the tiny mindful moments podcast
Stories, meditations, reflections. Short. Because we can all make time for a tiny mindful moment.
Episodes
Collapse narratives in futures work
In times of geopolitical instability, rapid technological change, and overlapping crises, it’s increasingly hard to make confident claims about what regions or countries will look like five or ten years from now. And yet, confident predictions persist.
Whose futures get heard?
Every futures process answers a hidden question before anyone speaks: Who is this space (or workshop or initiative) designed for?
Why experiential futures work (and why presentations about futures often don’t)
Most futures work still treats imagination as something that happens in the head. But the brain doesn’t work that way.
Musings of funerals for glaciers
What if we celebrated the nature that we have, and that we have lost, instead of holding funeral ceremonies?
Stories and their ability to transport
Becoming involved in a narrative world can have measurable consequences.
Questions keep the future open
We often talk about futures work as if it happens in a room. But place is never neutral. When we work with place consciously, it becomes a co-facilitator.
How to quickly insert placeholder text into your academic writing
A quick step-by-step tutorial on how to automatically format text as you are writing in MS Word.
Uncertainty isn’t the problem. Our relationship to it is
We’re wired to treat uncertainty like a threat. Not metaphorically. Neurologically. Ambiguity scrambles our attention, tightens our thinking, and makes us reach for quick answers.
The journey’s start and single steps
When you’re trying to trick yourself out of a moment of procrastination.
Hope as a form of systems literacy
In futures work, hope is often misunderstood. It’s sometimes treated as optimism, a belief that things will turn out well. But in complex systems, that kind of hope rarely survives contact with reality.
Why the facilitator’s story matters in futures work
Have you ever noticed how the most compelling facilitators, teachers, and change-makers all seem to be good storytellers?
Hope doesn’t assume a positive outcome (and that matters in futures work)
I often say that my work is oriented toward hopeful, sustainable futures. People sometimes hear that as optimism, a belief that things will turn out fine. That’s not what I mean.
What I’m paying attention to when facilitating futures
When I’m facilitating futures work, I’m obviously paying attention to the process: time, flow, activities. But a lot of my attention is elsewhere.
Sustainability as a futures facilitation lens, not a topic
I often describe my work as oriented toward hopeful, sustainable futures. When describing my work this way, people sometimes assume that means I only work with organisations, institutions, and communities who already see themselves as “doing good”.
The futures we inherit
When people struggle to imagine different futures, it’s tempting to say they lack imagination.I don’t think that’s usually the problem.
Futures work builds capacity. It doesn’t offer answers
As I am sure I’ve said before, one of the most persistent misconceptions about futures and foresight is that it’s about prediction. It isn’t.
Playing with AI: Notes from #FacLab009
I run a regular gathering for facilitators to try out new tools, share knowledge and use our combined views of the world to help each other learn, grow and thrive. In February, a small group came together and I shared what I’ve learned, and they offered some reflections on AI and the future of facilitation.
Playing with AI: Other AI tools that might be of interest
A final note about AI (for now) on my thinking journey around AI and my work. May be helpful to fellow facilitators, trainers and workshop designers interested in how to use emergent and generative AI in their work.
Why I work with walks and place in futures
People are often fascinated when I tell them that I often incorporate walks and place in my futures work. I do this because some futures can’t be accessed sitting still, and because “places” matter to us.
Playing with AI: Dall-e for image creation (and a mention of Midjourney)
My notes on using Dall-e and Midjourney. May be helpful to fellow facilitators, trainers and workshop designers interested in how to use emergent and generative AI in their work.
Speaking: The Hero
I get rather cross about conflict and wars and the middle aged men and women who make the decisions without ever having to leave their comfortable worlds to literally put their lives on the line. This wonderful poem by Felix Pollak spoke to me.
Playing with AI: Jasper and other content-creation tools
My notes on use Jasper.ai and other content creation tools. May be helpful to fellow facilitators, trainers and workshop designers interested in how to use emergent and generative AI in their work.
Playing with AI: ChatGPT and other AI language models
My notes on using ChatGPR and a few other AI language models. May be helpful to fellow facilitators, trainers and workshop designers interested in how to use emergent and generative AI in their work.
Playing with AI: Synthesia (video)
My notes on use Synthesia. May be helpful to fellow facilitators, trainers and workshop designers interested in how to use emergent and generative AI in their work.
How to try out new tools and register for content without getting spammed
A short tip on how to set up accounts and try out new tools without being spammed. TLDR: for a temporary email address, EmailOnDeck is where I go.
Playing with AI: A note on the ethical issues related to AI and to generative AI in particular
A note in my thinking about AI and how it might inform, improve or impact my facilitation work. When I say “a note”, I mean “a note” – stylistically, there is nothing to see here. In this, I am wondering about the ethical issues that are bouncing around in my head. My thinking hardly scratches the surface but that’s okay: it’s not meant to.
Playing with AI: What are the different types of AI out there?
In my quest to understand the world into which ChatGPT has exploded, I thought that understanding more the different types of AI might be interesting. This is my take on the question and its answer.
Playing with AI: A note on using prompts
To use many of the generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, Dall-e, Mid Journey and others – you need to give the AI prompts instead of keywords. Here are some notes from my explorations into prompts from my Playing with AI diversion.
Used futures and the illusion of inevitability
Used futures are seductive because they feel inevitable. The term “used futures” refers to the backward-looking insights and ideas of possible futures loaded down with the baggage of past experiences.
An Austria with less snow: what are the impacts?
Warmer, drier summers. More precipitation and less snowfall in winter. That’s what the experts say. So what?
#divitips Correct the anchor spacing
When you insert an anchor link, DIVI sometimes jumps to the wrong place. This code fixes this problem.
Storytelling as a facilitation practice
A little while ago, I wrote about the problems that arise when futures work becomes theatre. When I tell people that a great deal of my work in futures (and elsewhere) is about storytelling, many often assume that there must be some theatrical aspect to this. But they’re wrong.