The Iran situation. The unravelling of things we took for granted. The sense that the stories we were told about the future are fraying somewhere fundamental.

If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably already sense something deeper is going on — not just a bad news cycle, but a civilisational moment. That’s what this course is about.

Exploring a Second Renaissance Together starts this Wednesday, 15 April. Four weeks, online, with Rufus and Sylvie.

Register now →

Sliding scale: suggested €39/$39, pay from €10. Scholarships also available — just reply.

Can’t make all the live sessions? The pre-recorded materials stand alone as valuable content, and session recordings are available. That said, the live dialogue is where the deepest learning happens — attend what you can.

What you’ll get

This course won’t give you a hot take on the news. It’ll do something more useful: a coherent framework for understanding why so much is converging at once — the deep roots beneath apparently separate crises — and what is quietly beginning to emerge in response.

Not doom. Not denial. A grounded way of seeing.

Over four weeks, we’ll explore:

• Symptoms — How did we each come to see the cracks? What are we actually witnessing?

• Roots — What are the deep assumptions of modernity that are running out of road?

• Hope — Have civilisations actually changed before? (Yes — and we’ll look at the evidence.)

• Seeds — Where is renewal already emerging, and what can we do?

Each week combines short pre-recorded materials (videos and readings, ~30–45 min, on your own time) with a live 90-minute dialogue session with the whole group. The materials give you the framework; the live sessions are where the real integration happens — in genuine conversation with others who see what you see.

Can’t make all the live sessions? The pre-recorded materials stand alone as valuable content, and session recordings are available. That said, the live dialogue is where the deepest learning happens — attend what you can.

This is for people who already sense it

You’re on this list because something in the Second Renaissance framing resonated — the whitepaper, the articles, a conversation, something that clicked. This course is a chance to go deeper: not just intellectually, but in community. To sit with others grappling with the same questions. To come away with clarity, connection, and a felt sense that you’re not alone in this.

Starts Wednesday 15 April — Small group

Register now →

Sliding scale: suggested €39/$39, pay from €10 — or more if you’re able. Scholarships also available — just reply.

Can’t make all the live sessions? The pre-recorded materials stand alone as valuable content, and session recordings are available. That said, the live dialogue is where the deepest learning happens — attend what you can.

With warmth,

Rufus & Sylvie

P.S. If someone in your life is quietly wrestling with these questions, please forward this. We’re keeping the group intentionally small — so the sooner the better.

Our world is in a moment of profound transition. The crises of ecology, meaning, and belonging are intertwined symptoms of a deeper civilizational turning. We invite you to join us, and leading-artists, practitioners and thinkers for three days of inquiry, practice, and collective sense-making.

All sessions are online, and recordings will be available to all registered attendees after the conference.

Register Now!

Together we will explore how cultural evolution, inner development, systems change, and new forms of collective intelligence can nourish a wiser and more life-affirming future. It is an invitation for those who feel a new paradigm stirring—and wish to help midwife its emergence.

Join Us Online

• 📅 Dates: December 5–7, 2025

• 🌐 Where: Online (all sessions are fully recorded and available to ticket holders)

• 💸 Cost: from $45 to $99

• 🔗 More Information & Register: https://2rcon.org

Preview

Speakers

We are delighted to welcome three leading figures in the global conversation on metacrisis and renaissance.

Rebecca Henderson: Metacrisis and Inner-Led Change

A major voice in reimagining capitalism, Henderson explores the role of business and inner development in supporting a sustainable and flourishing world. Her current work investigates how inner capacities, from emotional intelligence to moral clarity, translate into real climate action across education, business, and politics. A rare thinker who bridges rigorous economics with deep human insight.

John Vervaeke: Pilgrimage as Meta-practice and the Return of the Sacred

Cognitive scientist and philosopher, Vervaeke is widely known for his award-winning work on the meaning crisis, wisdom, intelligence the 4E model of cognition,and contemplative science. His series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis remains a landmark in public philosophy.

Thomas Hübl: Healing Cultural Trauma for Societal Renewal

A global leader in trauma integration, Hübl’s work combines ancient wisdom traditions with contemporary science to foster personal and collective healing. His development of the Collective Trauma Integration Process and his bridging work across cultures offer a vital lens for meeting the wounds underlying today’s systemic challenges.

Register Now!

Core Themes & Panels

The conference is structured around core themes that trace the descent–ascent arc of the Metacrisis & Renaissance:

• Crisis of Meaning & Meta-diagnosis: Examining the deep cultural, psychological, and technological roots beneath systemic breakdowns.

• Paths of Renewal: Focusing on the contemplative, relational, and embodied practices that cultivate wisdom and resilience.

• Reweaving Knowledge & Art: Uniting science, humanities, and aesthetic insight into a more integrated way of knowing.

• Institutions that Sustain Life: Exploring how governance, economics, and collective design can embody values suited to a flourishing future.

Alongside these themes, we will feature multiple panels across a variety of topics including education, health, spirituality, climate, youth, art, community, and AI including:

• The Embodied Researcher: Science in the Age of Interbeing

• The Prophecy of the Many-faced Goddess: An Oracular Ritual of Death and Rebirth

• Emerging Future: Educating the Next Generation of World Builders

• Health-seeing Interdepend(a)nce: Planetary Health as a Pathway to Transformation

• The Next Political Generation: From Disillusion to Collective Agency

Register Now!

Second Renaissance Fair: An Open Pre-Event, Tuesday 25th Nov

Discover more of the emerging Second Renaissance ecosystem at a free, open pre-event this coming Tuesday 25th November.

• 📅 Date: Tuesday 25th November

• 🕕 Time: 6pm-7:30pm European / 11am-12:30 US Eastern

• 🔗 Find out more & Sign-up: https://luma.com/7b1k9412

We’ll be mixing “faire market” and “science project presentation” vibes in a virtual show-and-tell bringing together organizations and projects from across the Second Renaissance landscape.

How it works

• Explore virtual booths from 20+ organisations
  Join short 10-minute rounds (5 minutes presenting, 5 minutes Q&A)

• Presenters share once (or twice) and then visit other booths

• Fair-goers can move across sessions to visit different booths in 6 rounds, and ask questions

Presenters to date include:
Aletheia, Integral Unfolding, Beyond Goals Intensive, Casa Tilo, EMUNAH ΛCΛDEMY, Ignition, Intentional Society, Leadership³, Limicon, Metachrysalis, Microsolidarity, Mythomatics, Orbital Studies Magazine, Pacific Integral, R4, The Resonant Man, Soul Coherence Studio, and VillageCo.

You can sign up to join us for free here: luma.com/7b1k9412

Together, the Conference and Fair invite us into a shared effort to meet the metacrisis with wisdom, imagination, and collective resolve, offering a rare space to engage in depth with the organisations, individuals and conversations shaping the Second Renaissance.

The Second Renaissance Festival is for those who wish to envision a better world - a weekend of music, ideas and interbeing, co-created by all who come. This first’s year festival is a small experiment with just 20-30 people — to create an intimate, close-knit container. It’s a chance to meet others like you, drawn to respond to this time of crisis and rebirth.

Find out more & book tickets 👉

Expect weird and wonderful workshops, heartfelt rituals, music and dance - a meeting of heart and mind as we play our way into depth and connection. As a co-created project, the program will emerge from the gifts and talents of those who join.

We’ll gather at our beautiful Farmhouse Hub in Thénac, just five minutes from the Plum Village Monastery - a place of natural beauty, with vast open fields and starlit skies. Stay in a private or shared room, a dormitory, or camp under the stars, with nourishing food provided.

Key Information

📅 When: 5–7 September (option to arrive a day earlier or stay a day later)

📍 Where: Life Itself Farmhouse Hub

💶 Price: €175 – €500 (depending on accommodation & low-cost option for volunteers)

🎟 Tickets: Get yours here

🔗 More details: festival.lifeitself.org

We do not want financial burdens to restrict your access to the festival. If the ticket price is an obstacle, please get in touch via events@lifeitself.org

Find out more & book tickets 👉

We’re also on the look out for volunteers! If you’re interested, or if you have any other questions, please reach us at events@lifeitself.org.