Imagination as a Tool of Wisdom and Transformation
Introductory Lecture from Visiting Scholar Craig Chalquist
We usually think of the land as a backdrop to human affairs. But in ancient tales, places and their creatures show up as vital characters in the story. What do hills and fields say? Streams and rivers? Geology? How do all these and other eco-presences show up in our moods, our struggles, even in our dreams? What are our homes and roads trying to tell us?
During his 3-month residency at The New School in summer of 2025, Craig Chalquist invited us all to explore how imagination has been used in many times and cultures as a path toward redemptive, transformative knowledge and new practice—and how we might engage imagination today to re-envision our relationships to ourselves and the land all around us.
In this introductory event with Craig, meet him, and learn how imagination has been used in various traditions as a source of wisdom and change-making. To prepare for this lecture, bring an example of a dream with some aspect of nature in it. What about this dream inspires(d) you? How has that inspiration changed you?
Craig Chalquist, PhD
Craig Chalquist, Ph.D. is program director of Consciousness, Psychology, and Transformation at National University and a former associate provost and several other administrative and leadership roles. His background includes group counseling, depth psychology, mythology, ecopsychology, terrapsychology, and philosophy and wisdom studies. He presents, publishes, and teaches at the intersection of psyche, story, nature, reenchantment, and imagination. He has published more than twenty books, including the hopeful Lamplighter Trilogy. His motto is: “Converse with everything!” Visit Chalquist.com.
Recommended Episodes
Bridging Mind and Nature
Reclaiming Wildness: Introductory Lecture
Walk, Dream, Write: Writing Workshop