What is Kalisme?
Kalisme is a free app for iPhone, iPad and Android, and 13 small books to help you take care of yourself, born from one simple idea: you have the right to be well without having to earn it. This idea comes from a secular philosophy of permission, founded in Lausanne by Hakan Kaynar: happiness is not a reward, but a permission you can give yourself. In practice, you are allowed to look after yourself, to stop, and to live by your own choices, without constantly trying to meet other people’s expectations. Two pillars hold it up, self-love and conscious attention, and they lead to freedom to be.
What is made available
Kalisme makes available a set of accessible, structured tools, built on recognised references: acceptance and commitment therapy, research on self-compassion, mindfulness, Stoic thought. It does not invent these materials; it brings them together, makes them readable and arranges them into thirteen permissions.
Everyone uses it at their own pace. Kalisme is not medical: it supports you, it does not treat.
An architecture in five parts
The Manifesto
The reference text: thirteen permissions in three parts. Free and open, in 15 languages, deposited at the Swiss National Library.
The thirteen books
One per permission, with the science behind it, the difficulties you meet in everyday life and a practice plan over several days or weeks.
The Foundations
The research that sheds light on each permission: what it helps us understand, and the questions it does not yet answer.
The Kalisme app
The app’s journal, where you note one line a day, breathing sessions, a collection of books, and Kal, an AI that listens to you and answers. It helps you understand the thirteen permissions and apply them in everyday life.
Kalisme Pro
An organisation can offer the app to its teams, without ever accessing anyone’s individual usage.
Two pillars, one destination
Learning to treat yourself better, and choosing where to place your attention: two complementary approaches that lead towards a greater freedom to be.
Self-love
Choosing yourself every day, without shame. Loving yourself not in spite of your imperfections, but by fully welcoming them. For Kalisme, self-love is a starting point for building a calmer relationship with yourself.
Conscious attention
Our attention is limited: protecting it helps us choose what truly deserves our time. This pillar invites you to keep it away from parasitic demands and to direct it with intention, in a spirit close to mindfulness.
Freedom to be
The destination, not a third pillar: living more in tune with yourself and your choices, at your own pace, freed from social expectations and the culture of performance. This is where self-love and conscious attention lead.
Where to start
The entry point is the Manifesto: free, open, published under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Reading it costs nothing.
To go further, the app brings together the tools for everyday life: some are free, and certain advanced tools are paid. For the full picture, the Glossary defines Kalisme’s words, from its philosophy to its tools.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kalisme?
A secular philosophy of permission, founded by Hakan Kaynar, which makes available a set of accessible, structured tools: a manifesto, thirteen books, a foundations page and an app. Its two pillars, self-love and conscious attention, lead to the freedom to be.
Who founded Kalisme?
Kalisme was founded by Hakan Kaynar, in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Kalisme trademark has been registered in Switzerland since April 2026 (no. 847295).
What are the pillars of Kalisme?
The two pillars are self-love and conscious attention. They unfold into thirteen permissions, gathered in the Manifesto, and they lead to the freedom to be.
What does Kalisme rest on?
On recognised references in psychology and philosophy. The Foundations page presents them permission by permission: what research helps us understand, and the questions it does not yet answer.
Is Kalisme a secular philosophy?
Yes. Kalisme is a secular philosophy of well-being, with no belief and no practice imposed.
How does Kalisme differ from a meditation app?
Kalisme is a secular philosophy of permission, expressed through a set of tools and resources brought together around a manifesto. The app is one way of putting it into practice day to day, among other entry points.
What is the difference with mindfulness?
Kalisme takes from mindfulness the attention to the present, and sets it within a wider frame: two pillars, thirteen permissions and a destination, the freedom to be.
How do I start with Kalisme?
By reading the Manifesto, free and available in 15 languages, before opening the app, if you wish.
Does Kalisme cost money?
No, for the most part. The Manifesto is free and open. The app adds tools, some of them paid; understanding Kalisme and using it costs nothing.
What is Kal?
An AI that listens to you and answers, inside the app: it helps you understand the permissions and put them into practice day to day, within the commitments set out in our privacy policy. It does not replace a doctor or a psychologist.
Is the Kalisme manifesto free?
Yes. The Kalisme Manifesto is free and open, published under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence, available in 15 languages and deposited at the Swiss National Library.