About Metaphors of Movement

Metaphors of Movement (MoM) is an approach developed by Andrew T. Austin that explores how people describe their experience of problems, relationships and possibilities for movement. It pays particular attention to the metaphorical and idiomatic language of everyday life, including expressions of being stuck, under pressure or unable to move forward.

The work developed from Austin's background in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and hypnotherapy. Its emphasis is on the person's present experience and the patterns within their description of a situation. It has applications in individual work and in the exploration of organisational and business relationships.

Attention to present experience

A desired outcome describes how someone would like things to be. It does not, by itself, describe the situation they currently face. MoM therefore gives close attention to the organisation of a person's present experience, including their sense of position, direction, relationship and restriction.

This also distinguishes a change in how someone feels during a conversation from a change in the situation or in how they respond to it. Feeling better and living differently may be related, but they are not interchangeable descriptions.

Metaphor, idiom and interpretation

Everyday expressions can contain more detail than a general emotional label. To say that someone feels bad tells us less about their experience than the particular way they describe being stuck, weighed down or pulled in different directions.

MoM takes an interest in these distinctions. A person's description is considered in its own context, rather than being replaced immediately by an explanation supplied by the listener. The details of the metaphor matter, as does the difference between what someone actually describes and what another person assumes it means.

Idiomatic communication is central to this interest in language. Familiar expressions can communicate aspects of experience that might otherwise pass unnoticed. Their relevance depends on the particular description and context, rather than simply on whether an expression sounds apt or memorable.

The Movement/Historia Illius Itineris

Historia Illius Itineris, also known as "The Movement", is a related project developed by Austin. It explores connections between metaphor, psychodrama and Western esoteric traditions.

MoM was first presented in Colorado in 2009, and the name "Metaphors of Movement" was given to the work by Steve Andreas. By 2012, Austin had considered organising its growing subject areas into sections such as Metaphors of Business, Metaphors of Emotion and Metaphors of Music. That proposed structure did not fully materialise.

During 2012-2013, Austin developed a separate project around correspondences he identified between MoM and Western occult traditions. The Movement adopted the form of an initiatory order, with learning through dramatic experience. The Compass diagram forms part of its system of correspondences.

A May 2015 account recorded the completion of rituals for the first three degrees. For information about the project, see Historia Illius Itineris.

Using this wiki

This wiki provides background reading on language, metaphor, stories and cultural imagery. These resources complement the training; they do not provide a procedure for conducting MoM sessions. The literary and cultural associations of an image are useful subjects of study, but do not by themselves establish what that image means in a particular person's experience.

See also Metaphor Categories, Situational Relational Positioning and Metaphors of Emotion. Course information is available at Metaphors Training.

Video

Andrew T. Austin discusses the development of Metaphors of Movement with Dale Turnbull. This interview provides the creator's account of the approach and its influences; the official MoM website also features the recording.

A brief History of Metaphors of Movement - An Interview with Andrew T. Austin and Dale Turnbull (20:33). Published by Metaphors of Movement USA & Friends.

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Concepts and language

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