“The greatest forces lie in the region of the uncomprehended.”
~ George MacDonald
How many doorways do you walk through on an average day?
Five? Fifty? One Hundred?
Modern life is filled with these thresholds, yet we pay very little attention to them—unless of course you walked right into a glass door because you were staring at your smartphone.
But I started thinking about doorways and thresholds in general after I saw the Threshold PracticeTM by Kim Orr. The main thrust of the practice is to become aware of thresholds by pausing as you walk through doorways. Watch Kim perform the practice in this short video.
I tried this practice and found it amazingly effective in helping me remain present and centered throughout my day.
The practice also reminded me of my interest in spiritual thresholds. While studying for my graduate degree in theology, I came across the term “liminality” which comes from the Latin “limen” meaning threshold.
In the context of Liturgy, liminality describes how public worship and rituals provide a doorway or threshold to the transcendent and immanent reality of God.
But thresholds aren’t just confined to doorways and religion. In popular culture, we’re fascinated with thresholds—we just don’t know it. Think Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King’s Cross station in London where Harry Potter and other Hogwarts students can catch the train to school. Or the magical wardrobe that connects this world to the world of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia. Or the rabbit hole from Lewis Carroll’s Adventures of Alice in Wonderland.
What do all these thresholds have in common?
- Thresholds connect worlds, from the ordinary to the extraordinary—being neither quite here nor there.
- Thresholds are often hiding in plain sight. You usually have to stumble upon it.
- There’s a return journey to the ordinary world. However, you return as a transformed version of yourself—stronger, wiser, kinder.
The doorway to your transformation
Thresholds are ubiquitous, even archetypal. Maybe that’s why we barely notice them. But if we took just a moment to pay attention to thresholds, how might they help us see all those moments we take for granted as extraordinary. How might they transform our lives?
Take a moment to meditate on these thresholds:
- The period between sleeping and waking.
- A near death experience.
- The birth of a child.
- Waiting for a diagnosis.
- The space between the in-breath and out-breath.
- An aha moment.
- Love at first sight.
- A religious or spiritual awakening.
- Starting a new career.
- Twilight.
Pay attention to the spiritual thresholds that weave together the moments of your life.
Pay attention to how you’re constantly straddling between worlds.
Pay attention to spaces in-between things.
For it is in these places where the richness of life can be found.
This would make an interesting book. A slim,small read-enough to leave the reader looking for threshholds.
Hi Cheryl, I agree! Maybe I’ll pursue that idea…if I’m up to the task 🙂
Oh Cylon! This is so beautifully and thoughtfully stated! Thank you for elaborating on Thresholds and their importance. And you just crossed a wondrous one — waiting for the birth of a child! Your list of the liminal times of days and our lives is a great way for people to have something concrete to begin to think about and work with thresholds. Well done!
Best,
Kim
Hi Kim,
That’s right! Thank you 🙂 I’m crossing the threshold of fatherhood once more. Thank you for creating and sharing this wonderful practice.
Hello Cylon,
That was a magical read – thank you.
So much we don’t notice because we are focusing on ourselves and our worries and ambitions and such. Thus, we miss the important experiences by not seeing, feeling – being aware.
Thank you again.
Hi Zara,
Glad you enjoyed it…you’re most welcome. Yes, true how we miss so much…even me. Part of my practice is being grateful for the times when I can remember (or am reminded) to pay attention.
New “threshold” news from you?? Spill it! Keeping your family in prayer.
Back to your post… when I saw the picture posted with this post, I smiled and felt lighter… The threshold of this world and another. Like losing yourself in the Harry Potter books. Reading them was magical and in some way that I can’t quite touch… life changing. (To a lesser extent for me, was Narnia) Toward the end, I started recognizing the spirituality in Harry Potter. My favorite “word” (place) in those books is Diagon Alley. Now put it together… Diagonally – weaving the real with the fantasy… Threshold. I love that you used a Harry Potter reference.
Hi Eva…yes experiencing my own threshold here with a new baby! Thank you 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the post and the Harry Potter reference!
this is a timely read for me, as I am working on navigating to, and through, some thresholds in my life. It reminds me of one of my favorite books, “The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler,” whose protagonist explains that she wants to return home “different, not differently.”