Metaphors are often thought of as colorful augmenting features of language. However, a large body of scholarship shows that ordinary “literal” language is infused with metaphors. It is impossible to think, feel, or act without the use of metaphors. In fact, the evolution of the human mind may have depended on the use of metaphors. The words we use are not “dead” and the concepts they point to can contribute to stress, mental suffering, and unhappiness. If we can be aware of the metaphors we use and develop the skill to generate new mindfulness-based metaphors we can enrich our ability to be present in the clinical encounter and help our patients and clients to transform their distress in beneficial ways.

This workshop, taught by Dr. Arnold Kozak, integrates metaphors with mindfulness-based wisdom to provide a powerful lens for understanding wellness, distress, and the change process. Since 1992, I have had a keen interest in using metaphors in my clinical work. This interest has recently culminated in the publication of my book: Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom, 2009). In this workshop, we will explore metaphors in the work of Lakoff and Johnson, Jaynes, Nietzsche, Pinker, and others. We will investigate how to use the enriched understanding that metaphors provide in the therapeutic context and work to develop new metaphors for meeting the therapeutic needs of our patients, clients, and institutions. We will accomplish this, in part, by reviewing metaphors for mind, self, “ordinary craziness,” and acceptance. These metaphors for mindfulness taken from Kozak (2009) can help patients and clients to work more efficiently with their minds, understand the nature of self and distress, and help to better manage their struggles through insight and acceptance.

A special workshop will be offered twice at the Exquisite Mind Studio. These workshops will be intimate ways to learn the clinical utility of mindfulness. Enrollment is limited to 15 professionals. The workshops run from 9:00 to 4:30 and offer 6 CE hours. Cost is $125 (does not include lunch). For more details, Click here. To register, send a check to Arnold Kozak, 127 St. Paul Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401.