The retreat will revolve around a question that has been alive for me in the last years: what does it mean to life a true life? In others words, how might I let go of projections (mine and other people’s) of what my life should be about, to really open myself to the life that wants to live through me?

In my case, living a truer life, has meant embracing radical honesty with compassion as one of my guiding values. Also, letting go of a more conventional career in corporate communication to pursue the call to write a novel, carry forward the Waking Youth project, and join a group process with others who feel drawn to creating an intentional community—even if all these choices come with less financial security, material comfort, and at times, social validation!

What does a truer life look like for you? I don’t know. Maybe it’s about caring less about what other people think. Or being more honest with your partner. Or starting an art project you’ve dreaming about for years but never dared to. Whatever that is for you, my invitation is that you join us, so that we explore these questions together.

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And for those curious about my—sometimes considered controversial—views on relating and romantic love, particularly novogamy, I’ll be speaking about that as well—which happens to be the central theme of the novel I am still, patiently, editing.

Besides that, there will be lots of yoga, yummy meals, sharing circles, and group reflections. We’re not really into lectures or pedestals, and prefer instead to create spaces where we learn together, from the wisdom alive in the group.

To check the venue, a beautiful villa surrounded by nature, and learn more about the retreat’s program, click the button below.

Learn more about retreat here

One last thing: we’re offering scholarships to make sure the retreat is as inclusive as possible. So if you feel called to join us but can’t afford the full price, send us your best application here.

With love,
Carlota

P.S. Just one private room is still available, along with three spots in a shared two-bed room.

I come to you with a few updates today, all of which I’m excited to share. Let’s get to it:

Interview Jem Bendell

On September 5, Jem Bendell will be at Casa do Comum, in Lisbon, launching the Portuguese edition of his book Breaking Together: a Freedom-Loving Response to Collapse.

I wrote about how deeply this book touched me early last year. And as I write this now, looking back, I realize just how much it has shaped my life and work since—though I won’t go into that today…

In it, Jem argues not only that our civilization is bound to collapse, but that this process has already begun. Beyond diagnosing why, he offers a vision of how we might live meaningfully once we accept this reality.

I’ll be attending the launch, and interviewing him shortly afterward. So, if you’re in Lisbon around that time, I invite you to join us.

Also, if you’re already familiar with Jem’s work, I’d love for you to send me questions to pose him on the day of the interview. I’ll do my best to cover them. You can do this by replying to this email or leaving a comment below.

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And if you aren’t yet familiar with his work, well, maybe this is a good opportunity! In 2018, Jem wrote Deep Adaptation, a paper that greatly inspired the creation of Extinction Rebellion and set the stage for Breaking Together.

Integral Yoga Classes

In other news, on September 15, I’ll be opening an Integral Yoga group class—both online and in person, in Alentejo, Portugal.

Integral Yoga is a practice I’ve loved and shared for the past four years. It was created by Sri Aurobindo in the early 20th century, alongside his fascinating theory of consciousness.

Unlike most classical yoga systems that aim for union with the divine through an ascetic path, seeking liberation from material existence, Integral Yoga takes a different approach. It invites us to, first, divinize the world of matter. In other words: to create here on Earth the heaven our hearts so often long for.

By the way, and in the spirit of Waking Youth’s latest research on communities, Sri Aurobindo’s vision inspired the creation of Auroville, one of the world’s most renowned intentional communities.

Okay, enough for now. I’ll tell you more about this yoga offering soon. In the meantime, if it sounds like something you might be interested in, I invite you to answer a short survey below. I want to design a thoughtful experience that is suited to your needs and wishes.

Answer survey here

‘Let Your Life Speak’ Retreat

Last but certainly not least: I’m facilitating my first retreat, ever, from October 8 to 12. It will take place in northern Portugal, in Vila Nova de Cerveira, my second home ever since I was a kid.

To be frank, I didn’t think I’d facilitate a retreat so early in my life. But when my dear friend Nata—who will be co-hosting with me—challenged me, I thought: why not? After all, Waking Youth’s very reason for being (and mine) is to explore what it means to live into maturity more wisely, as individuals and as a species. And what better way to do that than together, face-to-face, in a place I love?

We drew inspiration from Parker Palmer’s book, Let Your Life Speak, which explores the life-long journey of discovering one’s vocation—and, of course, our own unfolding paths.

Over five days, we’ll sit with questions like: What is the life that only I am meant to live? What does purpose feel like—not in theory, but in my body? And what would it mean to show up in my relationships as myself—no masks, no pretense, no people-pleasing?

I’m looking forward to diving into themes that have been accompanying my life and this project for years:

• Discovering one’s calling (aligned with my conversation with Ashanti Kunene);

• Radical honesty with ourselves and others (building on my exchange with filmmaker Caveh Zahedi);

• Conscious relating and new relational models, like novogamy (expanding on my interview with transpersonal psychologist Jorge Ferrer).

There’s much more that I want to share about this experience. I’ll write more about it soon. For now, you can check out our landing page below, and write to me if you’re curious or have any questions.

Learn more here

With love,
Carlota

I’ll be hosting the first session of the Rilke Book Club today, from 7 PM to 8.30 PM WEST.

You can still join us, we have 3 spots left! If you’re interested learn more by clicking the button below.

Rilke is calling me!

Here’s some practical info:

☀️ Sessions will take place every Sunday from September 29 to November 10, between 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM WEST (Lisbon time) / 2:00 PM and 3:30 PM EDT (Atlanta time).

☀️ Our text of focus will be Letters to a Young Poet.

☀️ Each week, we’ll explore and discuss one or two of Rilke’s letters, reflecting on how their insights align (or not) with our personal experiences. Themes will range from solitude and love, to nature, art and spirituality.

☀️ What’s included: 7 live Zoom sessions, weekly invitations for deeper engagement with the letters, access to recordings of each session, and access to a Whatsapp group.

☀️ We'll also be joined by special guests, each offering their own distinct wisdom. Among them is James Murdock a brilliant writer and author of the Madbird Newsletter.

Warmly,
Carlota

There are only 4 spots left for the Rilke Book Club I’ll be hosting in exactly one week, on Sunday, September 29.

If I were to follow traditional marketing strategies, I’d tell you that THE TIME TO ENROLL IS NOW!

But I’m not really into all that. Not today at least. I trust that you know how to manage your time, and that you don’t need me or anyone to tell you what to do with it.

Maybe what feels right for you, at this moment, is to commit to this 7-week program with me and nine other thoughtful human beings, willing to reflect on… life, love, solitude, sorrow, nature, art, god, and more.

Maybe it feels more right to spend your Sundays hiking, cozying up with Netflix and a bowl of sweet crunchy popcorn—or a jar of peanut butter, or whatever your guilty indulgence might be. Maybe you don’t really have a choice: you have little ones demanding your care and attention.

I get it. No pressure. No expectation.

This said, if you feel called—if your being feels animated and curious and maybe even a little nervous about the prospect of joining this book club, I would love for you to be present in our virtual room, on Sundays, from 7 PM to 8:30 PM WEST (Lisbon Time), starting September 29 to November 10. I would love to know how Rilke’s words moved you or not—how they relate to and inspire your life now.

Rilke is calling me!

From this side of the screen, I’m already diving into the book we’ll be focusing on - Letters to a Young Poet — in preparation for our sessions. I’m pretty excited. I think no other piece of writing has transformed me more than this tiny book has.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes:

“I ask you, dear sir, to have patience with all that is unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves, like closed rooms, like books written in a foreign language.

Don’t try to find the answers now. They cannot be given anyway, because you would not be able to live them. For everything is to be lived.

Live the questions now. Perhaps you then may gradually, without noticing, one day in the future, live into the answers.”

Warmly,
Carlota

P.S. If you're a paid subscriber to Waking Youth, or decide to become one by clicking the button below, you can join the book club at a 40% discount.

Just send me an email at carlota@wakingyouth.org, and I'll provide you with a separate enrollment link.

Your generous support allows me to dedicate more time and energy to this labor of love, ensuring its continuity and flourishing for years to come. Paid subscribers also receive special offers like this one, along with occasional bonus content.

Get 20% off for 1 year

Just a gentle reminder that there are only 3 days left for you to take advantage of the Early Bird price for the Rilke Book Club taking place from September 29 to November 10.

If you feel called to join an intimate group of lovers of words to delve into the exploration of our human existence, click on the button below to learn more about the initiative and guarantee your spot (there are only 6 left).

Enroll here

I hope to e-see you soon :)

Warmly,
Carlota

I’m delighted to announce that enrollment for the Rilke Book Club is now officially open! Over the course of 7 weeks, we’ll gather each Sunday to, together, unpack Rilke’s timeless wisdom and put it in conversation with our lives. 

Important: If you sign-up within the next 7 days—by Wednesday, September 18—you can enjoy an Early Bird discount.

Enroll here

Some practical information in case you’re feeling called to join me:

☀️ To ensure a warm and intimate vibe, the group will be limited to just ten participants.

☀️ Sessions will take place every Sunday from September 29 to November 10, between 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM WEST (Lisbon time) / 2:00 PM and 3:30 PM EDT (Atlanta time).

☀️ Our text of focus will be Letters to a Young Poet.

☀️ Each week, we’ll explore and discuss one or two of Rilke’s letters, reflecting on how their insights align (or not) with our personal experiences. Themes will range from solitude and love, to nature, art and spirituality.

☀️ What’s included: 7 live Zoom sessions, weekly invitations for deeper engagement with the letters, access to recordings of each session, and access to a Whatsapp group.

☀️ We'll also be joined by special guests, each offering their own distinct wisdom. Among them is a brilliant writer and author of the newsletter.

Enroll now

One last thing: If you're already a paid subscriber to Waking Youth, or decide to become one by clicking the button below, you can join the book club at a 50% discount. Just send me an email at carlota@wakingyouth.org, and I'll provide you with a separate enrollment link. Your generous support allows me to dedicate more time and energy to this labor of love, ensuring its continuity and flourishing for years to come. Paid subscribers also receive special offers like this one, along with occasional bonus content.

Get 20% off for 1 year

Still have questions or doubts? I’m an email away at carlota@wakingyouth.org.

I hope to e-see you soon :)

Warmly,
Carlota

In my last email, I shared with you a video explaining why I’ve decided to start a Rilke Book Club. As promised, today I want to share with you one of my favorite passages from the book we’ll be diving into: Letters to a Young Poet. 

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My intention in the video below is to give you a sense of what this book club will feel like. Anchored in Rilke’s letters, my hope is that, together, we reflect on several existential questions that accompany us in our day-to-day. 

Let me know in the comments sections how the selected passage resonated with you. Were you already familiar with it? What are your thoughts on the role of sorrow in our lives? What is your relationship to sadness?

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Warmly,
Carlota 

P.S. Registration for the book club will open next Wednesday, September 11 at 9am WEST. If you feel called to join me, you can already mark the date on your calendar. I’ll also send a reminder to your email. There will only be 10 virtual spots available!

In my last email, a couple of weeks ago, I shared that I was thinking of putting together a Rilke book club. Today, I’m excited to tell you that this idea won’t be one of those that ends up in a forgotten to-do list. It’s happening. Actually, I got some lovely feedback from some of you on the survey I sent out to learn more about your potential interest in this initiative (which, by the way, you can still answer in the button below).

Answer Now

When inquired what an ideal book club experience would look and feel like to them, one of the contributors answered: “To delve into the exploration of human existence through the art of writing”. Another one said: “I hope to join a club full of insightful lovers of words that can assist me in my journey towards being a better person”. 

I was delighted to read these contributions. This has been, in fact, my intention all along: to gather a petite group of lovely thoughtful human beings to unpack the abundant wisdom contained in Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet and put in conversation with what is alive in us.

Watch the video below to learn more about why I’m doing this thing and what is in it for you, if you decide to join me. 

And let me know in the comments section what would an ideal book club experience look and feel like to you.

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Next week, I’ll share more info, including instructions on how you can enroll. So, in case you feel called to join me, keep an eye on your inbox :)

Warmly,
Carlota 

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I’m currently re-reading Letters to a Young Poet, a wise little book by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. I believe it’s my fourth time. Fifth perhaps. Certainly not the last. The thing about this book is that the more intimately I study it, the more mysterious it becomes. What I thought I understood about its substance is later revealed as the mere tip of a large iceberg I suspect is not meant to ever be fully exposed—doing so would likely melt away its integrity.

In case you haven’t read it yet, it consists of ten letters Rilke sent to a nineteen-year-old cadet who, as an aspiring poet, sought his writing advice. Instead of criticizing his work, Rilke generously offered musings on what it means to live a wholehearted life, both as an artist and human being. It’s fascinating to me that Rilke was only twenty-seven when he wrote these letters, just one year older than me!

Since I know the book’s contents almost by heart by now, I like to cherry pick a letter each day related to what is alive in my psycho-emotional world. Today, for instance, in my somewhat melancholic mood, this passage called me:

“If it were possible for us to see further than our knowledge reaches, and yet a little beyond our intuitions, perhaps we would then bear our sorrows with greater trust than we do our joys. For these are the moments when something new enters us, something unknown; our feelings go silent in shy captivity, everything within us steps back. A quiet arises; this new thing that no one knows stands revealed in our midst, hushed.

I believe that almost all our sorrows are moments of tension that we fear might cripple us because we are no longer in touch with our banished feelings. Now we are alone with the strangeness that has appeared. Everything trusted and familiar is, for a moment, taken from us, and we find ourselves caught in what we cannot stop. That is also why the sorrow passes: the new in us, that which has come toward us, has entered our heart, is in its innermost chamber, it is in our blood. And we have not learned yet what it is. One could easily convince us that nothing has happened, yet we have changed, as a house changes when a guest has entered.

We cannot say what has entered; we may never know. But there are many indications that the future enters us in just this way, to transform itself within us long before it happens. That is why it is so important to be alone and attentive when you are sad, because the seemingly uneventful moment when our future steps in is so much closer to life than any loud occurrence that happens, as it were, from the outside. The more patient, quiet, and open we are toward sorrow, the deeper and truer does the new move into us and become our fate. Then, when it happens, we recognize it as already related to us.”

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Why am I sharing all this with you? Well, because the other day I had an idea. I wanted an excuse to further commit to the study of this prose and to connect with others who also resonate with it. So, I’ve partnered up with my dear friend and writer (whose I love and truly recommend) to create a Rilke book club. Actually, it’s more of a mesh between a book club and a workshop. We’re still deciding on the most fitting term.

Our intention is to dive into a letter from Letters to a Young Poet each week and explore what emerges among the group. We’re considering including other related materials too. But before we jump ahead of ourselves, we want your help.

If you’re curious about this book club, where we’ll sit with existencial themes ranging from relationships to solitude, sex, the natural world, and plenty more, we invite you to fill out the survey below. We value your feedback and intend to create something meaningful for everyone potentially involved. I promise it will only take a minute or two.

Complete Survey Here

In the meantime, if you want to give the letters a try, I recommend the translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barros. I’ve read several editions, and this is the most awe-some one.

I’ll also share with you one of my favorite podcast episodes from the On Being Podcast where the host, Krista Tippett, unpacks with Joana and Anita several passages from their co-created translation of Letters to a Young Poet.

James and I will be sharing updates about the book club in the next few weeks, including information on how you can enroll. We’re planning to keep the group small, around 10 people, to maintain a cozy and intimate atmosphere. So keep an eye on my future newsletters if you want to ensure your spot :)

Warmly,
Carlota

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Listen

In other news, here are my latest podcast interviews with two women I greatly admire.

1. Living from Our Intuition with Chiara Baldini

A conversation with Chiara Baldini about what it means to live from our intuition, beyond the expectations of our communities of origin. Together we talk about Chiara’s early life as a good catholic girl, and her initiation into alternative culture and transformative festivals. We listen to some of the challenges and learnings throughout her decade-long career as the curator of Liminal Village, the cultural area of Boom Festival, including her efforts to re-integrate social justice into new-age culture. And lastly, we explore what it takes to live a wholehearted life, even when it means embracing the inevitable tragedy present in love. 

Listen on Substack | Spotify | Apple

2. Beyond Limiting Beliefs with Cristina Bernardo Kullberg

A conversation with Cristina Bernardo Kullberg about how we might navigate the limiting beliefs that so often get in the way of where we want to go and who we want to be, as women, as humans, for ourselves and our communities. Together we delve into Cristina's personal history as a Cuban American with nine siblings. We explore some of the challenges and learnings throughout her career as a business and non-profit leader, and political appointee for the Obama administration. We also talk about work-life balance as a parent. And how the loss of Cristina's baby daughter Aviva, deepened her commitment to living intentionally and uplifting women across the world.

Listen on Substack | Spotify | Apple