Explorer's Club of New York - Searching for Shangri-la and Fusion Economics

The Explorer's Club of New York invited Laurence Brahm to address the club on March 23, 2015, to present his expeditions in Tibet searching for the mythical kingdom of Shangri-la. The expeditions were carried out between 2002-2004, resulting in three books: "Searching for Shangri-la," "Conversations with Sacred Mountains," and "Shambhala Sutra." These can be seen on www.laurencebrahm.info under the "media" section, and on www.searchingforshangri-la.org. The television serial based on these expeditions "Searching for Shangri-la" has become the single most popular documentary aired on China's first internet television station LETV in 2015.

During his lecture Brahm explained how the search for Shangri-la (in Tibetan "Shambhala") revealed that this metaphysical concept of a celestial kingdom is actually an allegory reminding us that we need to create a more harmonious and sustainable planet right here on earth. As a result of the three expeditions, Brahm moved to Tibet in 2005 to establish Shambhala Serai, one of Asia's very first social enterprises, which in turn led to evolving the concept of a Himalayan Consensus (www.himalayanconsensus.org). This story and the economic concepts that arose: compassionate capital, conscientious consumption, environmental economics, stakeholder value, are all presented in the book "FUSION ECONOMICS: How Pragmatism is Changing the World."

Brahm spoke to a packed house at the Explorer's Club which welcomed these concepts as a new and innovative approach to our planetary limitations. Past speakers at Explorer's Club include: Edmund Hillary, Thor Heyerdahl and Jane Goodall.