Dear friends,

I have arrived on Tuesday in Bhutan to prepare for our Global Conscious Food Systems Summit organized with the Government of Bhutan.

Over the last 6 years, my work at the United Nations Development Programme, developing the Conscious Food Systems Alliance has been the main pathway for me to put to work the ideas of conscious transformation behind the Politics of Being.

On September 1st, we will start our summit with a high-level day with a focus beyond food sytems titled “Igniting Consciousness for Systemic Transformation” with an incredible line-up of speakers that you can see in the image, including two prime ministers, a former president, a former UN Secretary General and amazing conscious food systems champions.

I invite you to follow the summit online as it will be livestreamed : https://consciousfoodsystems.org/online-participation/

It is a unique opportunity to position this agenda, and bring inspiration and hope to the world.

Please share in your networks including this linkedin or instagram post

Love

Thomas

We are excited to share with you the launching of a Politics of Being Book Club with a first cohort from January to August 2026.

Many readers have expressed their wishes to dive deeper into this work and share with peers its resonance with their own personal experiences and perspectives.

This book club invites participants into a transformative space of heartfelt dialogue, deep listening and courageous reflection where the personal and the political meet. It intends to be an important step in building a community around the Politics of Being vision, as well as an opportunity to figure out how to empower participants to offer themselves such Politics of Being Book Clubs.

It will take the form of 8 monthly 2-hour sessions on zoom, each dedicated to a book’s part to read in advance. Each session will be following a similar structure centered around sharing circles, preceded by a short meditation and introduction on the book’s part to be discussed, and concluded by a short time for harvest, integration and check-out.

Emelina Corrales, coach and facilitator, poet, co-creator of the Politics of Being, will be facilitating this book club. Her partner, Thomas Legrand, author of Politics of Being, will participate in some sessions, including the first and the final one, and offer some introductions to the book parts to be discussed, as well as some reactions to participants’ sharing.

We hope you will be able to go through this journey with us. You can see more information here and the link to register here.

Much love

Thomas and Emelina

Indeed, I was there again in March this year to develop a partnership with the Royal Government of Bhutan through the co-organization of the first Global Conscious Food Systems Summit in 2026 (dates to be confirmed). This summit was just announced by H.E. Mr. Lyonpo Younten Phuntsho, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Bhutan, at the UN Food Systems Summit + 4 Stocktake in late July in Addis Abeba where I had the pleasure to meet again with him and his team.

This will bring a unique momentum to our UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance (COFSA), which we launched some 3 years ago and I am delighted to see now flourishing. Many influential people in this space, including some who were there in Addis Abeba, recognize how important it is to change consciousness to enable food systems transformation and see our CoFSA work as a beacon of hope.

I have not talked much about my work managing the Conscious Food Systems Alliance secretariat (a small team of some 6 colleagues) in this newsletter, even though I spend most of my time on that. I have been often asked “is COFSA the application of Politics of Being in food systems?”. I usually say no as we don’t present it like that, but I increasingly see this COFSA experience as preparing me and opening doors for bringing politics of being into the world. In fact, I am about to write a document trying to define what we actually mean by conscious food systems (we have rather emphasized until now the role of consciousness and inner development in transforming food systems), mobilizing to a large extent the theory of Politics of Being, and the role of spiritual values as the foundation of conscious food systems.

I have been mostly resting in August with my family in France, next to the mediterranean see after so many travels this year and before an extremely busy September and October, where I will be in the US during UN General Assembly / NYC Climate week, in Stockholm for the Inner Development Goal Summit (Oct 15-17) and in England for a COFSA retreat with Gary Zukav, Satish Kumar and many food systems leaders.

An important gathering I joined in the last few months was the Spirit of Humanity Forum in Iceland. I had the opportunity to meet with Halla Tomasdottir president of Iceland, who delivered an amazing speech on the importance of wisdom and compassion in governance. As a Plum Village practitioner, she quoted Thich Nhah Hanh “the way out is in” and invited us to “drop from our minds to our hearts” and become “knights of love”, sharing her own inner journey. I had the pleasure to share my book with her (photo above), as well as with other prominent global leaders I shared a panel with : Baronness Patricia Scotland - former secretary general of the Commonwealth of Nations, - Katrin Jakobsdottir -former prime minister of Iceland (“a really interesting perspective on a pressing topic! “ she wrote to me after reading it), - and Youssef Mahmoud - former Under-Secretary General of the UN. This experience in Iceland where I also offered a workshop facilitated with my wife – Emelina Corrales - on spiritual intelligence (which was an opportunity to deepen and clarify further my reflection on this) left me with a great sense of hope, community, abundance and possibilities.

Amid the intense workload, I am reminded of the importance of nurturing community around the politics of being vision and preparing the ground for its development, so I will soon offer the possibility to join a book club, as an intimate space for deep sharing and integration of this reflection. Stay tune!

With love

Thomas

The last few months have been rich in travels to present Politics of Being and discuss related themes.

In Late January I had the privilege to be a speaker for a group of Icelandic leaders enjoying a retreat – The Gift of Peace – at the Brahma Kumaris Global Retreat Center, near Oxford, UK. It was a great opportunity to learn on the Brahma Kumaris, one of the most significant recent spiritual movements, the only one fully led by women and probably the only one not to charge money for any retreat they offer (including food and accommodation) ! I admired their commitment to service of humanity and great sense of humor. I enjoyed very much their practice of Rajyoga which emphasizes a direct connection to our soul and the divine. When I stepped in their building (a very beautiful mansion from 1750s where Queen Victoria herself slept !), I could feel at once the place full of energy! I was told it was best to join the group practice at 4 am. That was not really my plan but when I woke up naturally at 3.55 am I understood something in me has decided it was worth it! And it was. A yogi sat in front of us connecting to the divine and moving her gaze horizontally to look at all of us. We were advised to meditating on our and her third eyes and I could feel so much energy when I got in resonance with her. Definitely a practice worth deepening ! I am looking forward to see again some of this people a the Spirit of Humanity Forum in May in Iceland

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A week later I was in France at the Rencontres de Die 2025. Unfortunately I got sick and even wondered if I should cancel. But it was great to be there and discover this region, which has a unique community committed to the ecological, social and inner transitions, to listen and meet people like Frédéric Lenoir, author (who said my book was on his desktop and he was interested to read it!), Olivier De Schutter - UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (in photo) or Olivier Hamant. I am grateful to Sabine Labourdin and Claire Montésinos with whom I presented Politics of Being and Conscious Food Systems Alliance, and who helped to sustain the energy as I was feeling down! And also to Linette and Ben for receiving me.

With my family, we have decided to spend more than two months in Costa Rica, my wife’s country where we have not been for 6 years. The idea is to follow mainly a normal life with us working and our daughters at school.

Soon after arriving there in late February, I had to travel to Bangkok (13 hours time difference !), Thailand to attend the Soul Connect Fest, organized by the spiritual health department (love that !) of the Thai Health Promotion Fund. There were more than 200 booths and they reported 30,000 participants, among which a lot of young people. In addition to facilitating a workshop on conscious food systems, I offered this keynote speech titled “The way out is in: the polycrisis as an opportunity for conscious evolution”. Targeted at young people, I invite them - through sharing my own personal journey - to embrace a spiritual path, be in service to humanity's evolution and focus on the potential breakthrough rather than the likely breakdowns.

In Bangkok, I also had the great privilege to meet Sulak Sivaraksa, social activist and philosopher, recipient of the right livelihood award, and one of the fathers of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB), who I quote in my book (see my post on that). It was also great to hear from my partners there that they are willing to translate Politics of Being in Thaï and maybe develop together some related activities.

Finally, I have the honour of Ervin Laszlo's Global Upshift Celebration, a free 4-day online event on April 24-27^th, among many visionaries such as Marianne Williamson, Lynne Twist, or Lynne McTaggart. Much recommended !

More news (and travels!) soon, stay tune

Peace

Thomas

I hope this message finds you well in the weeks leading up to the holidays.

A conscious evolution is in becoming, and so I would like to share with you two of my latest podcast interviews to come back to the paradigm shift that so many of us long for.

Conversation with  Ervin Laszlo

A great honor and pleasure to discuss with this philosopher, author, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, who has been a pioneer and leader of the conscious evolution movement for decades.

A wonderful conversation on this ongoing collective transformation, the challenges at stakes, and how we can foster a real spiritual and cultural breakthrough amidst the many potential breakdowns.

Furthemore, I wrote a chapter on the politics of being for an award-winning book he co-edited. 

Watch the full recording of our conversation here!

I met with Buddha at the Gas Pump (BatGap)

It was a privilege to be Rick Archer's guest on his Buddha At The Gas Pump podcast which has featured many important spiritual leaders. I hope you enjoy this long and deep conversation on how to bring spiritual insights into the political conversation and bring about the collective shift in consciousness that our future on Earth depends upon.

Listen to the whole episode here!

Finally, sorry for the last email in French, that was a mistake ! I am learning how to do it as my assistant Jadzia will no longer be able to work with me and I am now looking for someone else to assist me with social media (please feel free to reach out, if you are interested, it could be compensated or on a volunteer basis) ! Those who want to follow this conversation in French should subscribe here.

With love and gratitude,

Thomas

Je suis très heureux de partager avec vous cette première présentation et discussion de la politique de l'être en français.

Merci à tous ceux qui ont préféré au black friday rejoindre ce samedi 30 novembre cette belle session !

J’ai le plaisir aussi de vous présenter ce témoignage sur la politique de l’être de Jean-Pierre Goux, entrepreneur engagé, leader inspirant de la transition écologique a travers sa vision du siècle bleu et de la révolution bleue, que j'ai eu le plaisir de rencontrer il y a quelques semaines.

« Je veux honorer la puissance et la profondeur du travail mené par Thomas dans ce livre unique, un travail colossal qui va puiser au plus profond des sagesses et au plus profond des sciences. C’est un tour de force et un tour à 360 degrés de l’ensemble du savoir humain qu’il soit moderne, économique, ancestral, philosophique ou de sagesse, tout cela de manière extrêmement douce à lire, très bien vulgarisé, au sens noble de la vulgarisation, c’est-à-dire de mettre à disposition du savoir complexe à tout le monde, tout en lui gardant sa teneur complexe, qui est importante pour analyser avec finesse la société, et les voies pour la transformer. » Merci Jean-Pierre pour ton soutien.

En vous souhaitant de belles fêtes de fin d’année, une bonne occasion de partager la politique de l’être avec vos proches !

Avec amour et gratitude

Thomas

I hope this message finds you well. For those of you who speak French, I invite you to join my first Politics of Being presentation in French on November 30 @17:00 CET. 

Also, don’t forget to sign up to our Francophone updates here.

Stay tuned!

Thomas

Below here is the French substack message:

Cher(e)s ami(e)s,

L’heure est enfin venue d’un évènement en ligne en français sur la politique de l’être ! 

Ce sera le samedi 30 de 17h à 18h30, heure française. Vous pouvez vous enregistrer ici.

Ce sera l’occasion de vous présenter cette réflexion, de répondre à vos questions et d’écouter vos partages autour de ce livre, et notamment ceux de quelques invité(e)s surprise.

Au plaisir de vous y retrouver et n’hésitez pas à inviter vos ami(e)s.

Je vous laisse avec la bande annonce vidéo du livre et vous dit à très vite!

Thomas

I am delighted to share that Politics of Being won another book award and became a Literary Titan!

“The Literary Titan Book Award recognizes outstanding nonfiction books that demonstrate exceptional quality in writing, research, and presentation. This award is dedicated to authors who excel in creating informative, enlightening, and engaging works that offer valuable insights. Recipients of this award are commended for their ability to transform complex topics into accessible and compelling narratives that captivate readers and enhance our understanding.”

This is great recognition coming just after the Nautilus book award grand prize.

Recent and Upcoming Podcasts

First of all, don’t forget to check my recent conversation with Daniel Simpson, as part of his ancient futures podcast. Part of what we discussed in relation to a politics of being is the paradigm shift we need as one from ‘me’ to ‘we.’

I would like to invite you to join my next podcast appearance on November 9 at 11 am ET: Buddha at the Gas Pump (BatGap).

BatGap interviews individuals, mostly ordinary people, who are experiencing a shift toward higher consciousness. Though traditions like Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism have long spoken of such states, they were often seen as rare. BatGap aims to challenge skepticism by sharing personal stories of spiritual awakening, giving people a sense of the earthly relevance and applications of a spiritual practice. 

The conversations on BatGap also feature researchers, teachers, and individuals who have contributed to the understanding or promotion of higher consciousness, including those with special abilities like healing. And all these conversations plus more than 100,000 documents is now integrated into an AI chatbot that you can use for free.

Plug into this live conversation through this link!

Till soon, 

Thomas

I am absolutely delighted to inform you that the Politics of Being is the Grand Winner for this year’s Nautilus book awards, in addition to having received the gold prize in its category - World-Cultures' Transformational Growth & Development. I am also a contributor to “The Great Upshift”, edited by Ervin Laszlo and David Lorimer, which received special honors.

The Nautilus Book Awards (“better books for a better world”) praise works that contribute to the collective future of humanity. Its mission is “to celebrate and honor books that support conscious living and green values, wellness, social change, social justice, and spiritual growth”.  The nautilus, a mollusk who constructs its pearl-lined shell as it grows, symbolizes both ancient wisdom and expanding horizons, natural beauty, and a continual growth of understanding and awareness. 

Indeed, this is perfectly aligned with the mission and intention of this book, which took ten years to birth, and brought together my personal, professional and spiritual journey.

This is a great recognition, which comes also with public relation support and should help open new doors for the politics of being, including hopefully new publishers. It really touches me and feels like a confirmation of what I intuitively know : that this work is blessed and holds a promising future. 

I received this news as I was in Ibiza, Spain, during the last dinner (during dessert !) of our Holomovement Wave. The news rapidly spread as my friend Gary Malkin took the mic to announce it and I improvised a short speech from the heart before we broke out to party for the last night !

A highlighted excerpt of the book:

Darkness is said to be stronger just before dawn. Indeed, our awareness of this spiritual disease can allow us to develop the appropriate medicine. As we will see in this book, the required change needs to be so profound and all-encompassing, touching upon the very meaning of our lives and priorities, connecting us to our true nature, resonating with spiritual teachings, and constituting a deeply qualitative progress, that I can find no other way to define it than “spiritual.” This also simply means growing up collectively so that, more and more, we act as mature, responsible, and reasonable human beings—no more than that. Each of us already has such people in his or her neighborhood and daily life.

Have you gotten your copy yet? Find it here!

With love,

Thomas

In 1972, His Majesty the 4th King of Bhutan replied to an Indian journalist who was trying to humiliate him by asking what Bhutan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is that he thinks Gross National Happiness (GNH) was more important. This proud and spontaneous answer from the leader of one of the few non-western countries that had not been colonized paved the way for the development of GNH, as a unique alternative development philosophy and model rooted in its own indigenous culture. Thanks to it, this country has successfully conserved its pristine nature and its distinct Himalayan culture and traditions, and is among a handful of carbon positive countries in the world. 

Indeed, having barely touched Bhutanese ground, I was surprised by the beauty of the Paro international airport and its traditional architecture. I discovered that all Bhutanese buildings, even the most recent ones, by law have to integrate traditional architecture features. This attention to beauty and harmony touched me, as I was just reflecting during my transit in Bangkok how sad it is that most urban dwellings in the world nowadays feel soulless and disregard our natural human need for beauty and harmony.

Politics of Being really felt at home in Bhutan, where it naturally seems to be considered one of the most interesting subjects to discuss. Bhutan has been a great source of inspiration for me and it felt good to give back to the country through my presentations, the few books I had with me to offer, and many meetings with Bhutanese leaders, including His majesty, the 5^th king of Bhutan. A friend of mine helped me to schedule a private audience with him during my last day, which was cancelled at the last minute as he was not feeling well. Fortunately, I already had the pleasure to meet him and offer him my book the day before during a visit he made to the Paro college of education for the closing or the symposium (sorry no photo allowed!). About 70 of the international participants gathered in circle around him for a unique, informal one-hour question and answer session in the forecourt of the college. 

The Gelephu Mindful City (GMC), a special administrative zone to be created in the southern part of the country to attract foreign investors, was the main topic of discussion. It seems the king is looking to Singapore as an example and wants to attract in particular asset managers to invest from the GMC to Asia, while building a unique learning environment, in which cutting edge technologies meet environmental harmony and wisdom traditions.

I have been very impressed by the king’s enlightened leadership, his wisdom and commitment to serve, his sense of humor and very direct, frank answers. Like his father the 4^th king - who in Bhutan is generally considered  to be the reincarnation of Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651), a Buddhist lama who unified Bhutan as a nation-state - he is deeply cherished by all his people and is the subject of religious devotion. 

While I could feel in many Bhutanese a special kindness, politeness, and compassion, I don’t want to romanticize Bhutan, which, like every nation, has its own challenges, contradictions and shadows. While GNH seems to have been a great source of cultural inspiration for the Bhutanese, its translation in public policies and institutions seems still relatively incomplete. The prime minister of Bhutan who opened the international symposium said that the Bhutanese live and breathe GNH but they often forget to nurture it. I was surprised to discover that GNH is not even well integrated into the education systems, which should be its natural first priority. This is mainly due to changing political priorities due to political alternance in this young democracy, the lack of resources and probably a certain decrease in political attention to GNH (the GNH commission has been dissolved for example). Rather than idealizing Bhutan, we should rather view it as a laboratory for GNH, a courageous attempt to design an alternative development model to collectively realize universal human values at the core of its Buddhist heritage.

Some 10 to 15 years ago, I unsuccessfully tried to get some work assignments in Bhutan. Sometimes, our intentions do not manifest right away but their power keeps on working. During my first stay in this country, I could feel the power of this intention very present, as doors were opening. I could sense the deep resonance between the politics of being and what wants to manifest there, in particular through the Gelephu Mindful City. His majesty the king has my book and wanted to discuss it with me. A few minutes before I was notified of our meeting being cancelled, someone told me “we have a saying in Bhutan which says : it is good to leave unfinished work, that means you will come back”. Indeed, it seems I should come back to Bhutan soon as part of my work with the UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance, for which opportunities for collaboration also emerged during this short stay. But at a deeper level, what I touched during my time in Bhutan, was a feeling that I might well be called in the future to spend a longer time living in this unique country.

J'ai le plaisir d'annoncer que, deux ans après sa sortie en anglais, le livre Politique de l'être - Sagesse et science pour construire le nouveau monde, aux éditions Robert Laffont, est maintenant disponible à la vente et en librairie. 

Vous pouvez commander votre copie sur les principales plateformes et vous inscrire à notre chaîne substack en français.

C’est une grande joie de publier ce livre, fruit de 10 ans de travail, dans ma langue maternelle. C’est une nouvelle aventure qui commence et je suis très heureux de pouvoir porter ce message et œuvrer à sa réalisation dans le monde francophone.

Préfacé par Matthieu Ricard, ce livre, qui propose une profonde réorientation de notre modèle de développement pour construire une société de l’être plutôt que de l’avoir, bénéficie déja d’une grande reconnaissance au niveau international et dans le monde anglosaxon en particulier. Il est considéré comme une avancée réelle dans la réflexion permettant de porter cette perspective spirituelle ou de sagesse au sein du débat public. 

Je vous invite à voir le vidéo trailer et le site internet dédié pour plus d’information. Si vous souhaitez être tenu au courant de ces conversations, inscrivez-vous également à notre lettre d'information francophone sur la Politique de l’être.

Merci à tous pour votre soutien et pour partager autour de vous cette nouvelle.  

Avec joie et gratitude,

Thomas

Voici la description du livre sur la quatrième de couverture:

Pourquoi et comment passer de la société de l’avoir à la société de l’être

La crise écologique et civilisationnelle à laquelle nous sommes confrontés nous invite à une profonde évolution. Elle porte en elle la promesse d’un nouveau monde qui passe par une transformation radicale de notre modèle de développement pour faire de l’accomplissement de chacun notre nouveau projet politique.

En s’appuyant sur une grande diversité de connaissances scientifiques, les enseignements des traditions de sagesse, et sa propre expérience personnelle, Thomas Legrand propose une nouvelle vision pour nos sociétés, plaçant en son coeur la réalisation de notre potentiel humain et le droit à « être » de tous les êtres vivants.

La présentation de la « politique de l’être » dans de nombreux domaines – petite enfance et éducation, travail et santé, agriculture et alimentation, justice, économie et gouvernance –, rend compréhensible par tous et place au coeur du débat public le besoin impérieux d’un changement de conscience planétaire.

Cette vision d’ensemble pleine d’espoir donne à voir le nouveau monde tel qu’il est en train d’émerger, et les propositions politiques pour le faire advenir, fondées sur des exemples concrets qui fleurissent déjà partout sur Terre.

Docteur en économie, Thomas Legrand travaille dans le domaine de la régénération écologique et sociale. Il dirige actuellement l’Alliance pour des systèmes alimentaires conscients du Programme des Nations unies pour le développement. Il vit à côté du Village des Pruniers, le monastère du maître Zen Thich Nhat Hanh.

I hope these holidays have been an opportunity to simply be with your loved ones and relax as I did after an intense end of the year and before a very promising 2024.  

I would like to share with the you some of the last blessings of 2023 that are paving the way for the next stage of this work, in particular the launching of the French translation of Politics of Being - Politique de l’Etre - to be published by Robert Laffont on February 1, 2024. You can preorder it on different platforms via this link.

We have also been working on setting up a new Francophone newsletter! Please subscribe to it to receive updates in French and about activities in the Francophone world.

Meeting the Dalai Lama

A very special and deeply transformative blessing has been from the Dalai Lama who received our group in his home in Dharamsala, India on November 8th. I am very grateful to Sofia Stil-Rever and Khoa Nguyen for convening this loveforce seminar including this audience with his holiness. The seminar included teachings every morning by Samdhong Rinpoche, a Bhuddist monk and former prime minister of Tibet, who blessed and praised my book, which I offered to him for his birthday on the first day of the seminar. It is hard to describe what happened to me and my wife during that week. We felt we received so much energy that we had a hard time landing back in France and I did fall slightly ill on my way back, so integration was definitely not easy. 

During this last trip to India weI slept at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Delhi. As always when we visit, I bought a few books. In one of them, I found by chance  this very aligned quote by Sri Aurobindo’. His writings have been very influential to the Politics of Being:

My wife and I did notice in that space, a new overemphasis on nationalistic ideas of Sri Aurobindo, something that was not there a decade ago when I last slept there, an evolution which a friend of mine in Auroville coincidentally said to me. This is happening in the context of Prime Minister Modi’s nationalistic leadership, whose messages (see an example here), in particular as president of the G20, were everywhere on the streets. As a friend told me “he is very much speaking like you”, and I thought it was indeed a promising sign in the sense that it shows that this language can be desirable, though implementation is another story !

Kosmos Journal special issue on the Politics of Being

Another significant recent written resource for Politics of Being is our Kosmos Journal special issue, featuring an interview of Christiana Figueres by Emelina Corrales, as well as contributions of Thomas Hübl, Arthur Dahl, Gary Malkin, May East, and Grandmother Ejna Jean Fleury.

Podcasts & Events

Career and Spirituality conversations with Julie Pône

I also had the privilege of joining  Julie Pône for an episode of her career and spirituality conversations, in which I was able to share about how my spiritual and professional journey have converged in the elaboration and promotion of a Politics of Being. 

Here are some highlights from our inspiring conversation: The Forest as a Career guide, Politics of Being pitch.

No BS spiritual book club

Finally, Sandie Sedgbeer asked me what my favorite ten spiritual books are. This throw-back was a great opportunity to recap my own inner journey, which I described through this list, which Sandie and I discussed in this interview. It includes "The Art of Dreaming" by Carlos Castaneda, "The Synthesis of Yoga" by Sri Aurobindo, or "Love Letters to the Earth" by Thich Nhat Hanh. I am also talking to her on Thursday Jan 18th at 6 pm CET (noon ET) about the Politics of Being. You can follow up live on her youtube channel. 

The Great Upshift book launch

At the end of the year I also participated in the online launch of the Great Upshift book, along with other wonderful contributors such as Ervin Lazlo, David Lorimer, Gregg Braden, Charles Eisentein, Satish Kumar, and many others.

Here you can see the video about Politics of Being in this context, as well as comprehensive recordings of the event from day 1 and day 2.

Conversations on the World as it should be

Much more is coming including heading to Indiana in February for this inter-religious event “conversations on the world as it should be” organized by the Ansari Institute at the University of Notre Dame. Stay tuned !

In peace and gratitude, 

Thomas

As war is now raging in the Middle East, I feel very saddened and more worried about our future. Before looking for any solutions, I just want to invite you like I did to just feel the pain on both sides and send compassionate and healing energies. 

Like many of you, I have asked myself what I can do about it and it just reinforced my motivation to keep spreading the Politics of Being message, planting seeds of peace, even if they have to take decades to ripen.

I also needed to take care of my well-being and had a good break in August, in which I was able to let go of my work and touch deep peace in the vast plain of the American middle west. 

Indeed my wife Emelina and I went to the Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago, where we offered a session on “Sacred Ancestral Sites : The path to energetic balance”. It felt good to share almost for the first time publicly this part of our work and opened a space for that discussion in this event, together with our panelists and friends : Ejna Fleury, Steven Newcomb, Mindahi Bastida and Ken Kitatani. As always - it is my third in-person parliament - it was an opportunity to meet great people - like candidate for US president Marianne Williamson, or  world’s leading researcher on compassion James Doty -  and share my work with them. I was also moved personally with my encounter with a Sufi Teacher Sheikha Maryam Kabeer, through which I could feel new perspectives for my own path. 

We then embarked on a  8 day road trip with our Lakota relative Ejna Fleury - whom my wife dreamt about 30 years ago - across South Dakota (through Wisconsin and Minnesota). We went to her Crow Creek Sioux reservation where had the chance to be part of a Powwow, and met the reservation chief, Peter Lengkeek, who shared with us a beautiful story he received from his grandmother on our relationships with Mother Earth and the plant and animal nations. After a sweat-lodge, we were then able to travel to different Lakota sacred sites such as the Badlands, the Black hills and Bear Mount. It was also a healing journey, from the trauma we could see in native communities to Wounded Knee, where an important massacre occured in 1890 I was able to personally relate to. 

On behalf of my work with the UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance, I also made my way to the Inner Development Goals summit in Stockholm at the beginning of this month, which was another opportunity to meet like-minded global leaders, and share my work. I had in particular a beautiful connection with Nipun Mehta, who, I felt, has an important piece of the puzzle I am trying to put together, in particular on how to design institutions that  bring out the best of everyone, our intrinsic motivation to serve, as he does with his organization Service Space. It was a month after I recorded with his team a beautiful podcast which allowed me to reconnect with some lovely memories. 

I am also honored to have contributed a chapter “An Upshifted Development Path: The Politics of Being” to the book The Great Upshift: Humanity's Coming Advance Toward Peace and Harmony on the Planet edited by Ervin Laszlo and David Lorimer which just came out. In this publication, the world-renowned scientists and visionaries who contribute to this book focus on the most burning question of all: how can we upshift ourselves - our ways of healing, of thinking and feeling, and even of intuiting - to respond to the pressing requirements of our time? You can find your copy here!

Finally, Emelina and I are about to head to India with a small cohort where we will meet the Dalai Lama. I am so honored by this opportunity and will certainly tell you more about it in the next Newsletter!

Stay tuned, with love!

Thomas

These last two months, I have done less talks and events (except this Inner Green Deal podcast on my work and journey) and, beyond my normal job with the UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance and the preparation of my family’s move next door (200m away!) over the summer, I have rather focused on revising the French translation of the book, whose release is scheduled for February 2024. 

I was also a bit sick and did not really have time to rest so I have been somewhat exhausted and I am looking very much forward to some holidays in August, including our participation with my wife Emelina in the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago (yes that sounds like a holiday to me :). Happy to connect if you are there.

It is a time to take stock of what has been achieved so far with the Politics of Being and I am glad to receive the endorsements of such a variety of political, spiritual and academic leaders who consider it a breakthrough in terms of bringing this spiritual vision in the mainstream political and sustainability conversation. I feel this is still the very beginning of the Politics of Being’s journey. I want to spread this work much more widely but I feel also deeply satisfied simply to have been able to offer it as my gift to the World. I feel nourished to receive testimonies of people that feel inspired by it, so please do keep sharing them with me or posting your reviews online!

July 30 is Friendship Day, and we’ve chosen it as an opportunity to make the politics of being accessible to everyone. On that day, you will be able to get your ebook for only €1 on Kobo, Apple, and Google Play. Please put it on your agenda and share with your friends who may be interested! Here are some social media platforms you can help amplify: Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. 

Thanks for supporting this work in service of our collective evolution.

With love and gratitude, 

Thomas

What a pleasure to see the Politics of Being trailer on Mexican TV ! It was followed by a 10 minute interview with Ricardo Raphael from Canal Once, in which I talked about the start of my spiritual journey in Mexico, the Politics of Being and the Conscious Food Systems Alliance. Find out more here.

The last few months have been very busy for me in terms of work with some travels.  

I had the privilege last month to join the conclave on Sustainable and Resilient Communities of the Civil Society Engagement Group for the G20 (C20) – presided by spiritual leader Amma, see her message for the inauguration of the C20 -  in Sikkim, India. I have recommended that the Government of India proposes the G20 to support a United Nations General Assembly resolution on the promotion of human values and positive cultures for collective flourishing. My recommendation has been well-received and I look forward to keep working with the wonderful people I met there to keep pushing for this agenda. With India chairing the G20, there seems to be a real window of opportunity, as part of its yoga diplomacy. Let’s see ! In any case, I have been inspired by the Karma yoga (the spiritual practice of selfless service)of  the members of Amrita - the organization of spiritual leader Amma – who worked days and nights to convene this conclave. 

I have also recently joined the Beyond growth conference organized by the European Parliament in Brussels (May 15th- 17Th), which has been widely perceived by participant as a major landmark event in the history of this movement (“the Woodstock of post-growth” as some put it) that will be remembered as a turning point. Indeed, the conference counted with the support of the main political groups in the European Parliament and brought together some 1000 participants. I had the opportunity to offer my book Politics of Being to Urusula Von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) and Roberta Metsola (President of the European Parliament), Members of Parliament like Philippe Lambert (main organizer of the conference, with me in photo), Manon Aubry, Sirpa Pietikäinen, or Ernest Urtasun, and leading researchers such as Tim Jackson, Robert Costanza or Laurent Eloi, as well as Aurélien Barreau. I enjoyed discussing with some of them and look forward to their feedback and potential collaborations.

Here are some other events and podcasts I joined and their recordings:

• With the World Goodwill Meditation Group convened by Lucis Trust to talk about the Politics of Being. Here you can listen to their beautiful initial meditation and my presentation and discussion in the latter half. 

• With Claudiu Morganu on his Spiritually Inspired podcast. Amongst other things, we talked about how I apply the politics of being in my daily life (at 11:30), the role of organized religions in the Politics of Being (41:50), and how we can awaken our collective consciousness. 

• With the Charter of Compassion on how politics can support human flourishing and the collective shift of consciousness that our current challenges demand. View the recording here. 

Finally, as mentioned before, this wonderful anthology I contributed to has been launched: “The Holomovement; Embracing Our Collective Purpose To Unite Humanity!” This publication had contributions from Jude Currivan, Duane Elgin, Ervin Laszlo, Lynne Twist, Ken Wilber and fellow thought leaders who share the science and spirit of how our interconnection can serve our global family and change the world. If you like you may download a free excerpt of the book or order your copy today via Amazon or Barnes and Noble. I hope you enjoy it and that it can accompany you on your journey. 

I feel a sense of confidence and peace growing in me as I see this work so well received. It helps me to let go more and more of my own expectations and doubts to just enjoy being in service of the politics of being. 

With love and gratitude,

Thomas

As I stepped into this new year and my different projects - in particular Politics of Being - are doing great, I felt very grateful and also came with a single resolution for 2023 : enjoy ! And be able to walk my path of service with ever more trust, lightness and grace, especially in a world in which our seeds of sadness and fear can so easily be watered. 

Being hosted by Deepak Chopra on his podcast was a truly joyful moment, one to celebrate. We spoke about the politics of being, which he very much endorses and supports. He said that: 

“Anyone who is interested in preventing our collective consciousness sleepwalking to extinction should read this book. It is a very important, practical treatise, […] a wonderful book. [...] If it reaches a critical mass, we could indeed hope for a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthier and joyful world”. 

He even mentioned a potential collaboration with his foundation. “You have an amazing future to bring about change to the world”: his words nourished my trust in this work and what it is called to become. It was such a nice conversation with him; he had my book with him and I could tell he had really read it with attention.  This happened only because I sent him the book to him - at his foundation’s address - with a personal message. Noone introduced me to him. Politics of Being magic at work ! 

Do check the entire episode out here!

Another joyful step has been for me to join the evolutionary leaders network, after having been nominated by Kurt Johnson and Jefff Genung. This network is bringing together some of the most influential thought leaders - in particular from the West, including people like Deepak Chopra, Bruce Lipton, Thomas Hübl or Ervin Laslow (and also some less famous like me :) ) - to support a shift in consciousness.  We have been received very beautifully and I feel very honored to be part of this amazing network, in which I will engage particularly with the SDG thought leaders circle.

The evolutionary leaders network is closely connected with  Light on Light Press which is just publishing The Holomovement: Embracing Our Collective Purpose to Unite Humanity, in which I am a named contributor together with leading authors such as Jude Currivan, Duane Elgin, Ervin Laszlo, Lynne Twist or Ken Wilber. It is now available for Booksellers for Pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Do check it out!

The Politics of Being has also been featured in the new issue of the Light on Light Magazine, which is edited by my dear friend Denise Scotto from the International Day of Yoga Committee. You can read it online here. 

Finally you may also check this podcast : "The Middle Way with Dr. Matthew Goodman”. We talked in particular about the necessity to reduce social and political polarization, and how a politics of being and individual behaviors can support this and advance our collective wellbeing. 

Wishing you all the best as the days grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere and nature begins to awaken. May we harness this deep and powerful force from the Earth for our collective transformation.

With love and gratitude

Thomas

As we approach the end of the year, I wanted to send you some of the last good news from 2022. It’s been almost a year since Politics of Being was published, and what an eventful year it has been!

One big piece of news is that I have just signed a publishing contract with French leading publisher Robert Laffont, so you can expect a French version of Politics of Being to become available by early 2024. As they acquired rights to my book, they will also look for different publishers in different languages across the world. It is very encouraging to hear the potential they see in the book as a detailed guide to change that can be brought into mainstream conversations. We even talked about potential declinations of the book. I am glad to see they seem to have understood very well the spirit of this work, which is getting attention from key thought leaders. 

Indeed, last month I had the pleasure to give a presentation to the UNDP Human Development Report Team and appreciated our rich conversation, particularly around their definition of human development: “help people lead lives they value by expanding their capabilities”. I argued in particular that we should be more specific about what kind of lives they should value based on the science of human flourishing and the need for sustainable lifestyles.

It has also been wonderful to recently share this work at the UN Alliance of Civilizations’ 9th global forum in Fez, Morocco. You can watch the recording here. I was invited by Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, after meeting together in September in New York. He talked about the Politics of Being during our panel discussion at minute 46.30:  “In his book, [Thomas] really addresses this issue of how we have, in today’s societies, to redefine this element of culture, in order to really understand ourselves much better. The book impacted me, the book is the Politics of Being, that is what we are trying to defend through “culture”: it is our being, our identity, our sense, our history, and I think that it could be also a very good instrument.” The forum was the opportunity to connect with great leaders and initiate collaborations around cultural and civilizational diplomacy. 

Here are also the most recent podcasts/ events I took part in:

• The Flourishing education podcast: a very fluid conversation beautifully convened by Fabienne Vailes;

• with Bobby Austin, as part of the Public Kinship Conversation series, on democratic and civic values, public kinship, community empowerment and racial divides in the US, recorded just before the US midterm election.

• The first online Politics of Being presentation in spanish, organized with the Spanish Plum Village Sangha;

If you are thinking of a special gift for your loved ones, consider helping spread the word by sharing the Politics of Being book if you think they belong to this dream. 

Wishing you a break that restores your being!

With love and gratitude,

Thomas

The Politics of Being North American tour was quite a storm, rich with thundering encounters. Amongst others, these were with:

• Ken Wilber, integral philosopher (here is a blogpost with notes on our discussion);

• Paulette Jordan, who ran in 2018 to become the first native American to become governor (in Idaho);

• Xiye Bastida, a leading young climate activist, daughter of my great friends Geraldine and Mindahi. Her words powerfully inspire all generations! 

• Kurt Johnson, a leading scholar in comparative religion and consciousness studies, who is connecting me with many relevant initiatives. As I heard Kurt saying “it seemed as if we have known each other for 3000 years”!

• Pedro Conceição, author Human Development Report (UNDP), who is interested in further collaborations and invited me to present my work to his team on November 15th. 

• H.E. Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations who invited me to speak at their global conference in Fez, Morocco in November.

  And many more!

Many heart-to-heart connections and exciting prospects for collaborations. I have been amazed with how many doors opened for the Politics of Being during this trip. A promising glimpse into the future. 

Getting back I got a cold from all these emotions, and now I am retiring, metabolizing, composting in the Plum Village autumn – pulling together all the fruits of the past few months during this harvest season. 

Meanwhile I have kept recording some podcasts and discussions:

• With Violeta Bulc, I discussed the Politics of Being  and how it echoes her experience as a former European Commissioner and curator of Ecocivilization in this 15 min video. I am very humbled by Violeta’s linkedin post after our conversation, in which she said: 

“Talking with Thomas Legrand is an experience that lives a trace in the soul. It is such an honour to know you, Thomas, and follow your incredible development along with your book Politics of Being. These are the times when we need to speak up our own truthfulness, walk the paths that feel right, and connect heart-to-heart along the way.”

• With Lynne Reeder from Compassionate Australia for 15 min about what #deeplistening means to me. Here is our recording from September 23, 2022.

• With Will Rucker, an inspiring local activist and politician engaged in turning Las Vegas into a compassionate city! You can watch part 1 and part 2 here, in which we discuss Politics of Being in the American political context. 

On November 26, I am also scheduled to give a presentation of my book in Spanish for the Spanish-speaking Plum Village sangha. You can find more information and register here. 

Finally, I am looking for some support on video editing and social media (potentially remunerated), so feel free to contact me if you know who could help with this. 

Thank you for staying tuned and spreading the word on the politics of being. I am inspired by how well this message is received, a confirmation of this deep calling that led me to dedicate a good part of the last 10 years to this work. There is a huge potential and it is just the beginning !

With love and gratitude,

Thomas Legrand

Dear Friends, 

Here is an update as we wrap up our summer endeavors (at least in the Northern hemisphere) and start transitioning back to work, to school, to our more “daily lives.” While with my family I was lucky to spend some restorative time on retreats in Plum Village in July and the French countryside, there were several other conversations and sharings on the Politics of Being. 

Now we are taking off once more, and in my case, literally! Tomorrow I will make my way to North America, first for the XIV Worldwide Meeting on Human Values , an important event that will take place on September 9th and 10th in Monterrey, Mexico. The main theme of this year's edition is: The Transformative Power of Women. If you care to join online, you can get tickets here.

Following that, I will go to the US, for now Las Vegas (Sept 13 - 17) and New York (Sept 17-29). I still have some flexibility in my schedule so if you would like to host an event on Politics of Being or meet up, please let me know. 

Things are going very well with much interest in Politics of Being from relevant  leaders. In early July for example, I had  the honor to meet Mamphela Ramphele and Carlos Alvarez Pereira , co-president and vice-president of the Club of Rome (see photo), to discuss how to catalyze a human revolution, as we are celebrating the 50 year anniversary of their legendary report “the limits to growth”. It is heartening to see how the book resonates with people from different nations and walks of life, and that it has the potential to inform cross-cultural dialogue in global governance. 

Additionally the book is likely to be taken up by a top-tier French publisher for a French version, soon enough the first translation will be underway! Great to hear they see the potential for this message to reach a mainstream audience.

I also continued recording a series of podcasts you may enjoy:

• A 30 min presentation on the Politics of Being with the UNSRC Enlightenment society, nicely introduced by Denise Scotto, followed by a great discussion on the importance of childhood wellbeing and parenting, my spiritual experiences in Mexico, and the views of Alfredo Younis, a former presidential candidate in Chile with a spiritual platform, and the next steps for me with the Politics of Being. You can view it here. 

• A great discussion with Manda Scott on the Politics of Being and what it means in terms of governance, justice, organizations, etc. and the cultural and social conditions for well-being. 

• A podcast I did with with Lynne Reeder from the mindful futures network from Australia 21 on “How can we mindfully lead in uncertain and complex times?” 

On social media, we posted our humankind’s spiritual summer series, an invitation to pause and appreciate the teachings of prominent spiritual teachers that have announced humanity’s spiritual evolution. These include  Sri Aurobindo on the integral transformation of societies, Teilhard de Chardin on the emergence of the noosphere (the sphere of human thought), and Baha'u'llah, who prophesied humankind’s unity. 

Wishing us all good depth and good speed ahead!

Thomas

Dear friends, 

It is wonderful to see the Politics of Being taking off. 

Last month, I had a first exploratory conversation with a member of parliament in a Latin American country about possibly bringing the Politics of Being there. Can you imagine a law supporting the cultural evolution of a country or making the Politics of Being its new development paradigm ? We have not yet defined a concrete intervention but this kind of conversation shows we are not far from that. I will keep you informed if it further develops. 

I also had the pleasure to be invited as a guest speaker on the main stage of Charter for Compassion’s annual gathering in Monterrey (9-10th of September), where a few thousands of participants should join. Some of you have mentioned your interest to invite me; so you may take advantage of my presence in Northern Mexico. Please reach out to me if you want to propose organizing something in the region. 

To ground all this activity and to recharge, I am participating in different retreats in Plum Village throughout May, June, and July. The main insight I am receiving in relation to the Politics of Being is to “go as a river”, not as a lonely author relying only on his own time, work and resources, overwhelmed by the task and anxious to see concrete and rapid results, but rather as an inter-being, feeling part of much larger movement, aware of the infinite ways through which this work permeates the world, and coming from a space of love, joy and abundance. As I was looking deeply into this, I started to receive a couple of emails from some of you asking me how they can support this work. I am planning to organize a collective call to discuss this. Please contact me if you want to be part of this conversation.  

Here is also an update on recent and upcoming events and discussions:

• April 13, with Ecocivilisation. The theme of the event was "𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗢𝗣𝟮𝟲… 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄?" (at 00:24:00), and I talked about how to deepen our response to climate change to address the necessary cultural evolution, the need for alternative narratives, the transformation of our governance systems and ultimately a new development paradigm. You can also find a quick recap of what we shared here (with my interventions at 00:08:52). 

• April 23, on Reconnecting with Your Culture, in which I reflected on "Politics of Being and the necessary cultural reconnection and development" as the key to systemic change (at 00:59:55). 

• May 16, with Humanity Rising. Here we talked about how the Politics of Being is part of a Humanity Rising movement, specifically addressing the war in Ukraine, the recent French presidential elections, and how we might listen to nature so as to represent it in governance systems through wisdom councils.

• May 24, with Susanne Kallanian, on a paradigm shift that places inner development at its center. We touched on the role of leadership, on changing perspectives from “having” to “being”, my spiritual journey, and small concrete habits can help us be more present on a daily basis. 

If you would like to follow upcoming events, save the following dates:

• June 22, 17:00-18:30 CEST/11:00-12:30 ET – an EAMBA-Exchange (a European association for mindfulness professionals who work with evidence-based secular programs) conversation with Jamie Bristow from the Mindfulness initiative on “Reconnection: Meeting the Climate Crisis inside out.” Register here. 

• June 23, 14:00-15:00 CEST/ 8:00-9:00 ET – a webinar with Christoph Stückelberger, a Professor of Ethics and President and Founder of Globethics.net. His book “Globalance. Ethics Handbook for a World Post-Covid” (2020) is already in revision to look at a world “Post-War.” Register here.

• 23 Juin, 18:15-19:15 CEST/ 12:15-13:15 ET – rejoignez-nous pour cette discussion en français avec le programme leader éveillé sur la politique de l'être avec deux leaders Québécois Rémi Tremblay, fondateur de La Maison des leaders et Céline Charron, co-fondatrice de Leader Éveillé. Réservez votre place ici.

• July 21, 18:00 CEST/ 12:00 ET – with the Conscious Enterprises Network, focusing on conscious leadership. There will be a half hour presentation followed by a Q&A session.

For reminders on these appointments and the registration links that still haven’t been posted, you can also visit Politics of Being’s social media pages. There you will also find a weekly quote with a corresponding excerpt of the book to provoke thought and inspiration. Find the extended blog posts at https://politicsofbeing.com/blog/ If, like me, you feel this is an important message, please join the river and share these resources widely. 

Warmest regards from a very hot France, with an unprecedented 37º C forecast for this week !

Thomas (as a river)

P.S. If you have read and enjoyed the book and would like to support this vision of a Politics of Being, please share your review on Goodreads or other book-selling platforms.