Modus Operandi & Deckible App Release

Today's the big day, folks! The Deckible app is up on the IOS and Google app stores.

This community is full of talented, insightful creators. I couldn't be more thrilled about sharing the platform with the world. With options to sort and shuffle cards, journal, and meditate (and more), is by far the only app of its kind.

In-app and physical decks can also be purchased via deckible.com. We have 42 featured decks (my included) and two decks will be free for everyone as a sweet onboarding gift. My deck can be found here.

Shout out to Deckible founder Nick Kellet (and narrator of the video below) for being our fearless leader...and a great inspiration. For everyone interested in physical decks, orders are usually processed within 1-2 weeks, packed with a Fresnel lens and shipped with tracking.

Orders can be placed via Etsy too. Discounts and bulk pricing are available on my website.

I developed my to help people sit with life's big questions. Whether you're reflecting on your own, chatting with friends, or deliberating during a staff meeting, I designed it for solo and community reflection about what really matters.

Here's how I designed the structure of my deck:

• Mapped a person's life into ever-expanding circles (the self, the bio/chosen/adoptive family/-ies, the social conditions via households, relationships, community and religious centers, city/town/[un]incorporated community, state, nation, world)
• Actively tried to avoid framing and language that was ableist, sexist, racist, xenophobic, classist, or victim-blaming
• Believed that everyone is a cultural beneficiary, agent, and eventual ancestor (even if we don't have children, we play personal roles in collectively bequeathing a world)
• Asked questions that would make my child self proud (for their bravery, playfulness, and transparency)
• Considered how people would interact with the physical and digital versions of my deck

Growing up "reading" my mother and attempting to support her with her cognitive disability and pain condition made me ultra-sensitive to how people navigate the world and what we create. I really want the folks who'll receive orders to enjoy the experience.

At its core, I want the deck to be reassuring without praising stagnation, thought provoking without being triggering, and innocent (no hollow gotcha questions) while probing.

My questions are framed with the understanding that certain conditions/circumstances pre-date us...and even still we're compelled to contend with them according to our abilities and inclinations - hopefully with a set of solid values and a humane vision for the world in tow.

This pandemic has forced us to reconsider so many of the ideas, motivations, and historical circumstances (personal, familial, and cultural) that got us here. I think it's important we (re)consider what keeps us going and why.

Spanish and Braille versions are coming up soon. Looking forward to updating you.

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Rayshauna Gray is the creator of The Heart Work, a framework that helps people interrogate how imposter syndrome impacts their lives. Her recently released 72-card Modus Operandi Deck is designed for meaningful solo and group reflection.

She is one of the researchers delving into the history of enslaved people at Cambridge's Longfellow House and Washington Headquarters. This project is spearheaded by the National Park Service and the National Council on Public History.

Gray spent the last decade strategizing for early-stage startups and managing programs for students from Shenzhen to Stockholm to St. Louis. She had a wonderful time creating content for the Cambridge Historical Society and Boston's Museum of African American History, helping run burgeoning initiatives at Harvard and MIT, planning the Boston Book Festival, and mapping 400 years of African American history as a member of Tufts University's Center for the Study of Race & Democracy research team. Time at THREAD at Yale, creating legislation with the National Organization for Women, and being published were sweet spots too.