Your Love Has Touched My Heart Posted by Kush Kanodia, Jul 18 2019 [At our retreat last month in London, Debbie felt suddenly queasy. An unsuspecting act of kindness by one of the participants moved her so deeply, that she wrote a poem about it.] Your Love Has Touched My Heart (A poem about a moment of kindness that remains Here in timelessness.) It's not with fine sounding words That we will win back the world For God, Though words may come when necessary. It's not with beautiful offerings Of music and food and flowers and candles, Though these may be here, Enhancing and lighting up The Way. It is with each tiny flicker of Love, That ignites in our hearts, Compelling our hands To reach out And truly touch The hearts of those around us, Fanning into flame the same flicker of Love In their hearts. May this One Fire Grow And burn brighter Than any desire of the ego For recognition or admiration, Brighter than any desire To be special, Or better or more important Than others. May it burn Until it returns Each soul To the Silence And Stillness Within

Nimo's Awakin Talk On Jai Jagat Tour Posted by Neil Patel, Jul 17 2019 Last week we had a beautiful Awakin Circle with our dear brother Nimo who had just returned from an epic journey with 17 amazing children and 9 committed volunteer coordinators, across USA and UK sharing the message of Peace on Earth - through an incredible dance, music & drama performance called Jai Jagat. It has been a gift to witness this journey in motion as they, along with many, seeded this intention of love and oneness. With many learnings, challenges and incredibly grateful moments along the way, Jai Jagat family has been capturing hearts and planting seeds of love. Here’s a video recording of the simple stories that emerged through the process of the Jai Jagat experience (and continuing). Sharing some sneak peak nuggets from his sharing below: “Spending time with children is beautiful because you see them coming from a very pure space.” “Spending time with 31 parents, they became my parents too.” “The deeper ... Read Full Story

The Last Poem Posted by Somik Raha, Jul 16 2019 I was in Tagore's heartland last weekend on my second visit to Shantiniketan (translates to "Abode of Peace"). This is where Tagore setup an international university called Vishva Bharati (which translates to "Global India") in 1921 using his Nobel prize money received in 1913. There are many things of note here. Tagore rebelled against education that was confined within walls. A hallmark of the classes here is that they are often held in open air under the trees. Tagore and Gandhi both had a low opinion about the British model of education that arose from industrialization and employed a factory and batching model. Santinketan has given India two of its Nobel laureates -- Tagore for Literature in 1913 and Amartya Sen for Economics in 1998. Here is Sen reminiscing on what education was like here in his formative years: .. it was mainly in Tagore’s school that my educational attitudes were formed. This ... Read Full Story

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Kindness Road Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jul 16 2019 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Kindness Road Trip. Our newsletter today features a unique woman, Mary Latham, who chose to honor her mother's legacy of looking for goodness by driving cross-country in search of simple acts of kindness. After 43 states and almost 3 years of traveling, she has collected hundreds of "do good" stories and experiences staying with 130+ families who opened their homes to her. Her journey is featured below. - Ameeta

Seeds Of Silence And Ripples In TCS Posted by Kishan Laddha, Jul 16 2019 93+ Associates of TCS sat in golden silence for 30 minutes on international Yoga day (21 June). To me, it is one of the most memorable day of my 12+ years in TCS. As we often speak, we don't know the ripples of even a single individual sitting in silence for even a minute, for sure I don't know where the ripple of this collective silence was planted. However, I have good fortune of having known few incredible individuals who with their consistency planted seeds of this experience. It was a co-creation of many individuals who brought flowers, decorated the space pouring in fragrance of their sweat, created a beautiful rangoli keeping charkha in center, many individuals even got their mats to offer for unknown individuals, our Meghnaji offered the speaking bowl we use at Awakin Ahmedabad while Pratyush shared insights about setting the intentions in the beginning and more ... Read Full Story

A Ride To Banyan Grove Posted by Bradley Stoll, Jul 15 2019 This part of my journey began at 6:20 am Friday morning. Along the nearly 100 miles (we did take a few detours...some even intentionally) I never felt lonely, although often alone. Vishesh met me at the Kindness Temple. Of course, Harshida Auntie wouldn't let us go without a nourishing breakfast, both physically and emotionally. And she did this all as she was also trying to get herself off to work! The next stop was Pavi and Viral's, where a planned circle with Sr. Marilyn was in progress. We arrived after about 3.5 hours on the road. Riding along the Bay Trail, it was mostly relaxing. My mind didn't have to focus on pain or wind; I was just allowed take in the nature. And then we got close to Pavi and Viral's. OK, I had to walk my bicycle up several steep hills. For me, it was a decision that ... Read Full Story

Road Trip Of The Imagination: Day ... Posted by Aryae Coopersmith, Jul 15 2019 Road Trip of the Imagination: Day 9

Nuggets From Kevin Adler's Call Posted by Kozo Hattori, Jul 14 2019 Last Saturday, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with Kevin Adler. Kevin F. Adler is a successful technology and social entrepreneur who is the Founder and CEO of Miracle Messages, a nonprofit working to end homelessness by rebuilding social support systems by reconnecting homeless people with their loved ones. Miracle Messages evolved when Adler heard from one homeless person: “I never realized I was homeless when I lost my housing, only when I lost my family and friends who supported me.” Adler says “relational brokenness is at the heart of homelessness: social disconnection is part of the experience. Along with this come feelings of shame, embarrassment, self-loathing, and uncertainty. A lack of reliable access to the internet and digital illiteracy combined with these emotional barriers keep many homeless individuals further isolated from their potential support systems.” Through tenacity and technology, compassion and community, Adler is showing us that everyone ... Read Full Story

Gandhi And ServiceSpace Posted by Nipun Mehta, Jul 14 2019 [Some reflections based on a recent conversation on how Gandhi and ServiceSpace are connected.] In many ways, ServiceSpace shares great affinities with Gandhian values. While ServiceSpace founders, in their early twenties and younger, didn’t explicitly aim to emulate Gandhi nor were they well-versed in his philosophy at the time, decades of subsequent work has shown a rather striking affinity to shared values that Gandhi referred to as “old as hills.” At its core, Gandhi’s organizing principle was to “be the change” and trust in the ripple effect. This has been the ServiceSpace credo from its start in April 1999. Originally, ServiceSpace was building websites for nonprofits. Thousands of nonprofits were served, and as technology evolved, its services turned into web portals and eventually a slew of other online and offline projects. The underlying story, though, is significant. In the dot-com hey-day, ServiceSpace’s young volunteers went entirely against the grain to be the ... Read Full Story

Perfection Is Not The Goal. It's An Action. Posted by Birju Pandya, Jul 13 2019 [Beautiful reflection by Claudia Escorza, after a recent retreat at Banyan Grove.] Perfection is not the goal, it’s action. I have only been an Animal Rights activist for a couple of years, but ever since I became one, I’ve developed a keen interest in exploring myriad tools to help me nurture my mental and emotional health. In this line of work, you are confronted every day with the devastating suffering that animals endure; it can be debilitating and get in the way of the very contributions you intend to make for them. I am fortunate enough to work at an organization where the culture for self-care is booming, where everyone seems to be increasingly aware of the perils of burnout and the importance of avoiding it. As part of those efforts, all staffers were extended an invitation to attend a five-day silent meditation retreat at Banyan Grove. An incredible gift with obvious benefits for ... Read Full Story

Nuggets From Srinija Srinivasan's Call Posted by Preeta Bansal, Jul 13 2019 Last Saturday, the wonderful Terry Patten and I had the privilege of hosting an Awakin Call with Srinija Srinivasan. Terry initiated a far-reaching and playful dialogue with the effervescent Srinija that brought forth her endless curiosity and the deep questions of life that she’s holding. An accidental tech exec, Srinija Srinivasan joined Yahoo! in 1995 as one of the first five employees, serving as Vice President, Editor-in-Chief for 15 years before stepping down in 2010. With a background in artificial intelligence, her work at Yahoo! centered on the human experience, expanding into leading editorial and policy issues globally. During that time, she also chaired the board of SFJAZZ, a nonprofit leader in jazz creation, presentation, and education. These experiences together led her to co-found Loove, a developing music venture designed to demonstrate how commerce and technology can be guided by artistic values rather than letting our culture be led by market ... Read Full Story

Just Read Something By Rumi Which ... Posted by Alizeh , Jul 13 2019 Just read something by Rumi which resonated so well with the entire ethos of ServiceSpace and what each of us needs to work towards : Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. May God give us the power , strength and courage to change ourselves for the better . I guess I have already begun the journey ( difficult yet not impossible) of inner change by realising the aforementioned - that I need to change from within ; plant the seed of kindness, empathy, patience , tolerance and wait for the beautiful flower to grow . Again, it’s not easy because the Universe will test you in so many ways but people have tread this lofty path and been successful !

The Countdown Is On! Uganda...here We Come! Posted by Melissa Stephens, Jul 12 2019 Hello my beautiful, inspiring friends! My husband, son, and I will be leaving in 3 weeks to travel to Uganda to meet with Grace, the incredible soul who I was connected to via this very site! In order to capture all the magic, I will be blogging each day and posting pics here! I will do my best to also put the posts on the Service Space feed, but I wanted to give you the external blog link in case I forget. :) All of this...I mean all of it even beyond my trip...is because of you all. I love you so very much and am so grateful to be a part of this community!

A Letter From A Retreat Participant Posted by Trishna Shah, Jul 12 2019 [At our last retreat last month, with Jin Wei and Nipun, one of the first-time participants shared a candid reflection to the tune of, "I've been meditating for 20 years, but to be honest, I've never been to a retreat like this. I'm not sure what will come out of it." A few hours after returning home, she sent along this thoughtful reflection.] Dear Trishna, Just a quick note to, again, say thank you for hosting the recent retreat at your lovely home. It has taken me some time to fully digest and appreciate what the event was truly about, and the energetic uplift it has left behind. It’s such a fantastic idea -- and now I can see it more clearly -- to have so many spiritual seekers to just sit down together for a day and share what they needed to share, from the heart. Even if we never ... Read Full Story

I Leave The Dreaming To The Universe As I Simply Walk Posted by Sunidhi , Jul 12 2019 It's been almost three months that I have been wandering and each day is so different and sometime difficult from the other. I have had more realizations now compared to my whole 24 years on earth and the most challenging one has been the one where I came face to face with my shadows. I have been a perfectionist my whole life, always doing something or the other but this past one month when I did not had much to do towards my outside, I was forced to look in my inside. my past, my needs and from what intention it all originated. I started my "career" in the social sector at a very young age, even though I came into this life because I wanted to help others but somewhere I also wanted to please myself by doing so. when you are here and if you are not careful you are bound ... Read Full Story

I Opened A Delivery Box Today ... Posted by Heng Sure, Jul 11 2019 I opened a delivery box today and out popped these characters. The receipt had a name on it but perhaps more than one people were involved. That kindness tag touched the heart of all the monks in the monastery today: laughs galore!   Help! Dragons! There must be a story here somewhere! Chinese monks, Jain monks, and Chipmonks! Sign of things to come! Robot puppets!  

Reflections At Awakin Ventura Posted by Peter Frank, Jul 11 2019 In Ventura last night, we had an Amazing Awakin Circle and discussion on this week's reading, Not Loneliness, But Aloneness. People spoke on so many elements of the topic. Being kind to ourselves by carving out Alone time. Instead of driving home from work & immediately going inside, go out back and sit for a few moments, leaving days stress behind; then walking inside with the intention of kindfulness. Someone else says they’ll stop at red lights and use that moment to be conscious. Someone else recently moved into a new house, but hasn’t taken the time to enjoy the beautiful surrounding nature. She committed to enjoying a morning cup of tea with mindfulness and gratitude. There were so many more insights for cultivating Aloneness Consciously. Then we asked: How can we bridge Loneliness in ourselves and others? The ideas kept flowing. One is connecting to the elderly by bringing ... Read Full Story

Conversations: A Pathless Land Posted by Richard Whittaker, Jul 11 2019 This month's 'Conversations' newsletter is themed A Pathless Land. Borrowing from Krishnamurti's famous remark "truth is a pathless land," the thought comes up: "Yes. And yet it's still truth." If this land is pathless, it may be because it cannot survive being packaged for distribution. It doesn't scale that way because it lives inside being, not things. And it's essence may be more like a question than an answer...

Tomorrow Morning, Vishesh And I Will ... Posted by Bradley Stoll, Jul 11 2019 Tomorrow morning, Vishesh and I will embark on a Ride of Trust from the Kindness Temple to Banyan Grove. A trust in our bodies, the kindness of strangers, and the universe, in general. Neither one of us has ever done anything like this before; 80 miles over two days will be testing our physical limits. We'll be carrying with us water, a few snacks (maybe for new-found friends!) and a bracelet making kit. The "plan" is to ask strangers to provide us with nourishment, or even just positive messages for our short journey. Some bracelets may find their way into the hands of others, too. The universe will guide us to a safe place to rest our bodies Friday night in SF, I am sure of that. Leon Legothetis has done an extreme version of this at least twice, documenting both in the Kindness Diaries, I and II, as seen on Netflix. As I watched it, I couldn't stop my mind from saying, "yeah, but he has a film crew with him." What would it be without that, I thought? Although a very shortened journey, I still have faith in humanity and its collective kindness and compassion.

After Mindfulness: In Service To A Common Heart Posted by Audrey Lin, Jul 10 2019 Last week, Diana and Coleman convened bunch of us at UC Berkeley for a conference that explored a unique question: What's After Mindfulness? How do the values behind mindfulness extend beyond meditation? Their vision was not only a curation of content, but a movement -- a convening space for values and transformation -- the seeds of which would ripple forward long after the two-day event. What began as two non-Buddhists signing up to organize an 11th Global Conference on Buddhism turned into a remarkable journey in innovating around the age-old values of our human spirit. In a recent newsletter, Nipun recounted: "Originally, Diana and Coleman invited us to offer a presentation; but as they learned more about our organizing principles, they became enthralled with the idea of spreading a culture of non-commercial spirit of service throughout their conference. We invited them to move from legal contracts to trust in friendship, and they ... Read Full Story