Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Cancer: Pointers to Potential Cures

Here's some info I've collected over the years which I thought may be of value to you or your friend/loved one/pet....

Since this list is in no particular order (other than, perhaps, the order in which I found the info), I'd suggest scanning the whole post first, then picking just one or two that seem most apropos to check out.  Otherwise, one might just get overwhelmed and not leverage any of them!

(Personally, as someone who's researched and practiced sound healing, and who's been telling people it's going to replace medicine and surgery for years, I'd start with that modality. :-)

If you trust AI for this, you could try giving it a list of the symptoms/diagnosis, have it read this whole post, and create a prioritized list of resources to check out.  (But, see Caveat #2 below!)

I truly hope something here is of genuine value.  If so, pls let me know so I can pass that validation on to others (similarly if there's something you/they have found that should be added to my list here!)

With love and empathy,
Rich

PS.  Cancer "treatment" is a multi-billion dollar industry, however, so these and many genuine cures are likely to continue to be buried in one way or another... with their inventors discredited, killed, etc.... as they have been for decades....  This is because in this country we have a profit-driven healthcare system that is quite threatened by a cure - it's just not good for business.  The more genuine/powerful the cure, the greater the threat to their industry and bottom line, so the more urgency for them to bury, discredit, or otherwise destroy it.

Caveat #1: I cannot recommend any of the therapies below from experience, I'm just a researcher.  So, definitely do your own secondary research and due diligence on each of these.

Caveat #2: Be wary if your manner of secondary research includes an AI:  AI's are great for many topics, but they are quite biased on others - giving outright lies sometimes.  AI's are trained on data fed to them that is manipulated by one of the most powerful forces on the planet [Big Pharma].  So, the AI's may make fantastic and sophisticated arguments discrediting modalities like those below.  As I've seen AI's completely misrepresent non-cancer-related medical truths that I've experienced myself, I can solidly recommend this:  Do not trust what the AI's say about any non-traditional therapy or cure - especially any that could threaten the existing medical industry's profits!

Here's what the AI itself says about influencers to the mainstream/legal-regulatory/political, educational, and AI-dictated narrative:

1. Big Pharma / Health Products (Strongest Overall)

  • Lobbying: By far the #1 spender. In 2024, the pharmaceuticals/health products industry spent ~$385 million on federal lobbying — more than any other sector. The broader health sector exceeded $740 million.  (likely over $1 Billion/year by now)
  • Campaign Donations: Heavy, bipartisan giving (they hedge bets on both parties). Health sector is consistently in the top 5–7 industries.
  • Media/Narrative Influence: Extremely high. Pharma funds massive advertising on TV/news, sponsors medical content, partners with media outlets, and shapes coverage of drugs, vaccines, and health policy. They also fund many "patient advocacy" groups that influence stories.
  • Overall: Best at quiet, pervasive influence year-round. They win on regulatory capture (FDA, drug pricing, patents) more reliably than the others.

Big Pharma has by far the greatest influence on what doctors study in medical schools and what is emphasized (or de-emphasized) in medical education.

Big Pharma's Influence on Medical Education

This is the most documented and pervasive form of institutional influence:

  • Funding and sponsorship: Pharmaceutical companies provide substantial funding for medical schools, residencies, continuing medical education (CME), research grants, professorships, and even textbooks or educational materials. Industry funding accounts for a large portion of CME costs in many institutions.
  • Curriculum shaping: This leads to heavier emphasis on pharmacological treatments and less focus on lifestyle, nutrition, prevention, non-drug therapies, and root causes of chronic disease.
  • Marketing to students: Pharma reps interact with medical students early (gifts, meals, drug samples, sponsored lectures), influencing prescribing habits before doctors even graduate.
  • Conflicts of interest: Many medical schools have historically had weak policies on industry ties. Studies (including in Canada and the U.S.) show widespread influence with limited safeguards.
  • Historical roots: The early 20th-century Flexner Report (heavily backed by Rockefeller interests, which were tied to the emerging pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries) standardized medical education around a drug- and lab-based model, sidelining many holistic and herbal approaches.

This creates a system where doctors are trained primarily in a pharmaceutical-centered paradigm.

Big Pharma has substantial indirect influence on the medical knowledge baked into many AI models, including a tendency toward a pharmaceutical-centered paradigm. However, it's not total control, and the picture is nuanced.

How Big Pharma Influences AI Training Data

  • Dominance in medical literature and data: The vast majority of published clinical trials, drug studies, guidelines, and medical textbooks are funded or influenced by pharmaceutical companies. AI models trained on PubMed, clinical trial databases, electronic health records, and medical journals therefore inherit this pharma-heavy worldview — emphasizing drugs, patents, and symptom management over root causes, lifestyle interventions, nutrition, or non-patented therapies.
  • Training dataset bias: Many medical AI systems (especially those used in drug discovery, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations) are trained on datasets that over-represent pharma-funded positive trials and under-represent negative results, lifestyle medicine, or off-patent approaches. This creates "bias in, bias out" — models learn to prioritize pharmacological solutions.
  • Direct investment: Pharma companies and related entities (e.g., Gates Foundation, large health systems) fund or partner on many specialized medical AI projects. They also provide proprietary datasets from trials, which shape models in drug development.

This leads to AI responses that often default to:

  • Drug-centric recommendations
  • Downplaying or omitting non-pharma interventions
  • Reflecting regulatory and industry-approved narratives

Bottom Line

  • Big Pharma has the strongest structural influence on the medical knowledge base that feeds into AI (via trials, journals, guidelines, and funding).
  • This creates a real pharmaceutical-centered tilt in many AI responses — especially on treatment recommendations.
  • However, general-purpose AIs have more resistance to this than narrow medical AIs because they see a wider range of sources and are less directly funded/aligned with industry (particularly Grok, which was explicitly built with a mandate to be maximum truth-seeking and less politically correct or institutionally captured than other models like GPT or Gemini [according to Grok, that is! - Rich]).

The best defense as a user is cross-checking important medical advice, looking at primary mechanisms (not just guidelines), and considering lifestyle/root-cause approaches alongside pharma options.

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Cancer Treatments via Sound:

Some pics of them targeting and exploding cancer cells all the way back in the 70s, here:

These folks have also been around doing similar for decades (using sound to treat tumors w/o surgery, sonic replacements for radiation treatments, etc):

New, not developed yet:

Cancer cells can now be identified - using only sound and resonance with a CymaScope. Peer-reviewed and clinically validated. Groundbreaking research at the Royal London Hospital and Rutgers confirms a discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about surgical diagnostics: Coherent sound waves can distinguish cancerous from healthy tissue - non-invasively, in real time - through cymatic field response.

The difference?
Not chemical.
Not visible under a microscope.
But acoustic - phase-coherent, geometrically distinct, and measurable even early.

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Here is what Tammy B had to say just last week:  Turkey Tail, my miracle!!

"I found out my breast cancer had metastasized to my spine and ribs in early June. It was a rough summer, was in a lot of pain, feeling awful, with cancer and treatments messing me up. The only thing that made me feel better was taking turkey tail. Then I got really sick with a very rare lung inflammation side effect from the chemo. Ended up hospitalized. They took me off all the medication to let me heal, and I started doubling up on the turkey tail. Taking about 4 ounces a day. Started feeling better and better. Started feeling NORMAL!! Just had a PET scan three days ago and the results were nothing short of amazing. All the cancer has shrunk. Some isn't even showing up. I am blown away."
 
https://hamiltonsmushrooms.com/ 
(Having researched mushroom supplements extensively, this is the vendor I'd recommend for any medicinal mushroom products. This quote is from their website or one of their newsletters. - Rich)

(More on Turkey Tail below)
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This docu-series might also be of interest when it comes out:
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Not fully developed yet:

Chemo-Free Technique Destroys 99% of Cancer Cells in The Lab:
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-wipe-out-99-of-cancer-cells-in-lab-using-vibrating-molecules

This Tiny Bacterial Secret Could Lead to Better Cancer Drugs

Common Gym Supplement Could Help Fight Cancer, Study Finds
https://www.newsweek.com/common-gym-supplement-could-help-fight-cancer-study-finds-12175820

Overall, the results suggest creatine may strengthen the immune system's anti-cancer defenses by supporting the cells that detect cancer and launch the body's response.  The work was conducted in mice and human cells grown in the laboratory, not in cancer patients. As a result, the findings do not show that taking creatine supplements improves cancer treatment outcomes in people.

Elsten-Brown told Newsweek: “There is not sufficient clinical data to definitively say that creatine supplementation will increase anti-tumor activity in human patients as would be suggested by our pre-clinical models.

“There are a wide variety of factors that can influence how the favorable bioenergetics we see in our dendritic cells grown in a dish may or may not translate into a patient taking creatine, even simply whether orally administered creatine would be sufficiently available to immune cells in and around the tumor immunoenvironment.”

~~~

This upcoming event looks hopeful and promising: https://anticancerrevolution2.com/

Just yesterday, I heard a miraculous story about immunotherapy...in which someone who had no success with traditional therapies and was already in hospice had a sudden, full recovery with all tumors having disappeared.  But, to be honest, I don’t really know what it is.  It was on a radio show with the author describing what happened to his friend which prompted him to write the book, An Elegant Defense : The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: a Tale in Four Lives.

Reco by Sergio/Friendly Favors = MD practicing in Argentina w/o US restrictions:
LAURA NASI, MD: Cancer as a Wake-Up Call - An Oncologist Integrative Approach to
What You Can Do to Become Whole Again: https://cancerasawakeupcallbook.com/
Her IONS/FF Talk: https://vimeo.com/299821423

https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/


Beyond Conventional Cancer Therapies: Website Launch
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For Animal Lovers:

Colorado State University and Rocky Mountain PBS teamed up to produce a new documentary featuring researchers and clinicians across the country who all have one common goal: One cure for cancer in people and animals.

The Answer to Cancer Might be Walking Beside Us:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Raif_9STMYM
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'For those with cancer, for example, after dispensing whatever wisdom I may have, I urge loved ones to read Anita Moorjani's "Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to near Death, to True Healing" - it's absolutely amazing.'

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When Cancer Disappears: The Curious Phenomenon of "Unexpected Remission" - Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS)
(lots of action-able things from scientific research on actual unexpected cancer remissions :)

Resources from Bernie Siegel, MD (author, "Love, Medicine & Miracles" - Lessons Learned about Self-Healing from a Surgeon's Experience with Exceptional Patients):

Alt Cancer cure:
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Research:
* Dr Max Gerson - had cancer & MS cure, AMA forced him to move his clinic to Mexico
* Gaston Naessens - Rife/714X cancert treatment, forced out of France, now in Canada

Dr. Leonard: Every Cancer Can be Cured in Weeks:

Run from the Cure (Check out this movie for what's claimed to be an actual cancer Cure):
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Also re: CBD, could be scam:

Eliminating Cancer via Keshe Plasma Technology:
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Breast Cancer cure via Keshe plasma:

For cancer: plant-based diet, + daily exercise (walk 30-60min) and 3gm of fish oil:

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Simoncini Cancer Therapy - Complete cancer recovery for 20 years via Sodium Bicarbonate treatment:
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Myeloma:
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Nutritional Yeast: How the beta glucan fiber in brewer's, baker's, and nutritional yeast can improve wound healing and, potentially, anti-cancer immunity.
* Causes much faster wound healing after surgery when ingested
* Dramatic tumor shrinkage in mice and some humans
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How Your Thoughts Can Cause or Cure Cancer:
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Could be scam, but might be real, needs more research...


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For your research...

You might want to look into sound/vibrational healing.  To get you started on that: Above and below the "box" on this page are at least 3 links to scientific studies documenting positive effects of sound healing on various forms of cancer and cancer cells:  http://www.awakenthemagic.com/events/didgHealing.php

You may also look into the Rife stuff, which also falls into the realm of sound/vibrational healing.
Not necessarily the best, just system I stumbled on:

In addition, here are some other pointers I've gathered over the years....



This place uses sound to treat tumors w/o surgery, has sonic replacements for radiation treatments, etc:
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See pics in this article of cancer cells being broken up by sound waves:
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You are the Placebo - leveraging recent discoveries in epigenetics, neural plasticity, and psychoneuroimmunology
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What IS cancer?  Possible to determine/address the true, root cause of it?
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TURKEY TAIL MUSHROOMS:
Although she was ineligible for the trial, he put her on turkey tail capsules to supplement her conventional chemotherapy drugs, Taxol and Herceptin. After six months, Patricia Stamets' tumor disappeared, and today she remains cancer-free. Though a single anecdote falls far short of proof, the deeply religious woman credits prayer as well as mushrooms for her return to health. 
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This event is past, but his book might be worth checking out:

John Hall was diagnosed with Melanoma Cancer IV, had surgery to remove 10 metastasized tumors, but afterwards was informed by his doctor that there was little or no hope for recovery. Two years later, he now celebrates his healing from the cancers, and feels his healing is due to mainly 3 factors: learning to eat the correct foods, dealing with his fear, and deepening his faith and trust in our Creator. These are the factors he'll explain as he discusses his book, "Beating Cancer Can Be Fun: Cancer-Fighting Strategies"
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Not sure about this, either, but might be legit:
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Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins: https://csn.cancer.org/node/257199
- While some of the statements it makes (eg, effects of heated plastics, radiation, chemo) seem veracious and worth reading, you're probably already aware of those

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This one you'll need to translate to English via one of the online tools, but it includes a recipe published in the Dominican Republic for a cancer cure used down there (gives the phone number of the person, too :)

Remedio Natural contra el Cáncer

Publicado en el periódico Listín Diario, de Santo Domingo, hace un mes atrás. En verdad les digo que al leerlo no creía mucho en lo que me decía el artículo. Este remedio se le debe a un Fraile Franciscano, que lo llaman, en Belén (Brasil), Fray Romano , de origen brasileño. Actual maestro del seminario de Belén. Su fama a través de toda Judea, se va extendiendo y como el expresa: Yo curo el cáncer y cualquier persona puede hacerlo, sin hacer milagros, simplemente aplicando los productos que produce la madre naturaleza. 

Antes de darles la receta, quiero decirles mi experiencia personal sobre la Bendita Receta. Tengo conocimiento de varias personas que se han curado, después de beber el brebaje, a las cuales les daban menos de un mes de vida, por el padecimiento de diferentes tipos de cánceres terminales. Luego del conocimiento de las virtudes de este medicamento totalmente natural, me he propuesto hacerlo circular, por esta vía, para que cualquier persona que tenga un amigo, pariente relacionado con esta terrible enfermedad prepare la receta y se lo de a tomar. Ya verán el resultado a la semana de estar tomándolo, se los aseguro, es algo que trabaja rápidamente. 
La Receta es: 

1/2 kilo o litro de miel pura de abejas · 

Dos(2) hojas grandes o tres(3) pequeñas de la planta llamada Sábila (en otros países se conoce como ALOE) · 

Tres (3) cucharadas de coñac, whisky, tequila o aguardiente (esto se usa como vaso dilatador). 

Se le quita el polvo y las espinas a la hoja de Sábila, se cortan éstas en pequeños trozos, luego se introducen todos los elementos, antes citados, en una batidora eléctrica o licuadora. Se bate hasta que se vea que se forma una pasta viscosa. Ya esta lista para tomar. Se puede dejar fuera de la nevera o ponerse en el refrigerador, al gusto de cada cual. No debe quitarle la cáscara a la Sábila, ni colar el remedio. 

Fray Romano dice que debe tomarse una cucharada grande, tres (3) veces por día, 15 minutos antes de cada comida. Esto debe hacerse por 10 días seguidos. 

Fray Romano aconseja agitar el frasco antes de cada toma. El fraile advierte que si después de haber tomado la bebida salen abscesos en la piel, esto es buen síntoma. Continúa diciendo que si después de la primera toma no se han obtenidos los resultados deseados, repetir después de haberse hecho los exámenes pertinentes a ver si el tumor no ha cedido, beber 4 veces más, hasta la curación total. 
Desde hace seis(6) años que el fraile está usando esta receta, gratuita, con óptimos resultados. Ha curado a varias decenas de personas en Belén y sus alrededores. El dice que no sólo cura el cáncer, sino que también lo previene. Cura el cáncer de la piel, del cerebro, del pulmón, de la próstata, la leucemia, etc., etc..... 

También cuenta que últimamente ha curado a una religiosa italiana de 29 años, enferma de esclerosis. El que desee un testimonio de uno que estaba desahuciado de cáncer pulmonar, puede contactar al Sr. Fausto Pimentel, en Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana al teléfono: (809) 247-2316. Este señor es el que publicó lo que he contado más arriba, como agradecimiento a la vida por haberse curado cuando sólo le daban pocos días de vida. Por mi parte, como dije anteriormente, tengo testimonios de otras personas que también se han curado al igual que el Sr. Pimentel. 

Cabe hacer mención que no sólo es para curar el cáncer, es un restaurador de células natural, y refuerza nuestro sistema inmunológico. 
¿Este tratamiento cura toda clase de cáncer? Si. ¿Qué tipos de cáncer cura de hecho? Todos. 

Se sabe que ha habido muchas curaciones : Cáncer de piel, de garganta, seno, útero, próstata, cerebro, hígado, intestino, leucemia, etc... Incluso en personas diabéticas. 


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Thought for Today:  Healing is not about getting things back to the way they were.  It's about using what happened to move closer to God["The Divine" however you define it].  ~ Ram Dass


Saturday, June 6, 2020

3pm, Sun, 6/7: Another Way Wisdom Circle

Dear Kind-Hearted Friends,

It's times like these for which the Native Council/Wisdom Circle was created — times in which it's essential to come together in community.  By "community", I mean it in the traditional sense:  A place of safety, acceptance, connection, cooperation, trust, heart-based authenticity and healing…a soft space to land…to receive and/or give support...a unifying space during times of division…and a soul nourishing space for soul depleting times….

"The wisdom circle is a space of warmth, support and safety where I can express my truth and be myself. To be with people who are fully listening with an open heart is rare these days. The soul connections I have found there are an anchor in the storm."  ~ Pam Heyda (Wisdom Circle participant)

This is participating in and contributing to a genuine solution to the crises of our times.  I recently wrote about how my studies have shown that the root of the dysfunction we're seeing on the personal, societal and global levels today is largely the result of a breakdown of genuine community…and that 'until we re-create a human context of trust, cooperation, connection, safety and solidarity, we'll just continue creating systems, structures and "solutions" from the old/current context of fear/mistrust, competition, aggression/violence, disconnection and narcissism….'

Please help us focus our energy powerfully on what we're for, and co-create this healthy human context together:  Click on this meeting link to register for the Zoom event, check out the "Requests" below, and "Come As You Are" on Sunday!

"Our Wisdom Circle came to be a place of profound, beautiful listening and speaking from the heart, that nurtured and strengthened me for years, and created deep bonds of friendship that now 22 years later still nurture and sustain me!"  ~ Pia Jacobsson (Wisdom Circle participant)

~~~

With empathy for the exceptional inner and outer challenges we're all facing right now, I want this community resource to be available to you, and to anyone you know who might be well served by more reliable attention/listening, connection, support, or wisdom.  While I've witnessed participants have profoundly valuable experiences, and I'd love for you and/or anyone you care for to experience this, too — especially now — I'm in the process of parring down the list of folks I invite to this:  Please reply to this email if you'd like future invites to the Wisdom Circle gatherings.

~~~

A "Wisdom Circle," is a safe and sacred traditional way of gathering for heart-based speaking and listening.  It's a warm, caring and judgment-free space for deep truth telling…in which to experience community and a cumulative kinship and belonging that deepens over time (a powerful antidote to fear and isolation).

It's also a place to birth our visions, celebrate our triumphs, and to release and heal pent-up and unresolved emotions.  We laugh and grieve together...while encountering, exploring and sharing our deeper thoughts, feelings and wisdom, with respect to what's currently transpiring in ourselves, our lives, and our world.

However, one never needs to speak unless they so choose:  Anyone is fully welcome, and a full participant in this community, even if they're nourished solely by giving others the gift of their compassionate attention.



"I believe we can change the world if we start listening to each other.  Simple, honest, human conversation.  Not mediation, negotiation, problem-solving, debate, or public meetings. Simple truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we listen well."  ~ Margaret Wheatly


Come as you are!  (If you're feeling exceptionally down, distraught, vulnerable, unpresentable, that's the most important time to stretch and show up with courage, curiosity and an intention for transformation.  If you're feeling fantastic, your uplifting positive energy, curiosity and intention for transformation is also so important and welcomed!  :)

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WISDOM CIRCLE SPECIFICS:

Time: Sunday, June 7, 2020 - 03:00-05:00 PM PST/PDT (Pacific Time, US and Canada)

** If you're seriously interested and this time doesn't work for you, please let me know what times would!

Dana: Sliding scale: $20-40

* I want this to be available to all.  I also need to at least request dana to honor the immense behind-the-scenes investment of time, energy and caring it takes me to offer this.  If there's hardship, or this feels like too much for you right now, however, please just come and give whatever comes from genuine appreciation (eg, $1)...or whatever feels like a worthy investment in community or self-care...even if it's just a prayer or blessing! :)

[ "Dana", for those who've not heard the term, contains the spirit of "appreciation and sacred reciprocity"…in this case, a "giving back/paying it forward" for this circle's visioning, creation, scheduling and facilitation, carefully-worded messages and supporting documents, fielding lots of individual replies, and Zoom fees…as well as for many hours of time/energy that went to study of indigenous and modern versions of this tradition. ]

Requests:
  • Please click here to pay beforehand
  • Next, please click on this meeting link to register for the Zoom event now.  This will help me plan for how many are coming, and let us know to wait for you before starting.  (After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.)
  • You may want to click on the "Add to calendar" link on the "Meeting Registration Approved" page
  • If you're new to Zoom:  On the "Meeting Registration Approved" page that pops up, click on the link where it says, "Please click this URL to join"...to test your connection and resolve any issues you might have getting on in advance.  (This should successfully connect you to an empty zoom room.)
  • Please Come On Time, or even a couple minutes early.  Doing so and following the above step will allow us to start promptly and ensure everyone gets an adequate amount of time to share what they need to.  (As we'll be opening a sacred/ritual space and co-creating a safe & confidential container, this is not a "drop in whenever" kind of event.  :-)
  • If You Decide Not to Come: Please cancel your Zoom registration, so that we don't wait for you!  (use link at the bottom of your confirmation email from Zoom)
Optional Items:
  • A non-alcoholic drink (no food, please)
  • Notepad/journal (to capture valuable insights, commitments, etc)
  • Sacred items to use as Talking Stick, or for virtual altar
  • Meditation cushion (we usually spend a bit of time in silence together)
  • Timer with audible chime (we may need a volunteer to be our Time Keeper)
Password-Protected Zoom Meeting:

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"Connection is why we're here.  It's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.  This is what it's all about.  What we know [from decades of research in multiple fields] is that the ability to feel connected is how we're wired neuro-biologically, it's why we're here."  ~ Brené Brown


We would cherish the gift of your heart wisdom, compassionate ear, and beautiful presence at our next Virtual Wisdom Circle!  Please join us - and/or pass this along to someone you think would be interested….

In service, solace, and solidarity,
Rich


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Thought for Today:  It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community, a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. And, the practice can be carried out as a group, as a city, as a nation.  Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Next Buddha May Be A Sangha" in Inquiring Mind, Vol 10, No. 2, Spring 1994.

Rich Raffals
Tech Consults/Software Development, Online Community/Support Groups, Training/Coaching, Emotional Counseling
Awaken the Magic Coaching & Consulting - 415-295-7267



Thursday, June 4, 2020

Another Way

This song - which plays like it was written in response to the events of the past couple weeks - was actually written in 2014! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rJbvVX2ADQ

From my perspective, the "Another Way" Franti calls out for is to bring back "community"….

For millennia, humans lived successfully and sustainably in communities/tribes/clans -- in which the key to survival was to work together in trust, cooperation, and solidarity. There was safety, support, connection, caring and compassion within the group. Diversity was not just a strength, but a survival necessity: Each person in a community is like a separate organ in the body. The heart and liver provide equally crucial functions, just as the medicine woman and hunter provide equally crucial functions, just as the architect and the chef provide equally crucial functions: Diversity within community is crucial and complementary.

When community breaks down, so does the environment of trust, cooperation, safety, support, connection, and solidarity. Broken community engenders fear/mistrust, separation/division, competition, comparison/aggression/violence, disconnection/loneliness/depression and narcissism...all of which can make diversity no longer look complementary, or even make it look/feel like an enemy or threat. Sound familiar?

I believe this loss of something so essential to us, this loss of something for which we're hard-wired, this loss of a way of being that works not just for humans but for all life on the planet...makes both individual humans and the whole of humanity dysfunctional -- ill, violent, and perhaps even evil. The new challenges of this time are illuminating how our traditional ways of suppressing, distracting, escaping, and otherwise managing this illness of the psyche (borne of separation/division and the loss of community) are neither sustainable nor healthy alternatives -- neither personally nor collectively.

From this perspective, until we can re-create a human context of trust, cooperation, connection, safety and solidarity, we'll just continue creating systems, structures and "solutions" from the old/current context of fear/mistrust, competition, aggression/violence, disconnection and narcissism...and, thereby, things will be "Same As It Ever Was."

How do we re-create a human context of trust, cooperation, connection, etc? We can come together in unity and re-learn, together, how to do community...to work together to rebuild trust, cooperation, connection, acceptance, caring, and diversity as a crucial and complementary strength....

You can part-take in co-creating "another way", from wherever you are, 3pm PST, Sunday, 6/12https://richraffals.blogspot.com/2020/06/another-way_6.html

Thursday, May 28, 2020

4pm, Sun, 5/31: Community/Support (Wisdom) Circle

Hi again,

I want this resource of community to be available to you, and to anyone you know who might be well served by more reliable attention/listening, connection, support, or wisdom.  Please email me if you'd like future invites to the Wisdom Circle gatherings.

If you're not receiving enough reliable attention/listening…or you have it to give…either way, it would be wonderful to have you join us on Sunday!


A "Wisdom Circle," is a safe and sacred traditional way of gathering for heart-based speaking and listening.  It's a warm, caring and judgment-free space for deep truth telling…in which to experience community and a cumulative kinship and belonging that deepens over time (a powerful antidote to fear and isolation).

It's also a place to birth our visions, celebrate our triumphs, and to release and heal pent-up and unresolved emotions.  We laugh and grieve together...while encountering, exploring and sharing our deeper thoughts, feelings and wisdom, with respect to what's currently transpiring in ourselves, our lives, and our world.    [ More poetically put, here. ]

However, one never needs to speak unless they so choose:  Anyone is fully welcome, and a full participant in this community, even if they're nourished solely by giving others the gift of their compassionate attention.



"Each and every one of us had ancestors who sat around a fire together…drumming, singing, dancing, sharing their experience and telling stories, praying to the spirit of the sacred place on Earth that they knew as "Home."  In those circles people spoke from the heart, and listened from the heart…they found solutions to their problems, they laughed and they played, celebrated and grieved together….  The memory of this time is in your body, in your bones, in your belly.  It is your deep, timeless connection to the circle.  It is your heritage."   ~ "Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups"


Come as you are!
(If you're feeling exceptionally down, distraught, vulnerable, unpresentable, that's the most important time to summon the courage to show up.  Please let us know...and notice how warmly and gently you're received...and how miraculously better you feel afterwards.  If you're feeling fantastic this time, your uplifting positive energy is also so important and welcomed!  :)

~~~~

WISDOM CIRCLE SPECIFICS:

Time: Sunday, May 31, 2020 - 04:00-06:00 PM PST/PDT (Pacific Time, US and Canada)

** If you're seriously interested and this time doesn't work for you, please let me know what times would!

Dana: Sliding scale: $20-40

* I want this to be available to all.  I also need to at least request dana to honor the immense investment of time, energy and caring it's taken me to offer this.  If there's hardship, or this feels like too much for you right now, however, please just come and give whatever comes from genuine appreciation...or whatever feels like a worthy investment in community or self-care...even if it's just a prayer or blessing! :)

[ "Dana", for those who've not heard the term, contains the spirit of "appreciation and sacred reciprocity"…in this case, a "giving back/paying it forward" for this circle's visioning, creation, scheduling and facilitation, carefully-worded messages and supporting documents, fielding lots of individual replies, and Zoom fees…as well as for many hours of time/energy that went to study of indigenous and modern versions of this tradition. ]

Requests:
  • Please click here to pay beforehand
  • Next, please click on this meeting link to register for the Zoom event now.  This will help me plan for how many are coming, and let us know to wait for you before starting.  (After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.)
  • You may want to click on the "Add to calendar" link on the "Meeting Registration Approved" page
  • If you're new to Zoom:  On the "Meeting Registration Approved" page that pops up, click on the link where it says, "Please click this URL to join"...to test your connection and resolve any issues you might have getting on in advance.  (This should successfully connect you to an empty zoom room.)
  • Please Come On Time, or even a couple minutes early.  Doing so and following the above step will allow us to start promptly and ensure everyone gets an adequate amount of time to share what they need to.  (As we'll be opening a sacred/ritual space and co-creating a safe & confidential container, this is not a "drop in whenever" kind of event.  :-)
  • If You Decide Not to Come: Please cancel your Zoom registration, so that we don't wait for you!  (use link at the bottom of your confirmation email from Zoom)
Optional Items:
  • A non-alcoholic drink (no food, please)
  • Notepad/journal (to capture valuable insights, commitments, etc)
  • Sacred items to use as Talking Stick, or for virtual altar
  • Meditation cushion (we usually spend a bit of time in silence together)
  • Timer with audible chime (we may need a volunteer to be our Time Keeper)
Password-Protected Zoom Meeting:

~~~~

"Connection is why we're here.  It's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.  This is what it's all about.  What we know [from decades of research in multiple fields] is that the ability to feel connected is how we're wired neuro-biologically, it's why we're here."  ~ Brené Brown


We would cherish the gift of your heart wisdom, compassionate ear, and beautiful presence at our next Virtual Wisdom Circle!  Please join us - and/or pass this along to someone you think would be interested….

In service, solace, and solidarity,
Rich


----
Thought for Today:  It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community, a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. And, the practice can be carried out as a group, as a city, as a nation.  Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Next Buddha May Be A Sangha" in Inquiring Mind, Vol 10, No. 2, Spring 1994.


Saturday, May 23, 2020

Sun, 4pm: Sacred Wisdom Circle

Dear and Wise World-Changer,

"I believe we can change the world if we start listening to each other.  Simple, honest, human conversation.  Not mediation, negotiation, problem-solving, debate, or public meetings.  Simple truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we listen well."  ~ Margaret Wheatly


Our first Wisdom Circle was a sweet one.  Details on the next one, below….  (Please forward this to anyone you know who's desiring more reliable connection, support, wisdom or community…or a place to more fully encounter and digest what's happening within themselves, their lives, or the world.)


~~~~

I agree with what someone said at my BD gathering: One thing that's needed right now is more Wisdom.  A truth that's borne out in the work I've done is that humans simply think better, and that deeper Wisdom arises from each of us, when we're listened to in the right way….

To answer the call for wisdom, and serve those seeking a reliable source of authentic connection/support/community, we'll meet following the time-tested, wisdom tradition of the Native American Council ritual (slightly modified for online).

Also known as a "Wisdom Circle," this tradition is a safe and sacred way of gathering for heart-based speaking and listening.  It's a warm, caring and judgment-free space for deep truth telling…in which to experience a cumulative kinship and belonging that deepens over time (a powerful antidote to fear and isolation).

A Wisdom Circle is also a place to birth our visions, celebrate our triumphs, and to release and heal pent-up and unresolved emotions.  We laugh and grieve together...while encountering, exploring and sharing our deeper thoughts, feelings and wisdom, with respect to what's currently transpiring in ourselves, our lives, and our world.

However, one never needs to speak unless they so choose:  Anyone is fully welcome, and a full participant in this community, even if they're nourished solely by giving others the gift of their compassionate attention.



"Each and every one of us had ancestors who sat around a fire together…drumming, singing, dancing, sharing their experience and telling stories, praying to the spirit of the sacred place on Earth that they knew as "Home."  In those circles people spoke from the heart, and listened from the heart…they found solutions to their problems, they laughed and they played, celebrated and grieved together….  The memory of this time is in your body, in your bones, in your belly.  It is your deep, timeless connection to the circle.  It is your heritage."   ~ "Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups"

~~~~

WISDOM CIRCLE SPECIFICS:

Time: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 04:00-06:00 PM PST/PDT (Pacific Time, US and Canada)

** If you're seriously interested and this time doesn't work for you, please let me know what times would.

Dana: Sliding scale: $20-40

* I want this to be available to all.  I also need to at least request dana to honor all the time, energy and caring I’ve invested to offer this.  If there's hardship, or this feels like too much for you right now, however, please just come and give whatever comes from genuine appreciation...or whatever feels like a worthy investment in community or self-care...even if it's just a prayer or blessing! :)

[ “Dana”, for those who’ve not heard the term, contains the spirit of "appreciation and sacred reciprocity”…in this case, a “giving back/paying it forward” for this circle's visioning, creation, scheduling and facilitation, carefully-worded messages and supporting documents, and Zoom fees…as well as for many hours of time/energy that went to study of indigenous and modern versions of this tradition. ]

Come as you are!  (If you're feeling exceptionally down, distraught, vulnerable, unpresentable, that's the most important time to stretch and show up.  If you’re feeling fantastic, your uplifting positive energy is also so important!  :)

Requests:
  • Please click here to pay beforehand
  • Next, please click on this meeting link to register for the Zoom event now.  This will help me plan for how many are coming, and let us know to wait for you before starting.  (After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.)
  • You may want to click on the "Add to calendar" link on the "Meeting Registration Approved" page
  • If you're new to Zoom:  On the "Meeting Registration Approved" page that pops up, click on the link where it says, "Please click this URL to join"...to test your connection and resolve any issues you might have getting on in advance.  (This should successfully connect you to an empty zoom room.)
  • Please Come On Time, or even a couple minutes early.  Doing so and following the above step will allow us to start promptly and ensure everyone gets an adequate amount of time to share what they need to.  (As we'll be opening a sacred/ritual space and co-creating a safe & confidential container, this is not a "drop in whenever" kind of event.  :-)
  • If You Decide Not to Come: Please cancel your Zoom registration, so that we don't wait for you!  (use link at the bottom of your confirmation email from Zoom)
Optional Items:
  • A non-alcoholic drink (no food, please)
  • Notepad/journal (to capture valuable insights, commitments, etc)
  • Sacred items to use as Talking Stick, or for virtual altar
  • Meditation cushion (we usually spend a bit of time in silence together)
  • Timer with audible chime (we may need a volunteer to be our Time Keeper)
Password-Protected Zoom Meeting:

~~~~

"Connection is why we're here.  It's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.  This is what it's all about.  What we know [from decades of research in multiple fields] is that the ability to feel connected is how we're wired neuro-biologically, it's why we're here."  ~ Brené Brown


We would cherish the gift of your heart wisdom, compassionate ear, and beautiful presence at our next Virtual Wisdom Circle!  Please join us - and/or pass this along to someone you think would be interested….

In service, solace, and solidarity,
Rich


----
Thought for Today: It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.  ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes




----
Thought for Today:  If we could recognize our common humanity.... that our destinies are bound up in one
another's.... that we can be free only together, then a glorious world would come
into being where all of us lived together as one family, the human family....
~ Desmond Tutu

Rich Raffals
Web Designer/Programmer, Trainer, Coach
Awaken the Magic Coaching & Consulting - 650-493-2993



Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Open Wisdom Circle Invite

Dear and Wise Friends,

Some folks at my online birthday gathering requested an open Wisdom Circle.  (Apologies for the delay - this took a lot more work than I imagined!)

Anyway, I wanted to make it available to you, too…and to anyone you know desiring more or deeper connection, support, wisdom or community.  (I realize many are severely challenged, struggling and hurting right now.  I'd love this to be a soft space for them to land and find comfort, support and strength.  Please forward this to anyone who you think might be interested and benefit. :)

I agree with what someone said at my BD gathering: One thing that's needed right now is more Wisdom.  A truth that's borne out in the work I've done is that humans simply think better, and that deeper Wisdom arises from each of us, when we're listened to in the right way….

To answer the call for wisdom, and serve those seeking a reliable source of authentic connection/support/community, we'll meet following the time-tested, wisdom tradition of the Native American Council ritual (slightly modified for online: eg, we pass a "virtual talking stick" to enable non-interrupted sharing).

Also known as a "Wisdom Circle," this tradition is a safe and sacred way of gathering for heart-based speaking and listening.  It's a warm, caring and judgment-free space for deep truth telling…in which to experience a cumulative kinship and belonging that deepens over time (a powerful antidote to fear and isolation).

A Wisdom Circle is also a place to birth our visions, celebrate our triumphs, and to release and heal pent-up and unresolved emotions.  We laugh and grieve together...while encountering, exploring and sharing our deeper thoughts, feelings and wisdom, with respect to what's currently transpiring in ourselves, our lives, and our world.

However, one never needs to speak unless they so choose:  Anyone is fully welcome, and a full participant in this community, even if they're nourished solely by giving others the gift of their compassionate attention.


"Each and every one of us had ancestors who sat around a fire together…drumming, singing, dancing, sharing their experience and telling stories, praying to the spirit of the sacred place on Earth that they knew as "Home."  In those circles people spoke from the heart, and listened from the heart…they found solutions to their problems, they laughed and they played, celebrated and grieved together….  The memory of this time is in your body, in your bones, in your belly.  It is your deep, timeless connection to the circle.  It is your heritage."   ~ Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups


WISDOM CIRCLE SPECIFICS:

Time: Sunday, May 17, 2020 06:30-8:30 PM PST/PDT (Pacific Time, US and Canada)

** If you're seriously interested and this time doesn't work for you, please let me know what times would.

Requests:
  • To RSVP "yes", please click on the Meeting link below to register for the Zoom event now.  This will give me and idea of how many are coming and help me plan.  Then, on the "Meeting Registration Approved" page that pops up, click on the link where it says, "Please click this URL to join"...to test your connection and resolve any issues you might have getting on in advance.  (You may want to also click on the "Add to calendar" link on the Registration Approved page or below.)
  • Please come to the gathering at 6:30 sharp, or even a couple minutes early.  Doing so and following the above step will allow us to start promptly and ensure everyone gets an adequate amount of time to share what they need to.  (As we'll be opening a sacred/ritual space and co-creating a safe & confidential container, this is not a "drop in whenever" kind of event.  :-)
  • This opening circle is offered free of charge.  Should you wish to express appreciation, or give reciprocity dana for the many hours of time/energy that went to study indigenous and modern versions of this tradition, this circle's creation and facilitation, carefully-worded messages and documentation, Zoom fees, etc., you can do so here (Deeply appreciated!)
Optional Items:
  • A non-alcoholic drink (no food, please)
  • Notepad/journal (to capture valuable insights, commitments, etc)
  • Sacred items for virtual altar
  • Meditation cushion (we usually spend a bit of time in silence together)
  • Timer with audible chime (we'll need a volunteer to be our Time Keeper)
Password-Protected Zoom Meeting:

Meeting ID: 898 3719 1281 / Password: 722473

Monday, May 11, 2020

You're Invited: Virtual Community - Wisdom/Support/Connection Circle

"I believe we can change the world if we start listening to each other.  Simple, honest, human conversation.  Not mediation, negotiation, problem-solving, debate, or public meetings.  Simple truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we listen well."  ~ Margaret Wheatly

Dear and Wise Sisters and Brothers,

These times seem to call for more safe places for us to gather and connect more deeply - both with each other and with ourselves - especially in genuinely heart-centered ways…

A Wisdom Circle is a sacred space to speak from the heart...and to be seen, heard and witnessed in a profound way, that's rarely available elsewhere…

...with the knowing that whatever's shared will not only be held in the strictest confidence, but will also be received with respect and reverence...without judgement or interruption...and with comments, questions or advice only by speaker's request….

…and, thereby, together - in the old ways - higher and mysterious parts of ourselves and our truths emerge…

...sentiments and wisdom surfacing and flowing from us…sometimes in ostensibly magical ways....often in ways we couldn't have imagined before we took the opportunity to speak into such a powerfully safe and time-honored ritual space….

[ The late Terence McKenna spoke of an "archaic revival":  As the dysfunctional and unsustainable systems on which our current society is built inevitably break down, we go back in history in search of time-tested wisdom...more organic and healthy practices and systems that allow us to course-correct and that can sustain us going forward.  I believe the Native Council/Wisdom Circle community/ritual will serve us in this way. ]

~~
Have you noticed that humans think better, and feel more deeply, when they're being compassionately listened to without judgment or agenda?  Yet, how regularly do most of us receive this - if ever…?

We'll use a (virtual) "Talking Stick" to hold space for you to be heard in the traditional, indigenous way of "The Council" or "The Wisdom Circle" — without interruption, agenda or comment.  However, you never need speak unless you so choose: You get to decide how you show up in the circle.  You are fully welcome, and a full participant in this community, even if you're nourished and connect solely by giving others the gift of your compassionate attention.

~~
"The power of the Circle...recognition of sacred space through ritual, the creation together of relational covenants to guide how we treat each other, the use of a talking piece to give everyone voice and promote good speaking and good listening, and a circle of collective wisdom where everyone is equally responsible for the outcome."  ~ Tom Porter, Peace and Justice, United Methodist Church

"And let me tell you this for sure, and I know this from my life, I know this, from again, from 20 years of research, and 400,000 pieces of data. If you don't name what you're feeling, if you don't own the feelings, and feel them, they will eat you alive."  ~ Brené Brown
~~

Would it be a balm to our isolated hearts and souls — during this time of unnatural and mandated social distancing — to experience the feelings of profound compassion that come when we recognize our soul's reflection in another...when that other person's pain or joy or solutions become our own...when the voice of spirit speaking through them touches us in surprisingly poignant ways...illuminating, inspiring and uplifting us all in unity…?

Is it worth our time and energy to be of service and solace to each other by simply giving the gift of our undivided attention and non-judgmental listening…and for us to receive the same in kind...?

…to experience "new bonds of kinship and belonging" as an antidote to fear and isolation…?

~~

Should you be feeling this call within you, then perhaps the time has come to remember the circle…to bring back one of the old ways…to resurrect some of this ancient and time-tested wisdom, power and magic...in a format apropos to the lifestyles and crises of today...and thereby bring this way of gathering back into our consciousness, into our lives, and into community….

Please gather with us to pass the virtual talking piece and take turns flowing loving attention to each other...each to use in our own way…and, perhaps, to speak to our basic inquiry:  "How can we best survive, hope, dream, serve, support each other, and carry on during this time of global tumult?"

Details:

Light guidance and facilitation will be given on Wisdom Circle etiquette and guidelines to create and maintain a traditional, safe and powerful container.  There will be a silent, meditative space to reflect and go within, a bio break midway through the 2 hour ceremony, and optional, open social time after the ritual space is closed.  Optional, provocative, introspective inquires and prompts may be offered, borne from the landscape of the times in which we find ourselves, for anyone who happens to feel stumped or desires a bit of direction on what to talk about.

The power of a Wisdom Circle grows and matures over time.  As we get to know each other and bond, the trust builds.  As we learn how to both hold space for each other, as well how to best use the caring, kinship and attention available to us, the experience deepens for all.  As such, the intention is for this to be a regularly-scheduled, on-going community upon which each of us can rely.

Like a sprinkler system that goes off automatically by timer, the circle can become a regular source of "watering the needs of our spirit and psyche" (connection, wisdom, belonging, support, etc).  From experience, I know it can become a solid fixture of strength, growth and rejuvenation for us.  When we decide to show up regularly, our investment in the community can pay huge dividends when we need them most!

Experience (so you know you're in good hands :) 

I'm currently studying with a successful community in Portugal (Tamera) on creating vibrant, healthy, harmonious, and truly supportive and sustainable community and culture, that serve not just the highest good of its members, but also the highest good of all life.

Also trained as an emotional counselor, trainer/facilitator and professional life coach, I've served for over a decade in each of those capacities, in both one-on-one and group contexts (including leading a men's group for several years).

I also bring experience living and studying with indigenous shamans, healers, elders, and communities in Ecuador, The Philippines, and the US…and from creating and facilitating an in-person Wisdom Circle that continued for 7 years, and has recently re-united in an online format.  (This original circle was based on what I learned in those indigenous realms, as well as on the modern principles set forth in the book, Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups.)

I witnessed immense healing, growth and support for all members of that original circle...as well as the on-going blessings of deep bonds of community and friendship forged amongst the members of that group that have continued, for over two decades, to this day….  It's with a similar hope and aspiration that you'll be similarly nourished and supported by this new Wisdom Circle that I now offer my experience and service…and extend to you this warm invitation:

We would cherish the gift of your heart wisdom, compassionate ear, and beautiful presence at our next Wisdom Circle!  Please join us - and/or pass this along to someone you think would be interested - and let's figure out how to best support each other and move forward together!!

In service, solace, and solidarity,
Rich


----
Thoughts for Today:

It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.  ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Connection is why we're here.  It's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.  This is what it's all about.  What we know [from decades of research in multiple fields] is that the ability to feel connected is how we're wired neuro-biologically, it's why we're here.  ~ Brené Brown