The following is a chronological account of media documentation
and events related to the growth of the Paradigm Shift Central project.
2009 - 2010
In 2009 what is now Paradigm Shift Central officially began as a school club within Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, Canada. The club was started by a small group of Television Broadcasting students - Brendon Culliton, Brock Springstead, and Andres Silva. Far before it would become the central conscious media platform and digital community it is today, it would begin as something much smaller. but as we know... everything big begins small.
The inspiration behind creating the club was because Brendon, who is still the facilitator behind Paradigm Shift Central, understood that 'if he were to build it, they would come.' The purpose of the group was to find other people/students to talk to and share knowledge with about topics and subject matter less commonly brought up in 'normal public spheres.' By extended their branches to connect with others and make new friendships they were taking valuable steps towards building community and taking part in collective evolution. Examples of popular topics Paradigm Shift is intended to create space for include Lucid Dreaming, Meditation, Mindfulness, Ancient Knowledge, Empowerment, Oneness, Sacred Geometry, UFO's, Sasquatch, etc. By creating more conversation about these topics the plan was to help expand our individual understanding of reality and also actively take part in the evolution of consciousness as more and more people continued to 'wake up'.
Much of Brendon's motivation for starting Paradigm Shift came from his experiences during a three month internship in Vancouver between April and June 2009. During this time Brendon became more aware about the nature of synchronicity - the universes ability to bring things together at the right time and place. Rather than just seeing it as a theory, he understood that it was something to be practically worked with to help build community. From the very beginning Brendon used the sigil/logo to go along with the presentation of Paradigm Shift - utilizing the power of symbols to help attract people who were looking.
At that time in the world, the word was beginning to spread about 2012. Things were indeed shifting for those with the eyes to see. Knowledge was rising to the surface, and the waters of change were stirring. From the very beginning Paradigm Shift was intended to be a long term project that would go long beyond 2012. Though within those three years there was indeed a sense of preparation and an objective to connect with as many as the others as possible as a means assist in collectively waking each other up.
By having access to rooms in the college, the Paradigm Shift Fanshawe club was able organize open meetings for the discussion group. And thus, it began...
Here are some of the very first posters used to promote the meetings around the school. The main image (which is still seen on the front page of the website) was created by Brendon for a class assignment at the time.
As you can see, one of the methods used to draw in more students was the fact that the club meetings provided FREE PUNCH and PIE. This method proved successful and is still recommended as a tactic within the genesis of other Paradigm Shift communities, especially those located in a college/university. Video of these early meetings has been documented, but not posted to the internet...yet.
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On November 11th 2009 Brendon, Brock, and Andres began their first attempt at trying to capture the essence of Paradigm Shift on video. The following are of the original production format they worked with. Though this series was not continued, noticed how its format echoes the format of Paradigm Shift Radio today.
Production of media directly relating to Paradigm Shift was not the immediate focus at this time, but there was still plenty that was happening. In December 2009, Brendon demonstrated some very Paradigm Shifty behavior when he gave a presentation in front of his Visual Effects class. The assignment was to analyze two scenes that used effects. Brendon compared the footage from 2001 A Space Odyssey with the Moon Landing Footage.
This in itself was an early form of Shiftivism.
You can watch Brendon's full presentation here. Videotaped by Brock
At this point the club and the idea behind Paradigm Shift was still very much in its seed state. Meetings continued to happen, and things were unfolding as they were. Occupied with school and life, Brendon developed and practiced making consciousness shifting media by weaving it into the content of the assignments he was given. Such as this one - featuring the Elusive Bigfoot.
This assignment was to learn a new editing software to work with. Brendon created a montage of Bill Hicks, Himself, Terrence McKenna, Charlie Chaplin, Joe Rogan, mixed to music from The Matrix and psytrance. The video was watched by the entire class.
(Video To be Added)
Brendon even began combining his curiosity for Sacred Geometry by practicing learning animation programs such as Adobe After Effects. Through this practice he was able to experience building infinity in a self constructed digital form.
By the later half of 2010 the majority of Brendon's time was focused towards the production of
If I Should Fall, a movie opportunity that had very synchronistically landed in his lap. The movie is about Canadian military in Afghanistan and the very real experience of loss, the strength of the human spirit, and the importance of remembrance. The film proved to be succesful and recieved numerous awards at film festival in both Canada and the United States. Visit the website to watch the trailer.
During this time there was not much media created related to Paradigm Shift, but all that would change in 2011...
2011
With the start of a new school year at Fanshawe College came plenty of fresh opportunities for the community to grow. Brendon, Brock, and Andres had all successfully graduated the year before, but Brendon hung around the college on his spare time to focus energy towards building the community and evolving the project.
Through a variety of networking outside of the college Brendon was beginning to connect with students and others in the London area who had valuable knowledge and information to share.
As such, Brendon began to focus future Paradigm Shift events around guest speakers coming into the college while simultaneously using his video production skills to document the process and create episodes to share online. This series, known as Sight Beyond Sight, would not only function as a valuable vehicle to share knowledge, but also generate awareness about the Paradigm Shift project online.
In addition, two episodes were created relating to events outside of the college - The Spirituality Expo and The Psychic Expo.
In particular, Episode 7 focused around members of the Paradigm Shift community practicing giving presentations of their own - reflecting the intention that the community is designed to create space for us to practice expressing ourselves.
Simultaneously to this, Brendon was looking for other means to promote the Paradigm Shift community and some of the potent and empowering ideas that existed within the converastion circles it supported.
In February 2011, Brendon took part in the Ignite London event, a chance for a person to use 5 minutes and 20 auto-advancing slides to 'enlighten' the crowd. Needless to say, Brendon utilized the opportunity as best as he could. Taking to the stage was an act of courage that was intended to be seen, that was intended to create more ripples.
This presentation would then go on to evolve to the most current version that most people are familiar which was filmed in 2014.
Following the success of the club things were going well for Paradigm Shift Fanshawe. As the school year came to an end the group natural evolved beyond the college and began having meetings at a local yoga studio. Paradigm Shift Fanshawe had now extended its branches as it got ready to become Paradigm Shift London (Ontario, Canada.)
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In April 2011, Brendon returned to Vancouver for a short period of time. During which he met up with his good friend Joe, who created/discovered Spacelite - Natural Alkaline Health and Electrolyte Formula, a simple powder that is added to water to provide natural and valuable health benefits, in particular, countering against acidic build-up by helping rebalnce PH Levels. Over the 8 days that they hung out, Brendon and Joe filmed a movie documenting their adventure while also aiming to inspire conscious living. The full movie, Journey to the West, was the first full length movie Brendon released online.
The full movie would be officially released on December 21, 2011.
Essentially this movie is the genesis of Brendon's shift into a new style of documentation - Gonzo Journalism. Inspired by the character of Spider Jerusalem from the comic book Transmetropolitan, and the nutorious Hunter S. Thompson, Brendon took on the pen name Skull Babylon (www.youtube.com.SkullBabylon) as he began intentionally creating an online identity for himself that he would use as another vehicle to share the documentation of consciousness in a unique, personal, and engaging way that would also generate awareness about Paradigm Shift. The intention of this style of media was to provide story telling of the events happening within the local London community, and to begin practicing and developing his skills for the projects in the future.
(Many people ask what Skull Babylon means. The intention is for it to be a mirror. What does it mean to you? Yet among other things it was later decoded to directly translate to 'Rebirth from Within'.)
The first Skull Babylon video was released in June. The following is the list of Gonzo Journalism Videos of 2011
A notable highlight out of these videos was in November while documenting an outdoor meditation in the midst of the Occupy movement, during which Brendon experimented with modifying the presentation of Paradigm Shift to reflect the energies at the time, thus creating the temporary existce of 3VOLV3 (which would later transmute back into PSL shortly after).
In late August Brendon applied his skills in a new style once again as to host EnergyXchangE - a live on stage interactive show that took place at a local pub/bar. The idea was simple - 1 host + infinite topics + 3 interchanging participants + audience involvement = collective education discourse.
The event happened again in October, but so far only the footage from the event in August has made it up onto the internet (yet). The intention behind the show was to bring people together within the community to not only have fun talking about paradigm shifty stuff, but to celebrate each other. The concept behind this idea is still very much alive and will be returned to again for future events.
Here is footage form the August event.
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On December 21st, 2011 - Brendon released Journey to the West. The year had come to an end, and as more people became aware about Paradigm Shift as a result of Brendons videos, there began to emerge talk of others who were interested in starting up Paradigm Shift Communities in their locations.
Things were ramping up for the big year of 2012 - a year that would prove to be a period of exceptional growth for many.
2012 January - May
2012 began strong. In the start of the year Brendon took part in The Spirituality Expo 2012, which changed their name to The Inspirational Expo that year instead. Brendon was part of a pannel discussion representing youth and Paradigm Shift London.
At the expo there were a variety of tables and awesome people and communities to connect with. This was a great opportunity for more people to find out about Paradigm Shift London and be invited to the weekly 'Open-minded discussion and meditation' meetings taking place. Throughout the day there were a variety of workshops and demonstrations. Below is footage of Brendons ad-lib presentation explaining what Paradigm Shift is aswell as some of his own personal perceptions and ideas relating to how we think about the world around us.
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by February 2012 Brendon and some of the Shifty Gang switched gears and took part in a fresh new opportunity being put on by the city - the creation of the first ever London Youth Advisory Council. A group of 13 youth who would be able to sit in on some of the processes of City Hall and decision making within London.
During the campaign candidates submitted videos, which they were able to use as a platform to promote positive ideas and bring public attention to concerns - ie water flouridation.
Here are the submission videos for Brendon, Jessica, Elliot, Rebecca, and Derek.
A highlight in the campaign was when the candidates each gave short speeches in front of an audience at the Wolf Performance Hall - an event that Brendon documented in prime Gonzo Journalism style.
All said and done - things unfolded perceisely as they were intended too. The team worked together, and votes had to be spread amongst them. Brendon came in 14th by only 3 votes, while Derek, Jessica, and Rebecca all made it on. The mission was accomplished.
By April Brendon was focusing again on creating intentional conscious media and experimenting with a variety of formats. Poetry was one of them.
By May Brendon was experimenting with a new project - The Mystic Ninja Chronicles. It was a combination of practical workout tips combined with metaphysical insight to help promote healthy living and mindfulness.
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Since the beginning of the project there had been the intention for Paradigm Shift to expand into a global community. The process was to prove that the creation of a community could succeed in London - thus proving that it could happen anywhere. Through the variety of videos Brendon was sharing online, he was expanding the audience of his work, and as such, others were beginning to catch vibrations from what was happening. Come June 2012 - things really unfolded. It was time to go global.
2012 June - August
By June 2012 things were ready to move into the next phase. Paradigm Shift London had come a long way. The soil was healthy, and the community was functioning as a hub for collective support and growth amongst those involved. Meetings were continuing to take place consistently every Friday at a local yoga studio. New faces were always showing up, and much of its awareness was being spread word of mouth. Friendships were being formed, and lives were being changed.
The plan from here was to extend the branches of the Paradigm Shift project even further. Thanks to good fortune, Brendon had a friend who owned a button making machine. Utilizing the tools within arms reach, he began creating Consciousness Shifting Buttons. These buttons would prove to serve as incredibly valuable tools for building community. The buttons had a variety of thought provoking images on them related to paradigm shifty stuff and also included the website on the side so people could get connected online and be invited to the weekly meetings. Not only would the act of giving them to people make them smile, but it created the potential to break social bubbles and help begin conversation with strangers. At this point Brendon had not officially begun combining Shift Buttons with Free Hugs.
Below is one of the most popular videos created by Brendon that involves the use of button tactics, shows and explains what Paradigm Shift London is, and encourages others to create a Paradigm Shift community in their locations. Filmed on location during Car Free Day Festival London 2012.
Yes, Paradigm Shift did begin as a social experiment, but since the beginning the plan was intended for it to succeed and expand into a global network. Brendon's videos play a key part in getting the word out about what he was up, and the invitation for others to get involved and take action.
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Later in June another essential step was took. Thanks to the internet, Brendon connect with Michael Brazell of the Washington DC area. Michael began a Paradigm Shift DC community at that time. He was already actively involved in his area and was doing online radio shows through blogtalkrado.com. Since anyone can create a Blog Talk radio account, Brendon and Michael made the obvious decision to work together to begin creating episodes of Paradigm Shift Radio.
The show was designed to function as a platform to practice having converastion related to paradigm shifty topics, showcasing things people were up to, and talking about events and happenings of the bigger picture. Using the show, Brendon and Michael talked about the processes of creating Paradigm Shift Communities, and encouraged others to do so aswell. The show covers an infinite amount of topics and is intentionally less scripted. Paradigm Shift Radio is a digital space that acts in a very similar way to the physical ommunity meetings. Focusing around community interactivity, anyone is invited to get engaged, call in, live chat, and so forth.
Featuring guests every now and then is also a feature that has kept the show going for over 60 episodes. With each new guests it allows the opportunity for more people to learn about the global Paradigm Shift Community and get inspired by hearing first hand about others who are taking action to build community and to evolve personally.
The first episode aired on June 23rd, 2012.
Launch and listen to the full archive of original Paradigm Shift Radio episodes. > CLICK HERE <
www.fb.com/ParadigmShiftRadio launched and episodes were scheduled weekly for Saturdays at 11pm EST - a very peculiar and exciting time energy wise. ParadigmShiftLondon.com would soon become ParadigmShiftCentral.com. www.fb.com/ParadigmShiftCentral was launched as a hub, and as the show continued more and more people were begining to create Paradigm Shift Communities where they were.
The show was already off to a good start and featured many guest still well recognized today. Some guest include Teal Scott, Free Spirit, Taylor Marie, EA Koetting, Jordan Pearce of Spirit Science + Nathaniel/Thoth, Charles Gilchrist, Pheonyx Roldan Smith, Erin Northcott and the production crew of the movie Be Brave, Kellee Maize, Nathaniel Solace, Little Panda, Tarek Bibi, The production crew of The Bloom Series, Kurt Hardesty, Steve Bancarz, Taylor Marie + Nic Gabriel, Nathaniel Solace + Atlantis King, Jamaica Stevens, Jake Ducey, Oliver Hockenhull, Brendon's Dad, Kapwon Artist, Alister Valadez,
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Running parallel to all this, Brendon also begun practicing a new way to document the shift in consciousness - he began creating video dream logs, which are still continued to this day. The videos were not intended to go viral, but rather merely for those interested and to also function as a tool for Brendon to further his own practice of Dream Exploration - a key area of interest within the big picture. In the videos Brendon recalls and tells stories of his dreams while also aiming to provide valuable and practical insigt for others to apply to their own Dream Exploration practice.
Full Video Dream Log Playlist
On July 5th Brendon was added on to the Spirit Science team to work together to help shift consciousness. Spirit Science is a popular animated spiritual web cartoon that began its popularity within this time frame. Having the ability to directly communicate within this network enabled the potential for more people to become inspired through the work that was being created and shared. In addition to inviting people to tune in to Paradigm Shift Radio, Brendon also focused in creating professional video content, working as a field reporter of consciousness on behalf of Spirit Science and Paradigm Shift Central.
On July 18th, his birthday, he released his first polished news piece of an event in Toronto that featured TJ Dawe giving a one man performance about his experience with the shaman brew - Ayahuasca.
As the Spirit Science and Paradigm Shift Central project evolved Brendon would eventually go his own separate way.
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Later on in August something really magical took place. August 31st was a Blue Moon - the second full moon within one calander month. Given the special occasion Brendon set out to create an interactive community project that invited people to share images and videos of themselves interacting with the moon. The Once in a Full Bloom Moon project was a success, and a wonderful video was created out of it featuring music by Beautiful Chorus.
Brendon also finished off the summer by creating an additional stand alone video that showcased some of the people within the Paradigm Shift London community and further inspiring others to create more where they were.
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The leaves were beginning to change colour, and there were only four months remaining until Dec 21st 2012. With a formidable community in place, it was time for Brendon and the Paradigm Shifty Gang to take the Shift to the streets!
2012 September to December
September 21st - International Peace Day. On this day Brendon and The Shifty Gang set out on their first official Shiftivism mission - to plant seeds of awakening within the minds of the citizens of London. The original plan had originated months earlier, but it was simply a matter of time until it would be implemented. The plan was simple - to hold large signs with consciousness provoking thoughts at the side of the road for those to read who were driving out of the city on a Friday afternoon between 5-6pm. It was an experiment, it was action - it was getting people's attention and promoting love.
Following the success of the mission the group continued to have its regular Friday meetings which were at an all time popularity. For several consecutive weeks the meetings averaged over 13 people.
Meanwhile, other Paradigm Shift Communities were continuing to emerge in other locations thanks to the ongoing popularity of the radio show.
As people were thinking, so too were they becoming.
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As the group continued to evolve and grow, there was plenty of awakening occurring beyond just the Paradigm Shift Community to be documented and shared as part of the bigger story. In October Brendon attended an animal rights rally at the Marineland Amusement Park in Ontario. As part of the bigger story Brendon documented the event gonzo-journalism style once again to help generate awareness, shift paradigms, and inspire change.
Shortly after this Brendon decided that his next project was goign to be big - another full length movie to continue the ongoing documentation of consciousness. Through synchronicity he was lead towards The Three Days of Light Gathering in Asheville North Carolina. (www.3dlgathering.com). This festival was to take place and November and was recognized as a milestone in the adventure for many. At the event thousands of people would gather to take part in connecting and embodying ideas of personal and spiritual evolution. At the event Brendon would connect with a variety of individuals who he had previously connected with through the internet. Before he even left for the event he was already documenting it.
By the end of it all the movie was a success and is available to watch online. The movie would be officially released around Dec 21, 2012.
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On November 11th Brendon gave a talk at the London Seekers meet-up group. The London Seekers are also behind the organization of The Inspirational Expo. On Sundays they have regular meetings and invte guest speakers. Brendon had previously given talks there, and this was his most recent giving an overview of the Paradigm Shift project and more.
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Around the same time Brendon also began attempting to live broadcast the Paradigm Shift London meetings using Google + Hangouts which was new at the time. Bellow are the feeds from those broadcast that demonstrate some of the conversation that takes place at them.
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In similar fashion and to help create more digital space for conversation - the team began having Paradigm Shift Radio After Party hangouts using Google +. Here is the first one recorded from Episode 26.
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Within the month of November things changed within the relationship of Spirit Science and Brendon, and Brendon was removed as a contributor for their network. But alas, since then many more alliances have been established to strengthen the reach of the inspire information and content behind Paradigm Shift Central.
By December Brendon at The Shifty Gang came together once again to partake in some Shiftivism on the very specific day of December 21st, which also happen to be a Friday - the same day the community meetings took place. As thoughts all over the world flourished, some people celebrating, others anticipating, The Shifty Gang took action to demonstrate love and shift paradigms. Rather than waiting for something to happen - they made something happen.
Of course the intention behind creating this video and the previous Shiftivism ones were to help inspire people to take action where they were - something that Paradigm Shift is still very much in support of today. For those looking to take action where they are - check out the www.QuestItemShop.com
On December 22nd the world still existed. Energy was still rising and it was clear that there was still much road ahead and plenty of time for further growth and exploration.
Everything was unfolding as it should...
The story of Paradigm Shift Central has continued to unfold since this moment. Continuing to evolve.
To be continued...