The Imaginal Life
“If ever there was a time and a place to reconnect with Imagination, that place is here, and that time is now. Humanity stands at a crossroads, one direction leading to worse destruction, the other to the endless possible.”
— Dr. Stephen Aizenstat, The Imagination Matrix
Discussing the importance of imagination, Rose Marie Yenko, clinical psychologist, OD Consultant and Chair Emeritus of the Carl Jung Center Circle, shared with me this impromptu response.
“Fruits of imagination abound in our world. One can think of Steve Jobs and his early creations — the candy-colored computers and their beautiful keyboard icon designs. The small and sleek iPod. And the invention of the mind-blowing iPhone then. One can think of Hanunuo Mangyan’s ambahan, and this lyrical seven syllable poetry written on bamboo tubes and placed along nature trails for one’s beloved serenade.
“One can think of pop-up books that awe children… One can think of a simple hymn, ‘Amazing Grace,’ that moves one to weep. One can think of a major city transformation, like Iloilo City that was moved by a concerted collective, purposive, and intentional commitment to a vision that was started. In another country, Dubai has shown us what imagination can create — a flourishing of a lifestyle and an economy that is limited only by what can be imagined,” Ms. Yenko explained.
“My imagination has always set me free. It has made me create scenarios that have propelled me into action. The images in my head have sustained visions of what is possible and have tended dreams one small step at a time until they become realities. My country home design came from a home featured in a ’90s magazine, heightened in imagination by magazine clippings and photos. And now my country home has become a reality, with a particular look and feel as desired.”
Ms. Yenko recalled a wonderful trip to Istanbul that was prompted by watching an old movie featuring a heist of the Topkapi Palace.
The importance of imagination is the focus of the work of the esteemed educator, psychotherapist Dr. Stephen Aizenstat. He is an author, a consultant to leaders and movers, and the Founding President of Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, California, an institute that is well-known for its graduate programs in the field of Depth Psychology, Mythology, and the Humanities. He is a specialist in working with images and imagination. His work on images builds on the pioneering work on dreams by Carl Jung. He works with Hollywood film writers.
Dr. Aizenstat’s major book, Dream Tending, gives the individual who dreams an attitude and a way of working with images in his dreams. This book has impacted thousands of students and individuals. The evolution of his work has progressed to images and imagination.
Another one of his major books, The Imagination Matrix: How to Access the Greatest Power You Have for Creativity, Connection, and Purpose, is the focus of his lecture-workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
“An Imaginal Life: the Masterclass” (a face-to-face session) is ideal for leaders and influential individuals who want to transform society, the community, and institutions that need to adapt to a new world. It will encourage the shift of one’s “rational consciousness to another pathway of generative solutions.”
It will present actual cases, with engaging discussions and an experiential activity to appreciate the nature and power of imagination and deepen understanding and skills for using imaginal intelligence.
“This trailblazing pathway has been carved by the imagination-based curriculum that Harvard Business School instituted in 2011, the creativity incubators embedded in many corporations, the image-centered psychological treatment programs, the application of imaginal thinking applications of the infusion of imagination in business and other endeavors,” Ms. Yenko said.
“There is a global emphasis on growing our imaginal capacities to pull human evolution into its abundant future on a collective and individual level.
“The Imagination Matrix is a discipline, one of cultivation of the imagination. It is a guide, a template to heighten one’s imagination strengths and resources,” she said.
Key topics and activities during the lecture-workshop include: 1.) Inner preparation: activating the curious mind, and one’s archetypal allies; 2.) The Imagination Matrix: Presentation of its Four Grids and the Principle Confluence with an experiential activity to immerse oneself in the Matrix; and, 3.) Reflections on applying the Matrix to one’s organization.
This event is meaningful to many of us who dream big and have active imaginations. It is significant to those who wish to learn to deepen their understanding of others and the world and enrich their inner and professional lives.
“An Imaginal Life: the Masterclass” with Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D. will be held on Feb. 11, 1-4:30 p.m., at the function room of the Park Terraces Condominium, West St. corner Arnaiz Ave., Makati. For details visit https//jung circlecenter.com, or contact Rose (rosemarie_yenko@yahoo.com) or Oliver (0922-887-8757).
Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.
