3 Ways Liminal Spaces Encourage Creative Breakthroughs

Entering liminal spaces can accelerate creative breakthroughs.

Ethnographer Arnold van Gennep coined the term ‘liminal’ to describe the transitional stage in the rites of passage of traditional societies.

During the liminal stage, subjects no longer hold their pre-ritual status, but haven't yet transitioned to the status they'll hold once the rite is complete.

In a broader sense, liminality is used to describe any in-between state, whether spatial, social, or psychological.

Liminal spaces encourage creativity because:

1. They dissolve traditional structures

Liminal spaces aren’t constrained by everyday rules or conventions.

This promotes a more fluid state, where the free play of ideas fosters new connections.

Things normally kept apart can collide, which can lead to new insights.

2. They invite new perspectives

Liminal spaces encourage you to see the world differently.

They break routines, leading to fresh angles and unexpected encounters.

This can generate novel ideas and new perspectives that you can apply to other areas of life.

3. They're ambiguous and uncertain

When meaning or identity dissolves, it brings about the possibility of new interpretations.

Uncertainty can lead to experimentation, prompting you to think and act differently.

This can challenge assumptions and create new structures or frameworks.

Enter liminal spaces for creative growth

By dissolving structures, inviting new perspectives and fostering ambiguity and uncertainty, liminal spaces encourage new connections and ways of thinking.

If you enter them willingly, you'll grow creatively, psychologically, and spiritually.