Interlude XXVIII - Metaphor as Neural Bridge: How Meaning Crosses from Body to Mind

In this interlude of The Observable Unknown, Dr. Juan Carlos Rey continues the Language Arc by examining how language does not merely describe reality, but actively organizes perception, emotion, and possibility.

Drawing from linguistics, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind, this episode explores how metaphor, grammar, and semantic framing shape the way consciousness encounters the world. Research in psycholinguistics and neuroscience suggests that the words we habitually use quietly guide attention, memory, and emotional interpretation long before deliberate reasoning begins.

Listeners are guided through how linguistic structures influence moral judgment, time perception, identity formation, and even bodily experience. From studies on metaphor processing in the brain to cross-cultural research on how different languages encode agency, causality, and responsibility, this interlude shows that language functions as a perceptual instrument rather than a neutral label-maker.

Dr. Rey reflects on how symbolic systems become internal architectures. Language becomes the scaffolding upon which thought stabilizes, fragments, or evolves. When language changes, the self subtly reorganizes. This has implications for therapy, education, spiritual practice, and cultural dialogue, particularly in moments of crisis or transformation.

Interlude XXVIII invites the listener to notice how words move through the body and mind, how phrases rehearse reality before action occurs, and how silence itself becomes meaningful once language loosens its grip.

This episode is part of an ongoing inquiry into consciousness, meaning, and the biological foundations of inner life, offered with scholarly care and contemplative pacing.

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