Digital Campfire

The Rebel Wisdom Digital Campfire is where members gather to join and take part in our interviews and dialogues, our practice sessions with top teachers and more. It is a place to find the others, to learn and to develop skills.

We have different calls for the different membership levels, Sensemakers can attend all sessions, Explorers are welcome to all our Monday calls, the Skills Academy and also the member-generated 'Crew Sessions'. Wise Rebels are invited to our monthly AMA. Scroll down to see all upcoming sessions!

Our Monthly AMA (Ask Me Anything) is open to all members, where you can ask any question about Rebel Wisdom content, or the Digital Campfire.
Our flagship sessions are the Sensemaker Showcase (at least one per week) where we have an discussion and Q&A with a fascinating interviewee.
Our Wisdom Gym is where we invite some of the world's best facilitators and teachers to share their skills, and give members the opportunity to work with them.
Our Monday Sessions feature our Philosophical Journeys series and Rebel Wisdom Book Club.
Our Skills Academy features practice sessions to develop your skills with some of the best facilitators we have found.

To check out membership options and join the Campfire click here.

Monthly Campfire AMA

This is a regular monthly AMA (ask me anything) session with Rebel Wisdom founder David Fuller and co-founder Alexander Beiner. They are an opportunity to ask any questions, about guests, about any of the films and topics featured on Rebel Wisdom, and also any questions about the Digital Campfire itself. All questions, criticisms and ideas welcome!

(Access: Wise Rebels, Explorers & Sensemakers)

Next Sessions: 24th May / 21st June

Sensemaker Showcase

The Sensemaker Showcase is our flagship session for Sensemakers with a top interviewee(s). Typically lasting 75 minutes, you can submit questions for our guests, and join the conversation. We also often have an after-hours open discussion hosted by Campfire members, to stay and continue the conversation.

Aella's story begins in Idaho, in an isolated fundamentalist Calvanist household. Upon reaching adulthood, Aella lost her faith, and to escape the drudgery of factory work, started doing live pornographic performances on the internet. She rose to internet fame with a series of staged pornographic photos where she is kidnapped by garden gnomes in her living room. This combination of sex, quirkiness, and sheer determination, has been her signature throughout her entire career. Today, she is one of the highest ranking performers on the platform OnlyFans.

Moral Dilemmas of the Philosophical Porn Star

Aella is making a name for herself as the philosophical porn star. She's one of the highest earner on the 'OnlyFans' site, and also an active member of the Rationalist community, author of a blog called Knowingless and the creator of 'Askhole', an icebreaker party game composed of asking controversial questions. Join this call where Raven Connolly inquires into the ethical implications of her sex work, her passion for psychedelics and much more. This call is timed for our US audience.

Thurs 4th May @ 9pm ET / 6pm PT / (Friday 2am UK)

Joseph Henrich is professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University. He is the author of ‘The Weirdest People in the World’ and has spent decades researching evolutionary approaches to psychology, decision-making and culture, and includes topics related to cultural learning, cultural evolution, culture-gene coevolution.

The Weirdest People in the World - Joseph Henrich

Joseph Henrich is professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University. His recent book ‘The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous’ is a revolutionary look into the psychology and evolution of WEIRD cultures (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic). In this talk we’ll explore why the WEIRD model is so important for understanding the shifts we’re seeing in culture, institutional trust and the meaning crisis.

7th June @ 6PM UK / 1PM ET / 10AM PT

Zak Stein studied philosophy and religion at Hampshire College, and then educational neuroscience, human development, and the philosophy of education at Harvard University. His work looks at the implications of seismic shifts to how we learn and understand the world, and particularly the impact on education, explained most fully in his book 'Education in a Time Between Worlds'. He is also co-Founder of the Consilience Project with Daniel Schmachtenberger

Zak Stein, Understanding a Time Between Worlds

Zak is an influential voice among those wrestling with the deep problems with the source code of our culture, and he is particularly focused on the problems of learning and education. We welcome Zak to this Digital Campfire event, where we will dive into his concept of a "Time Between Worlds".

His piece a year ago, "A War Broke out in Heaven" caused a stir, proposing that "We are being shaped by vast and complex forces into becoming new kinds of people."

Weds 12th May @ 8pm UK / 3pm ET / 12pm PT

Dr. Gregg Henriques is Professor of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University. As a theoretical psychologist he has developed the Tree of Knowledge System and Unified Theory Of Knowledge framework for achieving a consilient scientific humanistic philosophy

Is Academia Broken? Gregg Henriques

Dr. Gregg Henriques is a Professor of Graduate Psychology and has developed a Unified Theory of Knowledge framework to bring together different areas of science and psychology that often contradict one another. In this talk he’ll be exploring whether academia is still the place to go to advance knowledge, or whether it’s too siloed and ideologically captured to meet the challenges of a complex world.

Monday 10th May @ 6pm UK / 1pm ET / 10am PT

CFtE is hosted by Layman Pascal, a Canadian writer, philosopher and public speaker. He is active in the Integral, Metamodern, Bildung, UTOK, Stoa, GameB and other overlapping big-picture communities who are trying to grapple with the tension between our multiple accumulating crises and the possibility of cultivating a wise planetary civilization.

Conversations from the Edge: Anomalous Experiences

Conversations from the Edge is a new series hosted by Layman Pascal, to explore esoteric and cutting edge perspectives, with an intelligent and critical lens. The show will look at the fringes of our scientific understanding, and how to make sense of anomolous phenomena like UFOs and psychic experiences with the writer Sean Esbjorn-Hagens.

Weds 26th May @ 8pm UK / 3pm ET / 12pm PT

Jeffrey J. Kripal is the Associate Dean of Humanities and holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and is the associate director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He has previously taught at Harvard Divinity School and Westminster College and is the author of eight books, including The Flip. He lives in Houston, Texas.

'The Flip' in Consciousness, with Jeffrey Kripal

Jeffrey Kripal is a legendary figure in consciousness studies, going back decades. In this Showcase we will be talking about his concept of "the Flip", which he describes an "experience that shows us what happens when we realise that consciousness is fundamental to the cosmos and not some random evolutionary accident or surface cognitive illusion; that everything is alive, connected, and 'one'."

Weds 9th June @ 8PM UK / 3PM ET / 12PM PT

Wisdom Gym

In the Wisdom Gym, we invite the world’s leading teachers in psychology, personal development and embodiment to share their wisdom live with Sensemakers. It’s a chance to learn from and interact with world-renowned figures like Gabor Mate, Peter Levine, Shauna Shapiro and many more. In the process, you’ll practice techniques and learn models that help us sharpen our awareness, develop sovereignty and deepen connection.

Doshin is a poet, troublemaker, and teacher – a Zen Master of no rank. He is the founder of Integral Zen, and was recognized as a Zen Master and received Inka from JunPo, Roshi in 2011.

Known as 'The Shadow Roshi', Doshin has a deep understanding of how we can integrate the aspects of ourselves we can't see. He is a powerful meditation teacher and runs popular retreats around the world.

Doshin Roshi -
The Shadow

Doshin Roshi is the Head Abbott of Integral Zen, a renegade roshi and long-time friend to Rebel Wisdom. In this session he’ll explain the Jungian concept of the shadow, it’s many intricacies and why it’s essential for understanding ourselves and cultural dynamics. He’ll also work live with anyone brave enough to delve into their own shadows.

30th June @ 8PM UK / 3PM ET / 12PM PT

Nichol Bradford has always been interested in how technology can help individuals expand beyond their perceived limits to develop and transform to the highest level. She spent the last decade exploring these ideas in the online game industry, and is now the CEO & Founder of the Willow Group and the Executive Director and co-founder of the Transformative Technology Lab.

Nichol Bradford - Transformative Technology

As CEO of the Willow Group and co-founder of the Transformative Technology Lab, Nichol explores the ways in which technology can increase our awareness, resilience and cognitive flexibility. However, with all the hype around transformative tech coming out of Silicon Valley, how do we cut through the bullshit to see it’s authentic potential? In this session we’ll explore our relationship with technology, and get a sense of how it might change in the future.

2nd June @ 8PM UK / 3PM ET / 12PM PT

Past Wisdom Gym with Gabor Mate

Previous Wisdom Gyms

Dr. Gabor Maté joined us for the Wisdom Gym in January 2021. He talked about how the pandemic is affecting our ability to connect, and what we can do in relation to it. He also demonstrated a powerful psychotherapeutic approach he has developed called Compassionate Inquiry, and answered audience questions. Click here to watch it.

Philosophical Journeys & RW Book Club

Every month philosopher and author Jules Evans takes us on a philosophical journey, applying some of the timeless wisdom of the past to current cultural dilemmas. Past sessions have included "Existentialism and the Meaning Crisis", and "Aldous Huxley and the Human Potential Movement", and these sessions are available as recordings for members. We have also just launched the Rebel Wisdom book club. We will choose a book a month in advance, to give time to read it in advance of the session, and then we will discuss it together. (For Explorers and Sensemakers)

Philosophical Journeys: Spirituality, evolution & ethics

Is evolution a moral force that humans should learn from and guide, or is it an amoral force which we should resist or transcend? Today, there are movements of 'evolutionary spirituality' and 'conscious evolution', guided by the teaching of figures like Teilhard de Chardin, which argue that evolution is guiding humanity and all the universe towards ever higher and more spiritual forms. Is that an exciting new synthesis, or wishful thinking?

The Book, by Alan Watts.

"Explaining man's role in the universe as a unique expression of the total universe, and interdependent on it, Alan Watts offers a new understanding of personal identity. It reveals the mystery of existence, presenting and alternative to the feelings of alienation that is prevalent in Western society, and a vision of how we can come to understand the cosmic self that is within every living thing."

RW Book Club. Alan Watts & 'The Book' with Tim Lott

For our second edition of the Rebel Wisdom Book Club we will be looking at one of Alan Watts's most influential works, "The Book: On the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are". Our host Jules Evans will be joined by author Tim Lott, an expert in Alan Watts's work, to discuss a book that had a huge impact on his thinking. If you wish to read the book before the conversation, a PDF is available here

3rd May @ 8pm UK / 3pm ET / 12pm PT

Who is Jules Evans?

Jules is a writer, speaker and practical philosopher, interested in ideas and practices which help people suffer less and flourish more. His bestselling first book, Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, explored how people are rediscovering ancient Greek and Roman philosophies and how Greek philosophy (Stoicism) inspired Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). His second book, The Art of Losing Control, explored how people find ecstatic experiences in modern western culture.

Skills Academy

Our skills academy is a regular practice session with some of the best guest facilitators we’ve discovered. It’s designed to help you develop some of the skills we’ve explored on the channel, as well as models and theories essential for developing capacities like sovereignty, collective intelligence, somatic awareness and more. (For Explorers and Sensemakers)

Prema McKeever, MS, SEP, is a somatic therapist, transformational workshop facilitator and educator who combines more than 25 years of experience in meditation, emotional release work, and body-mind therapies. She is a BioDynamic Breathwork & Trauma Release System trainer, as well as a facilitator for the world renowned transformational process "Path of Love." Her work is about healing the effects of trauma so you can live a healthier, more authentic, and passion-filled life.

Character Structures & Breathwork

Out of our childhood experiences of overwhelm and trauma we form important survival patterns known as “Character Structures. Join somatic therapist Prema McKeever for an overview of each structure and then for a guided breath session designed to free patterns of breathing, loosen the unconscious emotional tension stored in your body, and bring you more in touch with the essence of who you are, underneath the layers of protection.

11th May @ 8PM UK / 3PM ET / 12PM PT

Pippa Evans is an award winning performer, specialising in improvisation. She performs regularly with Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. Her most recent book 'Improv Your Life' came out in February 2021 to rave reviews.

Improv Your Life with Pippa Evans

Improv is known as a hilarious way to create comedy content, however, it is also an excellent personal and collective intelligence tool. Improvisation creates a space where we explore our ideas to the very limit of what we think is possible and experiment with how to be an individual amongst the collective. In this session we will explore building on each other's ideas, giving up control and trusting the flow state.

Next sessions: 8th June, 22nd June

Past Skills Academy Sessions

Previous Skills Academy Sessions

We've hosted dozens of skills academy sessions for members, including Dialogue and Disagreement Lab with Jason Digges, Exploring Emergence with Pamela von Sabljar and Collective Presencing with Ria Baeck. In the process, facilitators have trained Rebel Wisdom members to develop capacities like agency, discernment and presence that we believe are required to meet the challenges of a complex world.