David Whyte

The world exists independent of human thought, but it is seen through the lenses of the mind. To understand the world we inhabit, we must clarify and engage our perceptions, refusing the temptation to turn away and create false abstracts that appear to offer us an easier existence. How much stress or unhappiness we undergo can depend on the qualities of perception that we cultivate. The way we treat and are treated by the world is partly determined by the state and depth of our critical and emotional intelligence,

Another important factor in how we perceive the world is the depth and breadth of our imagination. In this workshop, we will look closely at the role of the imagination as a faculty of perception - not as the ability to think up new things, but as a central integrative intelligence able to discern the complex patterns that surround individual human beings. To pay attention to this unique intelligence requires courage, as it often reveals the internal and external changes that are needed to meet newly understood circumstances. We will look at the way the imagination allows us to create a central leverage point from which to act; one that relies less on engaging the will and more on a way of being in the world that engages a rested, alert intelligence with the courage to simplify, to act and above all, to have a life worth living at the centre of our endeavors.

This workshop is dedicated to the memory of John O’Donohue and is an adaptation of a write-up he wrote shortly before his death.