Physical Light as a Metaphor for Inner Light
This work addresses the challenge of visualizing elusive psychological concepts for therapeutic and educational purposes, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing metaphorical traditions.
The paper tackles the problem of representing psychological states and interpersonal dynamics by developing a system that uses optical principles as a metaphor for inner experiences, resulting in art installation and virtual reality projects like Light and Enlightenment and Soultracker.
The metaphor between physical light and inner light has a long history that permeates diverse languages and cultures. This paper outlines a system for using basic principles from optics to visually represent psychological states and processes such as ideation, enlightenment, mindfulness, and fragmentation versus integrity, as well as situations that occur between people involving phenomena such as honest versus deceptive communication, and understanding versus misunderstanding. The paper summarizes two ongoing projects based on this system: The Light and Enlightenment art installation project, and the Soultracker virtual reality project. These projects enable people to depict their inner lives and external worlds including situations and relationships with others, both as they are and as they could be, and explore alternative paths for navigating challenges and living to their fullest potential. The projects aim to be of clinical value as therapeutic tools, as well as of pedagogical value by providing a concrete language for depicting aspects of human nature that can otherwise seem elusive and intangible.