Free flowing

Water is a metaphor for things that flow together without clear borders, and for things that constantly change and defy definitions and categories. What part of your life would be better if it were more free-flowing, more like water?

This week's theme is water.

The road ahead

On the road of life, where are you now: on an uphill stretch, a downhill stretch, a hilltop, or a valley?

The missing ingredient

It's a metaphor: Imagine that you are a master chef creating the delicious concoction that is your life. What ingredient do you need more of in your life, in order to make it a richer, smoother, and tastier experience?

What part of the (dream) home

Is the home in your dreams usually a happy and enlivening place, or is it more often a place of problems and conflicts?

Think of a recent dream in which your home itself had a particular problem (such as water flowing, or a big hole in a wall) or unexpected potential (such as finding a treasure, or discovering a room that you never knew was there). What happened in the dream?

What part of your home was the focal point of the dream's events? In the comparable part of your dayworld home, is there anything noteworthy or significant? What might that part of a home mean as a metaphor?

This week's theme is dream places.

The center of your universe

It was a step forward in understanding the universe — but a blow to human egos — when scientists grasped that the earth is not the center of everything; it revolves around the sun. We now know that the sun is not the center of the universe, either; it is just one of many stars orbiting a galactic center.

If you can temporarily put aside seeing yourself as the center of your life's activities, who or what does your life revolve around? What stands in the center of your universe?

This week's theme is the sun.

Bright and sunny

Who is the sunniest person you know?

When are you in your most cheerful frame of mind? What places or circumstances make you happy and radiant?

This week's theme is the sun.

Sunrise

There are many kinds of sunrises. When you watch the sun rise, it might be a quiet and peaceful moment when you take the time to appreciate the beauty of the world. Or it might just be a bright light glaring in your eyes as you drive to work.

Where you you the last time you saw a sunrise? What kind of sunrise was it? What kind of day was it?

This week's theme is the sun.

Getting in tune

For beginning guitarists a few decades ago, tuning a guitar was a slow and frustrating chore. Untrained ears struggled to tease out fine distinctions of flat and sharp. And after several minutes, you might just give up and say, "I know that's not quite right, but it's close enough."

But digital tuners changed the whole game. A tuner's lights tell you whether a string is sharp or flat, and by precisely how much. And when you get a string's tuning right, the tuner will give you a decisive thumbs-up. Tuning a guitar might still be a chore, but with a tuner, it's a quick chore, and the results are always good.

What chore in your life could benefit from the equivalent of a guitar tuner? Where would you like to replace fuzzy, unreliable results with precision and certainty?

The state of your home

Where we live — and how we live — is very important, because it affects our state of mind. Often, it reflects our state of mind. This week we're going to examine how you deal with your stuff and your surroundings.

When you come to the entrance of your home, what kind of a feeling do you get? Do you think about the mess waiting behind the door and feel helpless about cleaning it up? Are you delighted to be about to enter your own perfect, private sanctuary from the world? Do you look forward to being there, or dread walking through the door? How do you feel about how the entryway actually looks from the outside?

This week's theme is the state of your home.

The place of success

Place names are often spoken metaphorically, for example as symbols of power (Red Square), centers of particular industries (Hollywood, Detroit, Wall Street), or icons of chaos (Bedlam) or security (Fort Knox). Generic places are used metaphorically too: mountaintop, watering hole, crossroads.

What place is a metaphor for success for you? When you think of a place that stands for great success, what place comes to mind first?