Regenesis Incubator Reflections: Week One

What unfolds when fifteen heart-centered humans gather in the Galápagos to co-create with curiosity, agility, and devotion for five weeks?

What stories begin to write themselves when we move with self-direction and attune to the natural world and the more-than-human wonders around us?

These are the questions I’m living into through the Regenesis Incubator—a container birthed from the deep vision of Keri and Jon Shin and artfully facilitated by Rubén Darío (along with the group itself). We came here to incubate our projects, rediscover ourselves, and learn how to contribute to the world in meaningful, inspiring, and sincere ways.

The Galápagos is a place where only 3% of the land is inhabited by humans; the rest remains wild. Walking here means moving alongside sea lions, iguanas, and blue-footed boobies on doorsteps, sidewalks, and beaches. There are no trash bins on the street, dry toilets are a norm, and environmental awareness is part of daily life. We are learning how even our smallest choices ripple into the island’s delicate ecosystem.

Incubating Dreams in the Galápagos

Our intergenerational group of fifteen includes artists, tech folks, homesteaders, and activists from around the globe. Many are non-American, and hearing Spanish spoken each day brings a grounded sense of place and connection. Together, we explore creative and collaborative dynamics through games, somatic practices, deep listening, and ritual. We’ve established shared agreements, practice emotional fluency, and support one another through the sensitivities rooted in our stories—sharing with vulnerability and receiving one another with care.

We recognize that this is a profound social experiment in learning to lead and participate through critical thinking, play, and wonderment. Every voice matters. Every voice is heard. And in a time when our shared humanity feels at a tipping point, reimagining both our human potential and our relationship with the planet feels essential—especially when we do so with an open heart, mind, and will. From this place, I feel hopeful. As Jane Goodall once said in her final message, “Each and every one of you has a role to play… even small actions, multiplied a million, a billion times, will make for great change.”

We’re living among locals and cohabiting in a beautiful home designed around “gift ecology,” where generosity replaces transaction and giving comes from willingness and abundance rather than obligation. This space allows us to co-create beyond social and economic hierarchies and remember that life itself is a gift—a paradox we’re learning to hold with humility and gratitude.

Our collaboration framework is rooted in two powerful models: Theory U, which invites us to suspend habitual thinking, open our hearts, and connect with a deeper will so we can perceive with fresh eyes; and the Agile Learning Model, which encourages individuals and groups to self-direct, experiment, reflect, and continuously evolve based on what is most alive, relevant, and meaningful in the moment.

In Theory U

We Ask:

• Who am I, really?

• How can I share my gifts from grounded presence, embodied awareness, and authenticity rather than impulse?

• How can I act from integration rather than reaction or patterns?

I can feel the bubbling of what I’m being called to incubate—a project I’ve been softly gestating for a couple of years while traveling to more than twenty countries, exploring the phenomena of touch and human connection. Though I’ve been developing my teaching in Thai Yoga Massage, something deeper is arising, an invitation to weave my passions into a new offering.

I’m calling it Way of Touch. It’s a platform dedicated to cultivating touch intelligence and building global connections while supporting local communities. It invites people into an expressive, holistic way of living while learning a meaningful craft in the art of healing touch.

I’m marinating in questions: How will this blend in-person and digital resources? Do I start a podcast? Should I begin writing on Substack? Being in the Galápagos with this kick-ass cohort gives me confidence and softens the overwhelm and timidness I’ve felt. I can feel genuine joy as I take small steps toward action.

Another question we were asked this week was:

“When do you feel most in your genius zone?”

Not just what you’re good at or what earns money, but where your Soul’s unique signature feels most alive.

I’ve come to recognize that I feel most in my genius when I’m frame drumming to awaken ecstatic expression in others, or leading group songs around the fire during ceremonial rituals. I can sense how this part of me has grown over the years, and each time I return to it, I see how much I’ve developed my ability to hold space and be a creative catalyst. This no longer feels performative, as it sometimes did in the past, but rather a genuine expression of who I am and of the spiritual revival it invites in others.

With time and spaciousness, we’re forming genuine bonds and creating without pressure. As someone who often leads groups in the healing arts, I know how easily transformation can fade when people return home with little integration. But here, we’re learning to live the questions, breathe the answers, and care for both ourselves and the collective.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! Please share any insights, thoughts, or reflections you may have. I’d love to hear from you while I am here.

With BIG Love,

Dominique

regenesisincubator@gmail.com