Symbols and human decision-making: a creative exercise

A picture, a colour or a scene can be a starting point for writing about a choice. Try these visual prompts, then compare your ideas with the practical facts.

Practical Applications

Integrating Symbolic and Rational Processes

Use this as a writing exercise: explore an image, then compare it with the information available about your options.

Start with symbols. Before making a major decision, engage symbolically. Draw a card, reflect on a dream, notice what images arise when you contemplate each option. Let your symbolic mind speak first.

Then analyze. Once you have symbolic input, bring in the rational process. Does the data support what you’re sensing? Are there practical obstacles to what feels right?

Check for alignment. Compare the two lists. Where do they agree, and what information would help you understand any disagreement?

Questions to Engage Symbolic Processing

You don’t need tarot cards to access symbolic thinking. These questions can help:

If this decision were a movie, what genre would it be? What would the title be?

What season or weather does each option feel like?

If each choice were an animal, which animal would it be? Why?

What color is your gut feeling about each option?

What does your body feel like when you imagine choosing each path?