Hello,

I'm not sure how one actually begins a manifesto. In my head there has always been trumpets and perhaps spray painted logos? But now with the page in front of me it is somehow simpler less dramatic, why do this, who is this for, how is this different?

Well here goes.

1. This endeavour is in service to the raising of consciousness.
2. Serve and celebrate healers, light workers and anyone working towards the raising of consciousness. This is the work that matters.
3. Respect all users. Your personal data will be protected as well as the internet allows. 
4. Your data will not be sold or shared. Stay independent and sovereign. 
5. Debt will be avoided. 
6. Advertising free.
7. Enjoy the process, ship when it is ready.

(First written circa July 2023)

Why serve consciousness?

I believe that all of our perceived worldly challenges that we see are manifestations of our inner world. When we create from our unhealed wounds and our traumas we bring more suffering into the world. Bringing more conscious awareness to our thoughts, feelings and behaviours is how we grow and become better individuals and better as a collective.

Why healers and light workers?

(Names are tricky to get right in this context, here I speak people who are drawn to be in service to others, in all manners of growth and transformation.)

They are the brave leaders who have chosen to step into the work that our world desperately needs. Helping others become the most liberated versions of themselves is some of the most worthy work imaginable. The community that does this work, is the community that I wish to serve.

Why no debt?

This means no Venture Capital or corporate funding. Quite simply, when you borrow money the people you borrow from always want it back. I have worked with VC's before and met some beautiful people through the process. Taking money from a VC puts your creation on a particular trajectory. VC's want a return as fast as possible, this happens when the business is sold. I don’t want to build something that needs to be sold. I plan to bootstrap this myself allowing this endeavour to grow as it needs to.

Advertising free?

Advertising creates mixed incentives for any platform. Advertising becomes a source of power and leverage that is outside of the interests of users. Advertisers can threaten to leave, or encourage censorship. It creates poor incentives for users as it encourages presenting the maximum amount of advertising tolerable. I want this to be an advertising free space. Note that sharing your offerings is different to the advertising I am referring to here.

Staying independent and sovereign

I have made a lot of technology choices for you in the making of this, there is a responsibility in doing this. You might have noticed that there is no cookie banner on this site. Thats intentional. Part of staying independent (as possible) and sovereign is making choices not to use analytics to track and monitor you. I have opted out of the surveillance tools that track you across the internet, a small act of seemingly radical defiance in this age where advertising follows you as you browse.

Ship when it is ready

This is here to remind myself to be gentle with myself in the building. Software is complex and requires a lot of mental and emotional effort. To be at my most creative I need to remember to give myself space for the building to happen. Forcing something into the world is not what this process is about. Given that the present moment is all we have, I will do my best to enjoy the creative process of bringing this project to you. I hope you will feel the joy I have had in making this, while you are using it.

In service,

Mark