Dog Bond Board Game, A Board Game with a Mission

Dogs BOND Game

A Board Game with a Mission

Alex Lu is a Silicon Valley program manager by day and board game creator by night. He combines Fortune 500

management practices with a lifelong commitment to support animal rescues. He has created a new board game - Dogs BOND. Radiance Editor Gina Kegel sat down with Alex for an interview.

GINA KEGEL: Alex, you have created a fantastic board game that’s unlike anything else out there: Dogs BOND is a game where players take on the role of a shelter dog, collecting and sometimes competing for attributes to be adopted into one of six forever homes. Where did you find the inspiration for this game?

ALEX LIU: Dogs BOND is a game created by dog people, for dog people. I love board games. Board games bring people together in a unique way, in friendship for an activity that builds lasting bonds. I’ve spent many nights at a dinner table, converted to a game table, with friends and family sharing a positive experience. The funny thing is that we often end up retelling the stories from that night at our next game night!

Like many people, I love dogs. When I talk to people about their family and loved ones we have a nice conversation. But when I talk to people about their dogs, their souls open up. Our dogs unlock our hearts in a unique and special way. They’re pure love, and take on such an important role in every pet owner’s life because they teach us to enjoy the moment.

By creating a board game that brings players through the dog’s perspective of a rescue journey, I want my game to do real good in the world. We are bringing people together and fostering positive conversations about dog adoption and responsible ownership.

Interesting, so there is a social activism component. How does Dogs BOND achieve that

mission? Rescue organizations are generally run

by big-hearted volunteers that sometimes get overworked. We have made a commitment to support the amazing work that dog rescues do with every sale of

the game. We are also creating custom graphics and marketing materials to make it easy for our partner rescues to share our message to their existing supporters. Through our initial raise on Kickstarter, up to 15% of

profits will be donated directly to rescue organizations

that have partnered with us. The percentage we distribute will be tied to the number of followers we earn on social media, so follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! More donations from sales will be made annually as long as we’re making and selling the game.

Putting the rescue journey at the forefront of the game was really important to me, because there can be a negative connection between shelters, and adoption. I began with the clear intention to take this story of adoption and a second chance at a wonderful life and infuse it with joy, whimsy, and play. It allows us to raise the conversation from a place of hope and positivity.

Why is the game called Dogs BOND?In my own

game collection, I noticed that many games are about capitalism, greed, and war. I found myself wanting to play a game that just felt good. Also, through the process of exploring dog adoption for myself, I found that for many the decision tends to center around what the owner wants, and what the dog can do for their humans. I want people to consider the experience from the dog’s perspective. This game is about finding friendship and loyalty, but also the struggle the dogs go through to find their forever home. Dogs BOND does involve strategy and choice, but at the end of the game, there is a happily ever after for all players and dogs.

Why did you choose dogs, instead of some other ani

mal?I love all animals, but I’m a dog person first. Dogs can heal us in a way sometimes humans can’t. I have heard over and over people say, “My dog saved me.” You see bumper stickers that say, “You can’t buy love but you can rescue it.” There’s just something magical there. Not to discount the bonds people have with their cats! Following the successful launch Dogs BOND, we intend to create Cats BOND which focuses

on cats and supports cat rescues.

I’ve enjoyed playing this game, but I’m an everything-fluffy person, and have rescued and adopted several dogs, so maybe I’m a little

biased. Will cat people like this game? Haha, yes!

I’ve played this game many times with dog people, cat people, bird people, absolutely-anything-furry people, and people who are generally indifferent to pets. Regardless of their animal companion preferences, players find something in the game that speaks to them. I have found that after the last card is played, people tend to stay around the table to talk about their own animal friendships, usually about dogs or cats but sometimes frogs or birds or turtles. I think having pets and sharing stories about our animal friendships with one another makes us more empathetic people.

How can people get their own copy of Dogs BOND? And are you open to connecting with

more rescues? We are opening pre-orders for Dogs BOND on Kickstarter towards the end of July 2020. I

invite readers to visit dogsbondgame.com and click “Join the Pack” to be included in occasional emails to keep everyone updated on the status of the campaign.

We welcome rescues of all sizes to contact us for

partnership. We are completing our sign-ups for res

cues before we launch on Kickstarter. Learn more at dogsbondgame.com. Find dogsbondgame on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

The ONLY Place You

Bashar.org for more , and Higher Journeys with Alexis

Want to Be in the Chaos

Bashar Channeled by Darryl Anka

In early December 2019, Bashar, channeled by Darryl Anka, said this live: “We want you to know how important it will be to make decisions in your best discernment… how important it will be for you to remain at the center of the storm, because - if I may use some of your colloquial language - 2020 is going to be nuts. It’s going to be crazy….

“…And it is of paramount importance for you to be at the eye of the storm where it is calm, where peace and solitude rein. Where you may see chaos thundering all around you, it is more important than ever during this pivotal year to be at peace with yourself, and to be centered at the eye of the storm.”

In his first interview of 2020 with Alexis Brooks of Higher Journeys, Darryl shared this wisdom:

What’s going on today cannot be “run away from”

If we stay at the center of the storm, and metaphorically at the center of our own being, that’s where we’ll be able to handle everything going on, no matter how chaotic it gets

We have to take responsibility for the beliefs we hold that create the reality we experience

Lots of times we gloss over those things by saying,

“Oh, this is my passion, my excitement” when in fact what they’re doing is acting out of anxiety and fear, but they don’t want to face that

Because when we’re honest with ourselves, we

DO know the difference between the vibration of excitement and the vibration of anxiety

We have to get denial out of the way, we have to be willing to look deeper within ourselves to find out what we do believe to be true – because that can often be an unconscious belief

Only by bringing it into the light of our consciousness can we have the ability to truly understand what the belief is telling us and to be able to let it go if it’s not in alignment Know thyself

We can’t change what we’re not responsible for owning We can recognize the difference between Positive Positive energy is collective, integrative, creates expansion, increases the frequency, allows us to see things more holistically Negative energy is that which disconnects, segregates, separates, lowers the frequency, breaks things down into parts (non-holistically) that can make things harder to manage We never change the world we’re on… We change ourselves and we actually shift to another version of Earth that already exists that’s more reflective of the change we made in us Time and space are illusions; everything exists as the same time We only see what we are tuned to the vibration of to see As we change our ideas, we change our vibrations We start to see a different world literally because we have shifted our consciousness - our focus - to a different version of Earth that exists simultaneously We start experiencing, bit by bit, a progression through different versions of Earth; billions of different parallel reality versions We start perceiving a world that is in alignment with their vibration because of the frequencies they have changed within themselves

Off-the-Charts CARE From a Holistic Registered Nurse

Interview with Susan Macknin

Editor’s Note: I was fascinated to meet a holistic healer who is also a Registered Nurse, someone rooted in allopathic medical care yet knew so much more about our mind-body-spirit (holistic) connection that traditional medicine does not address. I later found out Susan Macknin is one of those excellent listeners that can hold space for you in a way that is safe, nurturing and healing while bringing in various healing modalities as needed. – Scott Ware

At some point in our lives we are all going to look back on the impact that this year, 2020, has had on us. How do you want to remember this year? We are all

experiencing trauma from multiple sources: physical, emotional, spiritual, political, financial, and relational. And from these sources, trauma can spill into other areas of life causing devastation, depression, anxiety, and untold other issues affecting all areas of your life. Trauma compounding trauma.

How in the world can we make it through this year? How can we get past the

places where we have become stuck, complacent, fearful? How can we rebuild and renew our vision and goals, when we struggle with the simple everyday necessities? And

how do we move towards the positive zone in spite

of the devastations and fears we are still experiencing every day?

Some common issues we are experiencing during this universal crisis:

Uncertainty

Fear and fear-based decision making

Unrest / chaos

Mindset of lack and loss

Emotional and physical upheaval Energy field depletion

Luckily, we have numerous healing techniques available to help us come through these traumas with zero to minimal damage. Even so, people can be so

stuck or traumatized that they are not able to take that

first step towards inner peace. Let’s break it down into

digestible chunks.

What can Energy Healing help with? • Can give you clarity

Help set your positive intentions

Help overcome your fears Calm and ease the nervous system

Relax your emotional and physical bodies Balance the energetic system Help you let go of what no longer serves you Manifest from positive goals and beliefs Heal physical symptoms Calm the chaos in your mind, body or spirit

Release the traumas Reframe the limiting beliefs

You only need to decide it’s time to ask

for help. You don’t even need to know

where you want to start. For many

people it seems so overwhelming to decide where to begin, when so many areas of our lives are affected. Take that first step to “get one foot

out of the mud.” The rest will fall into place as the healings move through you. Before you know it,

your life will take hold again. Depending on your story when we meet, I will make suggestions and together we will come up with a plan of care to help you become your best self. To rebuild,

renew and remember. Remember why you are

here, remember what you want and where you want to go this year and for your life path.

This year is about change, and coming back to ourselves in a new way. It’s about relearning and reclaiming our motivations. What has the turmoil and chaos of

2020 come to teach us, and how can we find resilience and take this out into our world now?

Here are some healing options I work with:

Biofeedback:To stop reacting from a fear mindset; to build new energetic pathways to find your flow; for physical and emotional balancing; to reset the negative traumas experienced; to retrain the mind, body and spirit, to release physical or emotional pain and trauma.

Hands on healing:To balance the physical and emotional bodies; balance the chakras; set your intention to align with your life purpose; heal relational cords; clear energetic blocks that have taken hold in your system; calm the chaos to help reduce depression and anxiety. Coaching:To help you move forward; to offer guidance and support as we set positive goals and action steps; to reframe the experiences and clear the blocks to reach your goals; to help you take the overwhelm out of your day and take the baby steps forward. Systemic Constellations:Where has the love stopped flowing? What negative patterns are you repeating? Where has fear taken hold? What is its source and

how can we reframe the fear to heal the trauma? How can we let go of what no longer serves us?

Sometimes clients come to me for a specific healing

modality, and other times they are open to however the healing will take place. We may utilize different techniques along the way, or even during the same session.

“Susan helped me through a lot of confusion and feeling stuck. Relationships were falling apart, and I was so tired I couldn’t figure out how to do anything. Now I’m clear and feeling better.” - Lauren

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Hindsight is 2020.”

What vision do you want to manifest, so that when you do look back and reflect on your life in 2020, you can list more positive accomplishments than the crises we’ve experienced?

My initiation into Holistic Health:

As a young adult I didn’t know much about holistic healthcare and I certainly didn’t understand the concept of energy work. I was very science-minded and I needed to understand things in very concrete terms. I went through a couple of long-term illnesses as a child and filed them away in the back of my mind the idea that somehow, I would eventually understand what was happening, and why. I knew my “science-mind” wasn’t giving me the answer.

Then in my mid-thirties, I was thrust into a world of chaos and trauma that seemed hopeless, incomprehensible, and full of despair. Between multiple physical illnesses wreaking havoc on my body along with emotional stress and traumas compounding those issues, I didn’t see any way out of my situation and I certainly had no hope of ever recovering physically or emotionally. All I could concentrate on was this moment. And then

this moment. There was no inner peace or joy looking forward and only fear looking back. I felt broken.

It was when I finally decided that I needed to do something that I opened my mind, my soul and my heart to the possibility that maybe something was

out there that could help me. And only then did my path cross with someone who was able to point me onto the way forward. She wasn’t a healer herself, but

she was just learning about holistic health and energy work and she was anxious to point me in that direction. I felt like my prayers were answered in a magical

and profound way.

Once I found my way forward again and remembered some of my reasons for why I was here, I registered for nursing school. I was well on the way towards happiness and a renewed sense of purpose. During my nursing school years, I also began to study some of the holistic techniques that helped pull me out of my darkness. And as I began working with hospice patients, I was using some of these techniques on my patients as well as on their family members. I found that I was being referred to different families because I was able to help ease their physical as well as their emotional pain and fears as they came through the traumas they were experiencing.

For many years I did my own inner work while building my private healing practice, which I always maintained throughout my nursing career. I am blessed, and

I am guided to work in both worlds, mainstream and holistic healthcare.

My goals continue to include building my healing practice. My passion and my purpose include providing physical and emotional healing work, in private sessions and in workshop settings. One cannot just heal

“I was experiencing a lot of fears and anxiety. I was afraid to do what used to be normal. I was afraid to think about how things were not normal anymore. I wasn’t working and I was feeling useless and depressed. Susan helped me find my inner spark again.” - Janet

the physical body without looking at the emotional components that cause and are affected by physical illnesses. Likewise, emotional traumas, trans-generational traumas, and negative patterns in one’s life can have an impact physically. I look at the whole picture and work on each level of the energy field.

I’ve also done annual retreats while living in Florida, and I hope to continue to provide this here now that I am a California

resident. My retreats are open to those with whom I have worked, and we go much deeper into the healing journey.

I am honored to walk this path with you, and I look forward to meeting you. Sending blessings and gratitude in this time of new awarenesses and awakenings, to a better way of being. Love unconditionally…..

To make an appointment with Susan or see what services she provides, go to balancedwellness.net.

You only need to decide it’s time to ask for help. You don’t even need to know where you want to start

One cannot just heal the physical body without looking at the emotional components that cause and are affected by physical illnesses

Yo u r L i fe i s S u d d e n l y L i ke Yo u r Ancestors’ Journey

Lately, you’ve taken your life journey inward in a way that your indigenous ancestors did in their vision quests and rites of passage traditions. Current “safe-shelter” protocols created opportunities – although some would say they were forced – for to begin a journey towards greater peace and freedom this life otherwise did not seem to allow.

But do we have to return from this journey alone and without support? Absolutely not.

I created Rejuvenate Your Soul Healing Arts Center (RYSHAC) in Long Beach as a place to bring such journeyers together with healers and shamanic practitioners – blended with conventional psychotherapy to handle the modern dilemmas – to cultivate a full mind, body, spirit and soul experience for the peace and fulfilment you’re seeking.

Our ancestors could certainly count on that support: upon returning to their group, they were welcomed and met with curiosity, acceptance and love. Their tribe provided a safe reception where they could share the

You’ll feel the warm energetic vibrations greeting your body just upon entering our doors

story of their journey and be celebrated and valued for their experience. They were encouraged and reminded that Source Energy and the Universal Mind was always present, always available, and always supportive. That’s what Rejuvenate Your Soul can mean to you as

well.

With community in mind, and healing hearts at the forefront, we offer classes and healing modalities such as Sound Healing, Ancestral Healing, Meditation Classes,

Yoga, Laughter as Medicine, Food as Medicine, Massage,

and Energy Healing. Other modalities include Shamanic Healing, Oracle Card Readings, Plant Ceremonies and support. Homemade candles, incense, essential oils

Julie Andersen Rodriguez

and healing crystals are available in our shop. You’ll feel the warm energetic vibrations greeting your

body just upon entering our doors, and you’ll know our healers as welcoming and nurturing. They themselves are examples of how this healing work overcomes obstacles and transforms because they walked the path before you on their own healing and expanding experiences.

We gently help you with the fears you still resist, with the deep surrender there is to allow, and with the transformation that leads to your greatest release, your greatest freedom. The only way out is through, so why not get a little assistance from friends?

I wasn’t too bothered by the sheltering and the mask-wearing because it created an atmosphere that reacquainted many “busy” people with “down time” and a slower pace of life that matched nature’s rhythm and their own internal rhythm.

As a practitioner of 30 years, I have found great value in group as well as solo time, so feel free to partake in what feels right to you. We welcome you to join our

tribe and re-enter our new world in a community that

welcome you with open arms. Community is where we

find comfort in difficult times. Community provides us

with collective wisdom, borrowed motivation, accountability, pushing our limits, offering support and inspiring new ideas.

And don’t be surprised if we’re able to help unearth your own undiscovered gifts; everyone has them. We’ll help you connect to Source Energy to harness infinite wisdom and embody your gifts as a medicine to offer to the tribe and enhance our community and ultimately, the world.

Whether you walk through our doors or other doors that open for you, we encourage the active discovery of your new life. Be BRAVE. Be you.