Our conceptual system plays a central role in defining our everyday realities

"Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world, and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus plays a central role in defining our everyday realities. If we are right in suggesting that our conceptual system is largely metaphorical, then the way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor." (#60 125)
"Since communication is based on the same conceptual system that we use in thinking and acting, language is an important source of evidence for what that system is like." (#60 130)
"The idea that metaphors can create realities goes against most traditional views of metaphor. The reason is that metaphor has traditionally been viewed as a matter of mere language rather than primarily as a means of structuring our conceptual system and the kinds of everyday activities we perform." (#60 2536)
"Not surprisingly, the social reality defined by a culture affects its conception of physical reality. What is real for an individual as a member of a culture is a product both of his social reality and of the way in which that shapes his experience of the physical world. Since much of our social reality is understood in metaphorical terms, and since our conception of the physical world is partly metaphorical, metaphor plays a very significant role in determining what is real for us." (#60 2548)

truth for us is always relative to that conceptual system

"Since we understand situations and statements in terms of our conceptual system, truth for us is always relative to that conceptual system. Likewise, since an understanding is always partial, we have no access to "the whole truth" or to any definitive account of reality." (#60 3077)
"The fact that our conceptual system is inherently metaphorical, the fact that we understand the world, think, and function in metaphorical terms, and the fact that metaphors can not merely be understood but can be meaningful and true as well—these facts all suggest that an adequate account of meaning and truth can only be based on understanding." (#60 3148)
"truth is relative to our conceptual system, which is grounded in, and constantly tested by, our experiences and those of other members of our culture in our daily interactions with other people and with our physical and cultural environments." (#60 3283)

Metaphor is as much a part of our functioning as our sense of touch, and as precious

"But metaphors are not merely things to be seen beyond. In fact, one can see beyond them only by using other metaphors. It is as though the ability to comprehend experience through metaphor were a sense, like seeing or touching or hearing, with metaphors providing the only ways to perceive and experience much of the world. Metaphor is as much a part of our functioning as our sense of touch, and as precious." (#60 3950)

the heart of metaphor is inference

"The heart of metaphor is inference. Conceptual metaphor allows inferences in sensory-motor domains (e. g., domains of space and objects) to be used to draw inferences about other domains (e. g., domains of subjective judgment, with concepts like intimacy, emotions, justice, and so on). Because we reason in terms of metaphor, the metaphors we use determine a great deal about how we live our lives." (#60 3994)

meaning with context

"In addition to sentences that have no meaning without context, there are cases where a single sentence will mean different things to different people." (#60 263)