The Possibility Project

"We have the need to be a part of a group. This is human. But it is different - belonging vs fitting it. We can belong, but if we fit in we cut off parts of ourselves. And this is all about the need to see what we do unconsciously to ourselves. That is the point of visuality exploration - to really see." Do we see "reality", or do we see only what we are exposed to, layered with our expectations of what we are going to see based on the conditioning of our past? Visual anticipation is very real, and the result is what art historian and UNESCO Chair Vicky Karaiskou calls "the visuality trap". This trap obscures the myriad of possibilities that there might be in any given moment as we filter what is available to be seen through the lens of what we have been conditioned to be allowed to see. In this conversation host Sarah Knight is joined by guest co-host David Mattson and Dr. Vicky Karaiskou. Dr. Karaiskou is UNESCO Chair on "Visual Anticipation and Futures literacy towards Visual Literacy" and Associate Professor in Art History at the Open University of Cyprus. This is the sixth conversation in the Possibility Studies Network Series. More on Vicky https://www.ouc.ac.cy/index.php/en/university/unesco-chair/the-chair/meet-the-chairholder and on her website (coming soon) https://vickykaraiskou.com/ Possibility Studies Network https://www.possibilitystudies.net/ Sarah https://www.humhealing.com/ David's blog https://typeshare.co/wonderblog

Yes, the Other-Than-Humans that we share the world with are always acting on us! In fact, it seems that our connection to our own lives arises out of how we are affected by our environment. "Affective participation is what connects us to the world...without affect there is no connection" says researcher Dr. Lena Gan, who shares her insights on how entangled we are with all of the elements in our environment, and how affected we are (or could be!) by the plants, animals, and things that we share our lives with. In this conversation with Dr. Gan and wonder researcher David Mattson, we discuss the potential for affective encounters with the other-than-humans in our lives on the levels of both personal well-being and societal change; how the perception of the flow of time and how (and what) we remember can change when we engage in this way of dialoging with our environment; and some practices for encouraging more personal availability for affective encounters in every day life. Dr. Lena Gan: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/individuals/lena-gan Possibility Studies Network: https://www.possibilitystudies.net/ Sarah: https://www.humhealing.com/

Creativity is generally seen as something that humans do to the things in their environment. But what if creativity is really a process where every thing in the environment is an acting agent equal to, and entangled with, the human agent? In this episode Possibility Studies Network member, Professor Pamela Burnard of the University of Cambridge in the UK, shares her insights on how the environment and every thing in it is always acting on us to inform our every creative act. She begins with her own beginnings, and the gift of landing into a family that couldn't place expectations on this unexpected child! Her availability to be acted upon by the world around her, and to respond to it's urgings (rather than to the urgings of familial and cultural "habitus"), comes through in her presence here. So as you listen do be as available as you can be, so that Pam's words can act upon you. Prof Pamela Burnard: https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/people/staff/burnard/. pab61(at)cam.ac.uk Possibility Studies Network: https://www.possibilitystudies.net/ Sarah: https://www.humhealing.com/

Who doesn't love a happy accident!? Serendipity is the unexpected thing that happens in the space between you and the world, that you have the ability to notice and take action on. In a time of many great global challenges when collectively we need all the help we can get, is there a way for each of us to intentionally create more serendipitous opportunity from seeming mishaps?  In this conversation, serendipity researcher Dr. Wendy Ross shares her thoughts on the roles of wisdom & skill, cultivated mess, attunement to the environment, time & perspective, risking failure AND having the practical and emotional resources to be able to absorb that failure, in the manifestation of the positive phenomenon that is serendipity. Possibility Studies Network online conference January 20/21 https://www.possibilitystudies.net/2025-online More on Dr. Wendy Ross https://www.wendyamross.co.uk/ and https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/profiles/staff/wendy-ross/ More on Sarah https://www.humhealing.com/

"An encounter with wonder leaves us with something to wrestle with" In this conversation with David Mattson of Drexel University, he shares his insights on the phenomenon of wonder for shattering perceptions, opening doors to new possibilities, and helping us find our way to what really matters (turns out...it's each other).  Check out David's wonderful wonder blog https://typeshare.co/wonderblog More on the Possibility Studies Network https://www.possibilitystudies.net/ More on Sarah https://www.humhealing.com/