Liminality is the state of being in the betwixt and between. A good illustration to use is a doorway. If I stand in the doorway I am no longer outside of the room, yet I am not in the room itself. I am in the middle. A clear example of a liminal experience is a pilgrimage, where the pilgrim has left the safety of their home and not yet arrived at their destination. It is part of a rite of passage. A liminal experience happens in mid-transition in a rite of passage. You are stripped of power and authority and you are outside of social structure.
The stage of life am in is a liminal experience. I am 20 years old. I am not a child or even a teenager anymore. I am legally considered an adult. I can vote and be tried as an adult in court but there are other things in society that I am restricted from. I cannot consume alcohol. Many people say you become an adult when you turn 21 but I will not yet be free from my parents aid and I will not be supporting myself yet. The age of true adulthood seems to be a mystery in our culture. I am in a liminal stage where I am no longer a child but not an adult.
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