Liminality can be strangely unsettling.

Our brains crave predictability. So when we enter those in-between phases of life, we experience what feels like an eerie suspension of reality. Neither here nor there, not myself nor me transformed, only a vortex of the unknown.

Yet it is within these spaces where we can lose the remnants of ourselves that need to cease to exist. We can empty out to create anew. Embrace the void with the trust that something transformed awaits on the other side.

What if we could suspend ourselves more often on purpose to ease the anxiety of that next plunge into an unknown abyss?

Take a 5 minute break….

INSIGHT (what we need)

Better prepare for the unknown by habituating anxiety as possibility.

We aren’t well-equipped for those in-between states of uncertainty. Our entire distributed brain is wired to read patterns that support our survival: from how we avoid danger, to how we acquire resources, to how we continue the species. Not having answers or options puts our system on high alert to get our sh*t together quickly with a resolution. States of euphoria or unconsciousness are nature’s adaptation to our brains not being able to deal with phases of unpredictability. Especially when our survival is at stake. But when our safety is not in question and we’re just dealing with a transition, these periods of uncertainty are rife with opportunity.

Liminality describes that prolonged phase of suspension between a former reality and an unknown one. Coined by anthropologist Victor Turner in the 1970s, this term is characterized by ambiguity, disorientation, and a sense of being “in-between.” You know the feeling: the person you thought you loved and recognized just became another person, the job you had given 80% of your waking hours to just let you go, the news you were expecting to receive just threw a curve ball rendering your plans moot. These moments can either put us into abject terror and bewilderment, or allow for a restructuring of new perspectives and possibilities. What now? How am I going to navigate this next horizon? What’s even the next step? Who will I be? Holy forks, I need a glass of wine…

Transition phases are a form of shared collective anxiety and inspiration. We all had a bit of practice of prolonged liminality during Covid:  that anxious space between no longer and not yet. Some were able to find comfort in the idea that the liminal provides us very fertile ground for creativity to emerge and move through us, finding means of expression during that time.  Able to relax into right now instead of resisting things out of our control. We can extend some latitude to leave behind that which is no longer and settle into the liminal for inspiration. Then begin to move towards what’s next with new intention.

We learn to reconfigure our sense of self at these threshold crossings. They represent the opportunity for someone to grasp harder at a former self and double down on one’s constricting personalities …or open up to a possible Me 2.0. The penultimate liminal space for this is of course meditation. Of which there are ways to practice in groups. Yet there is a difference between people gathering to meditate together within their individual experience: and the more collective spaces to practice liminality open-eyed and present to each other. These are less mainstream – and perhaps cause brow-raising allergies from poorly facilitated 5-min eye stare circles.

The liminal space can be designed on purpose to see each other differently. This perceived space of liminality represents an open field of possibility where new realities can take shape as we train our internal observers to experience the present moment with less anxiety and more attention. And realization that the next unfolding moment is dictated by the observed present. Like all negative spaces, it is a ripe territory for design: creating the spaces and structures of liminality in our daily lives on purpose, rather than be blindsided by the scary unknown. Knowing the experience can be shared makes it less scary.

We can get used to the sensations and cues of anxiety the more we design time and space for their own purpose. Cruising over our paralytic freeze. This is perhaps why rollercoasters and haunted houses are so fun for some: prolonging a fear state until it shifts into excitement. With similar affect in the body, these excitatory sensations can be a reminder that we are always moving from one moment to the next. Some times crystal clear about what we’re doing…some times totally clueless or caught off guard. Either way, we can take it all in with a sense of awe!

INSPIRATION (what we want)

Liminal Collective: a group of human performance experts who take leaders beyond conventional learning to stretch what’s possible. 

From speaking events, leadership cohorts, to moonshot advisory, this team of world class experts and peak performers study the boundaries and edges of human possibility. 

• Prepare to accomplish audacious endeavors that inform and inspire humanity by engaging in our highest potential as individuals working together in powerful collaborations.

• Cultivate essential traits such as resilience, adaptability, and the ability to perform under pressure without knowing the outcome. 

• Experience accelerated trust, improved communication, and enhanced team dynamics by relying on the unspoken truths.

• Boost grit, and redefine success in a way that aligns with your unique goals and values.

• Cross the threshold from the familiar into the extreme, unknown or unexplored to realize the massive potential that lies inside and out. 

INNOVATION (what we wish for)

Parting Words: an immersive and interactive social art installation on the last words of wisdom from the dying on a life well lived. 

• Located in airports — inherently locations of transition and often disconnected movement — to strike a moment of contemplation in one’s busy journey from point A to point B. 

• Making visible a collective inevitability (death) that is often repressed in busy modern life and giving it aesthetic credence for people of all ages to experience alone and together.

• Designed to be both sobering and uplifting, the installations are darkened spaces of exploration with white light highlighting various phrases or paths to follow. 

• Created in the pun of a traveler’s “final destination” with themes of discarded baggage, departure terminals and last calls.

• Visitors are surrounded by wise parting words of real people interviewed in their last stages on the meaning of life.

• Designed to ‘wake up’ the living traveler and leave them with something to contemplate before they board their planes into another liminal suspension of time before their arrival. 

• Countless research on final words and wishes of people in their final moments culminate to a common theme of love and forgiveness: both giving and asking.

• In our longevity-crazed exponential world, these beautifully quiet lo-tech liminal spaces in busy travel hubs are a fleeting reminder of how precious our time is and why we need to pay more attention.