Exploring the Nature of Imagination and Reality

On the 126th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I’m delighted to welcome our guest, Geneen Marie Haugen, PhD. Geneen grew up a little wild, with a run amok imagination, and has lived at the wild edge for most of her life. Once upon a time, she was a whitewater river guide and a tipi dweller who loved knowing that only thin canvas separated her from the the world. In her wild wanderings, she’s been amazed to have had dozens or maybe hundreds of close encounters with creatures such as moose, elk, grizzlies, wolves, black bears, cougars, bison, and more. For her, the sulpher-scented hot springs of Yellowstone smell like home. A content creator and guide to the intertwined mysteries of nature and psyche with the Animas Valley Institute, she has been on the faculty of the Esalen Institute and Schumacher College. Her writing has appeared in Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth; Thomas Berry: Dreamer of the Earth; Parabola; Kosmos Journal; Ecopsychology; The Artist’s Field Guide to Yellowstone, and many others. She believes in the world-shifting potential of the human imagination allied with the planetary psyche.

In this glorious conversation, we explore the nature of reality and the role of imagination in shaping it. We discuss the current suppression of imagination, the vast possibilities that remain, and how imagination has profoundly influenced Geneen’s life. She shares captivating stories of connection with the world around us and moments of shimmering aliveness.

This conversation is a powerful invitation back to our imaginations—to a world rich with possibility, connection, and aliveness.

To find more of Geneen Marie Haugen's work:
Wild Pilgrimage Essay: https://starborne.substack.com/p/wild-pilgrimage

Animas Valley Institute Guide: https://www.animas.org/guides/22/geneen-marie-haugen-ph-d/
Kosmos Journal: https://www.kosmosjournal.org/kj_article/reemergence-of-animate-world-experiences/
Perceptual Portal: https://greatturning.net/perceptual-portal-by-geneen-marie-haugen/
Wild Imagination: https://www.dailygood.org/story/2359/wild-imagination-geneen-marie-haugen/
Participatory Consciousness: https://participatorystudies.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/thomas-berry-and-the-evocation-of-participatory-consciousness/

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00:00 What is the nature of reality?

05:45 Our childhood connection to imagination

09:50 A sense of shimmering aliveness

15:00 Awareness of intelligent presence in others

19:45 Why are we here? 

25:45 The disturbance and suppressing of our imagination

30:00 Disconnection with our imagination

35:45 Imagination shaping a life

39:55 Imagination as a way of knowing the world

44:00 A magical experience of nature speaking 

50:00 Being in states where our imaginations are activated

56:55 The source of our ideas and possibility

1:01:45 Summary and what is a good life for Geneen?