TOTEM: ( tō-təm ) For centuries, our ancestors sat around fires in sacred circles. They used a talking piece, a Totem, to grant each person a time to speak. Using this simple, ancient technology they built complex societies based on peace, healing, and understanding.

We are creating a non-profit app, called Totem, to bring circle to the world. Additionally, we are creating a game to bring circle home for friends and family.

The Problem: 

The pandemic isolated humanity like never before. Social media is now dividing us even more. The emotional well-being of the human race has hit an all-time low. Depression, stress, and loneliness have reached epidemic levels worldwide. The places we used to go to find connection are now overrun with ads and toxic algorithms designed to upset and divide us. There has to be a better way.

The Solution:

After enduring many challenges in these recent years, we felt a deep calling to create a new platform that could bring us back together through meaningful human connections. Based on the ancient principles of circle, we integrated this technology into an app called Totem. A safe place where you can truly be heard, and through being heard… connect, heal, and grow. 

“Circle draws on the ancient Native American tradition of using a talking piece combined  with contemporary concepts of democracy.  Every person has a story, and every story has a lesson to offer.  Stories unite people in their common humanity, and help us appreciate the depth and beauty of the human experience.”  — Kay Pranis, Little Book of Circle Processes.

With Totem, we created a real-time video forum to share your stories, challenges, and deepest thoughts no matter where you are in the world. Totem gives you the freedom to express yourself while discovering similarities with people in surprising ways. Certified Keepers moderate our online spaces to ensure the safest and most effective experience.

With our team’s years of experience running circles and scaling software companies, we are perfectly positioned to bring our digital version of circle to the world. Totem is a non-profit, so we can focus on social missions like integrating into schools, communities and prisons where circle has proven to have transformative and therapeutic effects. We will never show you ads or sell your data.

The Totem Game:

We are designing a game box version of Totem that couples, friends, families & coworkers can use in person. 

We are collaborating with experienced board game designers, to create cards with prompts that will help create meaningful connections and solve personal conflicts. An ideal game for when you want to skip the small talk and get to know the people in your life on a much deeper level.

GET INVOLVED: While we develop this game, we’ll send out updates and get feedback from the community. Your experiences and ideas will directly affect the outcome. Help us make this a meaningful way to enjoy circle and each other.

The Co-founders:

Bo Lopker, co-founder of Totem, was an early engineer at 23andme. He managed engineering teams, translated science into products, and helped turn 23andme into the global phenomenon that helped millions of people.

Ted Wallach, co-founder of Totem, was trained by veteran Keepers and has led circles for over a decade. His work secured a position at Stanford’s Peace Innovation Lab, and he was invited to the UN to teach them how to integrate this technology. Ted, his wife Karin, and their team are training Keepers and scaling the program to bring this to the world. 

Our Goal: 

Our goal is to raise $244,000 to build the Totem app, the game version, and to train certified Keepers to grow this platform and build the Totem community.  We have created our first version of Totem and are beta testing it presently. Every dollar raised from this campaign will go directly to completing the app, marketing and scaling the company.

Privacy: 

Your privacy is paramount.  We built Totem on top of HIPAA-compliant services, the same software that therapists and doctors use to do online sessions. Your communications are 100% encrypted. The only people who can hear your sessions are in your circle. We do not record any of our encrypted sessions. Brokering personal data is not our business model. We are a non-profit and our only goal is our mission.

In Conclusion: 

We believe social media and its algorithms are now dividing the world more than uniting it. With more people working from home and moving away from cities, there has never been a better time to create a new platform to help reconnect and heal the human race. Our life mission is to harness technology to bring us understanding, rather than distance.

“Our ancestors gathered around a fire in a circle. Families gather around the kitchen table in a circle. Now, we are learning to gather in a circle to solve problems, support one another, and connect with our global family.” — Kay Pranis, Little Book of Circle Processes,

Other Ways You Can Help:

If you are interested in donating your time to volunteer, become a Totem ambassador, or apply for a circle keeper scholarship, we are a nonprofit organization that is actively looking for allies to scale and grow this vision. 

To spread the word, please copy the link of the campaign and share it with your friends.

Contact us: contact@totem.org

Website: https://www.totem.org/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEWLAr5z9Oe-nz…