Wiser Now

Carmen Prema has been studying and teaching Integral Yoga Teacher for over 35 years and personally, she’s my favorite yoga teacher, for the depth of her knowledge, the beauty of her being, and her rare wisdom. In this episode, we talk about how Carmen first got into yoga, what integral yoga is all about, what exactly can be considered yoga, and what is the relevance of traditional yoga in our meta-modern times.Check out Carmen's Yoga Teacher Trainings and events here.About the show: Wiser Now is a podcast for those of us who feel called to live truer, wiser lives. Expect interviews with guests across vocations, about their stories of becoming, about their contribution to a wiser now, about how to cultivate the courage necessary to live whole lives in world that's breaking open.Producer & host: Carlota GuedesSound editor: Carlos SierraMusic producer: Ariel SaponarAbout the host: I'm Carlota Guedes. I write essays and fiction. I teach integral yoga online. And I facilitate book clubs, retreats and gatherings around vocation, integrity, social healing, art and meaning in times of our metacrisis.Learn more and subscribe to my newsletter here.Follow me on Instagram.Follow me on TikTok.Join my weekly online yoga classes. Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

A conversation with Andreas Endries, co-founder of the land-based project and former intentional community Alma Ohana.I invited Andreas because I’ve been attempting (and failing) to build community myself. I wanted to listen to his story; learn why Andreas’ dream didn’t materialize: what broke, why it broke, and what they’d do differently.Together we talk about Andreas' roots: how a boy who didn’t fit in ended up dedicating their life to building belonging for others. We talk about Andreas experience of gender in their body, as someone who now identifies as two-spirit. We talk about the stuff of community life: the big vision, the core group that didn’t hold, the famous building permits, the moment you realize you can’t hold it alone anymore. We end with a question: What to do next, when you’ve poured your whole self into something, and it still didn’t work?Enjoy :)About the showWiser Now is a podcast for those of us who feel called to live truer, wiser lives, as individuals and as a collective. Expect interviews about becoming and initiation, about purpose and vocation, about how to cultivate the courage necessary to live whole lives in a world that's breaking open.Producer & host: Carlota Guedes.Sound editor: Ariel Saponar.Music producer: Carlos Sierra.About the hostI'm Carlota Guedes. I write essays and fiction. I host podcast conversations at Wiser Now. I teach integral yoga online. I facilitate book clubs, retreats and gatherings around the questions I'm animated by: self-development, vocation, creativity, and meaning in times of our metacrisis.To learn more visit wisernow.org. Follow me on Youtube, Instagram or TikTok. Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

To say that a book has changed my life sounds like a cliché. There aren’t many that truly do, but Jem Bendell’s Breaking Together: a Freedom Loving Response to Collapse is certainly one of them.So when I heard Jem Bendell was coming to Lisbon for the launch of the Portuguese edition of Breaking Together, I had to try to interview him. We recorded this conversation in late 2024, the day after the book launch. My angle, as usual, was personal. Beyond asking Jem about societal collapse—which he’s spoken about widely elsewhere—I wanted to meet the human behind the thesis: Who is Jem Bendell? How did he become who he is? How did he get to do this important work? And what does it mean for him to live with more consciousness and wisdom, now?Guest Bio:Jem Bendell is a world-renowned scholar on the breakdown of modern societies due to environmental change. For decades he worked in Sustainable Development—as a researcher, NGO manager, professor, and consultant to businesses, political parties, and UN agencies.In 2012, he was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and has since become one of the clearest critics of the globalist agenda on sustainable development.In 2018, after a sabbatical studying the latest climate science, he published Deep Adaptation—an academic paper that went viral and is credited to inspiring the Extinction Rebellion movement.Since then, Jem has stepped away from the sustainability industry. He published Breaking Together in 2023, moved to Bali, opened an organic farming school, became a singer-songwriter, and, in his own words, a militant mysticist.Links:* Buy Breaking Together: a Freedom Loving Response to Collapse* Buy Juntos na Rutura, the Portuguese edition of Breaking Together* Download Breaking Together for free* Subscribe to Jem Bendell’s blog* Join Jem’s monthly Metacrisis meetingsCredits:* Music Audio Producer & Editor: Carlos Sierra* Producer, Writer & Host: Carlota Guedes Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

In this interview, we listen to the story of becoming of Elad Kaspin—someone who shatters not only the stereotype of a ‘hippie,’ but also that of an ‘Israeli man,’ ‘father,’ and ‘entrepreneur.’Born in Israel, son of a military man, Elad grew up dreaming of becoming a combat pilot. Due to a health condition—or as Elad calls it, a divine intervention—that path closed, and he became a computer engineer instead.After that, he began asking deeper questions about the world he’d inherited. He left Israel in search of ways of living that didn’t reduce people–or business to profit machines. Eventually, he landed in the south of Portugal, in Alentejo, where we met.Together, we talk about Elad's early life, from his sensitivity to subtle energies to his once-ambitious military dreams.We explore his experience living in community—both the one he created with friends, and at Tamera, a 30-year-old intentional community in southern Portugal known for its radical explorations around peace, love, and sexuality.We also talk about Elad’s embodied perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian war, as well as the business he co-founded with a Palestinian friend—Canhamor—a sustainable hemp-block producer revolutionizing the construction industry in Portugal.Last but not least, we hear what it means for Elad to live a wiser, more conscious life. Credits:* Music Audio Producer & Editor: Carlos Sierra* Producer, Writer & Host: Carlota Guedes Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

If there’s a central inquiry to the Waking Youth podcast it’s this: How might we consciously initiate ourselves—as individuals and as a species–into the next stage of our evolution? Turn our ecological emergency, our polycrisis, into an opportunity for global transformation?Daniel Pinchbeck has dedicated his life and career to living this question.Author of Breaking Open the Head, 2012 The Return of Quetzalcoatl, How Soon Is Now, and more recently, the Substack newsletter Liminal News, Daniel’s work explores consciousness, politics, mysticism, and social change.He has spent decades not just writing about change, but actively seeking it through projects like the Evolver Network, The Elevator’s Substack, and online courses on the ecological emergency.In this episode, we unpack Daniel’s story of becoming—from his early days as a child of the Beat Generation in New York, to his awakening into a more mystical paradigm.We talk about writing as a tool for transformation, how to catalyze social and environmental shifts, the war between the genders, and the connection between non-normative relational models (like polyamory) and social healing.Last but not least, we listen to Daniel’s words of wisdom for the younger generations, coming of age in this pivotal evolutionary moment.Enjoy!References:* TAZ: The Temporary Autonomous Zone* Techno-Feudalism: What Killed Capitalism* Why Materialism is Baloney* Morphogenetic Fields, Rupert Sheldrake* Manifesto for the Noosphere* The Myth of Male Power* The Red Pill* The Outrage Machine* Sexual Personae* Existential Kink* Eros Unredeemed* The Case Against the Sexual Revolution* Internet for the PeopleCredits:* Music Audio Producer & Editor: Carlos Sierra* Producer, Writer & Host: Carlota Guedes Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

Hannah Close is a writer, photographer and cultural curator. I invited her because, to me, she embodies the pursuit of wisdom and wholeness. Her art—whether in the form of an image, written piece, or Instagram post—emerges from a profound, quiet place. It moves the stuff of the spirit, and invites us to question who we are and what we’re really here for. Together we unpack Hannah's early life as the daughter of a 17-year old mother in a working class household that revered flatscreen TVs and honest labor. We listen to the waking up moments that let Hannah to eventually commit to her artistic pursuits. We also talk about her reluctance to personal branding, and the subversive role of creativity in a consumerist culture. And, last but not least, how Hannah attempts to live her most waking life.Guest Bio:Hannah Close is one of those human beings whose life’s work defies easy static bios. She’s a brilliant writer, to start with, author of METAXU, a Substack newsletter that delves into themes as personal as they are collectively relevant.Her words have appeared in publications such as the Dark Mountain Project and Evolve. While her images, since she’s a brilliant photographer too, have been featured in the Guardian, The Telegraph, the Times, among others. With a Ma in Engaged Ecology from Schumacher College, where she created the visual philosophy project ARCHIPELAGO: A Cartography of Relation, Hannah is currently making Islandness, a documentary expanding on the theme of islands and what they can teach us about resilience, togetherness, and our connection to the natural world.Beyond her artistic pursuits, Hannah is curator. In 2018 she founded the Experimental Thought Co, a network that convened events on culture change. More recently, she partnered with the transformational learning platform advaya (whose co-founder Ruby Reed I recently interviewed) to curate several courses, among them Contemporary Spirituality: Meaning and Mysticism in the Modern Age.Hannah lives between South West England, where she’s from, and a wild Hebridean island where she occasionally hosts sailing residencies.Credits:* Music Audio Producer & Editor: Carlos Sierra* Producer, Writer & Host: Carlota Guedes Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

As someone interested in both personal healing and social change, I often notice a divide between these two transformational movements. On one hand, spiritual seekers can become overly focused on their inner journeys, moving from retreat to retreat without reflecting much on the planetary events unfolding in the world and their relationship to them. On the other hand, changemakers and activists can become so obsessed about bringing forth their desired futures that they not infrequently neglect self-care, presence and even kindness and compassion towards self and others. One of the projects bridging this divide is Advaya. They are a transformational learning platform that offers courses on ecology, spirituality, mysticism, embodiment and culture facilitated by visionaries like Vandava Shiva, Alnoor Ladha, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake and our former guest Chiara Baldini.In this interview, I talked with Ruby Reed, co-founder of Advaya to learn more about what led her to start this platform with her sister Crystabel Reed back in 2015. In 2019, Ruby and Christabel also started the EcoResolution campaign, encouraging people  to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle in partnerships with several celebrities. This initiative eventually led them to the creation of Earthed, a non-profit that offers courses on nature restoration, covering topics from climate adaptation to permaculture and urban gardening. In this episode, we listen to Ruby’s personal history as an introverted girl with a fascination for all things magical. We explore her experience of starting Advaya and Earthed, as well as some of the challenges and lessons along the way. We also discuss Ruby’s views on social media as a network builder, and how she  feels about our collective future, with all its challenges and possibilities. I hope you enjoy our conversation.Credits* Music Audio Producer & Editor: Carlos Sierra* Creator, Writer & Host: Carlota Guedes Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

What does it mean to live from our intuition, beyond the expectations of our communities of origin? This is the question that accompanies this episode. Chiara Baldini, the first woman in her family to attend university, was born in rural Florence, in Italy. Throughout her twenties, she took on various jobs  – waitress, translator, tour guide – anything that allowed her the freedom to travel and open herself to life. After attending Boom, one of the largest transformative festivals in Europe, Chiara knew she wanted to get involved. By 2010, she had become the program curator of Liminal Village, the cultural area of the festival, which sheds light on topics ranging from psychedelic science to regeneration and social justice. It was at Boom too, following a transcendental experience at the dance temple, that Chiara felt called to initiate her independent research on the evolution of ecstatic practices in the West, weaving the threads from primitive culture to present-day electronic music events.In 2019, Chiara co-edited the ‘Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine’, an anthology on the intersection between the feminine principle and altered states of consciousness.Currently, Chiara is a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She lives in Costa Vicentina in Portugal, where she often plays as DJ Clandestina.Together we talk about Chiara’s early life, growing up as a good catholic girl, and her initiation into alternative culture and transformative festivals. We listen to some of the challenges and learnings of her decade-long career as a curator, including her efforts to re-integrate social justice into new-age culture. And lastly, we explore what it takes to live a wholehearted life, even when it means embracing the inevitable tragedy present in love. Credits:- Creator, Writer & Host: Carlota Guedes;- Music Audio Producer & Editor: Carlos Sierra.If you liked this episode, please consider sharing it with someone you think might appreciate it. That's the easiest way to support the show :) Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

A conversation with Cristina Bernardo Kullberg about how we might navigate the limiting beliefs that so often get in the way of where we want to go and who we want to be, as women, as humans, for ourselves and our communities.Together we delve into Cristina's personal history as a Cuban American with nine siblings. We explore some of the challenges and learnings throughout her career as a business and non-profit leader, and political appointee for the Obama administration. We also talk about work-life balance as a parent. And how the loss of Cristina's baby daughter Aviva, deepened her commitment to living intentionally and uplifting women across the world.Guest Bio: Cristina Bernardo is the co-founder of Open Dreams, a non-profit that assists high-achieving, low-income youth from Cameroon apply for and receive international scholarships to some of the best universities across the world. She also served as the business developer and executive director of EmzingoU, a firm that designs and facilitates leadership development experiences for university students.In 2016, Cristina served as a political appointee for the Obama administration to support the growth of small businesses, renewable energy, and community economic development throughout the most impoverished rural and tribal areas of the US. Currently, in addition to running her non-profit, Cristina is a certified integral coach, supporting women through her She Shines Worldwide initiative. Credits:- Creator, Writer & Host: Carlota Guedes- Music Audio Producer & Editor: Carlos SierraIf you liked this episode, please consider sharing it with someone you think might appreciate it. That's the easiest way to support the show :)Subscribe to our newsletter and contribute to the project here. Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe

A conversation with the regenerative farmer and entrepreneur Fausto Araújo.Alongside his partner Maria Pussig, Fausto has spent the last five years transforming his family’s estate, Quinta do Pinheiro, in Guimarães, Portugal, into a pioneering lab of what it looks like to produce food more wisely.Together we explore Fausto’s story of becoming. What is syntropic farming and how it differs from mainstream agriculture. Some of the challenges and learnings of managing a farm. And, among much more, how Fausto feels about our collective future.To learn more about, visit or volunteer at the farm PinusSintropico click here.To book accommodation at the Quinta do Pinheiro click here.To learn more about the syntropic farming method developed by Ernst Götsch click here.Credits:- Creator, Writer & Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Carlota Guedes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Music Audio Producer & Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Carlos Sierra⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.If you liked this episode, please consider sharing it with someone you think might appreciate it. That's the easiest way to support the show :)Subscribe to our newsletter and contribute to the Waking Youth Project ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on social media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get full access to Wiser Now at www.wisernow.org/subscribe