There is a pole star of the world of metaphor. I have long been seeking it and I would go so far as to say I have been with it… on a number of occasions. But my understanding of it remains shrouded in feedback (for what I hope are obvious reasons) and mystery…

Something I find fascinating is the capacity of the experience of insight to catalyze the sudden integration of metaphors from multiple domains, resulting in a far more general understanding. Though it is general, this revolving gestalt can perform with shocking efficiency in related subdomains, and may also outperform modes of native expertise within them.

Now if you think about this, that there’s a way to think more generally that has more power and efficacy than highly specialized ‘expert’ approaches… or even one that can dramatically magnify the prowess of those existing approaches…

…it appears to me that there is a tree-structure… and at its base, or apex, as you prefer… there is a root element. It is difficult to explain how momentous this is. If it is true… and we can locate it… we can modulate it. If you do not immediately see what this might mean, I will not attempt to explain it here.

Problem is, from all I can ascertain… it’s not a word or concept; the shining singularity at the root of metaphor is not like any token or word-class we possess.

It is approximately a very unique form of being who comprises some kind of relational metaposition to our commonly experienced reality. And I do not mean God. That’s a possibly related but distinct… set of mysteries.