space. In the meantime, if we allow ourselves to fully surrender, liminal spaces can serve as sacred playgrounds to learn how to untether ourselves and navigate the muck of it all. 


What is Liminal Space?

  • Liminal space is activated space, a charged space that asks us to ready ourselves for collective action and change.  

  • Liminal space can be a regenerative space, an oasis of rest and refuge when we are tender and weary. 

  • Liminal space is fluid space, beckoning us to become shapeshifters to our conditions, our desires and our visions.

  • Liminal space is a viscerally wild place, begging us to feel our way back to ourselves, to reconnect with who we truly are when we silence the outside noise.

  • Liminal space is a place with infinite portals that, upon entry, requires us to tap into youthful, unadulterated creativity

  • At times, liminal space is an unsettled place that challenges us to prime ourselves for discomfort, generative conflict, and inevitable human contradiction

  • Liminal space is a many-mirrored place, inviting time for deep personal and group reflection. Transformative change can only happen as quickly and deeply as the work we are doing in our own lives to unlearn controlling and harmful behavior and thinking. 

This list is by no means exhaustive; it represents a few of the building blocks that I have learned and continue to practice along my own journey. 

In this moment, we are being called to sense our way in the dark in order to experience lasting, persistent freedom on the other side. Liminal space is a commitment to stumbling well, together.

Welcome in. 

 
Lisa Sargent