Rapha Said It Here

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. E’Toyare “Torie” McDonald-Williams—educator, advocate, and founder of Be VicTORIEus Educational Services—for a powerful conversation about trauma, healing, and personal transformation.

Together, we explore the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) assessment and why it is much more than a score. Dr. Torie shares how understanding our ACEs can help us connect present-day behaviors, leadership styles, and relationship patterns to experiences from our past. We discuss the importance of trauma awareness, healing, and the inner work required to break cycles of hurt that often manifest as bullying, conflict, and other harmful behaviors.

This conversation challenges us to move beyond asking, “What’s wrong with people?” and instead ask, “What happened to them?” As we continue to evolve as individuals, leaders, and communities, healing our own wounds may be one of the most important steps toward creating a more compassionate and emotionally healthy world.

Dr. Torie: https://www.bevictorieus.com/IG: @dr.victorieus / https://www.instagram.com/dr.victorieus/CDC: https:// www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

The world as we know it is splitting. We are literally witnessing an awakening taking place right before our eyes, and because of it, many things are shifting. One, in particular, is relationships, especially the ones with parents. Family estrangement is growing and is leaving a whole society in a frenzy. According to The New Yorker, “38 percent of Americans have gone no contact with their parents.”1

Their reasoning?

Younger generations, especially Gen Z and Millennials, increasingly view going no contact as a form of self-preservation.

Join me as I describe this from a spiritual outlook.

IG: @raphasaiditherepodcast / @imraphaellasilva

Have you ever wondered what might be in your blind spot? On this episode, I talk about a way to discover how to discover what that is.

IG: @imraphaella

How we navigate relationships is changing. With the rise in violence against women and recent events involving partners and spouses taking the lives of their mates, Spirit has placed on my heart five things we should know and consider as we move through this changing terrain.

Domestic Violence hotline: 800.799.SAFE or Text Start 88788

Suicide prevention: Call 988

IG: @imraphaellasilva / @raphasaiditherepodcast

Website: https://anewlifeschool.com and https://raphaellasilva.com

What are Exit Points?

They are predetermined, scheduled moments in your life (decided by your soul) that allow you to leave the physical state.

Join me as I discuss why these exit points exist, how many times, what happens when we stay, and how to calculate them using an example from the life of Michael Jackson.

IG: @raphasaiditherepodcast /@anewlifeschool.com

Website: https://anewlifeschool.com

Death is a portal, and at some point, we will go through it.

Need support? 988 is more than just a number—it’s a direct connection to compassionate care.📞 Call or Text: 988
💬 Chat: 988lifeline.org
🇪🇸 Spanish: Press 2 or text AYUDA to 988
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQI+ Youth: Press 3
🗣️ ASL: Visit 988lifeline.org and select "Deaf/HoH"#SuicidePrevention #MentalHealthMatters

The audacity of wanting a world that works for everyone is possible.

At some point, things have to end. Not because they were bad, but because they’ve run their course. Endings are a natural part of life, and sometimes, those endings come with destruction. Not destruction to be celebrated or justified, but destruction that simply is. The kind that shakes things up so something new can emerge.

IG: @imraphaellasilva / @raphasaiditherepodcast

Pray! Not beg, but to demand that things shift.

At some point, the opposite of what we are going through has to be true.