Abeer Desai

I’m an Archetypal Astrologer, Artist, and Entrepreneur designing and building a revolution in cosmology through my work with Numinous Realm. We are mapping archetypal cycles of astrology and correlating them with world history as a basis for predicting future trends. This insight is being designed into the world through the fashion label Integrate This. You can chat with me on X or follow the journey on Instagram.

In love with Somya Thakker.

2019 - onward

Coming soon.

2019

I decide to complete my Masters in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at CIIS by 2020. I continue building an advisory department working with technology and finance companies so I can self finance the R&D required for Numinous Realm. I begin seriously considering institutional investment for the first time but I am okay with taking a slow burning approach to our research. There is a time for all things under heaven. Given my years of commitment to parsing out the social value of business activity, I am also thinking deeply about our values as a company and it is important to find investors with an extremely long vision. Numinous Realm is a tiny step on the shoulders of giants, and I am painfully aware of the need to honor the lineages we represent. Numinous Realm joins the WeWorks Labs program in San Jose.

2018

Lots of R&D around fashion and archetypal cosmology. A poignant trip to India where I connect with the country’s deep and enduring connection with astrology. Pivot Numinous Realm away from Mother Earth Worldwide to refocus on historical evolution as the core innovation. This work is heavily inspired by my Professor, internationally renowned transpersonal theorist and cultural historian, Richard Tarnas, as well as Professor Stanislav Grof, a founder of the field of transpersonal psychology. Fashion is a profound pathway to integrate psychology, culture, and commerce, but there is a major database piece that must be built out first. Start consulting with technology and finance companies to bootstrap the R&D.

2017

Growing responsibilities with Mother Earth Worldwide--a lifestyle brand developing experiences related to transpersonal and archetypal psychology for the masses--forces me to take a leave of absence from the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness department at CIIS. This project is heavily inspired by one of my Professors at CIIS, Brian Swimme, who is a direct intellectual descendent of renowned ecological intellectuals Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry. I continue to paint and get a chance to work on some amazing art commissions.

2016

I quit my job to launch a startup, Numinous Realm, focused on exploring integrations of depth psychology, commerce, and culture. Our first project is the lifestyle brand Mother Earth Worldwide. I am still attending CIIS and getting my mind blown frequently. I dive headfirst into painting--it is easily one of the hardest things I have ever done. I am drawn to the genre of abstract expressionism as a means to convey ideas related to archetypal cosmology. I sell my first few paintings. I self publish an EP (link) of some of my favorite compositions from my electronica days.

2015

At CIIS I am challenged by cutting edge paradigms related to deep history, transpersonal psychology, and integral ecology. My entire metaphysical framework starts to shift in contact with these powerful ideas. I spend several unforgettable months living with (and often vigorously debating) a working contemporary abstract painter in Berkeley, California, Brendan Getz. It was truly a blessed experience to spend time with him. I help launch a student group Impact@CIIS focused on exploring the integration of commerce with the integral worldview.

2014

Entrepreneurship is a powerful toolkit, but I can not avoid the deep longing in my soul to participate more fully in the arts. It's that same old longing I experienced from the Beat Intellectuals, and the hike in Yunnan; all that sparks up when I watch Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris". After spending a few months drafting an 80,000 word treatise on archetypal psychology, I enroll in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco. Simultaneously I begin directing the marketing operations for a cloud engineering consultancy.

2013

After freelancing for a few months I launch a digital agency called Zero Venture Partners to offer branding and digital marketing services to an international clientele. I move to Mumbai to set up a small back-end operation. I get experience working with some really great interns in India, meeting other entrepreneurs in Mumbai, and getting reacquainted with the social enterprise scene in India.

2012

A year of deep rinsing in the villages has transformed me irrevocably. I move to California to explore the possibility of impact on a planetary scale by putting out my shingle as a digital marketer. After a bit of time in Los Angeles, I shift into a hacker house, called Startup House, in SoMa district of San Francisco where I share a room with 12 other hackers. It is the heydays of the new tech boom. The hacker house is eventually shut down due to building code violations.

2011

Final semester at NYU; freelance reporter on social enterprise; renege offer from JP Morgan Chase in New York to explore the integration of commerce and social impact in Machur--a tiny, economically challenged village of "untouchables" in a remote corner of South India. The spirituality of India seeps into my pores; along with the loneliness of the jungle life. Along with unforgettable friendships, I have priceless mentee experiences with one of India's leading industrialists, Sudarshan Maini, one of India's leading organic agriculture pioneers, Vivek Cariappa, and one of India's most experienced social workers, Ganesh Shenoy.

2010

In New York City, seeking existential meaning in the wake of The Great Recession. There is blood on the streets. Summer internship at JP Morgan Chase opens my eyes to the inner workings of a Goliath corporation. I help launch NYU's first undergraduate social enterprise club, Net Impact.

2009

A semester abroad in the UK deepens my awareness of Europe. Powerful architecture class introduces me to the art of sketching. Bump into the ideals of the Beat Generation—specifically a borrowed copy of On the Road by Jack Kerouac—which ruptures open a deep longing in me for something I can't define. Venice becomes my favorite city, and I vow to return and spend time someday when I am an artist. Summer internship at Mohammad Yunus' Grameen America micro finance bank. A semester abroad in China exposes me to the breath taking growth of the region. A solo hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge of Yunnan Province galvanizes my resolve to walk the path less traveled. 

2008

An undergrad studying finance in New York City. Fall desperately in love. Summer internship at a Silicon Valley startup, followed by a soul enlarging solo drive through America's South West from California to Texas via Colorado.

2007

Leave the Singaporean Army. Take a long trip through China and Japan. Enroll in NYU's Stern School of Business.

2005 - 2007

Training in the Singaporean Army. On the flight over I am struck to the core by Wong Kar Wai's 2046. Selected to attend Officer Cadet School out of Bootcamp for advanced infantry training. A chance to spend a lot of time in nature, get my butt kicked, and build relationships with the entire cross-section of Singaporean society. Also learn about military structures, weapons, platoon and company tactics, and a variety of assault scenarios.

2001 - 2005

High school in America. Start producing electronic music. I hold the mild distinction of being voted the very first Freshman homecoming prince of Harker High School in California. Also the dubious distinction of being "impeached" while Senior Class President at McLean High School in Virginia for showing my middle finger to the camera for the class wide portrait (might sound hard to believe but it really was an honest mistake...). Won talent show that year, and was also awarded an honorary "Thistle Award for Excellence, Commitment, and Leadership" from the teachers. Was really proud of being mentioned in the year book more times than anybody else.

1987 - 2001

Born in New Delhi. Grow up living in New Delhi and Singapore. An idyllic childhood exposed to people from all cultures around the world.