Showing posts with label social entrepreneurship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social entrepreneurship. Show all posts

Saturday, May 19, 2018

EP 043 Vinay Gupta on Survival and Enlightenment

Vinay Gupta spends a lot of time thinking about disasters, which in my experience means that he's a very happy man. There's nothing better than finding solutions to really horrible predicaments for improving your outlook on life. He's the designer of the hexayurt, a shelter that can be rapidly and efficiently created from readily available materials, and has built blockchain applications as part of the leadership team at Ethereum and Mattereum.

The hidden word behind our discussion today is scaling. The scaling problem underlies both his entrepreneurial efforts and his understanding of the enlightenment process. We discuss the reasons why you may not want to be around enlightened people, whether mass enlightenment is a desirable or feasible goal, and the problems of taking initiatory experiences and spiritual technologies (tantra, ayahuasca) out of their traditional containers.

I am, by temperament and experience, more sanguine about all of this than he is. I tend to think things will eventually work themselves out over time. My enlightenment experiences have been mild and pleasant; if mine had been as harrowing as his, I would probably feel as he does.

As a technical note, there were some sound issues on our Transatlantic Skype call, which occasionally made it sound as though one of us was conducting the call while having a bath or as if we had ghost hunter-style EVPs from beyond the grave on the line. I apologize for these and hope they do not interfere with your listening enjoyment.


Photo: Robin Hood Co-op


Photo: Robin Grane-McCalla


Show Notes and Links

Vinay Gupta
@leashless on twitter

Paul Wilson, The Calm Technique
Scott Nelson, Sweetbridge
BKS Iyengar, Light on Yoga

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Startup Geometry Podcast EP 003: Adam Swartzbaugh

Adam Swartzbaugh, founder of the Genesis Network, works to defeat human trafficking and help rebuild local networks to help with disaster recovery. He's not only an active social entrepreneur, he's also a rapid language learner, world traveler and multi-sport athlete. He's also the only man I know who's won in hand-to-hand combat with a hawk. In this episode of the Startup Geometry Podcast, I talk with Adam about:
  • What made him interested in the problem of human trafficking in Southeast Asia
  • How providing educational opportunities in remote locations is the key to interrupting trafficking networks
  • How finding a calling changes your motivational & energy levels
  • Why attending a highly creative university while doing a highly structured ROTC program made for a powerful combination of experiences
  • What adventure sports can do for you
Show links Genesis Network
Brown University International Relations
Providence ROTC
Indian Ocean 2004 tsunami
Haiti 2010 earthquake
Global Rescue

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