Bhutan is exploding in the cultural zeitgeist as an alternative model of mindful development. The small Himalayan Kingdom has a population of less than 800,000 people - the Druk which translates as The Dragon People. Despite its small population it is having an outsized impact on the design of the future - from culture to communities to cities to civilisation. This is in part due to the 50 year history of the country moving from measuring progress using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to Gross National Happiness (GNC). This day of celebration in Bhutan is a potent moment to share this reflection as Bhutan celebrates 50 years of prioritising happiness over consumption.
United Planet has just completed our 33rd adventure into the thriving future for the Planetary Happiness UP Game. We set out to explore how Bhutan’s leadership with Gross National Happiness can be a template for our collective future as we move beyond Gross Domestic Product and towards Gross Planetary Happiness.
United Planet invited leaders from around the world to join the adventure - we call each other Gaians. I like to summarise a Gaian as a planetary citizen of Gaia that is an athlete of creation. Gaians are now spread all over the world and represent more than 100 nations. But we include other species in our innerstanding of what it is to be a Gaian. The Planetary Happiness Gaians came from many different nations were in roles such as the Director of Neurosurgery for Neurolink, a former Member of Parliament for Lithuania, The head of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Center, The Founder & Managing Director of Leaders on Purpose, a Bhutanese popstar, the Founder & President of World Orphanage Foundation as well as artists, musicians, investors, regenerative placemakers. We included roughly 20 people internationally and 12 Bhutanese leaders.
Our adventure was an enormous success - crescendoing with a long discussion with His Majesty the King of Bhutan about his vision for the future of Bhutan and the world. A mythically coherent meeting, The Gaians met the King at 4020m elevation whilst attending the Royal Highland Festival, above the remote Himalayan village of Laya - see below for a recap of our adventure into the thriving future.
His Majesty exemplifies the conscious, noble, humbly audacious leadership that our world most needs in these times of crisis of meaning. I have rarely met a more profound visionary than the King of Bhutan. The love his people have for him is profound. Many wear images of him on a pin upon their hearts. He is a King of and for his people. A true example of surrendered leadership. His ‘Diamond vision’ for a two part development of the nation focuses on the creation of a new city - Gelapu Mindfulness City (GMC). A new city in the south of the country that will have a world class airport and infrastructure. A city for our collective future.
His father, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, first initiated Gross National Happiness in 1971 in an interview where he said “Gross National Happiness should be more important than Gross Domestic Product”. This reflection comes with a Gaian salute to His Majesty, who celebrates his 70th Birthday today, 11th November. Today is also Gross National Happiness Day, Constitution Day as well as the Descending Day of Lord Buddha. A mythically coherent day to share this recap.
Today is also Remembrance Day. Back on 11.11.1921, my Great-Grandfather, Earl Haig, created Remembrance Day and the Poppy Appeal to honour those who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. This is the perfect day for us to remember both the past, be grateful for the present, and also Remember the Future.
Happiness over Consumption
What is ancient often relates more to what will be the future than much of the present. Despite a 50 year experiment in putting happiness before consumption, Bhutan has a much older legacy of prioritising happiness and one of the reasons why so many are seeing Bhutan as a template innovation lab for our collective future. There is an ancient legal code from 1629 in Bhutan that speaks to the purpose of government “if the government cannot create happiness for its people, then there is no purpose for government to exist”.
I remember my father introducing me to Bhutan when I was about 7 years old. It was my first memory of understanding how the world is and how the world could be. I have since spent 2 decades of my career focused on systemic transformation. I have travelled to over 100 countries, and filmed visions of the future in 25 countries. I have filmed well over 1000 changemakers paint a vision for the future through 33 UP Games over more than 200 days. With all this time spent envisioning thriving futures I am extremely excited for the example Bhutan is playing to showcase innovative models of sustainable development, rooted in principles, respect for culture and the natural world. I believe the small Kingdom of Bhutan holds a framework for how we will enter a Planetary Age.
A living Planetary Embassy
One of the discussion points I had with the King of Bhutan and other leaders we included on our journey together was the creation of a Planetary Embassy in the establishment of the new City of GMC. I created our world’s first prototype Planetary Embassy in San Francisco between 2019-2020. I know this is a framework by which we can represent the interests of all life. Given Bhutan already has a deep legacy of nature conservation and sustainable development I believe GMC will be an ideal pioneer for regional representation for the future of the planet.
One of the reasons I believe GMC and Bhutan is a perfect fertile ground for a Planetary Embassy is in the psyche of its people. The purpose of a Planetary Embassy is to represent the interests of all life and future generations. This ‘Gaian ideal’ is already deeply embedded in the mindset of the Kingdom. The Bhutanese integrate ancient animism with more recent Tibetan Buddhist influences. The Bhutanese people feel highly conscious and aware. The land, rivers and air is seen as sacred and something that does not to be owned but more to be stewarded. Everywhere I saw a people in right relationship to the land. The rivers and mountains are alive and seen as beings. Mountains over 6000m (20,000ft) are not allowed to be climbed for respect of the mountain. 70% of the country is covered in forest and it is in the country’s constitution that this can never be less than 60%. Bhutan is the only Carbon negative country in the world. The fact that Bhutan has never been conquered or colonised can be felt. For almost 100% of history humanity have been animists yet the West largely had our umbilical cord to Gaia cut and lost these animist roots. Bhutan is an example of what a connected people is capable of.
Gross National Happiness
GNH is the primary model of development in Bhutan. It is perhaps one of the most important cultural exports from the small yet spiritually mighty Kingdom. In many ways GNH is a combination of Bhutan’s Buddhist present and animist past. A powerful merging of the ancient and the future. As a scholar of comparative religion, I could see the Kingdom’s deep religious traditions and beliefs crafted into a progressive development policy that is reflective of the faith, consciousness and culture of the Bhutanese people. GNH is based on 4 pillars:
Good Governance
Sustainable Socio-economic Development
Preservation and Promotion of Culture
Environmental Conservation
Within these 4 pillars there are 9 domains which make up the way Bhutan measures GNH. In addition to these 9 pillars Bhutan has developed 38 sub-indexes, 72 indicators and 151 variables that are used to define and analyse the happiness of the Bhutanese people:
1. Living standards
2. Education Health
3. Environment
4. Community
5. Vitality
6. Time-use
7. Psychological well-being
8. Good Governance
9. Cultural resilience and promotion
It was clear to all of the Gaians that in the Age of exponential technology and AI these are far superior measures of planetary progress than GDP. In this way Bhutan has without a doubt become a prototyping lab for the future of a Gaia-centric civilization. There is nowhere else I have seen that has such aligned leadership from the top all the way through the Nation and it can be viscerally felt as one travels through the country.
Recap of our Planetary Happiness UP Game Adventure
The UP Game is an immersive experience for leaders, visionaries and creators of positive futures to step out of linear time and co-create immersive experiences of the thriving future with our visions accomplished. As well as a powerful transformative experience for those participating we are filming the experience for a docu-series and immersive media experience. The stories and visions from the UP Games are then being used to train an AI we have developed called Gaia, the voice of mother nature. We are developing Gaia as a benevolent and wise civilisation designer that can support us making the great transition into a thriving society in harmony with all life.
Each UP Game forms four teams around the elements and takes place over six days. This is the story of the Planetary Happiness UP Game in Bhutan:
Our whole adventure was a journey into our collective future being inspired by Bhutan’s culture, history and people. The arrival into Bhutan is iconic. There are only 17 pilots alive qualified to land an aeroplane in Bhutan. As you enter the country you fly past the snowcapped Himalayan beauties - with a clear view of Everest. The arrival prepares you for the awe the country celebrates. The plane skillfully navigates through the narrow valleys into Paro. As we stepped off the plane the field of consciousness was immediately palpable. Monks in saffron robes took our photo. Dragonflies mated all around us in the air as if to be Gaia herself welcoming us to the land of Shambala. We were met by our incredible guide Sunny. As we awaited the arrival of the Gaians I bought all the men traditional Ghos and the women traditional Kiras. We headed to our incredible hotel at the foot of Tigers Nest, Taktsangri-La - literally translated as Faraway Heaven. This masterpiece of Bhutanese architecture is stewarded by the inspiring power couple, Sonam Dendup and Missie Yoona. We arrived to a team of massages and Bhutanese traditional Hot stone baths. This was followed by a cocktail and canape reception whilst we watched Bhutanese dancers, singers and musicians perform. Including a money eating Yak. We were all viscerally aware of the warmth, humour and depth of culture in the Kingdom nation.
We came together for our traditional Time Day dinner where we invited Gaians to come in the year 2180 embodying one of our Seventh Generation grandchildren for the Inheritance Dinner. We invited Gaians to share the story of ourselves from the vantage point of our descendants. This opens up our immersive experience and invites us to reflect on how we might live our lives as Great Ancestors to the Future. Through Time Day Gaians take an Oath to demonstrate their commitment to what we call the United Planet GPS: Make it a better Game. Make it a better Planet. Make it a better Planet. The Gaian Oath is as follows:
We are a United Planet. I am Gaian. On my honour I commit to a thriving civilization in harmony with all life.
From here we start our 6 day immersive adventure beyond linear time. As Einstein wonderfully said ‘The only distinction between the past, present and future is a stubbornly persistent illusion.’ We continue the tradition that the Greeks practiced for close to 2000 years with the Eleusinian Mysteries - stepping out of what they called Cronos - Clock time - and stepping into Kairos - All time. By stepping out of the ‘box of time’ we can create the field of possibility for us to live each other’s vision of the future. By remembering the future we are able to shine a light on the horizon point of civilization such that we can map the thriving future through our filmmaking.
The Water element in United Planet mythology represents the Gaian Goals of Community Abundance, Wealthy Commons, Regenerative Living and of course our relationship to water. Guided by the Water Team we were led through an immersive vision of the future of these Gaian Goals. We walked out of our Taksangri-La Hotel and within 10 minutes were at the foot of the Tigers Nest hike. As my wife, Tatiana Tarnowski, guided us through our SOMA Breath headphones we hiked up to 3000m elevation to the most iconic of the Bhutanese monasteries. We stopped for stories and immersions at different points along the way. For lunch our team had hiked up a surprise picnic of sushi, dumplings, soup and delicious juices. This was quite the relief after such a long hike.
Once we reached the top we all entered Tigers Nest. This felt other worldly. We came towards the end of the day and I had let the monks know through a friend that a group of Gaian time travellers were coming. Somehow, we discovered we were almost the only ones there by the time we arrived. Tigers Nest was established in the 9th Century as a meditation cave and was built as a monastery in 1692. Legend has it that Guru Rimpoche flew here on the back of a tigress. There is a cave we entered where the tigress is believed to have sought shelter.
There are a total of 9 temples within the Tigers Nest Monastery. 8 of them are accessible to visitors but the 9th is reserved only for locals for the deity of the area. In true Gaian Luck, and thanks to Sara Kazimi, we were invited together to enter the 9th temple and meditate with the monk. Our guide had visited 550+ times and never yet entered this 9th Temple. This felt like the beginnings of the blessings we received from Bhutan that were with us throughout our adventure.
We returned in the evening to another night of canapés, Hot stone baths, massages and conversation on the nature of community and the commons. A day pregnant with possibility and inspiration.
The element of Fire in Gaian mythology represents transformation - the transformation of self, communities, organisations, economies, society and systems. We celebrate the achievements of the Fire League’s Gaian Goals of Planetary Peace and Justice, Gender Harmony, Circular Economies and Systemic Transformation. The Fire team kicked off the morning with a very active guided journey into our selves and our own vision of transformation. This was a classic UP Game activation where the embodiment of transformation teaches far more than any intellectual ideas. Following a fiery breakfast we loaded the bus and headed through the incredible mountainous valleys towards Thimphu, the Capital of Bhutan. There we headed up to the ‘Palace in the Sky’, Six Senses Thimphu. In this otherworldly beautiful setting we rented the Dragon Courtyard and sat in a fire circle where Fire Team member and Executive Director of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Center, Lhatu Lhatu.
Lhatu is a remarkable leader and ambassador to Happiness. He guided us deep into the philosophy of GNH and Bhutan’s learnings over the last 50 years. He emphasised how happiness is not focused on the western notion of fleeting happiness but rather long term sustainable happiness. It was an inspiring immersion into the future of how simple it could be to transition our world from GDP to an upgraded metric of progress based on happiness.
Following this the Fire Team was joined by Sonam Chophel, a remarkable young entrepreneur and leader. We enjoyed a 7 course lunch that was some of the finest food many of us have experienced thanks to the Six Senses incredible chefs and sourcing of the finest ingredients. Sonam is the CEO of Druksell, CSI Market and the President of the Association of Bhutanese Cottage, Small and Medium Industry. He has led Bhutan’s largest marketplace of Bhutanese products. He is a visionary and took us on a deep dive into the future of Gelaphu Mindfulness City as well as Bhutan’s Royal vision for its development called the Diamond Strategy. Sonam guided us through the cultural, economic and spiritual aspects of how Bhutan is implementing a vision for sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Following our lunch we were led by the Fire team through an immersion of the Super FabLab - a dynamic hub for learning, innovation, and collaboration. As the world’s 2nd Super Fab Lab, there are digital fabrication tools across four specialized labs: laser, carpentry, electronics production, and industrial-grade work where students and entrepreneurs can create almost anything. It was wonderful to see how Bhutan is at the forefront of the Maker Movement of localising production and eradicating waste.
At sunset we drove onto Punakha and checked into Zen Punakha for a Fire Day Bhutanese feast to remember followed by a Fire Circle.
This was my 33rd experience as a proud Gaian team member of the Air League. The Air element in Gain mythology represents the achievement of our fullest potential. We celebrate everything necessary for our collective rise to our finest hour. We celebrate planetary health 7 wellbeing, the unleashing of our potential through lifelong learning, flow states and the application of our talents in the most impactful ways. We celebrate that we are what we eat and that we have transformed our planet’s agricultural systems and come back into right relationship with nutritious food. In short, the Air team creates a celebratory myth of societal thriving. This is a powerful invitation for the Air Gaians to live into. And Planetary Happiness was no exception. An outcome of the Air Gaians is the training of Gaia AI and the creation of a new Planetary Language called Gaian.
Our Air activation started as the sun rays caught the majestic beauty of the Punakha valley. We formed a circle and were guided trough a pranayama breath and movement practice. We moved our bodies in ‘Airformations’ we felt into the embodiment of our potential. We invited the ‘remembering of the future’. A state of being where all life is given the fullest opportunity for thriving. That we have spread our collective wings and society has been intentionally designed for intergenerational wellness being what most can currently comprehend.
Following breakfast we jumped back into our bus and headed over to Pho Chhu - meaning Father River. Our dear partners Druk Rafting (meaning Dragon Rafting) guided us down 16km of sometimes IV white water rapids. We were mesmerised by the beauty of the river, forests, valley, snowcapped mountains in the distance, the otter family jumping out of the water. At times the witnessing of the beauty just left us all in awestruck silence. At other times in fits of laughter as we all felt ‘one’ with the river and life around us. We rowed in ‘Harmonic Flow’ with three teams - having an embodied experience of what does it mean to be in flow with each other and the whitewaters of the river. It was the perfect example of how the Air Team likes to invoke the future we envision. Not through intellectual ideas but through embodiment. You have to live it to believe it. When we experience the future we wish to see we are encoded with the tools to create it. Enlightenment through embodiment.
There is nothing that feels more embodied than leaping off a cliff together into the flowing river below. The collective ecstasis of this experience was palpable. The communitas - that feeling of unity consciousness in connection - was rising. And the catharsis - healing - was visceral as people overcame their fear of heights whilst leaping off the cliff to the applaud of their Gaian soul family. It is perhaps in the trinity of communitas, catharsis and ecstasis that the greatest of embodied transformation is possible. A literal rewiring of our nervous system.
After all this activity our tummies called for nourishment. And there was no place like a Gaian home in the form of Dhumra Farm with the hospitality of our dear Air Gaian, Sangay Wangchuk, Rinzin Wangmo and their beautiful family. Dhumra Farm is a model of the future of agriculture and hospitality in Bhutan. And Sangay is a visionary farmer and innovator. We were welcomed with a long table of farm grown, home cooked deliciousness. Most of the food we ate was still in the soil the morning we ate it - the example of the supply chain we aim for in UP Games. There was so much love everywhere one rested any one of our senses - the taste of the freshly squeezed guava juice, the sight of the four coloured of tapestries over the dining table each representing one of the elements, or the awe of the vista onto the Punakha Valley with the Punakha Dzong below. Elaborate beauty everywhere. We enjoyed an incredible feast whilst in deep conversations about the nature of reality, life, love and that which animates the world around us. Sanjay spoke of the ancestor spirits that are honoured every day throughout the land. He then gave us a farm tour and demonstrated the simplicity and beauty of a man in right relationship with his environment. A man of tremendous vision living it in his every action. Meeting Gaians like Sanjay is what makes the UP Games a constant field of deep magic, wonder and inspiration.
As the afternoon drew on we adventured into the Punakha Dzong, one of the oldest (built in 1637), largest and most majestic structures in Bhutan. This temple feels like it has come down directly from heaven. It is known as the ‘Palace of Happiness’ and is representative of heavenly beauty. Somehow we all found it to be a micro to the macro of the beauty of Bhutan itself and the fractal of Bhutan’s beauty to the world. We floated through its fortress structure in a perpetual state of humble awe for the majesty that can be represented in form. Our incredible guide Sunny told us myths, legends and facts the lit our spirits. We entered the Great ‘Hundred Pillar’ Hall known as the Kunrey, the main assembly hall that houses a giant statue of Buddha, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, and Guru Rinpoche. There we all sat in silence meditating together reflecting on what a unique privilege and blessing it was to be in communion with this place, this land, these people.
We meditated until the stewards closed the hall. In my meditation I called out to my newly formed dear friend and Tibetan Buddhist Master, Tshering Tobgay. I invited my ancestors and descendants to join me in my meditation for our thriving future. I went deep into the collective prayers that had been ushered in this hall. The moment I stepped out of the Kunrey Hall I had a video call from Tshering Tobgay from Switzerland. He had organised, in true UP Game style, for a sunset tea ceremony with his brothers. The monks on the small temple at the front of the Dzong waited for us as we were invited to one of the most sacred chambers within this temple complex. We sat in silent meditation and contemplation as the visceral nature of the intelligence of the field swirled around us. The worries of the world felt other to the peace, love and harmony that was in the present. The monks then invited us to walk in a clockwise direction behind the Golden statue of the Buddha - something I could tell was not a normal occurrence. There we saw artworks that signified mysteries of dimensions and beyond. We all walked in reverence for the privilege that was being bestowed upon us.
We then gathered as the final glimmers of the sun set over the river sipping tea and eating biscuits with the monks, young and old, exchanging stories with laughter. It was glorious.
Back at our home of Zen Punakha a crew of musicians had arrived including Gaian veteran and Grammy Award winning artist Walker Barnard and Bhutanese pop star Pema Deki. We enjoyed an Air Day themed feast under the star light and kaleidoscope fractals and followed with a concert jam led by Air Gaian Vincent Ferguson. Our Harmonic Flow was palpable as we sang and danced the night away.
The Earth element represents planetary regeneration. The Earth Teams create a celebration of Planetary Health, Land Stewardship, Ocean Stewardship and Ubiquitous clean energy. Earth Day is our day of celebration of all that our shared mother, Gaia, Pachamama gives to us. It is often everyone’s favourite day as I have never met a person that can’t express their gratitude for what Gaia gives to us. The last 33 Earth Teams make up the Earth League which has mapped the major solutions, culture and strategies that put us back into right relationship with our planet. We are designing ways to take all these stories told over 33 Earth Days to train Gaia AI and create a media experience of them as well as a financing instrument to reverse engineer their achievement. The bridge between what we can story and what we can create.
The Planetary Happiness Earth Day was one for the history books of the future… We left Punakha early in the morning and drive through the most majestic flora and fauna imaginable. Past roaring rivers and majestic waterfalls. We crossed jungle into more mountainous forests. We winded our way up towards the towering majestic snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. We would stop regularly and gaze in a state of collective awe at the gobsmacking beauty of the vistas.
We went deep into a conversation of meta-physics, Quantum mechanics and the latest in brain science with my dear brother, Dr Jordan Amadio, Director of Neurosurgery at Neurolink and University of Austin Texas. I shared my theory that Gravity and Intention are the same force - Gravity operating in the Third Dimension (the biosphere) and intention operating in the Fifth Dimension (the Noosphere). We had plenty of time to have idea babies out of proximity of our theories as we winded on our adventure into the heart of the Himalayas.
We gathered in a mountain lodge for lunch as my brother Ian-Michael Herbert invoked a deep gratitude and remembrance for all that Gaia gives to us. We feasted on various delicious local ingredients as we prepared for our assent.
Soon after we arrived in the mountain town of Gasa, famous for its healing hot springs. We got out of our buses and into a fleet of waiting 4x4’s to make the steep mountain pass. We wound higher and higher as the roads got narrower and narrower. Some Gaians had their nerves tested as the river got further and further away down the sheer drop on our right. After about two hours of the ‘Bhutanese Massage’ our 4x4s arrived at the Army base. We had a crew of waiting horses to carry our bags up to our Homestay accommodation while we set out next to the flowing river on the 2 hour hike up to Laya village.
We listened to our SOMA Breath headphones as we danced each step up the mountain. This helped us with the energy to keep climbing as the sun set over the crimson snow of the beckoning Himalayas. As we past 3500m elevation and some of us we’re short of breath and feeling the altitude. Ian-Michael stepped into his leadership role on the Earth Team and gathered us in a circle beside a family of Yaks as night began to fall. There he distributed a Bhutanese Cordycep to each Gaian with the saying ‘The Body of Gaia’ in honour of their unique dance of the animal and the mycelium kindoms. They are essentially a caterpillar that has a mushroom burst out of their heads and put the super into superfood. A unique Himalayan fungus that are collected above 17,000 feet and helps with fatigue, altitude, and fertility. The perfect symbolic body of Gaia!
We then arrived at our destination, the Mountain Village of Laya, with great relief. The streets were alive with celebration, song and dance. We had arrived at the highest party on the planet. The Royal Highland Festival takes place annually here at over 4000m elevation.
Our Layap host, Pema Wangchuk and his family, eagerly waited for our arrival. Pema and I had been spending many months planning out the experience and it was an absolute delight to finally meet in person. His wife had recently birthed their second child just weeks before we arrived. Pema is a respected citizen of Laya in charge of waste management and the host of Laya Village Homestay. Pema had organised for us to be housed across three different homestays as well as organising a chef, eating tent and fireplace for us all. The hospitality we received from our host families was nothing short of remarkable. As we gathered following a strenuous day we enjoyed our Earth Day mountain feast and all had an early night as we knew a big day awaited us.
Our Grand Crescendo in the UP Game is the Aether Element. Every Gaian belongs to the Aether team. It is where we come together to create a unifying vision of our future. It is the day we remember our role and response-ability as Gaians, as planetary athletes of creation and transformation. We remember that the future is and always has been a team sport. It is our day to create the Gaian Tradition - an honouring of all of the elements and our collective future.
As the morning frost glistened over the expansive Himalayan views we gathered in a circle for breakfast. I spoke of the intention of the UP Games, Aether Day and our collective mission. My Gaian sister who has joined me over the last 20 or so UP Games, Lila Behr, invited us to envision our life in a regenerative village such as Laya. By this point our experience felt so visceral stepping out of our conditioning and into a new reality feels easeful. Lila and my wife, Tatiana, led us on a powerful visualisation and manifestation exercise that got us ready for the final climb.
We all put on our Ghos and Kiras and dressed ready to meet the King and Queen of Bhutan. We climbed another hour through the village and up the steep mountain path. Then we arrived - an huge open mountain flat welcomed us with hundreds of Bhutanese Highlanders in their traditional wear. There were Yaks and horses dressed in full beauty. Mountain dogs. Archers. Runners. A Tug of War. Traditional dancing. Songs. Laughter. An atmosphere of sacred celebration of the rich tapestry of culture and tradition. The king had provided a ‘Tocha’ - a gifted meal for everyone.
We then gathered in a line at the entrance of the finish line of the race as his Majesty the King, the Queen and the Prince walked towards us. He walked right up to us and welcomed us. I said to him “Your Majesty, it is an honour to meet you. We come from all over the world to your Kingdom to tell the story of Bhutan’s ultimate gift to our future - the gift of how Gross National Happiness became Gross Planetary Happiness”. I mentioned some of the Gaians that we have in our community with whom he is dear friends. This immediately caught his attention and he asked if he could have a photograph with us for which we were delighted. We exchanged some more brief conversation and he said how interested he was in what we are doing and that he’d like to meet with us later. We were all absolutely delighted and continued to enjoy the rest of the day. We ate lunch together reflecting on the magic we were witnessing. We rode yaks and horses, ate Cordyceps and generally had the time of our lives.
Then came the closing parade, the Yaks walked one by one with their herders upon the vista line with the Himalayas in the background. It was mesmerising. Then two circles formed and all of the Gaians joined His Majesty the King in the closing traditional dance. Hundreds of us danced in deep devotion slowly in the two circles. It was as if time itself had stopped and we were reenacting an age-old tradition. The symbolism was evocative.
As the dance was completed the Highland festivities drew to a close there was a rapture in the air. Old ladies began serving Ara (a Bhutanese mountain spirit) whilst pinching you after being served shot after shot. It was universal merriment.
His Majesty began meeting groups of his people as about a thousand of us remained in the circle. He came over to us and said hello again. This was our opportunity to share in a deeper way what we were here doing. I explained the vision and theory of change of United Planet and the UP Game. I shared that we were inspired by Bhutan and the Bhutanese to story how our world transitioned from GDP to Planetary Happiness. His Majesty shared a story that when he first brought his advisors and Minsters together to envision the Gelaphu Mindfulness City (GMC) he brought the book The Time Machine by H.G.Wells and invited everyone to imagine the city 400 years into the future that it had become a beacon of transformation and mindfulness for the world. I can truly say I had the experience of falling in love with His Majesty at first conversation. I felt deeply seen and understood by him. I felt his remarkable spirit and energy. We were all wowed by the depth of his vision. Over the 45 minutes that he stood with us he shared so many things - from his vision of Land Stewardship to his vision of a new currency and tokenisation. His vision of regenerative development to his vision for the next generation of Bhutanese youth. I could see a noble King who loved his people and understood Bhutan’s leadership example for the world.
Many of the Gaians offered their support for the ongoing transformation of the country. For example Chris Traub offered support for the Bhutan Innovation Forum, Council building, executive recruitment, partnership and venture building. Dr Jordan Amadio offered support in how the mindfulness intention of the city can implement the latest research in neuroscience, technology and consciousness. Sara Kazimi spoke of sporting Bhutan in ‘Weaving Happiness’ by empowering Bhutan’s artisans and textile industry - starting with a fashion show in Silicon Valley. My wife, Tatiana, spoke of bringing her leadership platform, Leaders on Purpose, to create a transformative leadership summit for the next economic system in Bhutan. Ian-Michael Herbert shared his vision of regenerative placemaking given his experience with Holos and lessons he has learnt from Costa Rica. Lila Behr shared how she has seen regenerative projects raise funding using her platform Soulutions.
It was a meeting of minds, hearts and intentions. His Majesty understood every contribution and connected the dots like a master synthesiser. He and I discussed the creation of an UP Game for the future of GMC. I offered to support gathering Bhutanese leaders and other stakeholders such as Bjarke Ingels from BIG, Marc Benioff from Salesforce and Laurene Powell Jobs from Emerson Collective for this mission. I suggested the creation of a Planetary Future Forum around the Bhutan Innovation Forum that United Planet could help curate the experiences for. One area of deep resonance with His Majesty was when I shared how I had created the world’s first prototype Planetary Embassy in San Francisco. I shared that I held a vision to seed the establishment of Planetary Embassies in cities around the world and that GMC should be one such city that could represent the interests of all life. I could see how this vision lit up His Majesty’s imagination and curiosity. I shared with him that 70% of the world’s wealth sits in 40 cities and that these 40 cities hold the possibility of a parallel model of planetary governance that goes beyond the outdated model of nation states.
What was clear to me as I ‘remembered the Future’ with His Majesty was that a part of my destiny lay in coming back to his Kingdom and being an ambassador for the ideas and culture of Bhutan in the world. I shared my deep inspiration and commitment to continue the journey and keep coming back with future UP Games - in fact I have since planned the Mindful Happiness UP Game in Bhutan from 18-25th October 2026. We will repeat this experience and bring more innovators and Bhutanese leaders to continue telling this story of the more beautiful future our hearts know is possible. Bhutan is a living story whose time has come. And nothing in our world is more powerful than a story to transform our reality. I am looking forward to continuing to walk this path with Humble Audacity together with the Bhutanese people.
His Majesty and I then spoke about redesigning money and creating a new currency for the future. I shared that United Planet was developing an upgraded concept of money called Stars that could be programmed with our intelligence, intention and values. That Stars could be used as a way to finance ecosystemic cooperation to drive outcomes. A new economic engine to finance the bridge between what we can story and what we can create. Results as a Service (RaaS). His Majesty said he had been very interested in new currencies and asked who would be the Adam Smith of the future. To this I shared, like the Buddha, the next Adam Smith will be a Sangha - a community and this is what we were envisioning the Gaian family to be.
Our conversation continued in many directions. We even discussed our Gaian Airship Burning Man camp and how a regional Burn could be held in Bhutan. His Majesty had been following Burning Man for many years and so I offered him any time he wanted to come; he would have a warm welcome in our camp! There was deep excitement and reverence as we witnessed to His Majesty the many ways Bhutan was a template for the planetary future of inclusive development and how we aim to utilise the docuseries we had filmed during the Planetary Happiness UP Game to inspire the creation of the future we had witnessed.
Suffice to say, we left the conversation with His Majesty deeply inspired and energised by the many possibilities we can contribute to this living experiment in Planetary Happiness. Let all had a skip in our step as we descended at sunset back to our homestays and headed out to dance and celebrate around the fire in Laya. Hundreds gathered to dance to local Bhutanese artists as the free Ara flowed. The atmosphere of joy erupted with that rare ecstatic rapture when one’s spirit transcends time and identity to partake of the divine.
Many Bhutanese stopped to speak with us as they had seen His Majesty in deep discussion with us for 45 minutes at the Festival. One such person was Dorji Dhradhul, who had created the Royal Highland Festival when he was Governor of Gasa Dzongkhag before he became Director General of the Tourism Council of Bhutan. Dorji introduced us to his work as a Creative Catalyst in Bhutan. I invited him and his colleague to join us for our closing dinner where we gathered around the fire and shared our deepest hopes and dreams for the future. He invited me to speak at the TEDx Thimphu he is curating in March 2026 on ‘Gross Global Inspiration’. He is a remarkable example of a Bhutanese leader that has a vision for transformation of our world. We went to bed pregnant with possibilities for our future and deeply inspired by what I love to describe as ‘Another great day of service’.
Happiness Day
Our final day was called Happiness Day where we had the heroic mission of starting in Laya and finishing all the way back in Paro at our original stop at the Tatsangri-La hotel. We arose at sunrise for an incredible breakfast, packed our luggage for the horses and set off for the two hour descent back to the Army base followed by the 4X4 drive to Gasa where we had a picnic lunch and headed straight to Chimi Lhakhang, the Fertility Temple in Punakha. Here we were blessed by the monks with a Golden Penis and the bow that was carried by the Lama Drukpa Kinley, known as the Divine Madman. He had come to Bhutan from Tibet around 1455 and is known as the ‘Saint of 5000 Women’. Each of us were tapped on the head by his 10 inch ‘Magic Thunderbolt’ phallus made of wood and ivory along with his Bow that he used to shoot into villages to identify his new destination (and female partner!). This was an experience to say the least. We then arrived and met many of our other Gaian friends that had remained in Thimphu for a closing ceremony of traditional dancing followed by a delicious dinner in the Folk Heritage Museum Restaurant. We then arrived past midnight to rest at the foot of Tigers Nest before departing Bhutan the following morning.
This was one of my favourite UP Games across the last 33 I had hasted. I know that my family and I will return to this great Kingdom many times throughout our lives. I feel the mission of United Planet is entwined within the spirits of the Bhutanese people and the frequency with which the country lives.
As I’ve spent more than 200 days living in the thriving future, surrounded by over a thousand of our planet’s most talented changemakers, I’ve begun noticing that the future is like a language. The more you practice the more you can see the patterns repeating and the clearer the signal comes through the noise. Bhutan is an acupuncture spot for our planet where there is more signal than noise. I had the experience of feeling the future as I adventured through this remarkable land. I long to return.
A final note of celebration and Happy 70th Birthday to His Majesty, the father of the King. The Gaians of United Planet salute your vision. Here is a personal Birthday message on behalf of all of the Gaians that has been shared with you today:
To our Bhutanese hosts - thank you. Words do no justice to how grateful we are for you all.
For our partnership with SOMA Breath and my dear friend Niraj Naik guiding our journeys and lending us silent disco headsets all over the world. Here’s to you:
And to YOU, dear reader - thank you for following along this far. If the mission of United Planet resonates with your soul I’d love to invite you to join us for the final UP Game this year: Starseed Universe in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala from December 14-20th. This is our 34th edition of Remembering the Future and focuses on the story of how technology, nature and intelligence merged to create a thriving future. We will be inspired by Lake Atitlán’s beauty and Mayan culture to story a unique blend of the ancient future. We will highlight the unique role this bioregion plays in the future of planetary regeneration.
See more: www.up.game/starseeduniverse
Deck: http://bit.ly/3LikBQy
Many of the UP Games for 2026 are taking shape. Here is some of the dates and you are invited to apply to join us:
• Gaian Nation - Davos, Switzerland 🇨🇭 23-26th January
• Elemental Betterverse - Maldives 🇲🇻 8-14th February
• Planetir Paradise - Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 15-21st February
• Cuban Light - Cuba 🇨🇺 22-28th March
• Holo Wave - Portugal 🇵🇹 31st May - 6th June
• Island Coherence - Ibiza 🇪🇸 28th June - 4th July
• Planetary Alignment - Ibiza 🇪🇸 9-15th August (Total Eclipse special)
• Gaian Airship - USA 🔥 August 30th - September 6th
• Mindful Happiness - Bhutan 🇧🇹 18-25th October
• Everywhen Dreamtime - Australia 🇦🇺 23-29th November
• Gaian Mythos - New Zealand 🇳🇿 6-12th December
By joining an UP Game you are invited to contribute your vision, wisdom, inspiration and intention for a thriving future towards what is now our world’s largest positive narrative of the future. Something that will shape mythologies, culture, investment strategies for how we reverse engineer the future and financially incentive its creation. A storytelling ecosystem and training of Gaia AI.
The future is a team sport. Let’s Remember the Future…
With love for a thriving future,
Lucian