The Imaginal Institute

IDEA Consulting

Imagination • Dialogue • Evaluation • Action

Now, that's an IDEA.

We work with both individuals and groups (both corporate and community) to bring ideas to life. Using as transparent a facilitation process as possible, our work -- and play -- is to help people find keys to opening their creativity and moving forward in their lives. We utilize a five step process:

• Imagination occurs in infinite space
• Dialogue is the art of thinking together
• Evaluation is looking carefully at our work and goals
• Action, of course, brings what is imagined to life

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Imagination is the beginning of creation.
You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine;
and at last you create what you will.
George Bernard Shaw

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Imagination

At IDEA Consulting, we believe you can go as far as you imagine.

Sometimes that's easier said than done. We can find ourselves blocked or shut down such that it doesn't seem possible to think of alternatives to our current situations. This can happen both in our own lives and in our communities, and until we can envision other possibilities, we are stuck in old patterns, unable to move forward.

That's where IDEA can help. Beginning by working the imagination is key -- if you can't imagine new ways of thinking, working, and playing, you're not going anywhere. When you get your imagination stoked and moving freely, two very important things happen. First, you move from a reactionary, "what am I going to do now" position of stress, and instead can see problem solving as a creative opportunity. When we are creating something, even though ithe process is not necessarily easy, it is generative. Second, for whatever reason, when you move into believing that all things are possible, the universe seems to respond in kind -- generative energy begets generative energy. We don't know why this is true (no crystals, incantations, or runes involved), but in our experience, it repeatedly happens. Perhaps it's simply because we notice different opportunities and have more energy to pursue them.

Dialogue

So, how about that dialogue stuff? If you're working in a group, it's fairly self-evident. Any ideas, great or small, must get communicated effectively to gain momentum. And true dialogue, what William Isaacs, author of Dialogue: the Art of Thinking Together, defines as "a conversation with a center, not sides," is key to that communication. When we learn how to think together, we learn how to imagine together, and get the benefit of the collective intelligence of the group.

Interested in doing work in your own life? Dialogue is still important, whether it's with your friends and colleagues, or within yourself. Learning to work through our dreams and hopes as well as our fears in the context of a dialogue (rather than having the fear monsters monologue ourselves right out of what we want!) is an important part of moving forward. We have fears for legitimate reasons, and when we figure out how to engage them rather than either ignore them or allow them to be dream killers, we can work towards what we want both idealistically and realistically.

Evaluation

Again, another key part of the process, whether working in individually or in groups. Done well, both thoughtfully and imaginatively, evaluation can help us to understand where our imagining has power and where it still needs work. It can help us plot our course into the infinite, helping us to ground ourselves even as we reach towards the stars, so our plans are cohesive and attainable.

Action

Action is the moment that the imagination makes the leap to creativity -- it is when we move from ideas into crafting reality. Without action, an imaginal process is an engaging past time, and can be in itself a therapeutic escape from the world for a bit, but it won't move us forward. We'll help you chart your course and stay with you as you follow it!

 

Interested in getting a jolt of IDEA?
For more information please email us.

 

Check out some of our clients here.