Being able to imagine new and different worlds lies at the heart of playful living. Why is the imagination so important, and what can we do to use our imaginative capabilities to their full potential?

A key feature of childhood play is creating imaginary worlds and imaginary friends. As a child I used to love working out a world for my toys - who was friends with who, what the dangers were, and where everyone's favourite place was. The possibilities seemed both endless and constrained by the toys and play-space that I had available.

Keep reading →

William Shakespeare and Jesus Christ were two of the most creative people ever walk on this planet. Their ideas have shaped the history of the Western world, and continue to shape the lives of individuals and communities to this day.

Here I reveal three secrets of their creative genius, methods still used today by writers, musicians, artists and business-people.

Keep reading →

In March 2003 trainee lawyer Jo Wilding visited Iraq as an independent observer to the Anglo-American invasion. She found many shattered lives; people's homes and businesses were frequently destroyed by stray bombs. Others were shot or imprisoned and tortured arbitrarily if there was even a remote suspicion that they were part of the insurgency against the invading forces. Experiencing firsthand the everyday brutality of war led Jo to question the way the world is. She started wondering why we allow anyone to produce weapons, let alone use them:

'Why is it considered a legitimate way to live, for a person to get up in the morning, kiss his or her kids goodbye, and go and spend the working day experimenting and discussing and planning and building novel and ever-more efficient ways of severing soft, beautiful, living human bodies?'

She also asked people in Iraq about their experiences under the rule of previous dictator Saddam Hussein, and was told many stories of oppression and torture. Yet the US - and Britain - supported Saddam's regime whilst it suited them. This led Jo to ask:

Keep reading →