Symbolic thinking is the ability to create and use symbols that represent real-life concepts. We draw a stick figure to represent a human. We draw a map in the dirt to represent the terrain. As children, we use a stick to “make believe” a sword.
Author: Peter Schulte
Peter Schulte is the founder and editor of Kindling. Peter is also Senior Digital Engagement Associate for the Pacific Institute and the UN Global Compact's CEO Water Mandate, connecting businesses to sustainable water practices. Peter holds a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Studies and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. in Sustainable Systems from Pinchot University. He lives in Bellingham, WA, USA with his wife, son, and cat.
UC Berkeley launches Center for the Science of Psychedelics
The new research facility explores how we can use psychedelic substances to better understand our brains, enhance well-being, and deepen spiritual insight.
Two-thirds of Americans believe they have become a better person this year
The difficulty and pain of 2020 have forced us to reconsider our priorities and values. They have provided us an opportunity to more fully step into who we really are.
Polarity: Balancing pain and emotional well-being
We must find a way to balance: 1) being with the great pain inherent to our world and 2) protecting our emotional well-being. Both are vital. And we cannot do one without the other.
How polarity management can help us balance seemingly conflicting goals and values
Seemingly conflicting, but equally necessary truths are known as polarities. Polarities represent some of the fundamental tensions that come up in our organizations and in our lives as individuals.
Charleston sues 24 fossil fuel companies for costs of surviving climate change
“These companies have known for more than 50 years that their products were going to cause the worst flooding the world has seen since Noah built the Ark. And instead of warning us, they covered up the truth and turned our flooding problems into their profits.”
How transcendental meditation can build peace, creativity, and self-realization
Transcendental Meditation is one form of meditation focused on transcending the mind to achieve pure awareness and therefore a new sense of peace, creativity, and self-realization.
Portuguese youth activists sue 33 countries over the climate crisis
Two young adults and four children from Portugal have filed the first-ever climate crisis case with the European court of human rights in Strasbourg, France. They are demanding that 33 countries, including the European Union itself, drastically curb carbon emissions in order to ensure the safety and welbeing of future generations.
Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion and state
The move comes weeks after a peace deal was reached between the Sudanese government and rebel forces from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North who have long been embattled in the nation’s region of Darfur.
Who are your loyal soldiers?
Loyal soldiers are the defenses within us that keep us safe in our youth but continue to “drive the bus” of our lives long after they are needed.