Tuning Into Love, From Vienna To Romania Posted by Sigmar Berg, Nov 12 2019 Just got this touching act of kindness from our website: An Uber driver's neighbor's elder mom is struggling financially and physically. The driver now drives her to her dialysis procedure everyday, without cost, as an act of love. Earlier this summer, in Vienna, a Love Tuner was gifted to ServiceSpace. It's been a labor of love project for my wife, Petra, and I for some years now. A few weeks later, we got to interact with more friends from ServiceSpace and were very deeply moved by its organizing principles. We decided that we also wanted to accept "alternate forms of wealth", as our statement for a world that works for all. As a start, we gifted Love Tuners at the community night in September: Soon after, we launched a new website that accepted kindness currency: Last month, a bunch of us met again at an Awakin Circle in Los Angeles, at Komnieve and ... Read Full Story

Tilden Park Kindness Day In Berkeley Posted by Elizabeth Pimentel-Gopal, Nov 10 2019 Today, Sunday, we began our day spreading kindness at a hike near Lake Anza in Tilden Park with Tim Huang, Tim’s mom visiting from Long Beach (California), my sweetie Anand, and new to Oakland and Awakin Circles “Sneha” (also Tim’s Stanford Univ friend). Tim’s happy ukulele and him singing “good morning, you are all loved” at the Ashby BART Station perk up our hearts with pure joy & laughter. Lake Anza's gleaming beauty and fall colors welcomed Tim, Tim’s mom and Sneha for the first time in their lives. It was a gorgeous Fall Day. The fun-kindness signs made by Tim’s mom and Sneha, spread joy to over 40 humans ( including joggers, mountain bikers, and hikers of all ages) and 15 dogs. Majestic redwood trees surrounded the path so WE had to hug one…it took 4 of us stretching our arms out to hug Mrs. Redwood. Families' energies shifted to laughter and ... Read Full Story

Reconsidering Community Service Posted by Joan Caldarera, Nov 06 2019 [Volunteer hours have been a longstanding graduation requirement at many high schools, but does it really tap into the spirit of service? SF Waldorf High recently removed the requirement, and this proposal, the basis for that decision, explains why.] "Love is higher than opinion. If people love one another the most varied opinions can be reconciled — this is one of the most important tasks for humankind today and in the future: that we should learn to live together and understand one another. If this human fellowship is not achieved, all talk of development is empty." —Rudolf Steiner Why do we ask the students to do community service? What is the pedagogical intention behind the request? Certainly, we are hoping to awaken our students to the world around them in a very real way that involves putting thought into action: doing something. To the degree the students devote themselves to work ... Read Full Story

In Romania: Blinking My Hazard Lights! Posted by Nipun Mehta, Nov 05 2019 "I've just experienced a big earthquake. And I'm blaming all this on Ashima," Lila joked, but not really. While living in Bucharest and hosting weekly Awakin Circles, Ashima once sat on a flight next to a stranger who told her to visit a school named Veritas. She visited, fell in love with their explicit mission of kindness, and their emphasis on social-emotional learning. Pretty soon, they were hosting Karma Kitchen in school, Smile Cards were translated to Romanian, 21-day challenges were used by teachers, and many ripples emerged. Her partner in crime was Lila -- a sparkly-eyed love warrior, who then took the Laddership course and is now hosting a circle with another dozen teachers. The reason for the "earthquake" was a "Compassion in Education" weekend that Lila and Verita Foundation had put together in Bucharest last weekend. It reminded everyone of why education is much more than cognitive growth. That social-emotional learning ... Read Full Story

The Past Few Months I Taught ... Posted by Roshni Shah, Oct 29 2019 The past few months I taught my first cohort of nursing students as a clinical instructor. After every clinical day, we gather for a post conference to discuss the patients and learning from the day. I started to experiment with mindfulness practices to start each session, 1-3 minutes of silence followed by a circle of "gratitude" before going into the rest of the discussion. Honestly, I was apprehensive to how these students would react but it was a great way for me to bridge a connection to the diverse group I had. I didn't know if the students liked it, but seeing this at the end of the quarter was awesome! As healthcare providers, burn out is REAL. My hope is learning these little tools will empower them to advocate for themselves AND their patients. It's incredible what a small shift in perspective can do and I am excited for these future students to be my future colleagues one day!

Three Steps And A Bow In Mumbai Posted by Meghna Banker, Oct 23 2019 I just read about a beautiful ripple, that can perhaps be summarized like this ... Sachi works in a children's observation home and Children’s home in Mumbai (India). About 2500 children pass through the doors of this home. It houses over 200 children rescued from trafficking, child labor, domestic violence and those who are vulnerable and missing as well as about 50-80 children who are in conflict with the law. They are alleged of crimes from petty theft to heinous offense like murder and rape. One of her staff members recently joined one of our HHH retreats, that concluded with three steps and bow. Last month, they were perplexed in handling three kids who had committed heinous crimes. It felt impossible to get through to them. Going for a long shot, they tried something simple yet radical -- three steps and a bow. "Sometimes we cause unexpected harm but can't apologize. Sometimes we ... Read Full Story

Blended Awareness Posted by Kendrick Bradley, Oct 17 2019 [My sharing at last night's Awakin Circle on Blended Awareness.] I've been thinking about how there's always a different perspective. A few days ago I was talking with my grandmother and I asked her, "Do you not wear glasses anymore grandma?" more like, why don't you wear glasses? She said, "Oh yeah, I got this eye surgery and I can see really clearly." I was like, wow. I wear contacts and I hate when my vision is blurry too. I would think that everyone would hate blurry vision. But then, in this reading, Monet puts on a different twist to it. There's always a different perspective to everything. Even something as fundamental as blurry vision. This morning I was talking to my parents about how suffering comes from resistance. It is only when you resist something that you suffer. It's not fundamental. If my mental mapping of what reality doesn't line up what ... Read Full Story

From The Stability Of Impermanence Posted by Andy Smallman, Oct 15 2019 [Below is a reflection that came up in our Laddership Circle, which I was encouraged to share with all of you.] For a year now, I consider a verse of the Tao Te Ching and adapt it into what I call a kindness poem. The practice is fairly simple, in that I will read a variety of translations of that week's verse and then quietly reflect on what the verse means to me in a context of kindness. I center my practice through the act of composing my poem. This past week, I reflected on Verse 52 and it is through my reflection, which also included some readings from our Laddership Circle, that I found the overlap. For context, here is Stephen Mitchell's interpretation of this verse of the Tao, Mitchell being widely considered to be a good translator: 52 In the beginning was the Tao. All things issue from it; all things return to ... Read Full Story

Can You Spot The Smile Cards? Posted by Fran Faraz, Oct 04 2019 Can you spot the Smile Card below? Student on our campus did lots of acts of kindness, and spread a ton of Smile Cards too! I'll need to get a refill. :)

OOOM Talks Launch In Austria Posted by Georg Kindel, Oct 04 2019 Last year, you may remember 4 friends of ServiceSpace being featured in our OOOM 100 list. In the summer, when Nipun visited Austria for a short time, we inaugurated our first OOOM Talks at Aux Gazelles restaurant, with influential leaders in Vienna. The latest issue just hit the newsstands, that features that event. (It even had a QR code through which you can use your mobile to watch a related video.) The story is in German, but you may enjoy these screenshots: As an organizer of the event, I was just in the back and didn't know what to expect from the circle. By the end, however, I raised my hand to share how the evening felt like one of the most powerful experiences of my life. Although there was no mention of this in the talk, I have somehow been vegetarian since that day. And I'm looking forward to volunteering with ServiceSpace. Thank you, all!

The Things That Stay Posted by Anuj Pandey, Oct 03 2019 [A touching story from Nandita shared at last night's Awakin Circle in Santa Clara, on this week's passage: My Neighbor's Corn.] I loved the story. This is something I think about a lot, and have been thinking about it specifically in the context of my work. I have the honor of being in a profession that involves helping people. But I've been thinking about how I can touch lives -- not just in an intellectual way (I'm a doctor, so I get to do that intellectually as part of my job), but also at a human level. How to make sure I keep that part alive? I recently had a very beautiful interaction with a parent that I have to share in this context. About four months back, I took care of a very sick baby, who tried to die all through the course of the night. It still brings me shivers, thinking about ... Read Full Story

Half An Orange Posted by Ajay Dahiya, Oct 02 2019 [In our Laddership Circle today, I was reminded of this encounter that completely disarmed me.] Many years ago, I was traveling with a group of people and we went to this festival. There's hundreds of people that come to these festivals, and I was there with a group and we were cooking. One day, after we finished cooking and cleaning up, I was the only person there left in our camp. This very young girl came towards our camp, she looked very frail and was almost crawling. She looked about 13 or 14 years old. She looked very sick and pale and came up to me asking, "Do you have any more food?" We didn't have anything -- we had just finished serving it all and cleaning up, and there was nothing left. She said, "I've been really sick and haven't been able to leave my tent for three days. I'm really hungry." As we looked ... Read Full Story

Nuggets From Our Recent Laddership Circle Posted by Bijan Khazai, Sep 22 2019 Earlier this month, seventeen of us concluded a Laddership Circle. There were so many highlights. Over the 6 week journey together, it was inspiring to see how the simple organizing principle of an intent to design for inner transformation can convene "love warriors" across six countries to deeply practice "being the change" in our communities, while holding questions and paradoxes of leading with love across a wide spectrum of topics. Here's a few soundbyte nuggets of some of the collective wisdom that emerged, in no particular order: On Motivations: A community builder in our circle asked: "How do I shift from building something to feed my own ego, to being a vessel for the community’s values and needs to flow through?" Another week, an artist genuinely observed: "I'm still sorting out my own web of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations. I supposed we all carry a mix of it." Reflecting on the deluge of ... Read Full Story

Seeding The Opening Circle Posted by Colin Johnson, Sep 20 2019 [At a Banyan Grove retreat in April, Yaniv shared a beautiful introduction to our circle of sharing that I've often referred back to. I'm sharing it below, in case it's helpful for some of you.] Thank you, everyone. Over the next hour we're gonna start with a circle of sharing, which we actually consider one of the most important ways to start this retreat along with an hour of silence and an invocation. Why is that there's easily a dozen people in this room on whose life's contents and offerings of service we could base the whole retreat on. Why do we start with a circle of sharing? We started because this retreat is not about someone else's life. It's about you, and it's about us. It's about you because you are on your journey of becoming. Because each of you has a special gift, many gifts, to offer. Many seeds that could benefit one ... Read Full Story

A Different Perspective To Fundraising Posted by vineet saraiwala, Sep 20 2019 As I run marathons, I have constantly been approached by numerous NGO’s to run for them, and help in fundraising. This fad of fundraising across social media -- where you get requests to donate for a cause -- is not build on generosity & gifting, but in your power & persuasion techniques. It boils down on the strength of your connections, and I feel that joy of giving comes out of a sheer compulsion rather than gratitude. I also hate asking for money, and a lot of times contribute to the NGO in a personal capacity rather than through funds. Probably, I also have a guilt of asking from different people, and sometimes link it with begging. It might sound dramatic, but I have again been requested by an NGO to run the Tata Mumbai Half Marathon. I read the alternate forms of wealth by Nipun Mehta, and these are my reflections ... Read Full Story

Paying It Forward: Interview With Nipun Mehta Posted by Nathan Scolaro, Sep 02 2019 [Last March, I interviewed Nipun for our magazine, Dumbo Feather -- and I left so energized by our chat! It left a deep impression and we locally got active in trying to create an Awakin Circle in Melbourne, we've published another article on "multiple forms of capital", our founders are coming out for a ServiceSpace retreat, and most recently we've been doing some kindness experiments too. I feel so grateful to know ServiceSpace, and look forward to supporting the "ripples". The photo-essay looks gorgeous in the print magazine, but below is a snapshot with some interspersed photos by the talented Ramin Rahimian. Hope you enjoy!] For more than 20 years, Nipun Mehta and his parents have been opening his doors to friends and strangers every Wednesday evening, creating a space for people to sit in circle together, meditate, share thoughts, and enjoy a meal. The invitation is to "wake up to ... Read Full Story

Soft Eyes At Karma Kitchen Posted by Kathrin Pachinger, Sep 01 2019 This week in our Laddership Circle, we've been reflecting on our motivations to serve. What came to mind was my experiences hosting Karma Kitchen here in Austria. It was the best experience and gave me a total different point of view how intrinsic motivation looks like. At the beginning, I always had the feeling that I need to thank people for their help. But then I realized that it´s a giving and receiving all the time. As an example: the stories the volunteers told us afterwards were amazing. There´s a story about an elderly man I would like to share: One day we were hosting Karma Kitchen and quite a lot of our regular customers did not know that this Thursday was Karma Kitchen day. Usually there´s an elderly man who comes every day around 4 pm. He is always ordering the same dish, and he normally looks and acts quite grumpy. ... Read Full Story

John Powell: Othering And Belonging Posted by Chris Johnnidis, Aug 28 2019 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'John Powell: Othering And BelongingReflection questions: Can you recall a time when you viewed but did not really see another person? How might that have impoverished you, as well as the unseen person?

The Experience Of Gardening :) Posted by Nilam Chauhan, Aug 28 2019 Inspired after visiting Awakin Santa Clara and Harshida's veggie garden, I thought it'd be great to start a garden of my own. It was hard to follow-through on that though, as summers are so short and so busy. Over the last two years, I kept talking about my wish to make a garden in the company of my Awakin Circle family. Janet, who has been attending the circles for almost 4 years, surprised me by showing up at my door step with garden soil, wooden planks along with tomato, beans, cucumber, and pepper plants! She said she wanted to do something special for our Awakin family, and the veggie garden was her gift. I was so overwhelmed by her thoughtfulness and love. I kept saying, "no" and offering to reimburse her for the costs -- it’s so hard to receive. :) She refused to take money and said “You do so much, ... Read Full Story

Nuggets From Michelle Kinder's Call Posted by Preeta Bansal, Aug 27 2019 Last Saturday, kindness activist and longtime educator Andy Smallman and I had the privilege of hosting a remarkable Awakin Call with Michelle Kinder. Dallas-based therapist, community leader and speaker Michelle Kinder examines and teaches conscious leadership “from the inside out.” For many years, she led the Momentous Institute, a 99-year-old nonprofit that has been building and repairing social-emotional health through education and mental health programs. Momentous Institute serves vulnerable children through therapy services, curriculum and teacher training focused on students’ social-emotional health, a school program for young learners, and more. Under her lead, the Institute was named one of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Workplaces for Women and one of the 50 Best Workplaces in Texas. Kinder notes that children cannot be emotionally healthy unless their families and community are also healthy. Seeking to address the inequities themselves, she now works with traditional leaders to help them embrace “socially conscious leadership from ... Read Full Story