.png)
Philosophy at the edge: Ai & THe metacrisis
ABOUT THE GATHERING
At this time of profound transition, when so many long-standing assumptions, systems, and ways of knowing are dissolving — and so many world-changing technologies emerging — there is a pressing need for fresh approaches to develop the collective wisdom necessary to navigate our changing world with discernment.
With mainstream institutions increasingly limited by bureaucratic rules and ideological dogma, many creative thinkers are looking for venues beyond traditional structures to explore the wild frontier of emerging wisdom.
OUR GUIDING QUESTIONS & INQUIRIES
What might be possible when a select group of integrative thinkers/practitioners gather beyond the constraints of a formal institution and employ multiple ways of knowing to develop collective wisdom on key cultural issues?
In this event, our overarching aim is to honor both Apollo’s light of reason and Dionysus’s wild intuitive flow, while creating a fertile space for collective intelligence to flourish.
We will initiate our inquiry with a series of individual presentations from brilliant thinkers in their fields. Throughout the gathering, we will weave in innovative integrative practices that support the emergence of new levels of group coherence, intimacy, creativity, and wisdom. We'll attune to the wisdom of nature and subtle realms of intelligence. Along the way we’ll dance and play, enjoy free-flowing conversations, relax together on a gorgeous property with modern and spacious spa facilities, and nourish ourselves with three fully catered vibrantly healthy meals a day.
A centerpiece of our gathering is a ceremony designed to open our hearts and minds to transrational dimensions of knowing and insight.
This is not just a conference, it's a communal re-awakening of philosophy as an art of living and a path toward personal and planetary transformation. We envision this gathering as the seed of an ongoing community of integrative practiced, dedicated to collaborative inquiry, applied wisdom, and mutual support through this time of radical change.
If you feel called to the wild frontier of emerging wisdom,
we’d love to share this sacred time with you.
WE GATHER AT A MOMENT OF PROFOUND KAIROS, A PIVITOL THRESHOLD MOMENT FOR HUMANITY.
We face the rapid emergence of AI and synthetic life, the unraveling of the post-WWII international order, fragmentation of globalization, rising inequality, ecological collapse, a planetary mental health crisis, and spiritual disorientation marked by epistemic confusion and post-truth culture. These are not isolated phenomena, but symptoms of a deeper metacrisis—rooted in an outdated consciousness and cultural worldview.
And yet, esoteric traditions across the world speak of this time as an extraordinary convergence of archetypal forces with the potential to catalyze a global renaissance in creativity, consciousness, and culture.
Clearly, humanity stands at a crossroads: breakdown or breakthrough, collapse or the birth of something radically new
OUR FOCUS: Humanity's Relationship with AI
IN THIS GATHERING WE WILL EXPLORE:
-
How might we cultivate new forms of wisdom capable of meeting the complexity of this metacrisis?
-
How can we, as a community, contribute to the broader integrative movement rapidly emerging within culture?
-
What practices and support structures can nourish our offerings in this time of transformation?
We’ll bring a special focus to the crucial issue of humanity’s relationship with artificial intelligence:
-
What does it mean to remain fully human in a time of synthetic intelligence?
-
How do we retain our creative, intellectual, and spiritual sovereignty in the face of rapidly advancing AI technologies?
-
How might philosophical inquiry – into questions like “What is consciousness?” or “What is a person?” – help us navigate the rise of artificial intelligence with wisdom and discernment?
-
Can a conscious partnership with AI unlock latent human potentials—artistic, philosophical, relational, spiritual—that have yet to be fully imagined?
HOW TO JOIN PHILOSOPHY AT THE EDGE
By invitation only.
If you have not received an invitation and would like to request one, please email kate@eudaimonia.one
ABOUT THE VENUE
The gathering will take place in a private, enchanted wellness sanctuary set on 16 acres of sacred land—the ancestral homeland of the Nisenan Tribe—in Nevada City, California. Perched above the majestic emerald waters of the Yuba River at the edge of the Tahoe National Forest in the Sierra Nevada mountains, this sanctuary offers an eco-chic setting for reconnection, relaxation, healing, and transformation. We will be immersed deeply in nature with touches of luxury, including a Scandinavian-style cedar sauna with crystal grid, UV and colloidal silver filtered hot tub, outdoor baths and showers, indoor bathhouse, refreshing cold plunge in the spring-fed creek, regenerative gardens, serene nature trails, and holistic wellness services.
Meditation • Inquiry • Dance • Music • Nature • Celebration
Fully Catered Health Conscious Meals
Your registration fee includes three delicious, high-vibration meals per day, catered by renowned organic, farm-to-table chef Chad Greer.
LEARN MORE ABOUT
YOUR FACILITATORS
_edited.jpg)
David Nichol, Ph.D.
is a leading scholar-practitioner at the intersection of personal and collective transformation, with a particular focus on the power of coherent group fields to catalyze large-scale change. He is the author of Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation (SUNY Press), the first comprehensive study to demonstrate how collective meditation and prayer can measurably influence social outcomes. Through this pioneering work, he helped lay the intellectual and experiential foundations for a new field of consciousness-based activism. David is also the co-founder of the Gaiafield Project and BeThePeace, two global initiatives that have engaged tens of thousands of participants in synchronized consciousness practices for planetary healing. He has taught on Subtle Activism at the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Shift Network, published numerous essays in journals such as Kosmos, Tikkun, and Reality Sandwich, and currently writes Geistic Musings: Essays at the Intersection of Consciousness and Culture on Substack. With his wife Kate Naga, David is the co-founder of EarthRising, a global platform dedicated to cultivating the energetic architecture of an emerging planetary consciousness through “symphonic” group coherence practices. Integrating his background in integral philosophy, astrology, and collective transformation, David's work explores the use of coherent group fields as intentional conduits for archetypal energies—designed to support both individual healing and systemic cultural evolution. His overarching aim is to contribute to the healing of humanity’s deep-seated wounds of separation—from one another, from the Earth, and from Source—and to support the re-enchantment of human awareness.
Kate Naga
is a visionary producer, energetic steward, and gifted intuitive whose work centers on creating the conditions for deep coherence and transformation. With a background in business and educational entrepreneurship, she blends structural intelligence with a refined sensitivity to subtle energies. Kate has an extraordinary capacity to sense what is emerging beneath the surface and shape the containers that allow new possibilities to take form. She moves fluidly between seen and unseen realms, creating offerings and spaces that are both grounded and visionary. As a systems thinker and field tender, she has mid-wifed numerous transformational initiatives into manifestation, including more recently Eudaimonia Institute. With her husband David Nicol, she is the co-founder of EarthRising, a global platform dedicated to cultivating the energetic architecture of an emerging planetary consciousness through “symphonic” group coherence practices. Kate is currently developing Red Petal Healing, a new branch of EarthRising devoted to reconnecting people to their natural blueprint for well-being as a critical aspect of becoming whole spiritual beings. Her work draws on intuitive guidance, foot zoning, herbalism, and a nature-based approach to healing foods to support deep embodiment and energetic alignment.
Nicholas Hedlund, Ph.D.
is a philosopher, metatheorist, and founding steward of Eudaimonia, a regenerative private retreat and community in Northern California. He is the founding director of the Eudaimonia Institute, a think tank dedicated to big-picture sensemaking at the intersection of science, spirituality, and socioecological transformation. Nicholas also leads the Strategic Metacrisis Mapping Initiative and co-directs the Encyclopedia of Big Pictures at the Institute for Applied Metatheory. For over two decades, Nicholas has been investigating the root causes of the global metacrisis at the level of worldviews. His emergent philosophy, visionary realism, synthesizes critical realism and integral theory to rewrite the deep codes of culture, illuminating deeper patterns of reality and offering practical pathways toward meaningful civilizational transformation. He earned his PhD from University College London under the mentorship of philosophers Roy Bhaskar and Arthur Petersen. He has numerous peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Zygon and Environmental Science & Policy, and is co-editor of the books Metatheory for the Twenty-First Century and Big-Picture Perspectives on Planetary Flourishing. Nicholas currently teaches courses on integral philosophy, consciousness studies, and the metacrisis in the department of Integral Noetic Sciences at the California Institute for Human Science. Nicholas has been a practitioner of meditation and pychospiritual practices for two decades and is also a musician. He lives in the mountains of Northern California with his dog Kairos
Skylar Wilson, MA, Guest Facilitator
is a ceremonial facilitator with over two decades of experience. He is the cofounder of the Eudaimonia Private Retreat in Nevada City, California and the founder of Alchuma, a company that provides cactus plant medicines for healing and integration. Skylar is the cofounder and coauthor of the Order of the Sacred Earth and the director of the Cosmic Mass ritual with Matthew Fox. Skylar is a member of the Native American Church and holds a master’s degree in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness from California Institute of Integral Studies. He has trained in many healing modalities and is the father of two. He has taught at many locations around the world including the Jungian Institute, the Esalen Institute, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
We can't wait to gather with you!
July 16 - 19, 2026 | Nevada City, CA
See link below for accommodation options.
By invitation only. If you have not received an invitation and would like to request one, please email kate@eudaimonia.one