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World of Wisdom

World of Wisdom

By World of Wisdom

A podcast about existence, meaning and how to master your own life. Hosted by Nils von Heijne and Amit Paul

Cover photo by Happy Wilder (@indiewildfox)
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Currently playing episode

126. Jeremy D Johnson: Gebser, Development, Liminality, Relationality and Why it's Crucial to Decenter Progress

World of WisdomApr 21, 2022

00:00
01:14:37
198. Olivia Lazard - Ecology, peace and security and how Europe is intensively dealing with its past and future

198. Olivia Lazard - Ecology, peace and security and how Europe is intensively dealing with its past and future

Olivia Lazard (LinkedIn, writing) is an analyst, scientist and thinker looking at the intersection of peace, planetary security and ecology. This is a conversation that takes us into the current predicament through the lens of security and peace. Olivia has a unique view into the European project and we touch on some of the most potent tension at this particular juncture in time. It seems we europeans are dealing with our past and future very intensely and simultaneously. We speak of the technocraty, the growth paradigm, the economy, the ecology and about geoengineering. This is one of my favorite conversations sofar on the podcast. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

Nov 23, 202301:16:44
197. Jonas Roupé: Waking up to the state of the world, taking the consequences and remembering joy and agency

197. Jonas Roupé: Waking up to the state of the world, taking the consequences and remembering joy and agency

Jonas Roupé (LinkedIn, webpage) is a strategist and human being as well as a magician. This conversation touches upon the work he has been involved with from ecocide to making business more circular. But most of all we talk about the concept of resilience and agency in a time of crisis and collapse. Jonas outlines a pathway towards life that is perhaps counterintuitive in the current cultural narrative, an invitation to the local, the human the small. We speak of different roles and different approaches to the collapse: like protecting wise decisions now, building pathways for transition and for releasing the musts. We speak of the buddah, dharma and sanga, the physical, social and aesthetic human and much much more. This is a warm, soft conversation that left me with a a sense of joy and meaning. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul.

Nov 17, 202301:08:07
196. Karl-Erik Edris - hands on, personal approaches to change and decentering grand narratives

196. Karl-Erik Edris - hands on, personal approaches to change and decentering grand narratives

Karl-Erik Edris is an author (books in Swedish), thinker and educator on the topic of leadership. We took a deep dive into the why grand narratives are probably not what we need right now, why life is probably about revealing your own stupidity to yourself and how the state of the world right now is probably not something we did wrong, rather just something we need to pay attention to so we can get it right. This is a wonderful conversation with one of the deepest thinkers and optimists I've encountered. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

Nov 08, 202301:08:56
195. Maria Zachs: The development sector, listening to those one is helping and being aligned with ones values

195. Maria Zachs: The development sector, listening to those one is helping and being aligned with ones values

Maria Zachs the passionate, values driven activist and founder of the Voices4Change foundation as well as the initiative Growth4change introducing hydrophonic growing techniques in one of Kenyas poorer communities. Maria speaks of her approach to local democracy, empowerment, being values driven as well as acting in full alignment with those values. We also speak about what it took to earn the trust as well as beginning to understand how to make change in some of the poorer and socially exposed areas in Kenya where she's currently working. And we of course talk about tango. This conversation touches many topics and especially the inspiring work of Maria and the organizations she has founded. Enjoy! Host Amit Paul

Nov 02, 202301:01:50
194. Jim Wallenberg: Management, engagement, communication and socioeconmic journeys

194. Jim Wallenberg: Management, engagement, communication and socioeconmic journeys

Jim Wallenberg is a company advisor, speaker, change leader. We spoke about engagement, working in different capacities in a company, how it is possible that many people still seem to think that engagement in a company is some random magic or luck and not a result of hard work. We also spoke about how to not get hired as a manager and what it takes to get compliance. This is a fun, tangible conversation about some the topic of leadership, management and how we get things done together. Enjoy! Host Amit Paul

Oct 27, 202301:07:21
193. Mark Milton - Sports, listening, relational consiousness and learning without conclusion

193. Mark Milton - Sports, listening, relational consiousness and learning without conclusion

Mark Milton (LinkedIn) founder of Education 4 Peace and Spirit of Humanity Forum, former director of IFOTES and co-author of the book Master of Emotions joined the podcast speaking of his long passion for listening and where his own listening brought him. This conversation touches upon the possibility of sports in peace and consciousness development. We also speaks of different levels of listening, relational consciousness, sensing and trusting and letting that be the source of movement. We also speak of more difficult topics like violence and the get a peak into how the world has changed over the past 3-4 decades for us passionate about systems transformation. Host: Amit Paul.

Oct 12, 202301:04:03
192. Jon Smieja: The culture of convenience, the state of the circular economy and product blindness

192. Jon Smieja: The culture of convenience, the state of the circular economy and product blindness

Jon Smeija from the Green Biz Group came by. We talked about the state of the circular economy and the challenge we are facing in the next few decades. Jon is a chemist by training and has been in technical roles in corporations for most of his career until he stepped over to the green biz group where he runs their event on circular economy. We speak of the immense challenges we are facing in the coming years and address things like there is no such thing as away, consumers are in some way product blind, the culture of convenience is one of the biggest challenges we have to face if we are to make meaningful progress and much more. Host Amit Paul

Sep 28, 202301:10:49
191. Paul Weinfield: Every defeat is just an angel tugging your sleeve telling you that you don’t have keep banging your head against the wall.

191. Paul Weinfield: Every defeat is just an angel tugging your sleeve telling you that you don’t have keep banging your head against the wall.

Paul Weinfield (Spotify, webpage) musician, coach, teacher and more. Paul wrote a text about the heroes journey that grabbed Amit. This is a wonderful conversation about things like surrender, growth, truth, what it means to be human. But not in a high flying, abstract way, this is tangible, close and personal. Check the links if you're curious about Paul's work. Enjoy the conversation! Host: Amit Paul

Sep 21, 202358:48
190. Jude Currivan: The power of shifting to a story unity
Sep 07, 202301:07:45
189. Fredrik Forss - UNUM AI god or servant, symbols, and two questions to simultaniously keep exploring
Aug 29, 202301:25:32
188. Laura Storm: Regenerative leadership, surrender and accepting that there is no path back to what once was

188. Laura Storm: Regenerative leadership, surrender and accepting that there is no path back to what once was

Laura Storm (webpage) author of Regenerative Leadership with Giles Hutchins, speaker, entrepreneur, community builder, mother, creator. The list is long. We got together for a wonderful conversation about the what regeneration is, the next steps and moves in the regenerative community, joy, a ceremonial attitude to life, grief and what it means to really stop and be forced to surrender to life. What does it mean to accept that there is no recovery, no going back? This covers some of what I believe to be the most important topics of our time yet not through high flying theoretical concepts rather the life and contexts that takes up most of our time. To connect check out Regenerators and Regenerative Leadership. Enjoy. Host: Amit Paul

Aug 18, 202301:04:42
187. Glenda Eoyang: Paradigm shifts, differences and mid level tools for taking action

187. Glenda Eoyang: Paradigm shifts, differences and mid level tools for taking action

Glenda Eoyang is the founder of the Humans Systems Dynamics Institute (hsdinstitute.org). They have been working on human systems development for several decades teaching courses and developing tools for agency and collective action in the liminal times we are in.

This is a gem of a conversation. Glenda provides some valuable frames from the institutes work on how to manage and navigate in the current times and we speak about difference, paradigm shifts, questions that make a difference, baker folds, non-linear dynamics and stances we can take to be of service to the transformation. Enjoy!

If you are interested in the HSDs newsletter send a note to info[at]hsdinstitute.org

Aug 10, 202301:10:06
186. Dakotah Apostolou: Reimagining home ownership and creating regenerative living communities

186. Dakotah Apostolou: Reimagining home ownership and creating regenerative living communities

Dakotah Apostolou is a co-founder of the Cohere network. Reinventing regenerative home ownership and collective living for our age. We speak about community, why arcitecths seem to have a knack for imagining what’s next, why maximum diversity around values not metrics is the way to go and why ownership is so important and yet something we need to fundamentally rethink. Dakotah and his team is looking at one of the fundamental needs of humans, shelter, and rethinking it in a way that makes it fit for whatever the world need next. Curious? Follow along at cohere.network

Jul 31, 202301:02:15
185. Solo episode 4: Modes of exchange, Different modes of thinking and the shift from exchange to use value
Jul 21, 202341:33
184. Ditte Lysgaard Vind: Circularity as a tool, careing for the triad of material, product and business model and otherh things regenerative

184. Ditte Lysgaard Vind: Circularity as a tool, careing for the triad of material, product and business model and otherh things regenerative

Ditte Lysgaard Vind is a design practicioner, teacher and author deeply immersed in circular design. We speak of the a number of the importance of weaving together products, materials and business model. Circularity as a tool not an end in itself. Measurements of various parameters and why CO2 is a critical indicator right now. We speak of the shift form Exchange to Use value in our accounting and what that would entail and about the two fundamental principles that we need to practice: Stay with the trouble and Get tactile! This is a wonderful conversation on everything circular. If you want to get in touch with Ditte and go deeper visit: https://www.thecircularway.com

Jul 11, 202301:02:47
183. Johnn Andresson: Systems of transformation instead of innovaion, systems as epistemological not ontological and the state of our world

183. Johnn Andresson: Systems of transformation instead of innovaion, systems as epistemological not ontological and the state of our world

Johnn Andersson is a systems scientists looking at socio-technico-ecological systems. We speak about systems in the widest sense and also in the details. Maps and territories make their way into this conversation as well. We speak of the ontological vs the epistemological aspects of systems and what it does to us when we mistake those. We also speak about the consequences of our decision to focus on systems of innovation in the 80's vs what could have happened if we would instead have talked about systems of transformation all along. This episode is very rich and invites a different way of understanding the world in a very tangible way. Enjoy!

Jun 30, 202301:11:01
182. Kajsa Balkfors and Ola Jubelin: Sensitivity, Play, Creativity. Reinventing swedish preschools and building community. Talking to practicioners.

182. Kajsa Balkfors and Ola Jubelin: Sensitivity, Play, Creativity. Reinventing swedish preschools and building community. Talking to practicioners.

Kajsa Balkfors is the former (very successful) CEO of Cirkus Cirkör that has dedicated her life as a practicioner to practice the art of living in community, hosting and most recently she's worked with liberating kids in the Swedish preschools through Tillitsverket. Ola Jubelin is a friend and a skilled facilitator that you can find at facilitatingchange.se. This is a conversation between practitioners. We speak about change, what it is and how it differs from the new. The distinction between change and growth. Most of all however we speak about what is possible when we fill existing structures, like the preschool, with new content and how that has the potential, like in Kajsas case, liberates both kids and pedagogs. Enjoy the conversation!

Jun 22, 202301:43:59
181. Viveca (Fallenius) Svensson: Legal design, law as liberating structures and GDPR as the bible,

181. Viveca (Fallenius) Svensson: Legal design, law as liberating structures and GDPR as the bible,

Viveca (Fallenius) Svensson is a passionate lawyer and practitioner of legal design. We spoke about the state of privacy and trust in our society. What legal design actually is and how we can approach law completely differently. What if we actually trust the law makers good intent and instead of pushing against law as something we want to avoid we'd use law to actually guide our actions? Finding out what the spirit of the law is and pushing off from that. We also speak about automatic contract writing, a little bit about how we as consumers can do things to reclaim our power but mostly it's a peak into what is also possible in our current system. There are ways to practice law consciously. If you are curious to find out more about Vivekas work check out GentleRev. Host: Amit Paul

Jun 15, 202301:03:37
180. Ariana Alexander-Sefre: Spoke.world, music as windows and channels of communication with subcultures, mental health, melancholy and much more.

180. Ariana Alexander-Sefre: Spoke.world, music as windows and channels of communication with subcultures, mental health, melancholy and much more.

Ariana Alexander-Sefre co-founder and CEO of Spoke a mental wellness app focused on working with music as a path towards mental resilience. We address the topic of the parts of the demography that a coach, yoga teacher or wellness program will never reach, the power of music to shift, move and transport us. We also speak of the power of melancholy and how music can be an important part in gaining new perspectives. Spoke is working globally with their app and methodology and is committed to push the research front in parallell. This is an important conversation with large implications for those of us committed to large systems change. Host Amit Paul

Jun 08, 202301:05:02
179. Indy Johar - The boring revolution, computational bureaucracy, the accounting pathway from ownership to stewardship

179. Indy Johar - The boring revolution, computational bureaucracy, the accounting pathway from ownership to stewardship

Indy Johar at Dark Matter Labs address some of our most pressing planetary needs and we talk about their work. This is a fascinating conversation where we touch upon objects, our relationships to them and how that is important to rethink bureaucracy to and allow it to harness our increased computational capacity. We also talk about ownership and for pathways towards custodianship, how we can orient towards letting life find a way, how work could be part of liberating us in the new paradigm, why direct redistribution is most likely not the path forward and why all of this fundamentally is an invitation to rethink what it means to be human. This is a mind blowing conversation. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

May 26, 202301:00:29
178. Daniel Görtz: Metamodern AI, sensemaking and a new, closer look at the transformation we're in

178. Daniel Görtz: Metamodern AI, sensemaking and a new, closer look at the transformation we're in

Daniel Görtz 50% of the team behind Hanzi Freinacht came on the podcast to talk about the times we're in, the material conditions for transformation, what we can do that are trying to make the transition into a new reality and we speak about AI (of course). Daniel brings in the different modes of interaction: play, competition, cooperation and trade with the suggestion that we love all of them. We also speak of the faustian societies and scratch the surface of the power over vs power with dynamics. We also speak of the move towards the information economy where attention, retention and respons are going to be crucial factors. This is an excellent conversation where Daniel graciously holds some of my messiness while I try to follow along in his reasoning in real time. If you want to get the Hanzi books or follow their work check out https://metamoderna.org/. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

May 20, 202301:27:20
177. Lennart Hennig - Growth, sustain and decay cycle of life, boundaries and interaction and neurodiversity as adaptive

177. Lennart Hennig - Growth, sustain and decay cycle of life, boundaries and interaction and neurodiversity as adaptive

Lennart Hennig (LinkedIn) founder of the Institute for collective development and co-founder of Alma de Solo visited the podcast. We talk about regeneration of the land. The cycle of life as growth, sustenance and decay and how our current moment is so enamoured with the growth part, to the detriment to everything around us. We speak of attention and how it is such an important variable, and how the current epidemic of mental health crisis could be more than just a crisis, perhaps there are adaptive aspects to it given the society we live in? We speak about the energy of helping and fixing and we speak about diversity. To connect with Lennart and to support his work visit the links above. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

May 11, 202301:14:33
176. Stefan Engseth: Sharks, sharkonomics and what a few hundred million hears of evolution has to teach humans

176. Stefan Engseth: Sharks, sharkonomics and what a few hundred million hears of evolution has to teach humans

Stefan Engeseth is the dyslectic that became a researcher and author. We talk about Stefan's concept Sharkonomics. What humans and corporations can learn from sharks in thinking about particularly business and business strategy. Our conversation is wide ranging and we explore several different concepts from Stefans books as well as what happens when we start considering time in longer cycles than just with a mere 'human' lens. Enjoy this conversation! To connect with Stefan check out either the links above or his LinkedIn. Host: Amit Paul

Apr 29, 202359:11
175. Alexander Crawford and Ylva Björnberg: Conversation 1 and conversation 2 and some of the fundamentals for shifting ones world view (part 2)

175. Alexander Crawford and Ylva Björnberg: Conversation 1 and conversation 2 and some of the fundamentals for shifting ones world view (part 2)

Alexander Crawford and Ylva Björnberg visit the podcast for a deep dive. Both Ylva and Alexander are deeply involved with the transformation of society and are recovering futurists. This conversation introduces a concept they have been developing and gives a first taste of what they call conversation 1 and conversation 2. Conversation 2 is what is needed by some for us as a society to start being able to shift out of the grid lock of the current global logic. This is part 2 of our conversation that we ended up re-recording post IPCCs updated report and the release of Chat-GPT4. We speak about language, Bretton Woods, Silence, Push and pull, institutions and much more. Come along!

Apr 13, 202301:23:47
174. Ylva Björnberg and Alexander Crawford: Introducing conversation 1 and conversation 2 and some of the fundamentals for shifting ones world view (part 1)

174. Ylva Björnberg and Alexander Crawford: Introducing conversation 1 and conversation 2 and some of the fundamentals for shifting ones world view (part 1)

Alexander Crawford and Ylva Björnberg visit the podcast for a deep dive. Both Ylva and Alexander are deeply involved with the transformation of society and are recovering futurists. This conversation introduces a concept they have been developing and gives a first taste of what they call conversation 1 and conversation 2. Conversation 2 is what is needed by some for us as a society to start being able to shift out of the grid lock of the current global logic. We cover a few of the fundamental moves in this conversation. Like the ladder of awareness by Paul Chifurka and Donatella Meadows framework on places to interveine in a system. This is the first part of the conversation and next week we'll lean further in, it ends right when we took a break (that ended up being some 7 weeks in clock time). We'll pick it up again next episode. Come along!

Apr 06, 202358:14
173. Cheryl Hsu & Sam Hinds: Exploring the edge of our collective knowing

173. Cheryl Hsu & Sam Hinds: Exploring the edge of our collective knowing

This is a special episode. It is an experiment into what is called collective presencing in some circles, emergent dialogue in others and probably goes by other names as well. This practice is something Amit has been involved with for some years now and invited two masters. Sam Hinds (twitter) and Cheryl Hsu (webpage). This is our first conversation together and we explore our field, it is a rich deep exploration that might require a measure of patience to get through but the reason I'm putting it out on the channel is because I believe you will be enriched by the experience. This is also how conversations can be.

We touch upon how cells in a limb growing back knows when to stop growing, what death enables, what it is like to be eaten, models that are worth engaging with for their beauty and the longing for participation. Of course there is much more to this conversation. Do you dare to take a leap of faith and leap in? Host: Amit Paul

Mar 23, 202301:30:04
172. Solo Episode 3 (Amit): Generation, transcending the story of the hero, consequences, openness, nested timelines
Mar 16, 202344:32
171. Lene Rachel Andersen: Bildung and why its relevant to re-invent the concept in our day and age.

171. Lene Rachel Andersen: Bildung and why its relevant to re-invent the concept in our day and age.

Brilliant Lene Rachel Andersen came on the podcast and we spoke about Bildung. Lene is the author of The Nordic Secret and several other books and is deeply engaged in the topic of creating a future worth living in for all of us. This particular conversation circle around the topic of bildung, its necessary and sufficient conditions, what it actually was, what the history of it was and how it relates to the concept of 'adult development' as defined by the developmental psychologists and their stage theories. An excellent review of the topic as well as a some conducive directions for those of us thinking about where we can go next as a society. If you want to connect: Nordic Bildung, LinkedIn, Global buildung network. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

Mar 09, 202301:31:16
170. Helena Norberg-Hodge: An alternative story of progress, a critique of the economic worldview and the localisation movement

170. Helena Norberg-Hodge: An alternative story of progress, a critique of the economic worldview and the localisation movement

Helena Norberg-Hodge is the linguist and one of the wisdom keepers and originators of the regenerative movement that through her experiences in Ladakh many decades ago discovered the cracks of the conventional story of industrialisation = progress.  We revisit that story, and we talk about those cracks. Helena gives her perspective on the current economic paradigm and why this logic is in many ways, most ways actually in opposition to the logic of life. Helena has developed the Economics of Happiness and is also a center figure in the budding localisation movement. To find out more and to support Local futures visit their webpage. Until then enjoy the podcast! Host: Amit Paul

Mar 02, 202301:20:37
169. Eugenio Molini: Organisational transformation, mans search for meaning, the dunbar sequence and its relationship to efficiency

169. Eugenio Molini: Organisational transformation, mans search for meaning, the dunbar sequence and its relationship to efficiency

Eugenio Molini (webpage, LinkedIn) has worked with organisational transformation with 100s of organisation all over Europe for the last 30+ years. He shares his wisdom on do's and don'ts as well as some very clear rules of thumb. Like why minimal structures are the way to go, that there is no such thing as perfect - always strive for sufficient. Why focusing on peoples actions and a common target is an way to actually get culture and people to shift - without coersion. We also speak of the different types of organisational transformation that one has access to and why it is useful to have the Dunbar sequence in mind when leading or growing an organisation, and perhaps even reorganising one. This is a very useful conversation for anyone that has anything to do with change work. Enjoy! Host Amit Paul

Feb 23, 202301:10:25
168. Gita Rajan - Complexity, trauma and waking up to a some basic truths about what it is to be human

168. Gita Rajan - Complexity, trauma and waking up to a some basic truths about what it is to be human

Gita Rajan is the head of clinic and research and the founder of WONSA (World of No Sexual Abuse). I took her out of the comfort zone to some degree a little bit trying to talk about complexity. Then we explored the different aspects of the human condition and truma. We talk about control, stealing - taking what is not yours, what it means to be truly interdependent, part of the world (as opposed to separate from it). We also spoke of war, separation and transformation. The basic principle that ever living being is ready to transform - and we need to ask for consent prior to transforming someone or something. This is a true exploration. A true dive into uncertainty and one of those conversations that have really rearranged my system since. On a side note: WONSA needs more funding for their important work, if you can contribute please do. Their work is so important. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul 

Feb 16, 202301:12:30
167. Dada Shambushivananda: Neohumanism, education, the human potential and what we are missing out on by leaving spirit out of 'everyday life'

167. Dada Shambushivananda: Neohumanism, education, the human potential and what we are missing out on by leaving spirit out of 'everyday life'

Dada Shambushivananda (LinkedIn) is the Chancellor of the Global Neohumanist Education (Gurukul) and has dedidcated himself to the movement called Ananda Marga. Dada was born in India and graduated from Wharton school of Business before returning to monastic life and dedicating himself to inner and outer peace in the world. Dada is the author of several books like Thoughts for a new era and his latest book Towards a brighter future. This conversation circle around human potential and what becomes possible when we lean into the spiritual aspects of our human potential. What is the limit to how much a kindergarten child can learn? What is important to consider in a learning environment? What does it mean to control your mind? What should we consider going forward for those of us that long for a regenerative future? Host: Amit Paul.

Feb 09, 202301:09:55
166 Revisiting the RCO: An organisational model for regenerative organisations
Feb 02, 202359:56
165. Thomas Herrmann: Open space technology and five to fold. Structures for bring co-creation to the center

165. Thomas Herrmann: Open space technology and five to fold. Structures for bring co-creation to the center

Thomas Herrmann (LinkedIn) is a facilitator for more than 25 years in various co-creative methodologies in particular Open Space Technology and lately also bringing the decision methodology five to fold to the world. He's worked across contexts from public organisations like hospitals to companies and associations. With spaces as small as 5 people and as large as 700. This is an excellent, hands-on primer for the curious to start understanding the possibilities of these topics. In a larger perspective we discussed the importance of structure in complex problem solving, the possibilities and affordances of collective intelligence and decision making, why empowerment will surprise and surpass your wildest expectations of what is possible - if you are willing to surrender. This is hands on with immense implications. Enjoy! Host Amit Paul.

Jan 26, 202301:15:07
164. Leif Edvinsson: Intellectual, spiritual and intangible forms of capital. Forward looking accounting, longitutde and navigation.

164. Leif Edvinsson: Intellectual, spiritual and intangible forms of capital. Forward looking accounting, longitutde and navigation.

Leif Edvinsson is a Swedish organizational theorist, Professor at the University of Lund in Sweden and consultant, known for his work on intangible forms of capital, specifically intellectual capital and knowledge management. This conversation with Leif is a trip into a different way of engaging with the world. Leif says early on in the podcast that he learned to think at Berkley, CA and that the invitation was often to turn everything upside down. That's what we are doing here. We enter the usually dull world of accounting and intangible assets and start looking at how we can use the practice not for controlling and taking stock but rather for quantifying potential. It is truly mindboggling when you let some of these concepts sink in.

We speak of spiritual capital, intellectual capital, alternative cost, potential, future forecasting, experimentation, living labs, entrepreneurship as creation in the spaces, why piles of shit was a good measure of future wealth on the farm and what happens when you realise that the main value of the tree is in the roots not in the parts you see. This conversation is truly exciting. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul.

Jan 19, 202301:08:44
163. Joel Tickner - Chemicals, chemicals legislation and what you can do with regards to them?

163. Joel Tickner - Chemicals, chemicals legislation and what you can do with regards to them?

Joel Tickner is a professor Umass Lowell and founder of the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3). This conversation revolve around Chemicals in the products we use in our everyday life. Why chemicals are so ever present? To what extent and how should we worry about them and what can we do as consumers to take care? We speak about why chemicals-free is probably not a possible vision. What the difference is between synthetic and natural and what it means with regards to safety. We speak about risk and hazard, ways to think about chemicals and much more. This is a really hands on, useful conversation for those worried or curious about chemistry in our world today and why they are in our world in the first place as well as how we need to change our practices to get to something that looks like sustainable or green chemistry. Host: Amit Paul

Jan 13, 202301:16:45
162. Pella Thiel - On why Ecocide legislation has such deep implications for the shift we are in the middle of.

162. Pella Thiel - On why Ecocide legislation has such deep implications for the shift we are in the middle of.

Pella Thiel (LinkedIn, webpage) is the institutional activist and farmer that is focused on getting ecocide legislation into the ICC at the Hague. Support their work at Stop Ecocide. We talked about ecocide law and why it is potentially so elegant and powerful. We also talked about what direction ecocide law points us in with regards to our state as a human species or as a part of the whole earth's ecosystem. We spoke about the importance of loving what is already here and the power of the institutions and the system that we have built that we now need to transform. We spoke about the value that we can find in relationships and what happens when we dare to localise our value - shifting our gravity of value closer, to biking distance even. This is such a hands on, humane and warm conversation that I'd recommend anyone to listen to it regardless of if you need a pick me up or if you are a budding activist and need a different way of changing the system than chaining yourself to a tree. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

Jan 05, 202301:01:24
161. Maria 'Decida' Wahlberg. What pop culture can teach us about subculture, culture, coming home and creation

161. Maria 'Decida' Wahlberg. What pop culture can teach us about subculture, culture, coming home and creation

Maria 'Decida' Wahlberg is the co-founder of Transponder where she works with transformation of culture in companies and society at large. She is a creative, dancer and choreographer turned systems thinker. To find out more about her check out her webpage. In this conversation we look at what it is to come home, what pop music has to teach us about culture change and transformation. What it means to be deracinated and put into a different culture, what it means to find a new home in a subculture, what movement and constellations has to teach us about complexity and much more. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul.

Dec 29, 202201:13:45
160. Daniel Christian Wahl - Regenerative design, the water cycle, science as intersubjective consensus, salutogenic and ecozoic principles of reorganising our society
Dec 22, 202201:17:09
159. Alexander Whitley - Choreography, the language of dancing, healing through dance and dealing with high levels of uncertainty

159. Alexander Whitley - Choreography, the language of dancing, healing through dance and dealing with high levels of uncertainty

Alexander Whitley is a British renowned choreographer trained in classical ballet that has formed his own company and is working and exploring the topics of our current moment, consciousness and our interaction with technology. We speak of the potential for us to process complexity through other languages than the spoke word. What happens, what shifts and what becomes possible through the implicit? That which contains lots of room for interpretation? We also speak of what is the nature of the relationship of art and what does it mean to have to fund art (to make contributions visit the company's webpage) as well as new formats for dance and art (check that out on the website too). Wonderfully rich and deep conversation in words but addressing something else altogether with an invitation to look at dance through the lens of a dancer. Enjoy. Host Amit Paul

Dec 15, 202201:10:25
158. Joshua Haynes - Money, Power and new ways of funding in a transforming society

158. Joshua Haynes - Money, Power and new ways of funding in a transforming society

Joshua Haynes (twitter) a nurture capitalist (not venture capitalist) and director of the investment fund Masawa where they have reimagined capital and investing, building an ecosystem and looking out for people that build ventures to address our mental health challenges. This was an exciting conversation and some of the questions that Joshua poses like: power for what and what does an ideal system look like when belonging is universal? We also speak of the world of aid as part of Joshuas background in SIDA and USAID. Why his current ventures might have some traces of inspiration from the micro finance industry. And we speak on the topic of whether money has a soul? Wonderful wide ranging conversation. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

Dec 08, 202201:08:54
157. Marco Valente - Epistemic humility, loops of learning, theories of change, navigating complexity, risk, wicked problems and evidence based decision making

157. Marco Valente - Epistemic humility, loops of learning, theories of change, navigating complexity, risk, wicked problems and evidence based decision making

Marco Valente (LinkedIn, Twitter) is a sustainability practicioner and a facilitator. He's way of speaking into and navigating complexity are wonderfully rich. Marco shares some of his thinking on a wide range of topics. We speak about epistemic humility: how do we get to see the world through which lens? Loops of learning and Marcos decision diary. Wicked learning environments and how to navigate them. What do we do in the face of radical uncertainty? What does it mean to set a minimum set of rules or minimum specifications? What is the replication crisis and why does it not warrant for disbelief in science? What is the paradox embedded in evidence based decision making? Wonderfully rich conversation on how we get to know our world. Host: Amit Paul

Dec 01, 202201:07:02
156. Maria Selting: 5 mental shifts to thrive in the future of work

156. Maria Selting: 5 mental shifts to thrive in the future of work

Maria Selting from the Unbox your world podcast came on. She is a futurist and a technologist having spent time in a couple of hyper growth start-ups. She is now a speaker and podcaster focusing on what's next in the world. Discussing her article titled 5 mental shifts to thrive in the future of work. This is a fun exploration around the times we are standing in and a meeting of paradigms. The conversation cover the 5 shifts and it was a privilege to weed out and untangle similarities and differences in our way of thinking. The 5 points are useful as a backbone to structure one's capacity building regarding the times that we are in. Here is the deeper explanation of the concept of anti-fragility that Maria points to in the conversation.  If you want to book Maria as a speaker. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

Nov 24, 202201:11:33
155. Ria Baeck: Collective presencing, knots, flow, life, when individuals get stuck, when groups get stuck and why attention really matters.

155. Ria Baeck: Collective presencing, knots, flow, life, when individuals get stuck, when groups get stuck and why attention really matters.

Ria Baeck is a psychologist and a member of the Art of Hosting community. She has worked with organisations as large as the EU as well as many companies in "untying the knots" that are keeping people from fulfilling their full potential. Ria has been experimenting with collective presence (or wisdom) for a long time. In fact she wrote the book on collective presencing (excellent resource). Her experiments with the "magic in the middle" has taken her into a journey of remembering and exploration of many years. And the exploration has some profound implications for those of us interested in transformative work. This conversation focus on the collective presencing, we speak of individual and collective stuckness and how we can bring flow (or life) back when that happens. And focus especially on how to cultivate a culture of interdependence. I personally believe this is an important one for those engaging in transformative work. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul

If you are curious about collective presencing you can also check out the STOA for the open sessions that they offer.

Nov 17, 202201:07:17
154. Hans Hassle: Companies, companisations, the value change in business and wondering if money has a soul?
Nov 10, 202201:11:20
153. Klaus Schenck: Everything agile (Kanban, Scrum, DevOps) summed up, doughnut economics, optimisation, navigating complexity and half-assed relationships
Nov 02, 202201:12:45
152. Anders Varger: Life on the pragmatic edge. Changing how we build and commune and weaving the young and old into the fabric of our society

152. Anders Varger: Life on the pragmatic edge. Changing how we build and commune and weaving the young and old into the fabric of our society

Anders Varger is the school teacher and entrepreneur that realised that it's possible to change societies. Even if you are just an individual. We speak about his project to build regenerative neighbourhoods through his organisation Hubville and his work to bring in youth and elderly into the discussions around how we build our society through Framtidens röster. We also speak about not knowing as a leader. What it means to be on the pragmatic edge. Scaling down and deep, figuring out what you are really doing and how really move things along and a lot more. This is a grounded, concrete, hands on discussion about the craft of driving societal change. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul.

Oct 27, 202201:08:09
151. Nate Hagens: Energy blindness, the perdicament our world is in and the importance of creating a deeper understanding of it.

151. Nate Hagens: Energy blindness, the perdicament our world is in and the importance of creating a deeper understanding of it.

Nate Hagens is the host of the podcast the great simplification that has blown up as a dire and well researched lense to our current predicament as a species. The podcast is a must listen for anyone trying to make sense of our wold that takes a trans-disciplinary lens on our challenges. From economy to biology, chemistry and physics. If you are new to the topic take a look at the animated shorts that will give you a nice overview of this frame. Or dive into the youtube channel right away.

This conversation is timely and somber. And yet it contains hope. The frame of a this being a story of a species finding a huge amount of fossile carbon and throwing a 2 century party and the need to now gently come off it sums it up in one way. The take away that both Nate and Amit, both spending quite some time in existential risk frameworks, have the feeling that the understanding of the times we are in create some sort of agency and a different focus altogether. Nate took a break form his touring the world and speaking to governments about the last 20 years of his work to record this. Enjoy! Host: Amit Paul.

Oct 20, 202201:13:30
150. Alexander Bard. Why we live in addicted, childish times and what we need to understand and relate to in order to move forward

150. Alexander Bard. Why we live in addicted, childish times and what we need to understand and relate to in order to move forward

Alexander Bard is philosopher, artist and politician. We invited him to talk about the trinity priest/schaman, matriarch and chieftain/king and the times we live in. This is a challenging, thought provoking perspective that draws upon a specific narrative around our current moment. It deals with the feminine, masculine and shamanoid. The invitation is clear: what does it take for our society to grow up and start taking responsibility? What does it take for you to do that? Hosts: Amit Paul and Nils von Heijne. 

Oct 13, 202201:21:37
149. Joey Weber - Why mindfulness is not enough and the science of equanimity

149. Joey Weber - Why mindfulness is not enough and the science of equanimity

Dr Joey Weber is the author of Why mindfulness is not enough. He worked out a definition of equanimity and also a protocol for being able to measure and cultivate equanimity during his PhD. Joey is now giving 6 week courses in mindfulness (next one starting october 2nd 2022, and then restarting every 6 weeks). This conversation about equanimity, feeling, how to put mindfulness to use. Joey is liberatingly opinionated and passionate about the subject. To find out more check out Joeys Webpage, LinkedIn or Instagram. Enjoy.

Sep 30, 202201:05:34