A moment from a recent gathering in Austria
North Dakota
A gathering of pioneers ready to lead from the inside out
You've done the outer work. Built things, spoken on stages, moved people. And yet — there's a quiet knowing that the next leap isn't another project, but a different way of being together. What happens when pioneers who are addressing suffering in innovative ways gather not to network, but to kindle a field of genuine kinship? To practice generosity as principle, presence as resistance, and discover the whole that's greater than the sum of us?
Express InterestIt can be lonely being part of the solution. The status quo is powerful. You see what others don't, carry a vision that sometimes feels like a burden, and wonder where to find the community that holds the deeper work.
We've built impressive outer structures — companies, platforms, movements — while the inner architecture that sustains them often goes untended. What if the most overlooked territory isn't rural America, but the landscape within?
We are two communities that perhaps shouldn't make sense together — and yet do. One rooted in the overlooked heartland, the other in ancient wisdom traditions. What wants to emerge when they meet?
For over fifteen years, TEDxFargo has gathered remarkable voices while 200+ volunteers create what they call "a love letter to our community." As a rural, overlooked place, they've had to work intentionally to invite people in — and discovered that generosity is the best strategy. The real magic? It happens off the stage, in the connections between. Emerging Prairie has been energizing communities ever since.
For twenty-five years, ServiceSpace has hosted thousands of circles and retreats exploring a different premise: change yourself, change the world. Through gift economy and small acts with great love, they've touched millions — not through scale, but through depth.
TEDx speakers carry ideas worth spreading. Awakin guests carry inner journeys worth tracing. Both have stood on stages. Both have stories that moved people. But something different happens when you drop the role and enter a circle. When you're not there to perform, but to be transformed. When the question isn't "What's your talk?" but "What's breaking your heart open?"
A moment from a recent gathering in Austria
We gather not to consume more content, but to cultivate a different kind of context — a shared field of trust, presence, and inquiry where something new can unfold.
The ecological crisis is also a spiritual crisis. The social fragmentation is also a crisis of belonging. Every system we want to transform was built by humans operating from particular states of consciousness — and can only be rebuilt by humans operating from different ones.
We're exploring what it actually means to lead with heart in an age of overwhelm, to find stillness in a culture of noise, to serve from wholeness rather than depletion. And we're doing it together, because there's an intelligence that emerges between people that none of us can access alone.
The prairie itself will be our teacher. Where there are no mountains to climb, we must dig down. Where there is nothing to hide behind, we become more ourselves. Where winter has taught generations that interdependence is survival, generosity becomes not charity but common sense.
Come with what matters most: your questions, your struggles, your willingness to be surprised. This isn't about adding to your toolkit. It's about remembering what you already know.
We gather in the gift economy — which means this retreat is offered freely, made possible by those who came before. At the end, you'll have the opportunity to keep the chain alive for those who come next. Not obligation. Not transaction. Just the flowing river of generosity that makes community possible.
To preserve the intimacy of our circle, participation is limited. We prioritize those actively anchoring projects in their own contexts.
Two friends, two perspectives, one shared conviction that we cannot out-give community.
A fifth-generation North Dakotan who left to see the world and returned to build the community he wanted to live in. For 15+ years, he's curated TEDxFargo with a simple belief: when you lead with generosity, everything changes.
Founder of ServiceSpace, a global ecosystem powered by gift economy and small acts of love. Recognized by the Dalai Lama as an "unsung hero of compassion," he designs social movements rooted in inner transformation.
Folks We're Inviting
...and many more emerging!
If something in these words resonates, we'd love to hear from you. Share a bit about yourself and what draws you to this gathering.
We believe anyone can serve. We believe inner transformation and outer change are the same sacred work. We believe in you — in the specific gift you carry, the particular wound you've turned into wisdom, the exact contribution only you can make.
Come help us discover what wants to emerge.