Life Itself Podcast

In this episode of Ordinary People host Sylvie Barbier speaks with Rainer von Leoprechting, an inspiring figure who transitioned from a structured career in the European Commission to a fulfilling life as an independent consultant working internationally from his small farm place in  Austria.Rainer shares his journey from studying Economics and Business Administration in Germany to embracing a critical view of economic systems. After joining the European Commission in 1994, he eventually left to co-found initiatives like the Frændi Partnership and the Obenaus community in Austria, focusing on innovative leadership and long-term strategic thinking. Rainer reflects on the systemic challenges of his generation, the importance of fostering new approaches for younger generations, and the transformative power of leaving behind the "golden cage" of conventional success. He emphasizes the value of community, creativity, and proactive change in leadership roles.This episode is a testament to how stepping away from comfort zones can lead to a richer, more authentic life. Join us for a compelling conversation that delves into the heart of personal and societal transformation, highlighting the potential within each of us to impact the world positively.#community #economicsystems #transform #leadership #podcast #ordinarypeopleAbout Rainer von LeoprechtingRainer von Leoprechting is a German entrepreneur and philanthropist. He works as an independent consultant and is co-founder of the Fraendi partnership.About Sylvie BarbierSylvie Barbier is a French-Taiwanese performance artist, entrepreneur and educator. She co-founded Life Itself to build a wiser future through culture, space and community. Ordinary People is a podcast series that delves into the lives of individuals who have defied societal expectations and embarked on extra-ordinary paths despite their seemingly ordinary backgrounds. Join us as we dive deep into their lives, uncovering their motivations, beliefs, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extra-ordinary journey.Chapters00:02:25: The 2035 Process: Preparing for the Future00:07:54: Founding the Frændi Partnership00:12:33: Inspiration from Jean Monnet00:19:49: Rainer’s Formative Years00:22:39: Family Background and Education00:27:10: Transition to Independent Consultancy00:34:20: The Role of Community in Leadership Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of Ordinary People host Sylvie Barbier sits down with Natalia Lombardo, a multifaceted community developer and psychedelic guide. Natalia shares her journey from her roots in Argentina to her current endeavors in Europe, where she engages in community development, permaculture, and creative activism. She opens up about her personal healing journey following a severe brain injury and how this led her to explore and integrate psychedelics into her therapeutic practices. Natalia's story is one of transformation, resilience, and the continuous pursuit of innovative ways to foster collaboration and personal growth. #permaculture #collaborative #psychedelics #collective #activism #ordinarypeople #podcast About Natalia Lombardo Nati helps groups to cultivate a collaborative culture through values-driven behavioral change. Her focus is the self in "self-organising": the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours each of us brings into any collective endeavour. Co-founder and Collaboration Coach at The Hum . Co-owner of Loomio and member of Enspiral. About Sylvie Barbier Sylvie Barbier is a French-Taiwanese performance artist, entrepreneur and educator. She co-founded Life Itself to build a wiser future through culture, space and community. Ordinary People is a podcast series that delves into the lives of individuals who have defied societal expectations and embarked on extra-ordinary paths despite their seemingly ordinary backgrounds. Join us as we dive deep into their lives, uncovering their motivations, beliefs, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extra-ordinary journey. Chapters 00:02:09: Current Projects and Passions 00:03:23: Nati's Childhood Journey from Argentina to Europe 00:15:51: Discovering Permaculture and Community Living in Argentina 00:21:43: Intergenerational Communication in Communities 00:29:37: Unlearning Societal Norms and Exploring New Models 00:36:14: Healing with Psychedelics 00:42:34: Embracing a New Identity Post-Trauma 00:45:33: Discovering New Energies and Capabilities Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of Ordinary People Walking Extra-Ordinary Path, Life Itself Co-Founder Sylvie Barbier is joined by Liam Kavanagh. Liam reflects on his transition from observing environmental changes to spearheading initiatives like the Climate Majority Project. From his childhood curiosity and nourished creativity to his adult inquiries into the nature of thought and emotion, Liam shares how an openness to people from all walks of life, a thirst for understanding truth, and a dedicated meditation practice have shaped his unconventional journey. His story invites us to question societal norms and embark on our own journey of spiritual inquiry in service of an awakening society. #ordinarypeople #climatechange #meditation #buddism #curiosity #adhd #secondrenaissance About Liam Kavanagh Liam Kavanagh is co-founder of Life Itself and Director of the Climate Majority Project. About Sylvie Barbier Sylvie Barbier is a French-Taiwanese performance artist, entrepreneur and educator. She co-founded Life Itself to build a wiser future through culture, space and community. Ordinary People is a podcast series that delves into the lives of individuals who have defied societal expectations and embarked on extra-ordinary paths despite their seemingly ordinary backgrounds. Join us as we dive deep into their lives, uncovering their motivations, beliefs, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extra-ordinary journey. Chapters0:00 - Liam's path from economist to climate activist 03:12 - Growing up, family values and curiosity 10:06 - Creativity, ADHD, and family support 14:47 - Living in a squat, visiting Compton, and encountering gang violence 25:45 - Buddhism and the book that opened my mind 35:40 - Economics, neuroscience, and understanding the emotional holes of economic ideas 42:35 - Meditation and practice 53:15 - Questioning societal norms and the thirst for enquiry Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of Ordinary People Sylvie Barbier speaks with Elizabeth Debold in a thought-provoking dialogue exploring the intersections of gender, identity, and culture. Elizabeth shares her journey of questioning societal norms around gender roles and relationships, stemming from witnessing the destructive dynamic between her parents. She talks about her early spiritual experience that opened her up to a sense of unity, and her involvement in feminist activism and spiritual communities. The conversation explores themes of community, interbeing, postmodernism, and the tensions between different generations.#societalchange #genderidentity #growth #resilience #feminine #masculine #ordinarypeople #secondrenaissance #developmentalpsychology About Elizabeth Debold Elizabeth Debold is a developmental psychologist, gender futurist and author of the bestselling Mother Daughter Revolution. She has spent the past four decades working as an activist, researcher, journalist, spiritual explorer, and transformative educator in relation to gender and cultural evolution. About Sylvie BarbierSylvie Barbier is a French-Taiwanese performance artist, entrepreneur and educator. She co-founded Life Itself to build a wiser future through culture, space and community.Ordinary People is a podcast series that delves into the lives of individuals who have defied societal expectations and embarked on extra-ordinary paths despite their seemingly ordinary backgrounds. Join us as we dive deep into their lives, uncovering their motivations, beliefs, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extra-ordinary journey.Chapters0:00 - Gender identity, spirituality, and creating sacred spaces for connection05:32 - Personal growth through writing and identity formation11:26 - Gender roles, expectations, and family betrayal19:38 - Gender roles and cultural divisions25:17 - Gender roles, femininity, and community life34:34 - Women's empowerment and interpersonal relationships41:40 - Family dynamics, and sibling relationships48:00 - Generational differences and the challenges of growing up in a postmodern society Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of Ordinary People Rufus Pollock talks with Daniel Thorson. Daniel shares his unique journeys of finding faith, meaning, and personal growth through unexpected avenues of meditation, living at a Goenka center, and participating in the Occupy Wall Street movement. They delve into the critical roles of trust, courage, and support in navigating life's uncertainties and explore the intersection of Buddhism and technology, pondering the potential for online spaces to foster contemplative practices, and sustaining personal and societal transformation through commitment and deep inquiry.#monastic #emerge #buddhism #friendship #inquiry #technology #socialtransformation #courage #faith #meditationAbout Daniel ThorsonDaniel Thorson is a writer, a Monastic at Monastic Academy and the creator and host of the podcast Emerge – Making Sense of What's Next, where he explores meaning, responsibility, and human development in the age of automation and climate collapse, and the relationship between inner and outer transformation. About Rufus PollockRufus Pollock is an entrepreneur, activist and author as well as a long-term zen practitioner. He is passionate about finding wiser, weller ways to live together. He has founded several for-profit and nonprofit initiatives including Life Itself, Open Knowledge Foundation, and Datopian. His book Open Revolution is about making a radically freer and fairer information age. Previously he has been the Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge as well as a Shuttleworth and Ashoka Fellow. A recognized global expert on the information society, he has worked with G7 governments, IGOs like the UN, Fortune 500s as well as many civil society organizations. He holds a PhD in Economics and a double first in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Find out more about his work on his website: rufuspollock.com.Ordinary People is a podcast series that delves into the lives of individuals who have defied societal expectations and embarked on extra-ordinary paths despite their seemingly ordinary backgrounds. Join us as we dive deep into their lives, uncovering their motivations, beliefs, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extra-ordinary journey.Chapters00:05 Personal growth, meditation, and systems change with a focus on alienation and finding meaning in life06:48 Occupy Wall Street movement, Buddhist geeks, and hope, and power18:02 Creating a modern monastery to address planetary crisis27:18 Personal growth, breakthroughs, and the importance of faith and support39:41 The importance of friendship in personal growth and spiritual development47:19 Creating intentional communities for personal growth and service59:07 How to help people stay in a community and work through conflicts1:05:02 Commitment and transformation through structured programs1:10:53 desires through inquiry, letting go of preferences and avoiding manipulation.1:20:59 The nature of truth and goodness in a secular humanist society and its relationship to religion, culture, and personal transformation1:31:27 Truth, meaning, and values in post-conventional society Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of Ordinary People Sylvie Barbier speaks with Valerie Duvauchelle on the transformative power of Zen and embodied practices. Valerie explains her personal journey as she navigates the complexities of cultural and generational trauma, exploring the profound impact Zen Buddhism had on her connection with self, others, and nature.#ordinarypeople #zen #wisdom #meditation #wiserworld #tenzo #bergeracpraxishub #consciouscollectives Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of Ordinary People walking an extra-ordinary path podcast, Life Itself co-founder Sylvie Barbier is joined by Dr Simon Longstaff.Dr Simon Longstaff is the Executive Director of The Ethics Centre, co-founder of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, and has been named one of the True Leaders of the 21st century by Australian Financial Review BOSS magazine. He shares with us his journey into ethics, from the choice of his mother between the life of her child and her own, his path of working as a cleaner, to studying the law, to the influence the aboriginal people had on his life to his work of strengthening Australia’s ethical infrastructure.Ordinary People is a podcast series that delves into the lives of individuals who have defied societal expectations and embarked on extra-ordinary paths despite their seemingly ordinary backgrounds. Join us as we dive deep into their lives, uncovering their motivations, beliefs, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extra-ordinary journey.Sylvie Barbier is a French-Taiwanese performance artist, entrepreneur and educator. She co-founded Life Itself to build a wiser future through culture, space and community.The Once Upon a Time podcast series, shatters the myth that extraordinary lives are reserved for a select few. Join us as we dive deep into the lives of seemingly ordinary people who are walking extra-ordinary paths, uncovering their motivations, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extraordinary journey.If you found this conversation insightful please give it a like and consider subscribing to our channel. By doing so you will be helping us bring this necessary knowledge to a bigger audience. www.lifeitself.org Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of the Ordinary Poeple walking an extra-ordinary pathPodcast, Life Itself Co-Founder Sylvie Barbier is joined by Jamie Bristow a leading expert on inner development and contemplative practices in public life.Ordinary People is a podcast series that delves into the lives of individuals who have defied societal expectations and embarked on extra-ordinary paths despite their seemingly ordinary backgrounds. Join us as we dive deep into their lives, uncovering their motivations, beliefs, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extra-ordinary journey.Jamie talks about his journey from his troubling teenage years to teaching mindfulness to politicians. Jamie Bristow opens up about his troubling teenage years led by the dislocation and adaption of new cultures while their family moved between the UK and the USA. Exploring what led him to move away from his advertising career to being a mindfulness practitioner and teacher. Jamie’s life story highlights the importance of meditation, faith, and resilience in leading a mindful life. About Jamie Bristow (2023)Jamie Bristow is a leading expert on inner development and contemplative practices in public life.For eight years, he was Director of the Mindfulness Initiative and clerk to the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mindfulness. In 2023, he joined the Inner Development Goals team to lead on public narrative & policy development. Jamie was formerly Business Development Director for Headspace and has a background in psychology, climate change campaign communications and advertising. A teacher of insight meditation, his mentors have included Rob Burbea, Stephen Batchelor and Christina Feldman. Learn more about Jamie Bristow and his work here: https://www.jamiebristow.com/About Sylvie BarbierSylvie Barbier is a French-Taiwanese performance artist, entrepreneur and educator. She co-founded Life Itself to build a wiser future through culture, space and community.The Once Upon a Time podcast series, shatters the myth that extraordinary lives are reserved for a select few. Join us as we dive deep into the lives of seemingly ordinary people who are walking extra-ordinary paths, uncovering their motivations, practices, and moments of transformation. We demystify hero worship and share accessible narratives of real individuals who have transcended societal expectations and norms. Each guest delicately navigates the balance between introspection and worldly engagement. Listeners are offered empowerment, kinship and inspiration for embarking on their own extraordinary journey.If you found this conversation insightful please give it a like and consider subscribing to our channel. By doing so you will be helping us bring this necessary knowledge to a bigger audience. www.lifeitself.org Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of the Life Itself Podcast, Rufus Pollock sits down with Professor Joseph Henrich to continue the discussion on the study of cultural evolution.In this second part of the conversation continuing from episode 3, Rufus Pollock and Joe Henrich discuss the implications of cultural evolution in relation to modern challenges. They explore the potential for intentional experimentation in creating cultural norms that promote trust, cooperation, group cohesion and a sense of community and belonging. Rufus and Joe touch upon the idea that Western societies might be running on old values and norms cultivated by historical religious practices. They discuss the need to find ways to renew and revitalize these values, potentially by experimenting with intentional communities that incorporate elements of shared meaning, trust-building, ritual and cooperation. The talk moves on to discuss the idea that by allowing a variety of intentional communities to form and observing which ones thrive, societies could potentially find ways to address current challenges and promote positive cultural evolution.This conversation forms part of the Cultural Evolution: A New Discipline is Born Series.You can learn more here https://lifeitself.org/learn/culturologyJoseph Henrich is a Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He is author of several books, most recently 'The Weirdest People in the World' and 'The Secret of Our Success'. His research focuses on evolutionary approaches to psychology, decision-making and culture, and includes topics related to cultural learning, cultural evolution, culture-gene coevolution, human sociality, prestige, leadership, large-scale cooperation, religion and the emergence of complex human institutions.Rufus Pollock is an entrepreneur, activist and author. He has founded several for-profit and nonprofit initiatives including Life Itself, Open Knowledge Foundation, and Datopian. His book Open Revolution is about making a radically freer and fairer information age. Previously he has been the Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge as well as a Shuttleworth and Ashoka Fellow. A recognized global expert on the information society, he has worked with G7 governments, IGOs like the UN, Fortune 500s as well as many civil society organizations. He holds a PhD in Economics and a double first in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Find out more about his work on his website: ⁠⁠rufuspollock.com⁠⁠. Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe

In this episode of the Life Itself Podcast, Rufus Pollock sits down with Professor Joseph Henrich to continue the discussion on the study of cultural evolution.In this episode the significance of family structures and the church takes center stage in their role towards shaping human societies. Joseph explains that different kinship networks influence behaviors, trust, and cooperation within societies and how the Catholic Church played an unintentionally role in shaping Western societies by implementing rules against cousin marriage and polygyny. These rules inadvertently fostered individualism, trust in non-kin relationships, and analytic thinking. These cultural shifts and networks of horizontal connections led to the development of "WEIRD" psychology – Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic, a topic discussed in Henrich’s latest book. These cultural transformations resulted in the development of different psychological traits that help to explain the remarkable economic success, innovations, and current challenges faced by Western societies. This conversation forms part of the Cultural Evolution: A New Discipline is Born Series.You can learn more here: https://lifeitself.org/learn/culturologyJoseph Henrich is a Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He is author of several books, most recently 'The Weirdest People in the World' and 'The Secret of Our Success'. His research focuses on evolutionary approaches to psychology, decision-making and culture, and includes topics related to cultural learning, cultural evolution, culture-gene coevolution, human sociality, prestige, leadership, large-scale cooperation, religion and the emergence of complex human institutions.Rufus Pollock is an entrepreneur, activist and author. He has founded several for-profit and nonprofit initiatives including Life Itself, Open Knowledge Foundation, and Datopian. His book Open Revolution is about making a radically freer and fairer information age. Previously he has been the Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge as well as a Shuttleworth and Ashoka Fellow. A recognized global expert on the information society, he has worked with G7 governments, IGOs like the UN, Fortune 500s as well as many civil society organizations. He holds a PhD in Economics and a double first in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Find out more about his work on his website: ⁠⁠rufuspollock.com⁠⁠. Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe