[Sophia Hughes]

Serious imaginative play among adults

Here’s how we can consult empathic right brain wisdom. Enclose a small space on the ground, a tabletop or a tray. Consider that space a world. Sand, as ground in the tray will give you more options when you place within the small space small objects as representatives of the problem you want to address, whether it be politics, human relations family dynamics, migration, war or something else.

Observe that small world. You can then improve upon it by adjusting the arrangement, having a mostly nonverbal dialogue among the parts. The area is a microcosm and a liminal space for change. The left hemisphere will have learned from the right.

Much better yet, include up to four friends in the play thereby expanding the scope of the learning. Everyone wins. You will have bypassed the divisiveness of words. You will have effectively listened and responded to the state of things.