Dr. Melanie Smith’s Story
Doctor of Oriental Medicine and Advanced Energy Medicine Practitioner

EXCERPT: I was a senior in high school and I can remember vividly, I was literally a couple of months or so away from graduating, being stopped in the middle of the hallway by the high school guidance counselor. And he stopped me. His name was Andy Wilkerson and he was a nice guy. I knew him well. And he said, "Melanie, how come your name is not on this list?" And I said, "What kind of list?" And he said, "It's the SAT and ACT list." And I said, "Well, first of all, I don't even know what that is or why my name would be on the list." And he said, "It's the college entrance exams."

To watch the video and read the transcript of Dr. Melanie’s 5-minute story about the trio of academic angels who changed the trajectory of her life, click here.

Judith Kravitz’s Story
The Creator of Transformational Breath^®

EXCERPT: I get a call when I reach my room that this person, this teacher of mine, said, "I'm on my way." I'm like, "Well, why?" It was literally the middle of the night. She said, "I want to work on your foot." This really amazed and really touched me because I knew it had been a big week for both of us. She had a few symptoms of a cold, and the thought of this incredible being driving to me in the middle of the night to work on my foot…

To watch the video and read the transcript of Judith’s 5-minute story about a middle-of-the-night act of extreme kindness, click here.

Let’s Learn Together About BIPOC Trans Women & Femmes of Color
By Rev. Dr. Aliah MaJon

It’s Women’s History Month, and as a person who identifies as a woman with the pronouns she/her/hers, I always love that there is a wealth of focus on the way that the feminine contributes to our world… However, at this time I’d like to spotlight a group of femmes that are finally beginning to be embraced and lovingly included in our conversations and initiatives for positive change — BIPOC Trans Women and Trans Femmes of Color. 

These individuals exist at multiple intersections of oppression, and are often uniquely singled out for criminalization by the police and government. They experience disproportionately higher rates of housing insecurity, police violence, and under/unemployment due to discrimination based in their perceived gender and race. And, because of these serious, isolating and life-threatening challenges, I feel that BIPOC Trans Women & Trans Femmes of Color deserve our attention this month.

Please join me to celebrate our sisters from this group. And, I’d like to add that, even though I personally am a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I definitely have a lot to learn. Below are a few of the things that are helping me to become educated; not an exhaustive list by any means, rather, they are a start. Also, I can happily report that there are many specialized groups and support opportunities that are emerging and have come to my attention.

Some examples that I can share range from groups on college campuses, like the Trans Femme of Color Cohort at the University of Washington to a fabulous organization that anyone can join known as the Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC). This marginalized community is making it known that they are valuable leaders and have much to give! They are proudly the first trans women of color to teach at Harvard Law School and aside from them being the ones who ignited the Stonewall Riots launching gay pride, they will now be taking up more space in the movements that they helped to start.

Watch this video about Jeynce Poindexter and Lilianna Angel Reyes, leaders of the Trans Sistas of Color Project, and their uplifting efforts to support trans women of color to keep them safe during the pandemic…

Trans Women of Color Create a Network of Support | Womankind

P.S. I also have a special invitation for you related to what young leaders are modeling for us regarding cross-racial partnering. They demonstrate that working together across race and culture is a cornerstone to success in our efforts to stop senseless violence, uproot racism, and create a just and sustainable world that works for everyone.

The Shift Network featured Us Kids — a documentary about March for Our Lives — in our recent Shift Your World Film Festival (where they won 2nd place!), and I was honored to moderate a panel with two of the youth leaders, Samantha (Sam) and Alex. What we talked about was vulnerable, authentic, and deeply moving. After which, I was called to act upon the inspiration that I received in our conversation to conceive of a first-time-ever workshop follow up called:

Watch 2 Workshop
Saturday, March 26, 2022
11:00am - 1:00pm Pacific
Click here for FREE Registration

This program will focus on cultivating the actual skills that support Cross-Racial Partnering and Trust-Building... The beginning of delivering foundational tools for the practical application of the Us Kids messages about taking action — that day will include facilitated Breakout Sessions, Group Debrief, and a powerful time for Q&A!

It is our pleasure to share the launch of The Upshift: Conversations with Dr. Ervin Laszlo, renowned philosopher of science, author of more than 100 books, and two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. The UpShift! explores Laszlo’s journey from piano prodigy in Hungary to becoming one of the leading minds in science and philosophy. Joined by guests including Jane Goodall, Gary Zukav, Gregg Braden, Neale Donald Walsch, Marianne Williamson, and others, Dr. Laszlo explores how we find our purpose in life, and how we can collectively join forces to shift beyond the current unsustainable trajectory of our human life on the planet.

In the first episode, Ervin Laszlo sits down with guest host and series executive producer Joy Donnell to discuss his journey from a concert pianist to a philosopher and an activist. Through his personal moments, Ervin describes the moment when he began to explore the notion of purpose, how we can question our concept of self, and how love, as well as community, serve as a catalyst for deeper self-awareness and spiritual awakening.

Find it on Spotify!

What is Qigong?
By Master Chunyi Lin, a featured speaker in the Qigong Global Summit

Qigong (also spelled as “Chi Gong”, “Chi Kong”, or “Qi Gong”) is an ancient Chinese scientific study of the power of Qi in the body and the universe, and of how to use this power to benefit all aspects of life. Qi is a form of intelligence and a form of life force.  For example, Chinese people call the energy in a person’s body Qi. Gong means “the work of” or “the practice of.” Thus, Qigong is the practice of energy.

For thousands of years, the practice of Qigong was a closely-guarded secret revealed only to a chosen few. Even today, traditional Qigong techniques can require years of rigid, disciplined practice to develop proficiency.

Read the complete article

On Making Your Own Altar
By Deng Ming-Dao, a featured speaker in the Qigong Global Summit

Every serious Taoist has an altar. It’s a symbol intimately associated with Taoism. The altar is the place for meditation, prayer, offering, sacrifice, remembrance of ancestors. It is essentially the place to dedicate oneself to Tao.

When it comes to Taoism and all things Chinese, there are plenty of local customs and variations. These details are as I learned them from my teacher. Take these as guidelines to make an altar that suits you. Unless you’re following a specific school, create an altar that’s meaningful to you.

Read the complete article

Seven Foundational Practices for the Flowering of World Humanity
By James O'Dea

There are vast fields of change emerging in human consciousness amidst global conditions of intense turmoil, systemic breakdown and the ravages of significant climate imbalance. The old centers of meaning which clustered around limited concepts of God and country, ideological constructs of democracy, progress and development are increasingly incoherent. What is to replace them?

Evolution seems to be intensifying both the process of individuation and collective resonance in an emerging wholeness that expands both. A new kind of global coherence requires a movement of the center of gravity of meaning from values that no longer represent humanity’s highest goals and ideals to values that serve unity and wholeness rather than fragmentation and cultural elitism.

Read or access the full-color, Illustrated PDF

Infused with visionary power, this book by Stephen Dinan, Shift Network’s co-founder and CEO, is a manifesto for our country’s evolution that is both political and deeply spiritual. It offers profound hope that America can grow beyond our current challenges and manifest our noblest destiny, which the book shows is rooted in sacred principles that transcend left or right political views. To order your copy, click here.

Sacred America, Sacred World is so crucial to the times we’re in that we are serializing it in every issue of Catalyst. You can read the fourteenth installment (as well as the previous one) here.

Interview: Stephen Dinan “Accessing Wisdom”

We wanted to share a wonderful interview with Stephen and Rob Dube, a Forbes contributor, who spoke with Stephen for his podcast, Leading with Genuine Care. Shift’s founder Stephen Dinan used to be a self-described “atheist scientist type,” until the sudden death of a close friend shook up his worldview.

Grappling with questions that science had no answer for, he explored ways to reach higher levels of consciousness, psychic abilities, and reincarnation. Having initially planned to be a doctor, he realized he was supposed to make a difference through business. Dinan believes that conscious capitalism — using business as a force for good — is the key to making positive change in the world. In this interview, Dinan shares advice on how to lead a business that shuns short-term wins for long-term victories, encouraging employees to meet their spiritual needs, why we should think planet-first, and more.

Watch on YouTube

Through God’s Eyes: Finding Peace and Purpose in a Troubled World
By Phil Bolsta of The Shift Network

Through God’s Eyes is a roadmap for living a more peaceful, beautiful life. It’s the only book that shows you how dozens of spiritual principles interact, how to weave them together into a cohesive worldview, and how to practically apply this spiritual wisdom to bring joy and vitality to your daily life.

For more information and to order your copy, click here.
To access a free sample chapter on forgiveness, click here.

Through God’s Eyes is a superb book, a truly enlightened piece of work that is an essential read for all people who are truly devoted to the care and refinement of their soul. Phil is a contemporary mystic, a man whose life is a living commitment to spiritual service. I am honored to know him.
— Caroline Myss, author of Intimate Conversations with the Divine, Anatomy of the Spirit, and Defy Gravity

One of the most important books I’ve ever read. An incredible compilation of spiritual wisdom and insight. It’s the owner’s manual God should give you when you’re born.
– Robert Peterson, author of Answers Within

For several years, The Shift Network has hosted Indigenous leaders from around the world and invited them to share their sacred knowledge, rituals, and practices to guide us in a way of living that is sustainable, healthy, and just. We’re thus delighted that the Global Indigenous Wisdom Library makes this “virtual council” of leaders and their wisdom available for everyone, everywhere for free.

The Global Indigenous Wisdom Library is a collection of audio and video interviews featuring Indigenous leaders from around the world sharing prayers, sacred songs, prophecies, spiritual teachings, and pathways to healing, as well as concrete examples for birthing a new era — one in which all members of the human family are treated with respect, understanding, compassion, and justice. This sacred wisdom is important medicine for us all.

The production of The Global Indigenous Wisdom Library is a gift from The Shift Network, designed to inspire, inform, and involve you by highlighting the voices and important messages of Indigenous leaders from around the world. We want to give a heartfelt thanks to Hereditary Chief Phil Lane Jr. (“Brother Phil”) for his partnership in helping create this Indigenous Wisdom collection. And we thank all the speakers who have contributed to this body of knowledge. To discover more, click here.

World Peace Library. Designed for the layperson and professional peacebuilder alike, the World Peace Library has over 425 audio and video interviews with some of the most remarkable, inspiring peacebuilders in the world available to you at NO COST. You’ll find hundreds of hours of inspirational, peacebuilding, compassion-spreading talks and trainings at your fingertips with this FREE global resource. There’s no way you can’t come away from the World Peace Library deeply inspired, transformed — and part of the solution. Click here to find out how to take peace to the next level — and help co-create a global culture of peace that leaves a legacy of good for our children, our children’s children and all of humanity and life on earth.

Discover Shamanic Astrology: A Wellspring of Self-Knowledge & Healing — A free video event with shamanic astrologer Terry Morgan. Attain a higher perspective of life and a more profound understanding of yourself — so you can feel unconditionally loved, centered, and whole. Tuesday, March 15, at 5:30pm Pacific

Rekindle Your Vital Energy With Vinyasa Yoga to Cultivate Balance in Changing Times — A free video event with Shiva Rea, founder of Prana Vinyasa Yoga. Discover how to embody the totality of vinyasa yoga as a philosophy of life, a physical practice, and as meditation-in-motion — to ignite and sustain your creative inner fire and rediscover your soul’s true purpose. Thursday, March 17, at 5:30pm Pacific

Discover the Power of Energy Medicine & Spiritual Psychology — A free video event with energy psychology pioneer Mary Sise, LCSW, creator of Soul Weaving and director of Magdalena Healing. Experience a powerful guided visualization to activate your ability to transmute any lower frequencies in your energy field for optimal wellbeing and clarity about your soul’s true calling. Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 5:30pm Pacific

Discover the Divine Pathway With Energy Medicine — A free video event with author, speaker, and intuitive energy healer Cyndi Dale. Experience powerful energy medicine techniques to tap into the Divine Pathway, an energetic field of grace and love, where you can release blocks and start actively creating profound positive shifts in your life. Thursday, March 24, at 5:30pm Pacific

Reclaim the Lost Art of Wholeness for a Fully Embodied Life — With Philip Shepherd, the creator of The Embodied Present Process. Explore one-of-a-kind guided meditative practices connecting your mind and body, enabling you to leave behind fear, struggle, and anxiety… and allowing you to experience deeper levels of peace, presence, and inner calm. New 7-Week Live Video Training Starts Tuesday, March 15, 2022

An Integrated System for Empaths & Sensitives — With “The Sensitive Doctor” Dr. Natasha Fallahi, founder of Club Sensitive. Discover insights and highly empowering techniques, practices, nutritional suggestions, and natural remedies — specific to your sensitivity type — for living a happy, healthy, and fulfilled life as an empath or sensitive person. New 7-Week Live Video Training Starts Thursday, March 17, 2022

Holistic Mediumship — With mystic, medium, and author Suzanne Giesemann. Deepen and refine your innate ability to communicate with loved ones and others beyond the veil, and help others make connections with the spirit world — as you tune in to a higher consciousness and open your heart to a more awakened life. New 9-Week Live Video Training Starts Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Explore the Secrets of Sonic Science & Cymatics — With acoustics scientist John Stuart Reid, inventor of the CymaScope. Mediate pain and stress, supercharge your immune system, balance your body systems, and activate your capacity to heal at a cellular level using sound and music frequencies… and the science and art of sound made visible. New 7-Week Live Video Training Starts Wednesday, March 23, 2022

4 Longevity Factors of People Who Live Happily & Healthily to 100+ — With Dr. Mario Martinez. the founder of Biocognitive Science Institute and author of The MindBody Code. Explore how causes of health are inherited, and how longevity is a culturally learned consciousness that can biologically prevent physical illness and disease and help you extend your life — so you can thrive as you live to 100 (or beyond). New 7-Week Live Video Training Starts Monday, March 28, 2022

Heal Yourself & Others With the Power of Qigong — With Grandmaster Chunyi Lin, creator and founder of Spring Forest Qigong. Explore how to live a longer, healthier life as one of the world’s most celebrated Qigong teachers guides you to cultivate your life-force energy and your mind with Spring Forest Qigong — so you can heal yourself and others. New 7-Week Live Video Training Starts Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Breathe Into Abundance — With Dr. Judith Kravitz, creator of Transformational Breath®. Experience transformational breathing practices to gain spiritual awareness so you can breathe abundantly to activate the Law of Attraction — and begin transforming your self-imposed limitations, catalyzing your intention, restoring inner balance, and opening yourself to the infinite possibilities your life will hold. New 7-Week Live Video Training Starts Thursday, March 31, 2022