GATE
by Sydney L. Murray
The Alchemy of Our Stories:
A Continuing Conversation with John Raatz of GATEThis is Part Two of an interview I did with John Raatz in November. I believe in the power of our personal stories, having dedicated the last 15 years to telling the stories of those people who I believe are part of the fabric that is changing our world. Those that believe in the good of people over the bad, those that put their life’s work toward the greater good. I have been so fortunate to have lived an amazing life that has brought me into contact with the change-makers of the world.
I believe that the potential for GATE (Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment) will have far-reaching effects. The tsunami of love and a united world is inspired by so many unique stories. I am inspired on a daily basis by the people who are changing the world in whatever way they feel called to do. The tide is with us; we are the change-makers because we believe that the world is ready. I am ready. Please join me, along with John Raatz, David Langer, and all of the founding members of GATE at their second annual conference in Los Angeles, February 2-4. Stories matter.
Vision Magazine: What does alchemy mean to you?
John Raatz: Alchemy, to me, is very close to transformation. It’s transmutation of sorts. I would say that a transformational self is alchemical in its effect. Let me broaden that. I would say that transformational content is alchemical in its effects. I think of it in terms of media diet. I think of everything we consume in terms of entertainment, news, etc., that we metabolize that. You can eat a healthy food diet or a not-so-healthy food diet, and it will have its effects. I think the same thing is true in terms of mind and heart and consciousness, that if we metabolize transformational entertainment, it really does have a healing effect, it really does have the effect of inspiring and uplifting and expanding. So therefore, that’s alchemical in my mind.
VM: If there is one way for each person to make a change in their life to transform the world, what do you think that would be?
JR: I tend to shy away from personal prescriptions these days. I’ve been teaching meditation since 1976, and when I first started teaching meditation, there was a little bit of that—maybe actually more than a little bit—gung-ho spirit, like, this is the way and everybody should do this. But that was then and this is now. And now I no longer hold that belief that there’s only one way. I think there are many ways. And I think that every single day, everyone, maybe not everyone, but I think most people, do things that actually help improve the quality of life on the planet Earth. Yes, there are people who are doing the opposite, too, but I know in the circle that I run, it seems like it’s a constant theme running through people’s mind’s every day: what more can I do? And they look at sometimes the most simple actions like dividing up their waste paper into recycling and non-recycling. It’s something that we’ve heard about for years and years and years, but it’s definitely having an impact now. I probably can’t speak more eloquently about it because, again, I believe it’s up to each person to find their own unique way of contributing in the world.
VM: Could you have imagined 10 years ago, the flood of transformational media that’s available today?
JR: Yes. I think 10 years ago, absolutely I did. Again, I first started noticing sort of an up-leveling of content in this genre starting in about 1989/1990. And so, I have not been surprised.
In recent years, [the film] “What the Bleep” was a turning point for many people, not only in its effects on people, but really, in terms of the business of creating transformational content. I think “What the Bleep” was the film that actually showed people what could be done with film, beyond anything they had seen before in this category. So starting in about 2004/2005, the whole space of transformational entertainment and media lit up like a Christmas tree, and ever since then, it’s been growing, and growing worldwide. And again, people from around the world—more than 70 countries—have contacted us. Without knowing one another, they pretty much all share the same ideas and express the same ideas. So this shows us that there is some sort of thought form—almost like a universal thought form—that people are tapping into, and that universal thought form is prompting people to want to begin expressing themselves through transformational entertainment and media.
VM: Do you think that this transformational media will become, or is becoming, more mainstream?
JR: It has to. It has to because, again—and this might sound harsh, possibly even critical—if we don’t move beyond the talking heads (what some people call “talkumentaries”), sharing philosophical thoughts kind of production, this genre will probably come to a screeching halt because that’s not what people are looking for. People want to be entertained; they must be entertained. People want to engage, they want to hear stories. Everything is a story. We tell stories to each other every single day. That’s how we communicate, mainly, is by a story, and we’re constantly framing and re-framing our stories.
In the context of the world and where we are right now in our world culture, we need new stories that supplant the old stories that no longer speak to who we’ve become—and who we want to become, more importantly. So, if the content creators who’ve perhaps been studying the wisdom cultures of the world, and the ideas of the wisdom cultures of the world, for decades, and they’ve now become, let’s say, filmmakers, and authors, and musicians—if they, if we, can’t learn to share that information, that wisdom with people, whether it’s art forms, and do it in ways that speak to the whole… You see, part of the challenge here is moving beyond separation. Much of what is offered in the form of entertainment and media creates separation; it comes from separation, it expresses separation, and it returns to separation. And I believe one of the lasting goals of transformational entertainment and media is its ability to potentially create unity.
And here’s the other thing. In my own life, professionally and personally, I’m trying to stay away from “us” and “them” kinds of expressions. There’s only one, there’s only the totality, there’s only wholeness. It’s wholeness interacting with itself. Even though we use terms like “body mind spirit” community, or “Cultural Creatives” community, and the “mainstream” community, we use these handy little [terms]—it’s almost like shorthand—so that we can talk to each other easily. But in reality, it’s divisive. We have to really think in terms of wholeness now. And that means we need to talk to ourselves in a way that we can all understand it, that we don’t create division through our language and through our content.
VM: Can you tell us about the upcoming conference in early February of 2012?
JR: Yes. On February 4, 2012, at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles [note: new location is at Saban Theatre], during the day, of course, we will have the GATE Transformational Story Conference. That will be in the morning and afternoon. And then in the evenings, we will do GATE 2. The inauguration of GATE on June 4, 2009, we consider to be GATE 1. So now we will do GATE 2. And we plan on doing both of those events annually. GATE 2 is primarily, I guess you could call it, a celebration of transformational entertainment and media. And we have just an amazing lineup of presenters and performers, all who are experts in their own fields of consideration, who will be talking about those fields in the context of transformational entertainment and media. So we do have entertainment professionals, we have media professionals, and all will be addressing the remarks to the genre of transformational entertainment and media.
VM: When you think about 2012, what do you see for our world, the state of California, our community?
JR: Not only 2012, but every year, I always think in terms of evolution. I always feel that next year will be more evolved than the present year, and so on and so forth. I really don’t expect 2012 to be more than that because, again, I try not to remain in the realm of expectation too much anymore. So I’m frankly not one of those people who believe that there will be an ascension or something miraculous will happen. I think it’s already happening. I think you and I having this conversation is miraculous, that we can speak about something called transformational entertainment and media. And if we broaden that and apply that to every area of human concern and consideration, it is miraculous. So I think it’s going to be a wonderful year. I’m actually looking forward to [2012] because I know a lot of people have a lot of investment in terms of belief and what they think next year will be, and I hope whatever they feel, I hope it comes true for them personally. But I’m not so sure. I think it could also be another Y2K.The GATE 2 and Transformational Story Conference events, to be held on February 4, 2012, will take place at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. The address is: 8840 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211.
To learn more about GATE’s vision/mission, programs and initiatives, event tickets, and how you can become involved, visit their Web site at www.gatecommunity.org.
