When Emmy-nominated storyteller and futurist Jason Silva talks about awe, creativity, and human potential, he does so with a contagious sense of wonder that feels equal parts poetic and practical. A former Montessori kid who grew up encouraged to “celebrate his weirdness,” Silva has built a career exploring how curiosity, courage, and imagination shape the way we live and learn. In his latest book, Sacred Derangement: A field guide to outrageous creativity, radical self-expression, and living in awe, he invites readers to lean into inspiration as a daily practice, one that expands both mind and spirit. Ahead of his keynote at The Montessori Event, Silva reflected on his Montessori beginnings, the nature of awe, and what it means to live a life fully animated by curiosity and creative freedom.
You’re coming to The Montessori Event to share inspiration and possibility. What does it mean to you to stand before this particular audience of educators and changemakers?
It feels like a full circle moment! My kindergarten and elementary school experience growing up in Venezuela was in a Montessori school and I have the fondest memory of that experience. My mother, who is also an educator, was always a fan of Montessori, so this just feels lovely.
In your work, you often probe what kind of person one wants to become. How do you define a “life well lived”?
I define a life well lived as a life consumed with passion and curiosity. If you have the opportunity to pursue what lights you up, many of life’s existential questions get answered by the plentitude of their satisfaction.
What role do you think courage plays in creative self-expression and in stepping into your highest aspirations?
Courage definitely plays a role of creative self expression — and for me ENCOURAGEMENT was huge — as my mother played a huge role in always believing in me and encouraging me to take leaps and practice self expression and experiment across the board. The only rule was you had to be kind. I aimed for living my dreams for sure.
In the face of constraints or criticism, how do you maintain authenticity in your voice or vision?
I suppose there was always a sense of trust in my intuition.. a carefully calibrated relationship with my highest self, my deepest yearnings and expression // and I guess it just makes you stubbornly optimistic and willing to hold your voice.
You speak about awe not only as an emotion but as a force that “expands the mind”. How do you see inspiration and awe as intertwined?
I find Awe to be a state of rapture, an altered state of consciousness that makes things clear. What really matters becomes ever-present, salient, vibrant, possessing you and “unselfing” you in the best kind of way. The ego disappears, and inspiration becomes your compass, your orientation. You know exactly what you need to do.
When people feel stuck or uninspired, what first shift in perspective or practice do you encourage them to try?
It’s important to move the body and immerse yourself in novel environments. You need some dopamine. Some new stimuli that shakes you from your habituated thought patterns. Quickly, inspiration comes.
Is there a moment in your own life when you felt compelled and alive through both awe and inspiration?
Multiple times per week!!!
As a Montessori kid: looking back, how did that environment shape your sense of agency, creativity, and inner life?
I remember just being recognized for my uniqueness. The Montessori teachers always celebrated my quirks and idiosyncrasies… I suppose it made me believe in myself and “celebrate my weirdness”.
Montessori encourages self-directed exploration. Do you feel that early freedom helped you navigate your pursuits and creative experiments later?
Absolutely. Between Montessori and my artist mother, I fully embraced my creative pursuits. I wanted to always captain my ship.
In a culture permeated by standardization and measurement, how do you think Montessori values can protect or nurture intrinsic motivation and wonder?
Montessori in a way was ahead of its time, only becoming more relevant by the day!! Intrinsic motivation, curiosity and wonder are the best skills to lean into for thriving in a new world where you can basically create anything!
Your new book, Sacred Derangement: A field guide to outrageous creativity, radical self-expression and living in awe explores boldness and disruption. What inspired you to write it now?
I finally made the time and the perfectly calibrated environment to not just write the book, but live the life in which the ideas from the book would crystallize. It was a chance to really organize the ideas, practices, and themes that serve my flourishing and hopefully will serve others in the same way.
How do the themes of your book relate to what you hope Montessori educators and leaders will bring home after your keynote at The Montessori Event?
The book is a field guide to the ecstatic life: a life filled with wonder, aesthetic perception, curiosity, existential openness and a hunger to always learn. I hope all of these things are felt at the event!
Jason Silva’s keynote will will invite us to reflect on how curiosity and imagination sustain lifelong learning. Join us in Washington, D.C., March 19–22, for The Montessori Event 2026, where educators and leaders gather to learn, exchange ideas, and renew their commitment to meaningful practice at the world’s largest Montessori gathering.