What is liminal space?

Inspiration

This came up in a few of the career coaching webinars that I took. They were describing the “messy middle” of a career transition.

Findings

The source website listed the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a liminal space because we were leaving our old ways of living and we didn’t yet know what the future looked like.

Liminal spaces are the thresholds between two states. As we’re not currently in a destination, we can fully relax. We’re still in transition from somewhere to somewhere. Until things are settled, calm, sorted we don’t know how they’ll turn out.

Liminal space is the uncertain transition between where you’ve been and where you’re going physically, emotionally, or metaphorically. To be in a liminal space means to be on the precipice of something new but not quite there yet.

Examples of physical liminal spaces

• Airports
• Hallways
• Doorways
• Trains
• Airplanes
• Bridges

Examples of emotional liminal spaces

• Divorce
• Moving
• Death of a loved one
• Graduations
• Illness

Source: Very Well mind

Etymology

From the Latin limen for “threshold.”

1. Psychology. of, relating to, or situated at the limen, the threshold at which a stimulus begins to produce an effect
2. of or relating to a transitional or intermediate state, stage, or period

Comments

• 2024-05-20
  • I wonder if being high from a psychedelic can be considered a liminal space? You’ve left your known mental state for a trip of a somewhat unknown duration and you won’t know what the outcome will be. There’s uncertainly there, and that can cause fear and anxiety.
  • The source website suggests embracing the current state of being in a liminal space because you can’t change it, but you must accept that it’s where you are now.