Boolean doesn’t work in the world all the time. It does work in many aspects of life: for e.g. whether you want tea or coffee. Even in that case, you might want neither. So there are three values, right? Tea, Coffee, or None. Nevertheless, the world often has multiple shades of grey that are not always exactly quantized accurately for every individual observer. How do you handle that world? How do you learn to live in the world? It is here where I believe that metaphorical thinking helps.
Art is an important part of life. I truly wish no matter what somebody’s profession is, that everybody pursues some art. The power of art is that it plays to the element of the heart, and teaches us the way to look at life as poetry.
Now, why is poetry interesting? Poetry is important because the language of poetry is not the language in which it is written but the underlying symbols: similes and metaphors that it portrays. That kind of thinking opens up certain portions of the brain that give a relief from Boolean thinking. Boolean thinking is important in the world of science and science is important for progress in life. However, when we temper science with art it helps us learn to live in this world no matter what our circumstances are. If we learn to understand or imbibe some sense of metaphorical thinking then we can learn to dance along with the dance of life. We might all not be able to break into tango or salsa or whatever it is that some of our friends might be good at, but most importantly if we get in tune with the art that excites us that will bring in us a sort of feeling that cannot always be expressed in words. It could be a poem, photo or video that we like. It could be dance. It could be instrumental music. It could be simply taking a walk in a trail, a place of architectural marvel, or in the wilderness and observing the beauty around us. No matter what it is, it is something that opens up the heart elements in the brain.
Our world will be calmer and more peaceful if more people spend time studying art and something that opens up the metaphorical third eye.
#metaphor #thirdeye #art #metaphoricalthinking
Mirror Aware 