Is Imagination More Real Than We Think?
Unlikely Collaborators Hosts Leading Thinkers in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Philosophy for a Spark Salon Exploring the Science of Imagination
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- We tend to think of imagination as an escape from reality.
But what if imagination is actually one of the most powerful forces shaping it?
On Wednesday, August 26, Unlikely Collaborators will welcome Cassandra Vieten, PhD, Jonathan Schooler, PhD, and Stephen Asma, PhD, for a special Spark Salon exploring the science of imagination and its extraordinary role in how we experience ourselves and the world around us.
Titled Is Imagination Real?, the evening will feature a conversation moderated by Elizabeth R. Koch, Founder and CEO of Unlikely Collaborators, whose Perception Box™ framework explores how our beliefs, experiences, emotions, and conditioning shape the way we perceive ourselves and others.
Together, Vieten, Schooler, Asma, and Koch will examine imagination not simply as creativity or fantasy, but as a fundamental human capacity that influences how we perceive reality, construct meaning, solve problems, make decisions, build relationships, and envision the future.
At the heart of the conversation is a provocative question: If imagination shapes so much of what we perceive and believe is possible, where does imagination end and reality begin?
Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, mindfulness, and consciousness research, the panel will explore the many ways imagination operates beneath the surface of everyday life. It can help us anticipate experiences that have not yet happened, understand perspectives beyond our own, create possibilities where none previously existed, and construct stories about who we are and where our lives might go.
Imagination can also shape fear, expectation, memory, and the assumptions we carry about ourselves and other people. The same capacity that allows us to envision extraordinary possibilities can keep us trapped inside futures that have never happened or stories about ourselves that may no longer be true. Through the lens of the Perception Box framework, the conversation invites audiences to consider how imagination participates in constructing the reality each of us experiences and what might become possible when we learn to engage that capacity with greater awareness.
The evening will take place in person at Unlikely Collaborators' Santa Monica headquarters and will also be livestreamed online.
Event Schedule
5:00 p.m. — Doors open and reception
6:00 p.m. — Program begins promptly (late entry not permitted)
7:00 p.m. — Book signing and reception
Cost: Free (registration required)
In-person attendees will receive a complimentary book.
About Cassandra Vieten, PhD
Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is Clinical Professor and Director of the Center for Mindfulness at the Centers for Integrative Health in the Department of Family Medicine at UC San Diego. She is also Director of Research at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination and Clinical Psychology Director at the Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative at UCSD.
She is Senior Advisor of the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation, where she served as Executive Director from 2019–2023, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, where she served as President from 2013–2019.
Vieten's research has focused on spirituality and health, transformative experiences and practices, development of mindfulness-based interventions for emotional well-being, and advancement of media technologies to inspire awe. She is the author of the forthcoming book Imagine That: Transform How You Think, Feel, and Live with the Science of Imagination (Simon and Schuster, August 2026).
About Jonathan Schooler, PhD
Jonathan Schooler, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Director of UCSB's Center for Mindfulness and Human Potential, and Director of the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind.
His research intersects philosophy and psychology, including the relationship between mindfulness and mind-wandering and theories of consciousness. A former holder of a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Schooler has had his research featured on television shows including Closer to Truth, BBC Horizon, and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.
With over 270 scholarly publications and over 50,000 citations, he is a six-time recipient of the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science™ Highly Cited Researcher Award, the recipient of ScholarGPS's 2025 Top Scholar Award as well as its Highly Ranked Scholar – Lifetime in All Fields of Scholarly Endeavor, and one of the top 100 cognitive psychologists according to both ScholarGPS.com and Academicinfluence.com.
About Stephen Asma, PhD
Stephen Asma, PhD, is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago and cofounder of the Research Group in Mind, Science, and Culture. He is the author of 11 books, including The Emotional Mind, The Evolution of Imagination, On Monsters, and The Alchemist's Thread.
He has lived and taught in Shanghai, Beijing, and Phnom Penh; lectured internationally at institutions such as Harvard, Oxford, Fudan, Xi'an Jiaotong, and the Smithsonian; and written for The New York Times, Aeon, The Boston Globe, and other major outlets.
Asma was also the executive producer and cohost of the hit podcast Chinwag, in which he and Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti explored esoterica, high strangeness, and the odd corners of culture with guests from science, art, and entertainment. As a blues musician in Chicago, Asma played regularly with Bo Diddley and Buddy Guy.
About Spark Salons
Spark Salons are a signature program of Unlikely Collaborators, the nonprofit founded by Elizabeth R. Koch. These gatherings bring together grantees, researchers, artists, and collaborators for conversations that challenge perspectives and deepen connections. Past Spark Salon speakers have included illusionist Harris III, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, nutrition therapist Kim Shapira, MS, RD, mythologist John Bucher, Harvard Business School professor and author Michael Norton, PhD, visionary violinist Vijay Gupta, chef and entrepreneur Ellen Bennett, artist Candy Chang, digital workplace expert and author Alexandra Samuel, PhD, grief experts Brennan Wood and Dr. Donna L. Schuurman, neuroscientist and best-selling author Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, neuroscientist and NYU Dean Wendy Suzuki, PhD, futures designer Nick Foster, RDI, sleep psychologist Jade Wu, PhD, broadcaster and author Krista Tippett, journalist and author Eliot Stein, medical anthropologist and author Theresa MacPhail, PhD, poet, activist, and author Ian Manuel, psychologist and bestselling author Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, pediatrician and bestselling author Cara Natterson, MD, contemplative scholar and author Dr. Andrew Holecek, violinist, author, and Street Symphony founder Vijay Gupta, New York Times best-selling author Katherine Center, relationship scientist and therapist Dr. Marisa T. Cohen, and fashion historian, curator, and author Dr. Valerie Steele.
Watch the Spark Salons Trailer
About Unlikely Collaborators
Unlikely Collaborators is a nonprofit focused on helping people better understand themselves and each other. Founded and led by CEO Elizabeth R. Koch, the organization is built around the Perception Box™ framework, the idea that our beliefs, experiences, emotions, and conditioning shape how we interpret ourselves and the world around us. By becoming aware of that lens, we create more space for reflection, flexibility, and meaningful change.
SOURCE Unlikely Collaborators
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