The Gift Spectrum Posted by Birju Pandya, Jul 06 2017 Over the past few years of Laddership Circles, one of my favorite topics for inquiry has been 'wealth.' There have been many folks coming to engage with the ServiceSpace ecosystem - in part connected to a wish to evolve their relationship with money, and consequently, wealth. Perhaps a wish to more deeply align with values connected to love and interbeing. Of course, ServiceSpace has been talking about gift-based approaches for a while, and so it's a place to inquire. Over the many dialogues, one of the themes I've seen emerge is the value of naming the 'spectrum of gift.' Rather than approach it as a binary, such that either the approach is 'gift economy/ecology' or not, to dive deeper into the nuances. To that end, I've come across several possibilities in the inquiry, and I'm sharing with the intention of inviting that inquiry into a broader space. Without creating a hierarchy, ... Read Full Story

The Story Of The Three Sisters Posted by Anne-Marie Pandya, Jun 04 2017 [Grateful for a circle this morning on the topic of 'weaving'. Below is the story, from Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass, that I briefly spoke about.] It should be them who tell this story. Corn leaves rustle with a signature sound, a papery conversation with each other and the breeze. On a hot day in July—when the corn can grow six inches in a single day—there is a squeak of internodes expanding, stretching the stem toward the light. Leaves escape their sheaths with a drawn-out creak and sometimes, when all is still, you can hear the sudden pop of ruptured pith when water-filled cells become too large and turgid for the confines of the stern. These are the sounds of being, but they are not the voice. The beans must make a caressing sound, a tiny hiss as a soft-haired leader twines around the scabrous stem of corn. Surfaces vibrate delicately against ... Read Full Story

A Parking Spot In Berkeley Posted by Anuj Pandey, Jun 02 2017 [Another sweet share from our Awakin Circle last Wednesday, that I felt was too good not to share. I won't say the name, but I'm sure you can guess. :)] Bill's story reminded me of another parking experience I had in Berkeley. Anyone who has been to Berkeley knows that parking spots come at a big premium. One day, right as I was about to pull into a spot, this other driver decides that it's actually his spot. He races and screeches into the spot. I'm thinking, "That's just wrong. I can't let this pass." I wanted to come from a space of love, but I'm sure there anger mixed in there. While my car's on the road, I get out of my car and head to the other car. It's like I'm about to pick a fight. I can't tell you how out of character that is for me -- I think ... Read Full Story

When You Encounter A Beast Posted by Anuj Pandey, May 30 2017 [A beautiful story that Aryae shared last at our Awakin Circle last week.] I like the imagery of this old king ego, taking over the castle and it's all in chaos and the wild beasts are running around. Wow, what an image. I'm part of the beast crowd, with shadows archetype. It brings me back to the 1970's when I was in graduate school, studying psychology. It was a very interesting time in the US, in the Bay Area, where wisdom from different indigenous traditions was coming in and was becoming part of the psychology mainstream. One such piece of wisdom was from the Sanoy people, an indigenous group in Malaysia. They worked with dreams, with a remarkable discipline. And they had a process when you a beast comes into your dream. They would have a circle of elders every morning and people would come and talk about what they did when they ... Read Full Story

But There's More Posted by Bradley Stoll, May 30 2017 Last weekend, we held our monthly Karma Kitchen.  We had a great volunteer crew, including Sadan Nasir (a ServiceSpace intern, who returned back to the area after 8 years!). As is part of our process, we did a circle of introductions and then read the KK bill aloud so everyone is clear on what happens here. Christina volunteered to read it out.  About half way through, she became so emotional that she teared up. It began when she reached the part that began, "But there's more." Several times, she had to stop and compose herself. I think this is when it hit her, what this is all about.   In the spirit of generosity, someone who came before you made a gift of this meal.  Now, it's your chance to pay-it-forward for a future guest and continue the circle of giving. People often ask, "How much did this meal cost?" Well, every week at Karma ... Read Full Story

Self-Trust In An Uncertain World Posted by Liam Chai, May 30 2017 As I sit to write this blogpost with the help of a very good listener - an mp3 recording, I remember the examples of ladders like Audrey, Nipun and Trishna with their uncanny listening abilities and how blown away I've been by their follow-up emails or posts. This reminded me of a passage Zilong shared recently from Joanna Macy: ---- Joanna listened to me patiently and when I finished she put her fork down on the table decisively, looking straight at me with a hint of frustration, and said, “Yuka, you don’t have to be smarter than everybody. You don’t have to know all the answers. They already have their answers. What you have to do is to be loved by them.” “Be loved? How?” I asked, puzzled. “You are loved not because you are smart or whatever. People love you because they feel they can tell you the truth. That’s what you have ... Read Full Story

Conversations With Arun Dada Posted by Trupti Pandya, May 29 2017 Every time we go to visit Arun dada's house, he shares little wisdom stories. Sharing a few here. Story # 1 Vinoba ji shared that there are four types of people: Aadham (अधम) - These are the people who see ‘Dosha’ (faults/vices) in others. Maadhyam (मध्यम) - These are the people who sees both ‘Guna’ and ‘Dosha’ (virtues & vices/faults). Uttam (उतम) - These are the people who sees only ‘Guna’. Uttama–Uttam (उतम-उतम) - These are the people who will not only see ‘Guna’ in others but will amplify even the minutest good /virtue in others. Vinoba ji shared that we have to practice to be the fourth kinds where we are not only seeing the good but are also amplifying it. He further shared that "Guna" (virtues) are like a door and "Dosh" (vices) are like a wall. If we want to reach someone, we need to see the virtues in that person as that will act ... Read Full Story

HeArt Circle On Forgiveness Posted by Trupti Pandya, May 23 2017 Last Sunday, we had beautiful HeArt circle themed on forgiveness. After some silence and a reading, we chose different mediums of art like clay, colors, wool. Some chose to continue with silence while some chose to journal a letter to self or someone else. Forty five minutes of hands activity later, we closed with a circle of reflection -- and people shared some really deep stories. A girl with a disability made these beautiful things from clay: Someone drew a beautiful painting and expressed the story behind it, of how she hasn't forgiven herself after losing her child.  A mother whose son is going through a difficult illness shared how she enjoyed playing with colors today. A heartfelt hug from a downs syndrome kid simply melted us all. As I sat with myself during the HeArt circle, the only prayer that was coming was, 'May peace prevail in the world', 'May peace prevail inside me'. I had ... Read Full Story

Bonjour! Exponential Happiness In France Posted by Nipun Mehta, May 15 2017 Last couple days, I participated in a TED-style event in France -- L'echappee Volee. In a gorgeous setting in Chantily, the event brought together entrepreneurs, innovators and investors for an idea-filled, 3-day event. This year's theme was Exponential Happiness. Most of it was in French, but there were various English speakers as well. It turned out that Emmanuel Macron was also invited, but he texted saying he was a bit busy, considering that he had to deliver the President's inaugural address. :) The speakers had a very Singularity-esque flavor of technology solutions for society's progress. One speaker spoke about curing humanity of "disease of aging", another gave a live demonstration of "AI replica" to communicate with someone as if they hadn't passed away, another spoke on hacking someone's memory to make them forget past experiences, another on colonizing Mars. Most of them had companies dedicated to the cause. Although all their ... Read Full Story

Deeper Knowing Of Not Knowing Posted by Audrey Lin, May 15 2017 Halfway through our Spring Laddership Circles, it's been a privilege to learn from all the insights and experiences that surface week-in and week-out! In our particular circle this week, we dove into topics around questions like: "How do you design for emergence?" "How to lead with a conviction in not knowing?" "Is there a difference in holding space with strangers vs. those closest to us?" "Do actions speak louder than words?" "How does our frame of mind inform how we handle challenges?" "How to design group conversations to hold space for richer and deeper shares?" Among the many thoughtful stories and reflections, here's a touching share from Jane, on the deeper knowing of not knowing: I can’t tell you the relief of being able to be in the space of "I don’t know.” Because the stress that’s created from the consistent demand of yourself to know the answers -- I think it ... Read Full Story

As We Broke The Fast In ... Posted by Sachi Maniar , May 12 2017 As we broke the fast in the Juvenile home, I was amazed at how the boundaries of religion only exist in our mind. In the four walls of the home, I witnessed 3 Muslim boys insist everyone - rest of the Hindu boys and us to break the fast with them. And 3 of them cut the fruits for all of us! While many would have witnessed violence in such places, time and again I am amazed by the brotherhood and friendships one develops in the home. In the morning, I had heard one of the boys say how they have been breaking the fast with the morning's meal every day. Today they got fruits. And I was touched by how selflessly they wanted to offer the fruits to us. They could have easily saved it for eating at night or for the next day as there is no guarantee they would get fruits again! But they insisted that we wait and be part of Iftar.  It's a blessing to witness kindness and love in this form!

This Message We Received From The ... Posted by Preeta Bansal, May 12 2017 This message we received from the mother of a teenage daughter contains a beautiful and powerful ripple from last fall's Awakin Call with Jeannie Kahwajy -- the edited transcript of which recently ran in Daily Good: "Read your interview with Daily Good on “Catching Everything as Help”, and loved it. It resonated deeply with me, and I found myself wishing for an example of how to be this way with teenage daughters. Later that night… on my way home from work my 18 yr old daughter sends me very angry texts which escalated and triggered anger in me. This night could have gone frighteningly wrong.Instead, I channeled Jeannie's mantras, and decided to find out what was really going on. She tried to get me to fight with her. My feet wanted to run. I stayed, and asked, and listened. She opened up about the perfect storm of a horrible day she ... Read Full Story

From Trash To Treasure Posted by Trupti Pandya, May 12 2017 In February 2014, five fellows came together for a "30-Days In-turn-ship" program, a small experiment in selfless service through the lens of inner transformation. As part of our program, we had gone to Santram mandir in Nadiad. One of our collective practices was to do shramdaan (gift of labor) every day.  We decided to clean the temple premises. While Audrey and Swara started cleaning the inside area, rest of us started clearing the entrance area of the temple. One day back about a hundred thousand people had gathered at the temple. There was a lot of plastic waste and large piles of footwear all over the place.  The local shopkeeper told us that this happens every year when so many people come and misplace their shoes.  All of these lost foot-wares are dumped along with other waste. While we continued cleaning the plastic waste, one of our youngest "in-turn", Meet, came ... Read Full Story

Humbly Giving The Only Shawl She Had Posted by Anuj Pandey, May 11 2017 [Beautiful story that Shalini (Sharma) shared in the overflowing Awakin Circle yesterday.] Hi everyone. I'm very happy to be here. This week's passage on humitliy reminded me of a recent conversation I had with my mother. One of my life's greatest joys is to talk to my mother about her life experiences, especially in her childhood. My mom grew up in a big family of nine siblings, with a father who was a principled Gandhian. The moral values were always placed on a pedestal and you can see that value system alive in the whole family. Last December, when I was visiting my mom in India, she shared a story about her relationship with her aunt, in a small village of India. When my grand aunt was almost on her deathbed, my mom had an opportunity to visit her. It was a cold winter month, my grand aunt was bed ridden, and she was shivering a ... Read Full Story

From Perma-culture To Prema-culture Posted by Nisha Srinivasan, May 09 2017 Last month, I attended a Permaculture Design Course facilitated by Aranya Agricultural Alternatives, a soulful organization near Hyderabad, India started Padma and Narasanna, a remarkable couple who have been serving in thousands of villages for more than thirty years. Our farm has been dry since August so I wanted to learn how to equip better for the new reality. Also, some of us from the ServiceSpace community were interested in the shift from Perma-culture to Prema-culture (Prema in Sanskrit means Love) and this seemed like a good space for such an experiment. Abid, a dear friend of the eco-system had prepared the ground. The physical spaces that hosted us were breathtaking - one with with a lake view and the other, a 15 year old mini forest. About 30 of us from different parts of India and the world (with heavy representation from France) gathered with our unique personalities and offerings to learn ... Read Full Story

The Sacred Pause That Stopped A Fight Posted by Aryae Coopersmith, May 08 2017 [Below was the story I had shared at last week's Awakin Circle. I'm grateful to volunteers who made the transcription below possible, and who continually encourage such stories of transformation.] A couple of months ago I was taking my regular afternoon walk along the coastal trail, and heading back home. My wife and son were waiting for me and I was a little late, so I was walking fast and thinking about getting there on time, not really noticing what was going on around me.  Then I thought, this isn’t much fun! What if I just slow down?  What if I can just be present and start noticing what's going on around me? So I did that. I was about to cross the highway. Suddenly I noticed that there was a teenage girl yelling and screaming and running.  "What's this about?” I thought.  She ran across the highway.  Without any particular agenda, I ... Read Full Story

Weekly Tidbits From Around The Ecosystem Posted by ServiceSpace , May 08 2017 [Every week or so, we have started sending out a summary of tidbits from across the ecosystem. They are also archived here.] This week in Australia, Rev. Heng Sure is giving a college talk titled: “Radical Generosity: Basis of the Spiritual Path” He’ll be speaking about ServiceSpace and has invited to Trishna to Skype in. :) Summer internship applications are about to close -- and you know Dunga is getting ready! Meanwhile, Silicon Valley billionaires have started “Alt School” to provide “intensely personal and intensely offline” education in a “micro school” context with “slow implementation” process.  #Hmmmmm :) On that note, while Birju will remind us that good ladders are always interns for life, rest of world is getting there in a convoluted way. Lot of tech interns make more than average US salary. NYT book review on how Harvard reshaped capitalism. Nicole tells that the Pope has now given a Ted Talk! :) He called for ... Read Full Story

Nail Cutter: My Super Tool ☺ Posted by Trupti Pandya, May 08 2017 Four months back I started working in a government home with 65 women and children. The home is divided into few rooms based on age and disability. Initially, I was permitted to work with elderly women who are abused and abandoned due to severe mental or terminal illness. Along with the illness, I found out that some women were from other states and did not speak languages I knew. A few women kept sleeping due to the effect of heavy medication and few others would just not respond or make an eye contact. Maybe this was the first time someone was coming to them and talking to them. I started searching for the jai shree krishna window but it was a struggle. I was reminded of a quote by Mother Teresa which says, “We cannot do big things but small things with great love” and I started with a small ... Read Full Story

In Healing Journey, Less Can Be More Posted by Jaspreet Jaffer, May 04 2017 [I was so glad that my sister was able to make it to the Healing+T circle! :)  Here is her open-hearted and tear-filled share on that night.] My sister decided to RSVP for both of us for today, and I'm so glad she did. For many, many years, I've been dealing with a medical situation and I think I've started a healing process, just today. Thank you so much for including me, and opening my understanding of healing at so many different levels. Listening to everyone in the circle, I want to share an experience with my Uncle. My uncle has been severely ill for over 10 years now. Few months ago, it became pretty clear that he is almost at the end of his life. Although I'm not technically a doctor, whenever I'm with my Uncle in the ICU, I felt like one. I would inquire about his stats for the day, ... Read Full Story

Audrey's Heart, At The Age Of Three Posted by Anuj Pandey, May 04 2017 [Audrey shared this beautiful story at our Awakin Circle last night, around Sacred Art of Pausing, and I immediately knew it had to be shared with everyone! :)] When I was really little, maybe two or three, I remember thinking I was gonna be a famous artist one day. And so when my parents had bought this brand new dining room table set, I thought to myself, "Oh, since I'm going to be a famous artist, I should draw on it, and then some day this will be worth a lot of money." I remember drawing a heart on this brand new dining room table chair and then, you know, just happily like walking away! And no one ever yelled at me. Many years later, when I was in college or maybe even after I graduated, I remember sitting at that table and that heart was still there. When I asked my parents, ... Read Full Story