Challenges Of Giftivism Posted by Vasco Gaspar, Jul 30 2019 [Below is an edited transcript of a delightful conversation with Nipun and some spiritual elders of the Heartfulness ecosystem .] Victor: Our institutional culture ethos is to give all the teachings for free, but we do have some material costs. Brian, in particular, is holding this edge at the Ohio center that he runs. When we asked Daaji, he said he's been thinking about Giftivism and pay-forward. So we thought we'd ask you about it. Nipun: Thank you. What a joy to know that Daaji is resonant with these ideals. There are various ways to think about it. Let’s consider reciprocity -- giving and receiving. Most of us are typically engaged in three kinds of reciprocity -- direct, indirect and infinite. Direct reciprocity is linear and transactional. I do this for you and you do this for me in return; money is a technology that supports this process. Practically all of our current ... Read Full Story

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Earth Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jul 30 2019 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Earth Overshoot Day. July 29 marked Earth Overshoot Day - the point each year where we use Earth's natural resources faster than they can be replenished. All our actions are interlinked in complex global cycles - carbon, ocean, climate, food, etc. The Earth itself is remarkably resilient and will survive, but whether humans can survive is another question unless we start listening and being kind to Nature. - Ameeta

14 Quotes From Kindness Essays Posted by Trupti Pandya, Jul 30 2019 About two dozen of us have been evaluating essays as part of a "Kindness Jury" for a youth essay contest on the theme: Creating a Society Full of Kindness. While reading, I was inspired by some of these quotes that different youth cited in their essays and couldn't help but share the inspiration! “We need ‘strength’ while doing the possible, but we need faith while doing the impossible.” -- Daleep Thakur “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” --  Desmond Tutu “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have ... Read Full Story

My Money Versus God's Money Posted by Anuj Pandey, Jul 29 2019 [Beautiful reflection shared by Aryae, in our Awakin Circle last Wednesday.] Rabindranath Tagore's poem reminds me of a teaching from my teacher Rabbi Shlomo, who used to teach about Sadaka. That's Hebrew, traditionally translated as charity, but its literal meaning was justice. Why justice? Because whatever I have is only partly mine, and the rest belongs to God. The proper use of my money is to take care of my needs. Proper use of God's money is to take care of others. So here's a story of Shlomo. It was a Friday night. Now, on a Friday night, a religious Jew doesn't carry his wallet or anything in his pockets. Shlomo was walking toward his synagogue and a thief comes up to him with a knife and says, "Gimme all your money." Shlomo says, "I'm sorry I don't have any money." And he tries to explain his practice but the thief doesn't believe him. ... Read Full Story

Nuggets From William Dyson's Call Posted by Aryae Coopersmith, Jul 28 2019 Last Saturday, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with William Dyson. William Dyson is a technology visionary based in Oakland. He is the founder of the Douglass Decentralized Operating System (DDOS), named in honor of Frederick Douglass — an African American icon who stood for the equality of all peoples. Through DDOS, Dyson seeks to create new inclusive economic and political spaces, culture change, system change and redefining computing. DDOS been developed from the ground up with the intention of bringing Martin Luther King’s “Beloved Community” into reality. At the age of 5, William began a meditative practice. When his family spun into poverty 6 years later, that practice helped him to get through each day, support his family, and experience the understanding that he was not alone. William has devoted his adult life to developing technology that will disrupt computing as we know it; empowering worldwide communities in ... Read Full Story

Bound By Love Not Labels Posted by Mia Tagano, Jul 27 2019 Last night, when I went to see my grandmother, she was sitting alone at the nurses station with her word search book (for those of you who don’t know – when my grandmother came to live here over 5 years ago, I tried many things to keep her occupied – painting, magazines, crossword, music, coloring, mazes…but it was only her word search book that kept her interest…the one thing her mind could follow – she began to think of it as her job; it kept her from wandering – over these 5 years, I have gotten her the same BIG EASY WORDSEARCH book at least 17 times… each one has 100 puzzles and she does them all. Recently coloring simple pictures like fishes has gotten her attention too)….. SO my grandmother was sitting at the desk with her book but no pencil just staring at the letters as if she was ... Read Full Story

Knowledge In Action - 3 Days With Nipun Bhai Posted by Rohan Bhansali, Jul 27 2019 I feel blessed that Sneh, my wife pushed me to travel 22 hours to Los Angeles from Mumbai to be with Nipun-bhai and Reverend Heng Sure at the Jaina conference. I must have done some good deeds, and my karma was ripe enough that I had a very intimate 72 hours in close presence of two great souls. I learnt some incredible lessons just being with them and watching them live their knowledge they speak about. The beauty of this learning is that no one was teaching me nor even had any conscious intention that I learn from them. Their sheer presence rooted in virtues and effortless yes to what life brings to them was an incredible lesson in itself. Time spent with Reverend Heng Sure was truly a MasterClass in Humility. Through these heartfelt words (and a cup full of gratitude), I would like to share lessons that my heart was ... Read Full Story

Wonderful Awakin Circle This Wednesday Posted by Shyam Gupta, Jul 26 2019 WOW, a fabulous Awakin Circle this Wednesday. I had been holding these circles over the past month, on behalf of our dear friend Jaideep, who had to travel. This Wednesday we had with us, a dedicated Service Space Volunteer, Rohit, who had also volunteered in a Laddership circle, that I was a part of, this spring. As he was to be with us, I requested him to share his amazing life journey during the circle of sharing. To my utter joy and surprise, I received 24 RSVP’s. Inspite of the torrential rains just one and half hours before the circle began, we had 16 participants, all youngsters. And this was after a circle, the previous week, where I was the only participant. We observed an hour of silence, then I read the Awakin reading, and then I welcomed and informed the participants about emergence of Awakin Circles. Then I requested Rohit to speak ... Read Full Story

Overheard In Our Laddership Circle Posted by Jane Murray, Jul 26 2019 Overheard in our Laddership Circle that started this week ... "The intentions with which people come to a Laddership circle always amazes and humbles me. Just in our first week, I felt so honored to see the organizing principles that drew each person to the circle and how genuinely people shared deeply personal stories. A young man from France wrote about not seeing his dad after the age of 12. A couple from Austria rawly reflected on facing uncertainty after letting go of a a 2-year labor-of-love. A Chinese entrepreneur spoke about how severe depression became her turning point. In the era of sensational news, soundbytes and shallow interactions, I'm moved by the power of the ancient "technology" of a circle -- and how people are showing up with such raw sincerity."

Life At The Peace And Permaculture Dojo Posted by Kai Sawyer, Jul 26 2019 道場 (dojo) means a place (場）of/for the path (道）also known to the West as "dao". Our Dojo is in the early stages of development as a place of practice, and a place of nonviolent/peace activists to gather near Tokyo, but just far enough to be surrounded by rice paddies and the ocean. In 2018, we experimented with our first residential internship program for Japanese. We had three spots that were filled up with nine people, including a family of five (and two goats). As everything is quite unstructured and organic at the Dojo, it was quite a challenging experiment for all of us, but the learning and growth was priceless. Things we explored (a sample) ... simple living e.g. building your own dwelling, cooking with fire and sun, washing by hand (including cloth diapers for two), eating almost completely locally, etc community dynamics and nonviolent communication: how to be authentic, empathetic, and live harmoniously ... Read Full Story

London Update: Aug 2019 Posted by Trishna Shah, Jul 24 2019 August 2019 - London Update We are taking a collective pause this month in London as the hosts and many others are traveling, preparing for family weddings, going on silent meditation retreats and taking time to slow down and reconnect with friends, family and themselves :) London gatherings will resume again in September and we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming Awakin Circles! In this update below, we offer you loads of inspiring articles, interviews, blog posts and more to nourish your journey as you recharge and reconnect this month too! Awakin Circles: Brighton, Harrow, Pimlico and Mill Hill Each month, you're invited to join Awakin Circles at locations around London, where we meditate for the first hour, engage in a circle of sharing based on a reading, and conclude with a home-cooked vegetarian dinner together. Wednesday, Aug 14th at 7:15pm (Brighton) (RSVP link) Wednesday, Sept 11th at 7:00pm (Harrow, Northwest London) Wednesday, Sept ... Read Full Story

Experimenting With Money In A Gift Ecology Posted by Ariel Nessel, Jul 24 2019 How would a ServiceSpace volunteer approach philanthropy? I’ve been pondering this question ever since attending a Gandhi 3.0 retreat in early 2017. Prior to ServiceSpace, I operated in a culture that saw finances as *the* essential form of capital required to initiate societal changes. At the time, I felt that if only the right people in the right places had sufficient money, the world would be a better place. Over the years of immersing myself into a gift-ecology, however, has enhanced my presence to various forms of wealth that I often overlooked and underappreciated. Alternate forms of capital -- like spirit-wealth of gratitude, equanimity and surrender; or service-wealth of acts of kindness and giftivism; or community-wealth, such as relationships and compassion -- have an architecture of abundance, regeneration and flow. I’ve seen how deepening in any one can create a virtuous cycle that benefits everyone; tending to those specific branches naturally ... Read Full Story

Scene From A Mentor's Life Posted by Bijan Khazai, Jul 23 2019 In a recent Laddership Circle, I was reminded of a teacher and mentor of mine from the time I lived in New York. He was one of the best corporate lawyers in New York City, but he was also an incredible champion of all in hardship and a seer of truths! Below is a scene from his life I remember often: Here he is at the law office. Uncharacteristically, he’s leaving at noon. It’s December 23rd, and an important deal closes the morning of the 24th. By late afternoon the heat is on; the client’s lawyers want to know where he is and the junior partners are making excuses since they don’t know. At 8 pm he returns, brushes past them and works through the night. The deal closes on time. Years later it was discovered he had left to buy and deliver gifts to sick kids at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Ankit In NY Times! Posted by Birju Pandya, Jul 23 2019 Great to see Ankit in the The NY Times! The story doesn't start far enough back, but those in Laddership Circles would be quite familiar with it -- but inspiring to see the ripples onwards and outwards. :)    Feeling Lonely? Perhaps You’d Like to Talk to Some Strangers - The New York Times To fight isolation, several groups are working to create in-person connections by bringing strangers together.   Few stats from the article ... For public health officials, there’s an urgent need to heed that call. Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former Surgeon General of the United States, called loneliness an “epidemic” and told The Washington Post that its health impact was as severe as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Others have linked chronic loneliness to weakened immune systems, worsened cognitive function and an increased risk of cancer. Some researchers doubt loneliness is higher today than it has been in the past, but recent surveys reveal ... Read Full Story

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: The Overview Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jul 23 2019 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: The Overview Effect. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing for our successful reach to the vast spaces outside and beyond us, the quest, in fact, allowed us to see ourselves more clearly - a tiny, fragile ball of life suspended in space. It offered self-awareness of our place in a vast universe. From space, boundaries and conflicts disappear and our interconnection becomes obvious. - Preeta

One-Day Retreat In Paris - 20-Jul-2019 Posted by Olivier Chhu, Jul 21 2019 *Version française dans la deuxième partie du texte* Largely inspired by ServiceSpace retreats in London, we decided to create some ripples in Paris in organizing our One-day retreat in Paris. We were 20 participants, coming from all around the Greater Paris area. During this day, we explored the themes of interconnection in building bridges and gratitude. We warmly thank the participants to have chosen to join us and also for their help. All together, we opened our hearts and planted several seeds of kindness to co-create spaces of generosity around us. Building bridges Solène and Jeremy welcomed each of the participants in the space, with a heart collar and warm hugs, and inviting them to join the meditation circle. 30 minutes of collective silence allowed to get back to ourselves and be ready to start the day smoothly. We opened the sharing circle on the theme of Building Bridges, taking anchor in the text We ... Read Full Story

Nuggets From Wendy Palmer's Call Posted by Kozo Hattori, Jul 20 2019 Last Saturday, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with Wendy Palmer. Wendy Palmer is a leadership coach who teaches how to become more connected with one’s strength, dignity, and warmth in order to be more “noble, awesome and shiny.” She uses the principles from Aikido and mindfulness to offer simple tools to increase leadership capacity. Wendy holds a sixth-degree black belt in Aikido and has practiced mindfulness for more than 45 years. Aikido is a non-violent Japanese martial art which incorporates the philosophy of "extending love and compassion especially to those who seek to harm others." When she first saw the movements of Aikido, Wendy “felt a sense of coming home – a returning – like waking up and remembering the part of myself that hungers for essential contact with the universe.” Wendy had grown up around horses and Aikido has a similar way of working with intensity and ... Read Full Story

The Second Awakin Lahore Circle Took ... Posted by Alizeh , Jul 20 2019 The second Awakin Lahore circle took place today . What fun! Distributed smile cards at the end of the reading discussion session . Was wondering if they can be translated in Urdu so that the random acts of kindness are not just done fr a specific strata of our community . Three hours of bliss ! The combined energies of all the people were awesome during the second hour . Everyone opened up and shared personal experiences about waking up to life- so many common experiences . We’ re all different yet share such commonalities , such tribulations , such trials. That is also a learning lesson in the study of life - we’re all connected through certain experiences - we all are one . Food this time included a non veg dish - we love our meat and to be honest this time I took help and cooked one of the dishes myself from the 4 . Felt a bit guilty but this made arranging the gathering so easy fr me ! Again - learning about myself - about life : ) Thank you 🙏🏿 I think the smiles just reveal how fuzzy and warm the session was !

Preeta On Justice Stevens (in 1995) Posted by Rahul Brown, Jul 18 2019 To wield tremendous power evenhandedly with kindness and humility is a mark of a strong connection to oceanic truth. We're used to finding this rarest combination of traits among saints and social change leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, yet this week, the country lost a man who embodied them in a secular way from an exalted office. Justice John Paul Stevens was ahead of his time on many key issues and questions that faced the nation, and will be looked back upon by future generations as consistently and courageously on the right side of history. Appointed to the Supreme Court by Gerald Ford and initially considered to be a solid conservative Republican, his judicial legacy is often regarded as leading the liberal wing of the court for 35 years. Its a characterization that he'd dispute, and those who knew him well would strongly attest that the guiding ... Read Full Story

Awakening Circle, Brooklyn NY. Nina's Internet ... Posted by Sunil Kumar, Jul 18 2019 Awakening Circle, Brooklyn NY. Nina's internet invited with love and the Innernet of 4 of us Nina,Arthur,Sunil and Radha got so deeply connected-interwoven to experience the life religiously & studiously that it became a memorable evening of kindness,pay it forward with gratitude. The Heavens blessed with cool showers in the end after an affectionate sumptuous simple dinner.May such gatherings evolve into a widespread popular movement to prove the same powerful-pure single life-force,soul or consciousness vibrates- manifests everywhere in everybody in this universal web.Not to forget Nina's protective Umbrella and Arthur's Tesla drive to our subway to Jersey City NJ.