Light the Campfire

What happens at the far edges of human consciousness and what can science actually tell us about it?We sat down with Kathryn Devaney. A neuroscientist, meditation teacher, PhD at Harvard Medical School and Chief Scientific Officer of the Consciousness Foundation, to explore states where consciousness temporarily ceases, where the self dissolves and where suffering, remarkably, loses its grip. These are states that contemplative traditions have mapped for thousands of years and that science is only now beginning to have the instruments to study.This episode moves between ancient terms and MRI scanners, between the deeply personal and the civilisational. It's for you if you're curious about what we can experience beyond our day to day: what are jhanas and cessation and why do they matter beyond the meditation cushion? Why does this work matter to our individual development and also for how our world develops around us?  We left stretched, moved and more alive to what remains possible. And we ended with an unexpected, quiet and fierce reminder: never disown your own wisdom - you are the ultimate authority on your own experience.

We're living through the most rapid technological acceleration in human history and at the same time an acceleration of spiritual yearning. Millions of people are turning to AI for spiritual and emotional guidance, reflection, and support, while a new suite of tech builders are building what we might call "Spirit Tech". What does that reveal about the yearnings and the collective shadows of our time, and the possibilities we have yet to imagine?We sit down with Eddy Vaisberg, an ex BCG consultant, tech builder in Kenya and founder of Spirit Tech Collective, to ask some hard and expansive questions: Can technology ever truly honor the sacred? What happens when spiritual yearning meets a growth-at-all-costs funding model? How do we create tools that bring people back to themselves rather than become one more thing pulling them away?This episode sits right at the edge of what's emerging, and we believe it's one of the most important conversations of our time

In this episode, we sat down with Dr. Elaine Aron — the world's leading voice on the trait of high sensitivity. Over twenty-five years ago, Elaine was the first researcher to identify, name, and study this trait scientifically, coining the idea of the highly sensitive person (HSP), and her work has since become the foundation for how the world understands and talks about sensitivity.Through her research, books, and the resource hsperson.com, she has given language to something millions of people have felt their whole lives but never had a word for.In this conversation, Elaine challenges the idea that highly sensitive people are all alike, explaining how childhood environment, gender, introversion versus extroversion, and even high sensation-seeking can make HSPs more different from one another than people without the trait.We explore what a "highly sensitive superhero" might actually look like, why depth of processing is often invisible until a crisis hits, and how sensitive people can learn to stand up for the value they bring.And finally, We’ve had a vision of making Light the Campfire a place to also explore intergenerational wisdom, or a place to capture what we can learn from our elders. Elaine shares with us why spiritual awakening alone doesn't guarantee wisdom or goodness, what collective responsibility is, and why it would serve us to grow from group-centered thinking toward a world-centered one.This conversation is not only for people who identify as sensitive, but for anyone wanting to show up more fully in the world.

We often overlook the many layers of what forms our human experience. If we want to think differently - whether for our love of life, our work or own transformation - what else do we need to truly create something different? Is thinking enough or do we need to access other dimensions and sensory layers in the way we process, access and integrate various insights from within ourselves and across domains? We sit down with Michelle Zucker, a systems change designer and Dark Matter Labs collaborator, and an expert in how to think and be differently. We invite the powers of our sensory tentacles, serendipity, awe and more.

Many of us have learned to hold back what we really feel to keep things smooth, to avoid tension. But in doing so, our conversations often stay on the surface, and the real work is left undone.Our guest, Patrick Frick, has spent 25 years bringing leaders together to collaborate on challenges where no one is in charge. In this episode, we explore what it takes to lead in the messy in-between: where no one has formal authority, agendas collide, and contexts can shift from complex to chaotic rather than towards consensus and understanding. A brave space isn't about having the right title or the perfect answer, it's about stepping in anyway: naming the tension rather than managing it, welcoming discomfort rather than smoothing it over, and meeting honesty with care.This conversation helps us get honest about what that actually requires of us - the willingness to show up and act when no one else will, whether around the family table, our most intimate relationships, or in the rooms where our shared future gets decided.

What if justice wasn’t about punishment, but about accountability, repair, and our shared humanity?Today we’re around the campfire with Patrick Heneghan, Director of Restorative Justice for Cheshire County, New Hampshire, exploring what it truly means to repair harm with compassion. In this episode, we learn how to make room for restorative healing - whether within the justice system or in our day-to-day relationships. These interrelational tools aren’t something most of us are taught, which is exactly why this conversation matters. Whether you’re curious about criminal justice, community conflict, or navigating challenges in your own life, this dialogue invites you into a different understanding of justice - one rooted in courage, responsibility, and connection.Patrick’s journey bridges adult education, systems change, and deep relational practice. Since creating and leading the Cheshire County Restorative Justice program in 2020, he has worked with victims, those who have caused harm, community members, prosecutors, and correctional institutions to transform how justice is understood and experienced, shifting the focus from punishment to restoration.

What if PMS could be a superpower?We as women are cyclical beings, yet often move as if life was linear. Instead of attuning to natural phases and the wisdom they bring, we tend to adapt to be constantly “likable”, nurturing, and extroverted. And it seems we’re missing out.In this episode, we speak with Sanna Aulén, expert in women’s holistic and postpartum health, somatics and therapeutic bodywork. We explore how listening differently to our body, honouring our emotions (without getting attached to them) and embracing our cyclical wisdom can guide us back to self-discovery, empowerment, more energy and deeper connection.This is also for everyone who has women in their lives, this conversation is an invitation: to celebrate sensitivity (as receptiveness to life around us), reclaim power, and tap into the gifts that being a cyclical being brings to ourselves, our relationships, and our world.

What if the economy isn’t broken but the game we’ve been playing is? Humanity has long played the ‘chimpanzee game’ of competition and extraction, but what if we could learn from the bonobos' collaboration: balance, and thriving together? Today, we sit down with Prof. Lorenzo Fioramonti - Italy’s former Minister of Education, member of the Club of Rome, Academic Director of NATIVA Campus (a new training academy for regenerative leaders), and leading voice in the movement for a wellbeing economy. From New Zealand measuring child well being in its national budget to innovations quietly reshaping production, consumption, and everyday life across the globe, Lorenzo shows us that we already have the tools to design an economy that serves people and planet alike. All that’s missing is the ability to connect the dots and imagine a system designed for life, not just growth.

Statistically women invest their money less than men.However, when they do, they outperform men. Why is it then that women invest less? What would it take to ensure women engage more with their financial futures and why is this so important to talk about it? Much of the issue (alongside many historical and structuralfactors) lies in the fact that women talk less about $$$ amongst themselves.It’s for this reason we’re so excited to have Elisabeth Prager around the campfire. With a background in insurance and pensions, private banking, consulting and founding a fintech to close the gender wealth gap, Elisabeth helps women overcome the many barriers that block them from these important conversations. In a time where people live longer and can expect less public pension support ahead, this talk couldn’t be more important.Together we explore how to think about financial futures,how to divide our salaries, how to educate our children to be responsible, how to learn from each other, and more.

Power, ethics, and technology are being rewritten in realtime. Artificial intelligence is changing how the world works and who holds the reins.We’re joined by Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard, Denmark’s TechAmbassador and head of the country’s pioneering TechPlomacy initiative - a diplomatic mission that stands at the intersection of governments, Big Tech, and global governance. Our conversation explores some of the most defining questions of our time: if tech and AI development are a race, what happens when we prioritize speed over wisdom? Do we inherently then compromise ethics? Why we need to understand technology as deeply securityrelated? In this context, why is it important that Europe has a say and we don’t leave our future up to two global superpowers? We ask if regions like Europe can catch up to increase their tech sovereignty; can we infuse meaning, purpose and community into how AI is adopted, and can we retain agency and remain human?