2020 Issue 26 • Dec 13

By Alison Marks, Senior Director of Summits and Festivals

Winter Solstice is my favorite time of year. It’s the dark of the dark, the interior time, a time when we can palpably feel magic stirring, ever so softly, but oh so deeply. It’s a time when we get to hold ourselves gently as we review and let go of the last trip around the sun, and open to what awaits in the coming light.

A group of us here at The Shift Network sat down and reflected on these last 12 months of upheaval. We visioned what the ultimate Winter Solstice event for 2020 could be — and boy, did we cook it up for you!

I’m thrilled to invite you to join us for Winter Solstice Fest this Friday through Sunday (December 18-20). It’s an intimate and deeply potent 3-day online global gathering of uplifting and reflective rituals, music, art, prayers, workshops, and so much more — all designed to help YOU review and renew.

This is the freshest and most diverse program we’ve ever presented, featuring...

A cornucopia of Winter Solstice rituals and reflections with powerful leaders like Shiva Rea, Android Jones, Jeralyn Glass, Amanda Yates Garcia, Suzanne Sterling, Jade Begay, Sahara Rose, Nat Kelley, and many others

Full musical sets — everything from kirtan to electronica to folk music, all designed to uplift your spirit — from Zap Mama, Deva Premal and Miten, Michael Franti, Shpongle, John Butler, Taimane Gardner, Ayla Nereo, and many others

Prayers and blessings from Indigenous brothers and sisters around the world

A live feed of the solstice sunrise ceremony at Stonehenge

And for those who choose to upgrade to the VIP Ticket, you’ll get SO many goodies, including all the above recordings PLUS a pass to participate in a fabulous private event on Monday called Winter Solstice Immersion: Conjure Your Bold Vision for 2021, where:

You’ll hear the crucial astrology of 2021 with the AstroTwins
Glean intuitive insights for 2021 with women’s empowerment guide Tiffany Janay
Receive a custom tarot reading for 2021 with Amanda Yates Garcia, the “Oracle of Los Angeles”

Just click here to join us. We truly hope you will!

Phoenix Singer, a Marketing Writer on the Shift Community Transformation Team, wrote the following Hanukkah prayer as an inclusive call to speak to oppression in any community or culture.

May our shadows be illuminated until everyone is free.
May our illuminated shadows inspire our path to eradicate systems of oppression and enslavement.
May we courageously lead the way to liberty and justice...
Now... and for as long as it takes.

A note from Aliah MaJon, Chief Inclusion Officer for The Shift Network:
On one hand, 2020 has been a tumultuous and heart-wrenching year, and on the other hand we've seen tremendous compassion and an enormous amount of solidarity and hope. As we enter the season for winter holidays and various sacred and family observances, I'd like this issue to include only one offering related to "Racial Healing." It's a recommendation really: a suggestion that will shine a light on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's work and resources.

In particular, I am choosing to share about the very special date of January 19, 2021, which is known as the National Day of Racial Healing. Not just that specific date, but rather, the spirit of this day and what it stands for, which is an invitation to each of us to make every day an occasion for us to work on Racial Healing. Let's allow the upcoming season of love to ground this idea even further and inspire us to take the action that may have been on our minds.

The National Day of Racial Healing is a time for contemplation and collective action on #HowWeHeal from the effects of racism. Launched on January 17, 2017, it’s an opportunity to bring ALL people together in their common humanity and inspire collective action to create a more just and equitable world. This annual observance is hosted by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), and was created with and builds on the work and learnings of the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) community partners. Fundamental to this day is a clear understanding that racial healing is at the core of racial equity. This day is observed every year on the Tuesday following Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

At the bottom of this page, you’ll find access to the "Action Kits" that will support the process of reducing and eradicating the racial divide in a myriad of arenas and across every walk of life. There are Action Kits for Students, Teachers, Philanthropy, Libraries, Faith & Spiritual Communities, Ambassadors, Business Leaders, and, of course, a general toolkit "For Everyone." And the slowed-down community-focused season during December is the perfect time to use them!

EDITOR’S NOTE: “The Master Key” by Robert Peng, a featured speaker in The Shift Network’s 2020 Energy Medicine & Healing Summit, is one of the most profoundly important books I’ve ever read. I can say that it’s life-changing with complete confidence, because it changed my life before I even finished reading it. I was so impressed with this book that we are serializing the section called “One Hundred Days of Darkness and Light” in future issues of Catalyst. You can read the twenty-seventh installment (as well as the previous ones) here.
— Phil Bolsta

The uplifting stories in this issue’s “The Nicest Thing” section come from beloved Shift faculty Dr. Sue Morter… and author Lynne McTaggart, a frequent speaker in Shift summits.

Finally, we’d love to hear your answer to the question, What areas of personal growth are you looking forward to exploring in the new year? To share your thoughts in our Facebook Page community, click here.

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
― Hamilton Wright Mabie

The Master Key
By Robert Peng, a featured speaker in The Shift Network’s 2019 Qigong Global Summit

It's 1972 in the industrial city of Xiangtan, China. A frail child with a heart condition sneaks into a hotel boiler room and befriends the elderly yet vibrant attendant, who eventually reveals his true identity as a revered Qigong master. He heals the boy and, for the next 13 years, secretly teaches him the keys to unlocking the spiritual and healing dimensions of the Life Force.

It sounds like a modern-day fable, but the story is true. And with The Master Key, that grateful student, Robert Peng, invites all of us to enter the next chapter of this empowering path. Here, Master Peng brings together the unique insights of his teacher with the moving account of his own journey.

Click here to read the twenty-sixth installment (as well as all the previous installments) of this profoundly moving book.

Would you like to join The Shift Network team?

We are seeking two unique and talented individuals for important positions at The Shift Network.

Our new Director of Recruiting will be an expert on best sourcing and recruiting practices and take a leadership role in getting our opportunities broadcast across multiple channels and platforms, focused on doubling our size in 2021, and making an aggressive one hire per week as our business expands — and that’s just the start!

As Sr. Manager, Marketing Production, you’ll lead the team responsible for developing and producing the digital assets necessary to deliver our marketing and product communication to the world!

If you're inspired and passionate about joining our team, please click here for more information about these positions. The Shift Network is committed to creating a diverse environment and is an equal-opportunity employer.

In this special video series, prominent authors, speakers, thought leaders, and others answer the question, “What is the nicest thing a non-family member has ever done for you?”

Dr. Sue Morter’s Story
Master of bioenergetic theory, quantum field visionary, and Shift faculty

EXCERPT: I was incredibly shy and painfully shy and intimidated in life. I didn't like people to speak to me. I hid behind my mother's skirt when I was a kid. I slept on the floor of my closet because there was only one direction I had to look at night, and I was just frightened all the time. I was intimidated to engage in life.

To watch the video and read the transcript of Dr. Sue’s 6-minute story about the teacher that changed her life with a 2-minute conversation, click here.

Lynne McTaggart’s Story
Award-winning journalist and author

EXCERPT: We just returned from a trip to the bathroom there and we were about to have our snack when I looked up and there was a guy with a gun pointing right at my face. And he said, "You, get in the back." And he was pointing to all of the other customers in turn and ushering us all to a little cupboard in the back, a little closet. As soon as he got us in, he looked around at all of us and then he shut the door and he put a broom through the handle outside so we were in effect locked in. I was completely terrified.

To watch the video and read the transcript of Lynne’s 3-minute story about the young man who calmed her fears in a terrifying situation, click here.

If you missed any “Nicest Thing” stories, you can catch up on all of them here.

“Transform Disillusionment & Loss Into a New Reality of Grace, Compassion & Truth” Facebook Live Q&A with Andrew Harvey

Would you like to be transfigured, to have divine consciousness, and to help birth a new reality? Internationally renowned writer, mystical scholar, and spiritual teacher Andrew Harvey will be leading a special Facebook Live Q&A call on Wednesday, December 16, at 3:00pm Pacific to share how you can take the stance of the sacred warrior midwife — holding both darkness and light. Click here to get a Facebook Messenger reminder when the event goes live.

“Sound Medicine to Liberate Your Soul’s Voice” Facebook Live Q&A with Chloë Goodchild

Would you like to connect with yourself and the unique message for your life? International teacher, singing philosopher, and voice pioneer Chloë Goodchild will be leading a special Facebook Live Q&A call on Thursday, December 17, at 11:00am Pacific to share how you can raise the eternal vibration of your soul through the sound of your own voice. Click here to get a Facebook Messenger reminder when the event goes live.

Life Is a Dream
By Shift faculty Robert Moss

Here is a game I play with my journal from time to time: Write a dream report on a day in your life. Any day will do, today or way back, special or blah. Write a quick summary of the main events, and anything else that leaps out at you. Three incidents may be enough. Write fast. Don’t edit and try not to pause until you are done. Don’t worry about muddling names or details; you do that in your dream journal all the time, and this is not your office calendar. To read more, click here.

The Heart of Paradox
By Philip Goldberg

One way we experience the paradoxical nature of the spiritual path is in the tension between independence and dependence. Our paths are our own, each as unique as a snowflake or a grain of sand. We are the captains of our own spiritual ships—and at the same time, we need others. We need teachers, guides, and mentors; organizations, institutions, and informal groups; trusted companions. We’re alone and yet together. To read more, click here.

To Anybody Going Through It
By NBA star Kevin Love

Being depressed is exhausting. That’s one of the cruelest ironies about mental health. When you’re in a dark place, everyone around you — all your friends and family — they just want to see you doing what you love again, being happy, being “the old you.” But what people on the outside don’t always understand is that it takes all of your strength and willpower just to exist. Just to keep on going. Battling depression, battling anxiety, battling any mental health disorder … it’s all just so unbelievably exhausting. To read more, click here.

The Annual Global Silent Minute
December 21, 2020 at 9:00pm GMT
By Wendy J. Thompson, Co-Founder of the Global Silent Minute

Join millions in the annual Global Silent Minute on December 21, 2020 at 9:00pm GMT. Last year, millions around the world — and across the veil — participated in one Global Silent Minute — the exact same minute everywhere. Throughout 2020, the Global Silent Minute has become a daily practice. The annual Global Silent Minute will celebrate Humanity’s widespread engagement with the power of silence to bring about global cooperation, peace, and freedom. To read more, click here.

Racial Trauma, Healing, and Storytelling with Comedian Baratunde Thurston

Comedian, commentator and writer Baratunde Thurston talks about using humor to address racial trauma. He says, “Pain is the glue that connects racial trauma and the healing that needs to happen with the laughter of a joke or a solid story.” Sometimes humor can open up a way to take on the responsibility that belongs to each of us to participate in honest, powerful and moving experiences and pursue this racial healing journey together. Click here to watch this 6-minute interview.

What Does the World Need to Hear Right Now?

Sixteen Indigenous wisdom keepers were asked:
What does the world need to hear right now?

Click here to watch the 2-minute trailer.
Click here to see all 16 messages.

An Uplifting Holiday Message From Edith Eva Eger

Edith, an eminent psychologist, author, and Holocaust survivor, shares an inspiring message of hope and resilience for these difficult times. Click here to watch this 2-minute video.

Click here to watch Edith’s exclusive 45-minute video interview for Catalyst about her book, The Choice, a powerful and beautiful memoir about her experiences during the Holocaust, and how her own traumatic experiences enabled her to help her clients heal from trauma of their own.

Love Is a Gift
A Christmas short film

In just two short minutes, this poignant, heartwarming, and heartbreaking film will make you feel gratitude for all you have, all you’ve had, and all you’ve lost. It truly is a magnificent celebration of the human spirit. Click here to watch it.

Let’s Grow
World Premiere: TODAY, Sunday, December 13, at Noon Pacific

“Let’s Grow” is a bold and disruptive 16-minute movie that shows for the first time what it looks like to sit at the same table for an honest dialogue across cultural lines. And it provides a blueprint for how to start the healing process… TOGETHER.

Global transformational leader Lisa Nichols, the executive producer of “Let’s Grow,” says the film is “Hollywood + Poetry + Purpose.”

Shift Network CEO Stephen Dinan says, "This is one of the most powerful pieces of media I have seen to crack open your heart and begin the core healing that our culture needs. Everyone should watch this and be part of sharing it widely."

The World Premiere of “Let’s Grow” is TODAY, Sunday, December 13, at Noon Pacific. Lisa, a frequent guest speaker for Shift, invites you to be a part of this “matinee with a mission — a mission of possibility and purpose.”

Click here to watch the trailer and purchase exclusive tickets for the World Premiere.

The Enneagram, Relationships, and Intimacy: Understanding One Another Leads to Loving Better and Living More Fully
By David Daniels, MD, and Suzanne Dion

Why doesn't my partner understand me? Why can't we get along? Why do I always seem to want more from my partner? How can we share more intimacy? Why am I so emotionally inhibited? What tears us apart? What brings us closer together? How to really love? Why do my partner and I express our love so differently?

This is an innovative, easy-to-read, compelling relationships book that will answer those questions and more. Falling in love is what we all dream about. Sustaining that love is the deal breaker. We can't sustain something we don't fully understand, that we don't know how to nurture, that we don't know how to develop and grow. Let this unique book take you on a journey into yourself and into others — into a journey that will change your life. To order your copy, click here.

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.

Book by Stephen Dinan: Sacred America, Sacred World. Infused with visionary power, Sacred America, Sacred World 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.

Awaken & Master Your Body’s Natural Inner Medicine With Qigong — A free video event with Qigong and Tai Chi master teacher and author Dr. Roger Jahnke. Harmonize your body, mind, and spirit when you practice Qigong — along with acupressure, breathwork, and meditation — to activate your inner healer, using the powerful natural medicines you produce in your own body. Wednesday, December 16, at 5:30pm Pacific

Using the Feldenkrais Method® to Unlock Transformative Archetypes Within You — A free video event with body language expert and Guild-Certified Feldenkrais Teacher® Lavinia Plonka. Discover how the gentle movements of the Feldenkrais Method can unlock transformative archetypal energies within you... to build resilience, address emotional and physical pain, and liberate your truest Self. Saturday, December 19, at 10:00am Pacific

Energetic Practices to Bring Heaven to Earth — With quantum healer, teacher, and author Mona Delfino. Uncover your soul’s eternal energy and your natural connections to guides and helpers in other realms — and practice mediumship as an extension of your innate intuitive powers. New 7-Week Live Video Training Starts Thursday, December 17

Upcoming Events (all subject to change):

January
• Andrew Harvey 11-week course
• Chloe Goodchild 12-week course
• Breathwork Summit
• Roger Jahnke 7-week course
• Lavinia Plonka 7-week course
• Sharla Jacobs 7-week course
• Russ Hudson 7-week course
• Jeralyn Glass 9-week course
• Eben Alexander & Karen Newell 9-week course

February
• Mystics Summit
• Sandra Ingerman 7-week course
• China Galland 7-week course
• John Douillard 7-week course
• Michael Beckwith 7-week course
• Jai Uttal 7-week course

The Warrior Women Project

The Peabody-nominated documentary feature Warrior Women tells the story of the activist Madonna Thunder Hawk, one of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM), which fights for Native liberation and rights, including alternatives to government-run education and environmental devastation. The film is part of a larger initiative, the Warrior Women Project, which provides a forum for Indigenous activists to tell their stories for the benefit of future generations. Some of the organization’s other projects include The Warrior Women Oral History Project, The Warrior Women Decolonization Project, and The Water Protectors Community.