Central Texas' Future

This is a blog for the members of the Central Texas Chapter of the World Future Society. It's purpose is to exchange and develop ideas about the future of Central Texas, especially Austin.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Look Before You Leap

Look Before You Leap: Mental Time Travel as a Strategic Viewing Method for Looking Ahead

Click on the links below for more information on this subject:


Audio recording of talk (mp3)
Copy of article (doc)
Slide show on integrity (pps)

The Central Texas Chapter of the World Future Society will hold it's next monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 19, 2007. It will be held at the meeting room of Marie Callender's, 9503 Research Blvd. # 400., Austin, TX 78759 (512.349.7151) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Oliver Markley will speak on "Look Before You Leap: Mental Time Travel as a Strategic Viewing Method for Looking Ahead"

Attendance fee is $20 per person, for members, $25 for nonmembers, cash or checks only at the door. (Make checks payable to CenTexWFS.) Credit cards accepted online. The fee includes a meal but is charged for attendance. The meeting room is at the back of the restaurant on the right.

Seating will be limited so please reserve your place and prepay at :

www.centexwfs.org/index_Register.htm

Agenda: Networking, Announcements, Meal, Speaker, Discussion

Mental Time Travel uses guided imagination in the "theatre of the mind" to intuitively visualize and explore contingent future patterns. It is a practical approach for wise choosing, and represents a clear way to improve conventional scenario forecasting, strategic planning and marketing research methods — especially when dealing with Just in Time (JiT) business environments. It is also very useful for individuals wanting to "look before they leap." This presentation will briefly cover how the method came about and how it has been used with audiences ranging from Fortune 50 level clients to elementary school children; but the main focus will be an experiential demonstration involving everyone, with ample time for Q&A/discussion.

Oliver Markley, Ph.D., is professor emeritus and formerly chair of the graduate program in Studies of the Future at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. His career began as a design engineer but quickly shifted to social psychology and futures research, eventually specializing in visioning methods. Before UHCL, he was a principal investigator and consultant at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) where he led the "Changing Images of Man" project with Willis Harman, Joseph Campbell, Duane Elgin and others. Dr. Markley currently maintains a part-time research and consulting practice, Inward Bound. He is co-author of four books and many research reports, the most recent being a paper on Mental Time Travel—posted online at http://inwardboundvisioning.com/Docs/mentaltimetravel.htm—which was published this year by the international journal, Futures. His current focus is an experimental social action initiative in which "imaginal" visioning would be coupled with political activism to uplift the level of integrity in the body politic of the worlds in which we live: personal, societal and planetary. He also teaches best practices for intentional manifestation.

For more information about the Central Texas Chapter of the World Future Society, visit http://www.centexwfs.org/.

For more information about the World Future Society, visit http://www.wfs.org/.

Paul Schumann
President

E-Mail
512.632.6586