THE BRAVEPEOPLE
It’s the end of April, 2014. I had sat down at Frk Anderssons Kaffébar on Katarina Bangata on Södermalm, near Nytorget, to read The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for the first time. Across from me, I noticed a very attractive redhead, Clara, with a colorful, imaginative wild animal tattoo on her arm. An energetic guy with glasses and curly hair sat down as well. He moved and spoke like a confused genius—handsome, though clearly lacking confidence.
His name was Gonzalo. He insisted on explaining the complexity of meta-cognition to me. “Ohhh! WOW! Wow, wow! Are you sure you’re not exaggerating? Good grief! You can’t be serious! For the love of God!” I said. “Are you pulling my leg…?” Gonzalo hesitated. Clara chuckled. That was the moment we became friends.
In 2012, after my near-death motorcycle accident in Thailand, I returned to Sweden with a renewed sense of gratitude and purpose. I felt called to create something truly meaningful—something that would integrate all the knowledge, insight, inner work, and will to live that I had accumulated over the years.
For a long time, I envisioned an experiment: to give people a chance to experience something genuinely spiritual—not through symbols, dogma, or group identity, but through direct communication and self-awareness. A way of bringing meditation into human relation, where presence, listening, and linguistic awareness could open a path to timeless, non-dual states of insight within us all.
While studying psychology, I discovered the power of reference points arranged in geometric patterns across the dimensions of human development—insights inspired by the Integral Psychograph. From these foundations, I began designing a workshop: as simple as possible, yet rooted in timeless principles and enriched by proven communication techniques.
These techniques included: —Breath-based regulation, influenced by Vipassana meditation and military-style box breathing —The 7 Levels of Listening, inspired by Stephen R. Covey —The Kaleidoscope Exercise, inspired by Frank Kern and reinterpreted through the lens of the Action Logics framework —Semantically Loaded Words, drawn from neuro-linguistic programming
At the core of the method lies the integration of four psychological perspectives: first to expanded third person—“I, We, It, and It’s”—classically depicted as the fundamental elements: fire, water, air, and earth. Harmonizing these dimensions opens a door to alignment with the unified Self, our deepest breathing patterns. Anciently described as Spirit, Life Force, or our Inner Witness—a point of awareness often obscured by internal conflict among these domains.
By consciously practicing the unification of these perspectives, we move beyond the ego and connect with a shared inner essence. This was the experiment I invited people into—originally titled The Bravepeople Boost: An Introduction to Your Soul. The results were breathtaking, like accessing spiritual gold.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014, marked the first test version of the workshop, held at Frk Anderssons Kaffébar on Katarina Bangata. Participants included Beautiful Nadine, Linus Lundqvist, Pontus Magnusson, and Milou. The workshop focused on heightened communication: how to listen in a way that makes people speak, and speak in a way that makes people listen. It was a success. Photographer Mats Oscarsson captured a spontaneous photo of me, Linus, and Milou.
Since then, I have run a smaller, volunteer-based project centered around a three-hour workshop called THE BOOST. Held at various cafés across central Stockholm, it quickly gained popularity, relying entirely on word of mouth.
