8 l The Destiny Via Trauma & Weed Episode

Grab your tea, light that sage (or palo santo if you're feeling fancy), and buckle up—because this episode is a cosmic ride!

This week, I’m joined by the radiant and revolutionary Ryan Bacchas, a man whose journey reads like a spiritual superhero origin story. Once navigating life without a roof over his head as a teen, Ryan became a government lobbyist by nineteen—yes, NINETEEN—playing a key role in legalizing medical marijuana in California (you’re welcome). Today, he runs The New Atlantis, a holistic healing hub that's less lost city and more conscious community HQ.

We dive into everything from embracing trauma as a love-powered launchpad, to Ryan’s bold belief that this is humanity’s year to level up and glow up—together. If you’ve been wondering how to turn your pain into purpose while giggling through the healing process, this episode is your vibe.

Come for the spiritual insights, stay for the joy, and maybe leave with a few more tools to help light the world on fire—with love, of course. 

Win most, lose some

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 Website : https://www.gabriellarebranded.com/

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Ryan's LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-bacchas-72961232b

A State of Trance , podcast & radio show : https://www.astateoftrance.com/

The Art of War: https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/1599869772

Nadége's Pleasure Science : https://pleasurescience.com/

Chapters

• 1:11 Introducing Ryan
• 4:31 The New Atlantis
• 11:19 Medical Marijuana
• 18:38 Unethical Business & Access
• 30:23 Gratitude from Trauma
• 41:14 Purpose & Wisdom
• 49:23 Ryan's Recs

Transcript

They had to pull glass out of my head at the ER. And literally, he said, "You were within an inch of death." And mind you, when it happened, you know, the first thing I was thinking about, because I was taking out my headphones, out of one of my headphones on my ear and putting it into my case, and the first thing I thought about as that was happening is, "No, my headphones." You know, like, just me being me.

(upbeat music) Almost dying taught me how to live. Being struck by a car left me in a three and a half week coma with 15 broken bones and 16 surgeries to complete, including brain surgery. However, I woke up from that coma in an even greater place than I ever were soft for myself. How? The universe will guide you out of the darkness and into the light if you allow it. Often, spirituality comes off as too high -brow. I'm not about that. Welcome to the podcast that talks and teaches about it through the lens of humor. Together, we'll harness positive energy and use it to work with the universe, all while giggling the entire time. Welcome to Gabriella Rebranded. Win most, lose some. 

Well, today I am talking with Ryan Bacchus, founder and creator of the New Atlantis, a holistic medicine company with its tenants really based in a lot of the spiritual stuff, I believe in, about leaving the world better than we found it and bleeding positivity into the world. But in addition to that, you've had a crazy lengthy political career. You've been in politics since you were - 19, that's insane. - Hence all the lines in my face. - And you were so important to Governor Gavin Newsom, especially during the pandemic and California's COVID response. You allocated

$50 million in stimulus checks, am I right? - It was 50 million in business grants for small businesses, but the California Golden State Stimulus that was my idea that was that was your idea that was see like that's insane like so smart again starting at 19 and This year the marquee who's who named you an emerging leader, which is very excited well now I guess last year 2024 And that's very exciting And then I told you I was gonna say this you did my favorite thing you got cannabis to be essential during COVID. Yes. So let's tell the story of when we met. >> Yes, please. >> Yes, because I always do my spiritual moment of the week on this podcast, but I decided for your episode, the moment I wanted to tell is how we met because that was a spiritual moment. So I went to a podcast launch for our friend, Nadège. Nadège’s brand is Pleasure Science, and she has a podcast now that goes with Pleasure Science. It is incredible, absolutely check it out. It's about everything sex related. It is, I've learned so much from Nadège about like literally just how to flirt. Like truly, truly incredible. But I was going to her podcast launch because I'm brand new to this and Nadège has been very helpful and very instrumental in telling me like stuff I needed to make sure I was doing while I'm starting my podcast and I met you just as another guest and almost on a whim but like I told you you just magically appeared out in there I was like who is this just at this like little launch party and I think we've got each other's Instagram and I don't know if I gave you my personal or my podcast Instagram, I don't even know if I'd announced my podcast yet when we announced. - You hadn't, it was your personal and I found out about your podcast through you posting in your stories. And I was like, wow, this is amazing. Then went obviously, you know, to follow your podcast page and that's when I saw your story. - Yeah, yeah. And so I think because we've been talking a lot and we we really believe a lot of the same things spiritually and then we both have backgrounds in trauma and we both believe that that you say the best way using trauma as fuel yes yes that and it's sort of brought us to the place we are now and 

I'm so curious to hear more about that as to how, what piece of that led to you forming the New Atlantis? You know, it goes a great deal into, you know, my political background, the years I spent in, you know, political lobbying, not just here in California, but federally as well. And just, you know, the reasons why I started, as far as trauma that started this whole venture overall, you know, being homeless on a park bench with your mother is a great inspiration and feel. It makes you think, wow, you know, of course, never want to be here in this situation again, let alone while you're in college. But what I could take from this to help other people, no matter what they're going through in their life to see that there is light on the other end of the tunnel, one, but that where you are doesn't have to be where you stay and you can use that as feel or you can use that as a crutch to be always me to be stuck in that victim mentality or look for your inner guidance to drive you to what your future can be, not just where your past is or where your present is. So funny enough with the New Atlantis, I was already looking at starting my own venture in health and wellness. And it came after really, I guess you could say, just some disgruntlement being completely transparent. I was pretty pissed with the direction the cannabis industry was going. I use quotations because of the fact that a lot of people know in the cannabis world, my mentor Craig Barish is the one who wrote Prop 215 with Bill Panzer. His best friend was Dennis Perrone. He stood on the front lines with Jack Herrera, Rick Finn, Debbie Darp, Donna Lambert, all of the OGs of the movement. And that's how we have an industry is because of the fact that it took a movement of people to drive away, not just the stigma, but drive home the mindset of this is what this is truly about, making the world a better place and helping people who need access to this as a medicine, the whole patients over profits movement. And just seeing how people have gone to everything that cannabis is not about the greed, the corporatism, a lot of those factors is what led to me eventually not just as a political lobbyist leaving the movement, but in a lot of ways politics in general, because as I tell people, Cannabis was my claim to fame, especially managing the biggest petition firm in the country to legalize as well as save their whole season. I mean, it was the biggest season for the state as far as petition ballots that were going to voters for us to vote on in 2016. So Cannabis has always been my passion because I looked at it at 20 years old when Craig took me under his wing knowing what this is going to do for people and what this is going to do for the world. And to see that being the complete opposite and people turning it into basically everything that we've seen with the tobacco industry, the alcohol industry, it just turned me off in a lot of ways. And then politics being hyper polarized and people not being able to see why they are in a position of power to help people and it became so ego driven. I said, this is enough for me. It was draining, not just soul sucking wise, but mentally, and I needed a fresh start. So you know, the new Atlanta's originally, I wanted to start a health and wellness company. And you know, some of my colleagues, because I had assisted Germany with some of their legalization, giving them the framework, a thousand pages of case studies, analysis is everything that went into my work here in the States. And everybody was like, well, why not build a cannabis company? Which that is still part of our disciplines. But again, it goes back to cannabis as a health and wellness. I won't say business or anything of that nature because it shouldn't be looked at just as a business, but is medicine from the earth. So where I came to with the

New Atlantis is I had a dream back in college when I was 18 about basically I was surrounded by water. I was looking out at the distance at the ocean, the sun glimmering off of it, and I caught one of my college an older gentleman friend at the time as well. He and I had a class together. I asked him, "What do you think that was about?" Telling him the dream and everything. He said, "I think you were having a dream about Atlantis. And I had several other dreams about it." And looking back on that experience, at that time I was 28 building the company. So looking back at that experience, I'm like 10 years later, this is starting to make sense. So the reason why the new Atlantis specifically, that name, not just the dream, the fall of Atlantis happened because of super acceleration in technology, where things in society, particularly being in a patriarchal society, began to be more left -minded oriented. People started to be out of touch with their emotional side. People started to be out of touch with their spiritual side. And the Earth came to such a low vibration that the islands sunk. In today's age, we're seeing that obviously with the rise of AI and a lot of other things that, you know, hey, it's great to fly rocket ships to Mars and all these other things, but there are so many problems we could be diverting that not just financial capital, but that mental capital into solving problems here on earth, that these are great innovations. Don't get me wrong, but we're missing something here, which is we're repeating mistakes of the past, but in that same coin, you see the consciousness shift of people understanding what they're putting You know, the backlash against Kellogg's and all these other companies who have been feeding people poison for years now, for decades really. And you're starting to see a consciousness shift where instead of the vibration lowering is starting to heighten and people's consciousness is starting to heighten at that same coin. So instead of sinking, we're actually going almost into a reversal of where the Atlantis is rising again. Okay, and that's why it's the new Atlantis because Atlantis is coming back. Yes. I like that. 

I have so much to say because that was wow. I got so much from that. One of the things just to respond that I wanted to say is that cannabis as it pertains to medicinal use, I wouldn't have known if it wasn't, or not that I wouldn't have known. Obviously I knew it was important for health, but I personally wouldn't have resonated with that if my accident hadn't happened. - I was someone who, I mean, I wasn't no Virgin Mary. Like I went to USC, I smoked weed, I hit bongs, but it wasn't something I ever sought out. I never purchased it. it wasn't something I was ever interested in buying. And then like my first year post grad, so in 2021, before up until I got hurt, so January 2021 to when I got hurt in October, I started taking edibles more just because I lived with people who did, so I started taking them more, but like not consistently, just like frequent more often, I suppose, And then my accident happened. And now I need to smoke at the end of the day. I need to, my dad's gonna be so mad, he's gonna hear this. No, but I need, like it is the only thing that shuts my brain off. And what I would always take edibles, that was the route I used to go. But then I found out but that actually makes your sleep worse. - Yes. - Because it stays in your system and it takes longer for the body to process because it's like eight hours or whatever for the body to process and your brain never falls into the deep state of sleep. - But if you smoke, that's out of your system in an hour. So if you fall asleep after an hour, you will eventually go into the deeper state of sleep. So Now it is truly what I need to go to sleep and also a lot of times when I'm on my mental spirals, because you know, I am prone to the those, it is the only thing that stops them. I never use it as a way out. I've like, I am purely dictated to like figuring out how to get through it sober. But after I've gotten through the mental spiral and like I smoke I'm like ‘oh there was no reason to freak out. Everything was fine the entire time.’ So because of that I very much understand how crucial it is to the health system and because of that just so because not everybody who's listening to this is from California. 

Can you just clarify what Prop 215 is exactly? So Prop 215 was the original medical at that time medical marijuana medical marijuana, of course the slang acronym for it, but yeah, it was the original medical measure that kickstarted everything. As the great saying here in California is, as California goes, the nation goes and so the world goes. So if it hadn't happened, we wouldn't have had even the progress we've had over you know, 20, almost 30 years now. So one of the major things is, you know, that was where you started to see, of course, more people's acceptance, slow acceptance of it. You know, people were coming here to California to be able to use cannabis, whether it was, you know, course medically or, you know, recreationally, just to understand it. And, you know, One of the main things that is unfortunate with Prop 64 is it blanketed Prop 215 because Prop 215 was specifically a constitutional amendment, which means it's written in our state constitution. You cannot take that away from people. So with that being said, like I was telling you a little bit about earlier before airing, The problem is the acceptance that was built was taken away a little bit because recreation, that's why they say adult use or responsible use because it's being treated more so as alcohol, as tobacco. It's not being treated as that medical product that you're giving access and wide access to people without not just the access part, but also the penalty part. Because nobody should be penalized for medicine. I mean, when you go and buy a Moxacillin, you aren't paying taxes on your medicine. Yeah. And that's one of the biggest problems that a lot of people don't realize is all use of cannabis, even if people are overdoing it, is still medical. Because just like you said, you need it for your sleep. I mean, that's, you know, I've always said it. I'd rather somebody reach for that, you know, instead of something in their medicine cabinet, which is a pharmaceutical and going to hurt your liver, hurt your other organs or bodily functions, and just as made of synthetic compounds, that isn't the way. And if nature made it, you know, why not take it? - Exactly. - Obviously I'm not advocating, we use poison ivy as a skincare treatment, but that really is, you know the case and a lot of people have gone away from this understanding of how much of a benefit it is for us to have wide access to it but of course as you know we're in a capitalistic society so there has to be unfortunately equipped for the quo and that's where we are right now and you know Prop 215 without um you know without all those original you know movement shakers and makers who, you know, going back to, like I said, my mentor, Craig Barish, the Dennis Perones, the Jack Herrera's, the Bill Panzers, all of those gentlemen and the gentle women who they put their lives on the line for this. We wouldn't have had the progress that we've had in 30 years, even 40, 50 years of the movement starting. 

So it goes back to the Why? What is the reason that people see what its importance is? It's not just, "Hey, we know it's important. Now all of a sudden, medical studies and scientific studies are coming out." There have to be people to lay down the foundation for, "Hey, you guys are abstinent to even doing this. Let us show you and push open this door to force you to looking at this, because there was always going to be that stigma otherwise. There was always going to be, you know, like how we're seeing right now, a lot of people are looking at what is

going to happen with doctors and medical journals colluding to working with pharmaceutical companies to cover up some of these pharmaceutical drugs that really are harmful for us. And I mean, cannabis is still zero on the scorecard as far as killing anybody. - Yeah. No, I always say, I always, when I, it's like, oh, I smoke weed every day. I'm always like, well, you know what? It could be meth, it could be meth, so we'll take it. 

But no, I just, how I use it for my sleep, like sleeping pills are incredibly addictive. Like Xanax would be way worse to be abusing than cannabis and just going back to the whole pharmaceutical companies and how doctors and you know the collusion and all that stuff. The business side of the medical industry really grosses me out. My father is a doctor, my brother is a resident at Wake Forest University Hospital. So like the medicinal side like I am obviously a champion, I'm obviously supportive. Look how amazing I look if you saw what I looked like and what was done to me like the medicinal side yes but the business side of the health care system insurance company I mean Luigi Mangione like it's just it is so corrupt what it is what it has become not what it is becoming what it has become and it's only going to become more corrupt And the new Atlantis holistic medicine is in a sense, a rivaling that. - Yes, we, you know, one of the foundations for it is, you know, we've officially entered the healthcare space through a partnership with the brand, also a good friend of mine, Soul Brother as well. It's a copper embedded anti -microbial scrub. 

And now, And now a lot of people are starting to realize, of course, the microplastics from even the clothes we wear. And especially in the healthcare space with COVID, a lot of the illnesses that were coming along because people had a compromised immune system from COVID were healthcare related illnesses. They were things that because you're taking care of somebody with sepsis, you bring that bacteria on your figs or on whatever you're wearing and you're taking it to the next patient. So the thing is for us in all facets, whether it's general wellness, whether it's gut health, whether it's superfoods, healthcare, beauty, because that's a big thing as well. A lot of people are starting to learn about some of the synthetic chemicals that are in You know, the reason why they feel so good is because they're playing Silicon in it. - I know. - All these factors and like I tell the team all the time, you know, there has to be an ethos behind everybody who we work with, you know, we've had a lot of companies come to us and mind you, we just rebranded back at the beginning of October. So everything everybody has been seeing for these past three months is very much not new for us, but it's new as far as what we're doing because we saw the need of people needing, again, going back to that word, access to something better. You're always going to have the poison stuff out there, but if you have at least a choice to go and make that decision, that determination for yourself to say, "I want to get away from the fake stuff and get to the good stuff," it's going to be there. And especially at an affordable price, because I think that's really a big problem that a lot of people are seeing. I used to co -own a health and wellness store when I was 22 back in San Bernardino, and within recent years, organic and raw, whatever you want to call it, food and health supplements, all these different items have become popular and people are really taking advantage of that and price gouging, but also doing things that are not necessarily kosher for the consumer. And for me, like I've always told people, you know, our mission should always be to take care of each other. If you wouldn't take it, then why are you going to give it to somebody else? You know, Steve Jobs didn't let his kids have iPads. Clearly for a reason, you know, the CEO of McDonald's doesn't let his kid eat McDonald's. You know, there's a reason for all of these facets. And when we start to peel back the layers of the onion, you know, the layers of the onion, not Shrek, we get to the truth. And you know, the truth, it does hurt, but I rather live in the truth than live in a lie. And I rather for other people to live in the truth as well, because that sets us free. It really does. Yeah. Yeah. 

I mean, truth is a lot. It's the only way to move forward a lot of times. And I remember in college finding out the stuff that I had put in my hair for years had carcinogens in them and now I check everything that I put on my skin on the Yuka and also on the EWG website. I like cross -examine to like find out what I'm buying and then also I recently found out like in December I was like a friend told me this and I was like how shocked to learn this. And this has to do with access. That women's feminine care products, everything that is sold in stores like pads, tampons, has lead, has carcinogens, has things that disrupt your endocrine system. And the only way to buy these, like, you know, 'cause there are organic ones that, tools that exist that you can use more safely to keep that punani safe. But they're one, more expensive. Two, you have to order them online so you don't have access to them. I would know. I ordered a box at the end of December and it still hasn't come. And it's the January 7th today? - Yes. - Yeah. And it still hasn't come. So it's not an immediate access. And it's, we live in a society, capitalism gate keeps health and makes it something only the elite have access to? >> You know, it's unfortunate, absolutely, 

I'm going to take a long guess here and say that you got them on Amazon because I have stuff that I got off of Amazon. It still hasn't come in now three weeks. >> I actually, these I did not, I order directly from the store because I also am Amazon. I'm trying to order from Amazon less. It's hard because they make it convenient, but I know big business isn't good. Well, you know, it's the nature of the beast. And that's where, you know, I think a lot of people they're they're starting to come into their power and realizing, you know, not just purchase power, but it's always I go to the power consciousness. You know, the more we put our thoughts into certain things, the more we give that power to them naturally. And with brands, I mean, that's just, it's, you know, as a, as a businessman, I will say this, you know, I've noticed over the years that the biggest brands are the ones who were able to convince people more of something that they are. And that's where people are starting to realize it's great to be that person that, hey, I'm right there with you. I, when I go to buy anything at the supermarket, I'm there standing, even if it's for 10 minutes going through every option I have and looking at the ingredients. Yes. And I don't care if I look crazy, I would look crazier putting poison to my body and not caring. Yeah. And same for you. 

And you know, that's one of the things for, you know, I was raised by a single mother. So you know, it's always been, you know, at the heart and the you know, a lot of things I do, but especially a lot of things for what we're doing to make sure that women's health is at the forefront because, you know, even when my mom would educate me on how women's products are naturally more expensive than men's products, I was flabbergasted because I'm like, um, how? You know, it just, you know, I had to, the simplest way, but, you know, how? Like that makes no sense to me. Because at the end of the day, women, you guys have superpowers that men will never have. We can't give life. We don't have the level of intuition that you have. So for me, things like even that, as far as feminine care, there is no way that there should be lead or poison, any type of chemical in any product, let alone products for you guys, because that's just, that's not cool. I mean, at the end of the day, I mean, just I guess to sound so informal. - No, but it's just like, that's fucked up. - It is, it really is. 

- It's just like, it's just like, it's like, well, I need this to go about my life, but you're making me need something that is going to harm me and not every access it's I can go because I am coming from a place of privilege like you know I'm a white girl I'm in Los Angeles I can go online and I have the power and the access and the resources to order myself products that are more safe for me but other people most women do not, they don't even know, they aren't even aware. And then even if you are aware, it's not readily available to pick up safe products at your local pharmacy. You have to plan in advance, get it on the internet, it's just, it's a whole. 

>> Yeah, I completely understand that, and you're absolutely right, because I think that's something people are starting to understand. I remember in college, you know, reading the secret in class, and we watched the video, and then we were mandated to read the book, mandated. Sorry, that's one of those political words. But, you know, I thought about it. I'm like, you know, to tell somebody their suffering is gray and all, but tell that to a kid in Darfur that doesn't have clean water, you know, like that that's a little insensitive and just, you know, not necessarily accurate. And the access to education, you know, that's lacking worldwide. So you talk about, you know, definitely when you do have the resources to the education and the information, that's the first step. But then the access to actually being able to obtain those type of products, that's very scarce in 78 % 8 % of the world. So, to your point, absolutely. I think that's where we have an obligation in, as they say, the first world countries to be able to say we have so much overflow of abundance and we don't give back to the rest of the world and we don't take care of people who, they don't have the knowledge, they don't have the privilege to using your word. They don't have all of these things that we have in the states, regardless of what caste system you come from in the states, they don't even have the means to go

about getting again, to a pharmacy because in most of the world, they don't have pharmacies. So even then you go to the internet, well, shoot, most places in the world still don't have access to internet unless it's on their and they still have to, you know, go somewhere to a modernized town to access Wi -Fi or access a computer, whatever the case may be. So yeah, absolutely. I think there's, right now, it's almost like we're at the precipice of there's the biggest disconnect, but there's the biggest bridge to connect as well. And because we are so interconnected now, because of the internet that we have the ability to use it more so as the tool that it was meant to be used as unfortunately obviously you know people are always gonna look up silly prank videos that's you know they're prerogative and that's fine everybody needs a good laugh like you said laughter is the best medicine laughter is the best medicine it is it's gotten me as far as I am yeah it's a balance and I say I I think because as you'll get to know me, 

I always tell people, I'm not gonna speak on what I don't know, I'm gonna speak on what I do know, but being an observer, I think it's one of those things where it's hard to dictate what type of decisions people make in their life because of the fact you don't know what everybody's going through, right? And speaking to the trauma, I mean, your trauma was, I mean, Like I said, it was one of the most painstaking stories I ever heard, but it was also one of the greatest inspirations I ever heard because despite anything that I've gone through in my life, I can always say, "Well, shoot. If you can do it, then I can do it. Anybody can do it. Everybody can look past their circumstance of where they're at and not let that determine where they can be in life." - Right, appreciate you saying that so much. But also I think it goes both ways because I look at you and I think you were homeless. You still found a way to get through school and you were a lobbyist by 19 and a business owner by 22. All while being homeless, like that is, I could never fathom being, you told me the story of Christmas Day on a park bench with her mother homeless at 19 and I like that is a pain I could never ever fathom. So I think all trauma survivors we are somehow united because even though our trauma is very different we know the same like it's not a coincidence that we both have the same sort of spiritual tenants and and similar spiritual beliefs and want to bring the same things to the world. - Right. 

- Yeah. Talk a little bit about that. Just talk a little bit about your experience with homelessness and putting yourself through school because that is just a very interesting piece of trauma and you're talking about access to education. You know that, yeah, that's a big one. - Yeah, funny enough as far as education is concerned. So how that even happened, my mom, she used to be a school teacher for LAUSD and she got injured on her job working with special needs children. So, you know, because we live in capitalistic society, battling the insurance companies since I was eight years old, you know, that led to a lot of that happening. and also having not so much of a great family. No, knock at them, but yeah, knock at them. It's one of those things of where, again, like I said, it was since I was eight that this was happening. She had multiple surgeries, cervical spine injury, arthritis and carpal tunnel and both her wrists, lower back injuries, just the whole nine. And we were homeless for Christmas. We were able to on and off get, you know, a hotel room, whatever it was. Eventually, fortunately, she was able to get housing. But, you know, at that time, there was no housing apparatus for young teens, which I actually found out later that year that I believe it was 46 % of teenagers in America were homeless, especially kids in college. So it was one of those things where again, I go back to even at this state in my life, no matter how bad it could be for you, you still have to, you know, of course, not blanket your own suffering, blanket your own pain and not recognize it, but you have to be able to realize, you know, there are other people going through that circumstance and how fortunate are you to have the awareness, the ability to have will and drive your purpose into your being and be able to come out of those situations. So you know, I was basically towards the end of that semester, sleeping behind a park bench. I would get up Probably every morning, four o 'clock, take the first bus up to campus, shower, go to class, everything. And fortunately that summer, had one of my best friends from high school who I was staying with him at his place in Venice. And of course I was hustling weed at the same time. Hey, it's legal now, so I'm not incriminating myself anymore. - You were homeless, I mean, what were you supposed to do? - Exactly, and it's not like I was trying to be the world's biggest drug lord or something. - But you're trying to eat, yeah. - Trying to eat, trying to get to the next part of my destination. And it was just one of those things where throughout that whole situation, as I will tell everybody of God, the Universe, big part of why I'm out, because I that when you get me out of this situation, I will use it as a testament to being, not only who I need to be in life and serving the mission I have here on earth but being an inspiration for other people, clearly funny sense of humor they have. But yeah, that was really in short, the learning experience is when I look back now, is if I didn't just take it step by step, if I have been in that victim mentality, which it's easy to fall into. And unfortunately, because of what we see, especially in the world and even here in the States, the haves and the have nots, that whitening more so these days especially, it's easy to fall prey into. And for me, I look at, again, I am blessed, I'm privileged to have a mindset that just said, "I am not going to let this be where it ends." 

And I've had some experience, even actually, funny enough. Two years ago, five days, sorry, three days before my birthday was on October 5th in 2022, where I almost died, sorry, 2023. And And, you know, nothing, nothing near the degree of what you went through, but I had a glass bottle coincidentally of New Amsterdam, cracked over my head, and you could probably still see the scar, but, you know, it was from here to the middle of my forehead. They had to pull glass out of my head at the ER, and Literally, he said, "You were within an inch of death,” and mind you, I never, like I tell anybody, take things lightly. But when it happened, the first thing I was thinking about, because I was taking out my headphones out of one of my headphones on my ear and putting it into my case. And the first thing I thought about as that was happening is, "No, my headphones.” Just me being me. Of course, more worried about my headphones and my music than what just happened. But you know, everybody asked, you know, you didn't pass out or anything. You didn't faint. It's like, no, I mean, you know, upstairs got me. You know, clearly it just wasn't my time and clearly that was another part of the testimony is, first of all, one is going to take a lot more than that to take me out of this world. But, - You know, hey, I mean, sometimes we forsake life. We really do. And it takes experiences like that to not be so existential in our everyday life and to see purpose and meaning in every second. You know, I have, I always have journaled, but especially, you know, more so in these recent years because of the fact that, hey, whether "Hey, whether it's three crows outside your doorstep or the squirrel that comes and gets nuts from you, like literally, I have a squirrel that he always, every time he sees me, he runs up to my door. - Oh my God. - You got something for me? - That's so funny. - And just those moments, I mean, how beautiful is it to wake up every day, not just be alive, but to have opportunity each day? That's something I think a lot of us, we take for granted, especially here where we have so much opportunity, we have so much abundance that, for us, if we're hungry, we can go grab a snack. We could go to the restaurant. We could meet our friends. We could go grab coffee. 87 % of the world can't do that. - Can't do that, yeah. 

You said you think that it's funny that people who find you inspiring. I think it's hilarious that people find me inspiring and you're one of those people. I'm like, what me? >> Don't find

it so hilarious. I mean, I'm serious. Even when I think about it when we talk and I'm just like, not to sound soft because I don't want anybody again to twist it. But no, I really, I cry because I'm like, man, here I am. There are moments where I get frustrated with even little things because I'm a Libra, so it does take a lot for it to add up. - You’re a Libra, I'm an Aries, we're perfect opposites. - Exactly, so wind and fire. And it's funny because it takes oxygen for fire to ignite. - That's why they help each other grow. 

- Hence why we met, and hence why, like I said, it was destiny that you just popped out thin air like the fairy that you are and you know it's just one of those things where Gabriella, stories like yours, it makes people especially like I said people like me you know really think and reflect and step back and say some of the things that we get mad about or get frustrated and you know complain about in life really are trivial. Yeah, most things are. I said my mantra for this year is it's not that deep. That's my mantra for this year. It's not that deep. Because so many things, it's not that deep. And just like the things that like you, you are, we are almost inclined to get upset about or just like, especially being in your 20s, you know, there's so much stupid bullshit amongst friends and stuff when you're in your 20s and like the things that we’re like inclined to get upset It's not that deep It's like it's really not a big deal I hope you trademark that and put it  on a t -shirt because I'm gonna anytime somebody pisses me off. I'm a point at the shirt

To To that point, Gabrielle, you, again, you need to give yourself a lot of praise and not out of ego, but be proud of yourself because, you know, I just turned 33 months ago and I could still be goofy, but you, for still being in your 20s, you are way more mature than most of our generation. And that's a gift And that, I mean, you should be very, I mean, your parents, anybody around you should be looking at you as a gift because there are so many people who are our ages, who they're, first of all, very lost, unfortunately. And, you know, that's why some things in the world have gone the way they've gone. But, you know, they're still looking for their purpose. And that's why I think a lot of people, you know, especially as far as mental health issues. I used to sit on a board for a mental health organization seven years ago. And at that time, 78 % of the population was undiagnosed for some sort of mental illness. So now obviously post COVID, everything that's happened these past four years, clearly you could tell who's walking around, even if they're undiagnosed with some sort sort of issue. But especially our generation, because everybody thought we were going to be the ones and we are to change the world. And it's just unfortunate because especially in this matrix, so to speak, you have to make a living. You have to be able to sustain yourself. All of those things that come with being an adult, of course, But there are so many people who are still waking up. They have, whether it's drug abuse problems, alcohol abuse problems, mental health issues, that they wake up and they question their existence. And I've met some of those people, I've heard from some of those people, and I think it's unfortunate, but this is where we're coming to a point in the world where people are so frustrated because they are starting to find out what their their purposes, and it's not this existence, the way they've painted it for us. 

- Yeah, I say my accident made me, and I talk about this in the debut episode, premiere episode, whatever you call it. - Which I cannot wait to see. - The first episode, next week. But I say that I didn't have a purpose before my accident. And my accident had to happen because the universe had to wake me up like ma 'am I've been trying to tell you your purpose you haven't been fucking listening you've been running around doing your own willy-nilly bullshit and like you're not paying attention so I've got to whack you into paying attention did a little forcefully but whatever and it took a very long time but I, and you know, it's interesting because it goes back to the whole victim mentality. I never wanted to be a victim, and I talk about this a lot in my book. I resisted being a victim for so long that it just made me more of a victim, because the reality of the situation is, sometimes we're all victims in terms of circumstances, and that's okay. The way you get over it and the way you don't stay a victim the way you move through it is you admit that you're a victim Like I got hit by a car I was a victim and the way to get over it or to get through out of that victim standpoint was to admit and Own that I was a victim, but by continuing to fight and push it away I just made myself More victim because I wasn't addressing the things I needed to address to care for myself. And then I was living in a victim mentality. And it was only when I found spirituality and my mindset shifted that I was like, I don't want to be a victim anymore. So I'm just not going to be. 

And that was kind of, you know, that led me to my purpose, which is the reason that I have this podcast because the one thing that trauma gives you is the expensive amount of wisdom that people who don't, haven't lived through trauma, who haven't, who unfortunately haven't lived through trauma, and a lot of people who don't know why they're here or what this purpose is or what their purpose is, trauma can give you that and we have that and they don't. So hopefully via this I'm letting some of those people really wake up to their purpose and they can you know skip the whole coma part. 

Well I'll tell you what without hope we have nothing but I can attest to I know it will and I'll tell you right now you you always had a purpose and just like Same with me. I know it was one of those things where, you know, versus like, "Hey, man, you're like, snap five." Like, you're not gonna be a regular kid or regular adult. I need you to wake up, you know? And you always had that purpose. It just took that for you to not only step into it, but for you to be able to, For you to be able to put it in perspective. Yeah, and you know, even though I always will say Regarding everything you went through It's shitty and I would never wish that on you know, anybody even my enemies Oh, I would never wish what I went through. I wouldn't wish it on my least favorite I have an arch nemesis and I would then not wish it on that As any superhero character, character. Of course you have arch nemesis. I believe that. I absolutely have an arch nemesis, but I would not wish this on them. Yeah. Well, they don't deserve it. They don't get to know. They don't deserve to know all that I know. 

And going back to that part about being a victim, absolutely, I think everybody needs to be able to not be in a state of denial where they're like, yeah, you know, what happened to me was terrible, but big deal. It's like, no, it is kind of a big deal. You need to be able to acknowledge that and be able to basically almost reconcile with it. Because if we don't reconcile with things, it does slowly start to eat us up. And going back to the part of stepping out of that and not allowing it to be your crutch, not allowing it to be your personality, it's twofold. It's like, yeah, reconcile with it, but use it to move on, become who you're going to be, and use it to empower your purpose, empower your mission, but also empower everything that you already were, but use it to give other people light. Because that's really, I think everybody, there's something we can learn from each other, obviously, but there's something that a lot of people, they can learn more so from others like you because of the fact that, hey, I mean, people go through shit all the time and, you know, they still don't get the lesson. They still don't obtain this exoteric wisdom that is really, I mean, just, it's available to all of us as far as knowledge is concerned. But wisdom comes from decades of experience and to have it in your 20s. I mean, you, you skip grades of spiritual school and life lessons that most people in their 60s and their 70s will never be able to get to. And so for that, again, all round of applause to you because really, I mean, that is something I've seen the stories of people who, you know, things have happened to them in life and and they never, they've never recovered. - Recover, yeah, I've seen that too. And I don't wanna be that. And for that reason, I'm grateful for my experience because I don't wanna be that, yeah. 

The last thing that we'll talk about is, I said for all my, I have my recommendation in

every single episode, that's Voice for Spiritual Growth. And on the episodes I've guessed, I want the guests give me their recommendation. You gave me four. (laughs) So, it four. I actually, you know, I thought originally it was supposed to be four, but I didn't realize until afterwards I'm like, I think she meant pick one of these four. Pick one. I was just, I was giving examples. I was like, it could be a stand -up show. It could be a movie. You're like, this guy just said, I'm going to give you everything. Here you go. But no, but say, Say the one that you think is the most important. So what is your recommendation that supports spiritual growth of content and why? Shoot all of them were great, but they were I've got it. I've got it. You can pick two look so I'm gonna tell the first one Being that is a book Everybody needs to be reading more not just on their freaking phone. Mm -hmm, especially not the newspaper. That shit is Um, the art of war and the reason why I say that book is because of the fact that it teaches us a lot about life. And I think, you know, give you the backstory of why that book, my sensei, who, you know, he's still there in technically the Marina side of town, but Culver City. He was Originally in this Rayleigh military, he left for various reasons as I'm sure you can imagine why. And he took me on basically as his apprentice when I was 11 years old. He didn't give me my black belt at 17 because he said I was too arrogant, which I'm glad he did because I still did need a lot of growing up in life. Because I wasn't getting the primary and that he had given to me at that young age, which is you can be a white belt with the skills of a black belt, and you could be a black belt with the mindset of a white belt. And when you get to a point in life where you could diffuse a fight before it even happens, I didn't understand what he was saying at this point, that's when you've reached what a black belt is really. And what he was talking about is the ability to use your mind and the art of de -escalation. If it comes down to it and it's between you and somebody else, and you going home, you're going home. Hey, you got to win the fight at all means necessary. But if there is a means to talk through the situation to use diplomacy in all senses of the word, to avoid That that's a life skill most of us never get to we're so easy to fly off at the mouth Be aggressive be hateful be full of rage and one of my sayings is you know Be at peace even in the midst of war love even your enemy so full of hate And when we get to that mentality we we understand what peace within ourselves really is 

the second one is A State of Trans. It's a radio show by Armin Van Buren. I credit him because a lot of his music, I mean, most of his music got me out of depression. I actually believe or not did have not necessarily thoughts of it, but at a young age, I think this comes with being empaths. We all go through those moments of thinking what is my life about why do I even exist you know not necessarily suicide but what's the point why am I here yeah you know and the reason why particularly that radio show especially when I went to the Netherlands for the first time last year to see his a thousand celebration it was life changing in so many ways and it was what I needed especially after all those years of soul sucking or my soul being sucked in politics. But at the end of every year, he does a year mix. And I would love for you to, you know, for you to listen to it, for your listeners to listen to it, because it goes into everything that the New Atlantis is doing, of course, but everything that we as a humanity and as a people are at in this point in life on this earth. And the message he had was basically the interconnectedness we have as people. And we, we don't really understand it until we realize, wow, hey, you know, this person has this in common, I can learn this from them, they can learn this from me. And, you know, just all those different things. And, you know, we, We look at things, especially in this country, so transactionally, unfortunately, and we don't understand, hey, yes, again, going back to like I said, making a living, being able to sustain all those factors that go into us in this quote -on -quote matrix. I just use that terminology because I think really of us in the society, that's really what it is. And we forget that we have feelings. We have to be empathetic to other people. We have to look at each other as souls, not just as materials. And the point that we are in as a world,we're  actually getting to that point. In our New Year's post on Instagram, this is what I told people, this is everybody's year to a large degree, but this really is the year for humanity. The shift in consciousness, the shift in mentality that people are having, people wanting to understand not just themselves more, but understand what is their purpose on Earth. And I think everybody is starting to realize our purpose on Earth is to take care of each other, and to uplift each other. I mean, without each other, what else do we have on this planet? 

Yeah. So. Well, 2025 is the year for us because for Aries and Libra, it is the end of a 16 -year karmic cycle. Yeah, I did not know that. It is. It is. For Aries and Libra, this year is the end of a 16 -year karmic cycle. No, but that was beautiful and I think it's really interesting that you say this is the year of humanity fighting empathy because I think with what happened this past November, I  think we were woken up to how much of a divide there is in empathy throughout this country and how much of a miscommunication and misunderstanding there is amongst humanity. And I hope that this year is the year of what spirituality is, is realizing how interconnected we all are. And I hope that this year is the year that we do that. And I appreciate how confident you are, and it elevates my confidence. Well, it's going to take all of us, it always will take a village, and hey, together we can do anything. Damn straight. Anyway, thank you so much. And this has been Gabriella rebranded, "Win most, lose some." Thank you so much for coming on today, Ryan. - Thank you for having me. - This is amazing. I'm so glad we met. - Yes. Shout out to Nadège. - Shout out to Nadège.