Shankar Desai

I spend a lot of my time thinking about story as the invisible architecture shaping how we move through life. And how if we want to change, we must examine and rewrite the narratives that we inhabit: those about the world, about others, and, most importantly, about ourselves. I'm also an advocate for the important role that nature and, in particular, psychedelics play in reawakening our spirituality so that we can live more fulfilled, communal lives and halt the march of individualism and extraction. I currently serve on the board of directors for the Sequoia National Parks. In past chapters, I held an executive role at Google, founded a company that I sold to Zillow, and taught Tibetan refugees in North India.

The Mechanics of Change: From neuroplasticity to plant medicines. Post-Materialism: Building systems of success that don't leave us spiritually impoverished. The Relational Self: Exploring the radical idea that "I" doesn't exist without "We."

Our modern dissatisfaction begins with a spiritual error: we mistake our sense of self for the center of the universe and its primary building block. And so the final frontier isn’t out there. It’s within, in the cosmos of our interior life.

Maintaining "Spirit of the Game" during a high-stakes Ultimate Frisbee game.