An Experiential Method to Envision the Future
Abstract
As humans we are urged to imagine and realise radically different, more desirable, and most importantly more sustainable futures (Hulme 2020; Pereira et al. 2019). However, the dominance of dystopian scenarios of irreversible environmental and social collapse, along with business- as-usual scenarios, hinder progress and contribute to a gap in futures literature relating to imagining desirable visions for humanity and how to reach them (Bennett et al. 2016; Rana et al. 2020). In this short paper, I share an experiential, meditation-inspired visioning exercise that can aid in enhancing people’s capacity to envision desirable and motivational futures.
How to Cite
Published
Issue
Section
References
Bennett, E. M., Solan, M., Biggs, R., McPhearson, T., Norström, A. V., Olsson, P., Pereira, L., Peterson, G. D., Raudsepp-Hearne, C., Biermann, F., Carpenter, S. R., Ellis, E. C., Hichert, T., Galaz, V., Lahsen, M., Milkoreit, M., Martin López, B., Nicholas, K. A., Preiser, R., … Xu, J. Bright spots: Seeds of a good Anthropocene. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 14 , no.148 (2020): 441–448. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1309.
Colzato, L. S., Ozturk, A., & Hommel, B. Meditate to Create: The Impact of Focused-Attention and Open-Monitoring Training on Convergent and Divergent Thinking. Frontiers in Psychology, no. 3 (2012). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00116.
Hulme, M. One Earth, Many Futures, No Destination. One Earth 2 , no. 4 (2020): 309–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.03.005.
Pereira, L., Sitas, N., Ravera, F., Jimenez-Aceituno, A., & Merrie, A. "Building capacities for transformative change towards sustainability: Imagination in Intergovernmental Science-Policy Scenario Processes“. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 7, no. 35 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.374.
Rana, S., Ávila-García, D., Dib, V., Familia, L., Gerhardinger, L.C., Martin, E., Martins, P. I., Pompeu, J., Selomane, O., Tauli, J. I., Tran, D. H. T., Valle, M., Below, J. von, & Pereira, L. M. „The voices of youth in envisioning positive futures for nature and people.“ Ecosystems and People 16 , no. 1 (2020): 326–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2020.1821095.
van der Duin, P. (2016). Foresight in Organizations: Methods and Tools . New York, NY. Routledge.
Wiek, A., & Iwaniec, D. "Quality criteria for visions and visioning in sustainability science." Sustainability Science 9 , no. 4, (2014): 497–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-013-0208-6.