Tasha Wahl is the founder and creator of The Butterfly Effect whose mission statement is so lovely I want to share it here...The Butterfly Effect is an underground movement redefining philanthropy one “butterfly” at a time by providing individuals the opportunity to give to a cause close to their heart. Harnessing the power of social media, we create a ripple effect of contagious generosity through our Butterfly Drops and Wahl2Wall installations. We recognize that we can be the change we want to see in the world by facilitating small acts of kindness, encouraging generosity, and promoting creativity. Learn more at butterflyeffectbethechange.com.
Tasha founded the Wahl Foundation with her husband Erik. They are committed to producing positive change in order to create a better world. Together, they helm The Wahl Group (www.theartofvision.com), which challenges corporate America to shift business-as-usual thinking to a more dynamic paradigm of holding the tension between success and significance.
My guest today is the multifaceted Jules Evans and trying to encapsulate Jules in a brief bio is near impossible, but let me start by sharing some his accolades: his first book, Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations was a Times Book of the Year in 2013 and was integral to the revival of Stoic philosophy that you see happening today, he is a research fellow at the Centre for the History of Emotions, Queen Mary University of London where he researches well-being and ecstatic experiences, while also diving into ways to improve mental health in different countries and cultures. On top of that Jules runs the London Philosophy Club which is the biggest philosophy club in the world. Above all of these pats on the back, Jules Evans is a curious, humble, and damn fine human being. The focus of our conversation is his new book, The Art of Losing Control: A Philosopher’s Search for Ecstatic Experience. This book and this conversation is exactly why Contemplify came into being; what do you do when the status quo is no longer working and you want to go beyond mere egoic satisfaciton? This episode is for all of you feel like the schools of thought in your midst taste like a stale cracker. In our conversation Jules shares about his Near Death Experience, how Stoicism helped him form identity and why he still felt called beyond the Stoic container to experiences of surrender, and why despite all of this deep searching, Jules feels like he wrote a book for people like himself, which he calls the ‘spiritually mediocre’. As always, links from this conversation, Jules’ books and website (philosophyforlife.org) and highlights from this conversation will be available at contemplify.com