A Metaphorestry Outing Journal
Who are you?
Angela Rydell
What is your project?
Metaphorestry is a deep connection with nature through metaphor. To practice metaphorestry you regularly invite meaningful natural metaphors into your life. I’m building a metaphorestry practice for myself and others. A metaphorestry practice can include metaphorestry meditation, journaling, daily ritual, creativity techniques, conversation prompts, and more. I plan to create coursework on various topics for aspiring metaphoresters. My first project is a Metaphorestry Outing Journal: a journaling process for finding metaphors while exploring the outdoors and inner landscapes. This will be purchasable as downloadable PDF and will be part of a metaphorestry course I will begin developing next.
Can we see some photos?
A link to your work:
A preview, snippet, or glimpse of your work in progress:
A preview of the intro (no prompts yet!):
BECOME A METAPHORESTER…
If you’re practicing metaphorestry you’re regularly inviting meaningful natural metaphors into your life.
Metaphorestry (n.) – A deep connection with the natural world through metaphor.
Nature nurtures. So can metaphor. Natural metaphors provide surprising insights into the outdoors and our own inner natures.
Keeping a journal is one of many ways to practice metaphorestry
Journals are useful tools for the aspiring metaphorester. You can use yours as a place to invent, collect, sketch, research, reflect and expand on metaphor inspired by your connection with the natural world.
Watch a leaf fall from a tree in your backyard or on your block, press it, tape it into your journal, sketch its trajectory as you reflect on the loss of a loved one. Touch a tree’s rough bark, get out your journal, ponder its thickness and your desire to thicken your own skin. Later, as you prepare for a difficult confrontation, research the properties of bark and carry your insights forward.
How to use your Metaphorestry Outing Journal
Go outdoors, reflect on a metaphor you find there, and explore connections between yourself and the natural world.
This Metaphorestry Outing Journal prompts active engagement with the outdoors and your inner nature, guided by metaphor (more in the link above)
What will you ship at the end of 6 months?
I’d like to ship a completed journal—revised intro, reworked backdrops from my photos or the public domain, with prompts, exercises, additional supporting images, and examples of metaphors–and simple tips for how to construct metaphors–added.