Where Tension Occurs
Terrains of tension name the regions of inner life where tension commonly appears.
These are referred to as terrains, not categories.
They describe where tension is felt — not what it means or how it should be fixed.
Multiple terrains may be inhabited at once.
Moving between them is not progress.
Remaining in one is not failure.
They are simply where friction occurs.
Terrains of Tension
- Identity Terrain
The tension between the familiar self and experiences that resist its boundaries.
Associated shape: Circle - Emotional Terrain
The tension created by opposing feelings, impulses, and forms of attachment.
Associated shape: Triangle - Cognitive Terrain
The tension between reasoning, understanding, knowing, and uncertainty.
Associated shape: Square - Behavioural Terrain
The tension between intention, habit, action, and resistance.
Associated shape: Star - Existential Terrain
The tension between ordinary life and the awareness of being alive within it.
Associated shape: Diamond
These terrains overlap and recur.
They are not milestones.
A terrain is a place of tension, not a step in a process.