Getting Ready For Two More Laddership Circles! Posted by Audrey Lin, Jul 29 2018 This week, 27 of us are gearing up for another round of Laddership Circles! After a year of smaller, themed circles -- from business to healthcare to youth values, design principles and beyond -- we're thrilled to now head into two fresh concurrent circles (which we've nicknamed 'Yin' and 'Yang' :)) in the next six weeks! Just a glance at the quality intent behind the applications alone has been inspiring to behold! One young engineer wrote: In this era, our minds our valued and trained above all else while our heart are often neglected. I feel that my truest introspection comes not through a mental process but through the emotional center of solar plexus when my head and heart are in alignment and can communicate freely. My close friends may say my curiosity heavily defines my character. I suspect my passion for introspection is invigorated as I am able to reach ... Read Full Story

Kindness At Karma Kitchen Toronto Posted by Thu Nguyen, Jul 28 2018 Last weekend catching the generosity ripples from last month, our team of 20 volunteers came together to animate a second Karma Kitchen Picnic in the Park. This time we had more hands, more food, more guests, more activities, more kindness, more smiles and more magic. What a joy to witness everyone do small things with great love, and watch the ways that the park and community came alive - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You really have no idea what will emerge in a public space when a few friends get together to give with no strings attached except know that goodness will be generated. It's a dream that we could return to practice and experience Giftivism right here in Toronto: Generosity isn’t a zero sum game because everyone wins. The Setup Volunteers who joined us in the morning to clean up the park and helped breathe a ... Read Full Story

Nuggets From Terry Patten's Call Posted by Amit Dungarani, Jul 28 2018 This Saturday, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with Terry Patten. Terry Patten has long been a leading voice for facing, examining, and healing our global crisis through the marriage of higher consciousness and activism. He co-wrote Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint, which offers a framework for "waking up" and growing in awareness through time-tested ancient and modern scientifically validated practices. As a community builder, he founded Bay Area Integral, where people engage in conscious inquiry and find community in the San Francisco area. Terry's new book, A New Republic of the Heart: An Ethos for Revolutionaries, offers more integral approaches to activism, and has been hailed as "a stunning marriage of wild heart and cool mind," and for "combining brilliant social commentary along with a step-by-step blueprint for catalyzing whole-system change from the inside out." We'll post the transcript of the call soon, but till then, some of ... Read Full Story

Preeta's Fuji Declaration Posted by Rahul Brown, Jul 27 2018 Preeta spoke in Japan on co-creating harmony and balance in the world by uncovering the feminine energy. Lots of great thoughts elegantly and vulnerably woven together in this 5-minute talk (with audio slighly out of sync) :-)

Art With Heart And Circles Of Love..:) Posted by Vidhi Desai, Jul 25 2018 Art is heart with circles and love When I hear the word “ heart circle”,it brings me immense happiness just as purely as I’m watching a baby smile. Recently did a heart circle at Nagpur at a home which is transforming into a shelter home for 92 and more girls. These girls now have a home, which is volunteer run by an NGO called Zero gravity. Nagpur being my city where I have grown up and spent my life’s most treasured moments , and there when I had the opportunity of doing a heart circle, it almost felt like re-living old moments just for art and the joy of seeing art as not just art, but a human connection. These girls in a hall where seated in a circle and when I asked them to sit in silence they literally did that, to which I still feel awe and admiration for the girls. ... Read Full Story

Laddership 1.4 Posted by Jaimit Vaidya, Jul 24 2018 In learning, you will teach and in teaching, you will learn- Phil Collins A few days back I was reminded of my 10th-grade journey while preparing two kids for their re-test. It was a crucial milestone for them to pass this exam as there is a high probability of drop out which means this might be the last time they would be entering a school premise in this lifetime. We were a team of three to four mentors working in a team. I had the charge to teach them Maths and Science in the evening after my office. Technically I was teaching them but there was so much to learn from these children, sharing a few thoughts. Faith can make a difference! Whenever I asked them which subject should I teach or what method would you be more comfortable with in terms of the teaching, their answer was simple. Whatever and whichever way ... Read Full Story

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Kindness To Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jul 24 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Kindness To Oceans. According to the Earth Day Network, every minute one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our oceans. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish. Microplastics are ubiquitous in our waterways and fish who eat these are entering our food supply, with potentially disastrous health consequences. This affects all of life. We are all responsible and all must act. - Ameeta

And Yet The Pearl Sat In The Palm Posted by Aslinur Akdeniz, Jul 24 2018

HeArt Circle On: Me Time Posted by Trupti Pandya, Jul 23 2018 Self-care is never a selfish act. It is simply good stewardship of the only gift that I have, the gift that I was put on earth to offer other. -Parker Palmer Inspite of rains, last Sunday, a bunch of us came together to cherish 'My-time' which was this month’s theme for Heart circle. Personally, I could think of my school time when after a series of lectures suddenly we would get a surprise free class. I am sure all of you must have experienced the joy of that priceless ‘time’. These two hours was like a speed-breaker on the road of our life where at times we miss to put a tick on our leisure-time wish list. Research also shows how taking out leisure time elevates one’s physical and psychological health thus the intention ... Read Full Story

Three Learnings From Doing Nothing Posted by Somik Raha, Jul 22 2018 Just returned from a vacation in India where I felt my roots had been watered. While many things beyond the reach of enumeration led to that feeling, three interactions stood out for their common thread. As an engineer, I have always wanted to make the world a better place. Usually, and perhaps erroneously, I would assume this meant "doing something." And yet, there are times in one's life when one cannot "do" anything. The three interactions on this trip helped me go deep into doing and being, and the dance between them. A meal of love Perhaps as old as I am is a term of endearment my aunt uniquely used for me. Every time I've heard her call me in that way, I have always been connected to her in love. The interregnum between the last time I saw her (three years back) and this time has been punctuated with devastating personal ... Read Full Story

Art From Today's HeArt Circle Posted by Suratvanti Ashwin, Jul 22 2018 Most of you have probably heard about heArt circles, that are hosted in various cities, where we share through art. Yesterday, in that space of stillness and connection in the heArt circle, this is what I ended up drawing: I'm feeling very grateful for these circle, and particularly Trupti. The very first I met her, she was just so giving. She helped me, but the more I observed her, I realized that she just helps everyone at every chance she gets. I feel blessed to know her, to be part of our local Awakin and heArt circle, our MBL retreats, and to keep trying to pay it forward. Thank you.

Nuggets From Timber Hawkeye's Call Posted by Audrey Lin, Jul 21 2018 Today, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with Timber Hawkeye. Timber Hawkeye is the author of the bestselling books Buddhist Boot Camp and Faithfully Religionless. From an early age, Timber saw the contradictions inherent in our world, noticing that society’s endorsement of wealth, possessions, and career are distractions from a freer, truer, simpler, and more connected way of life. Timber was born in Israel and moved with his family to San Francisco at the age of 13, His teenage years and early twenties were an ongoing attempt to embody the "American Dream" and being "successful." But he eventually left the corporate world and moved to Hawaii, emailing friends and family about his experiences. Those emails about his deepening journey became the basis for his best-selling book Buddhist Boot Camp. Timber offers a secular and non-sectarian approach to being at peace with the world, both within and around us. We'll post ... Read Full Story

The One I Would Like To Talk To Posted by Ariel Nessel, Jul 21 2018

Karma Kitchens Across The Globe! Posted by Elizabeth Pimentel-Gopal, Jul 20 2018 Dear Karma Kitchen Friends, thank you for your ongoing support in nurturing the spirit of generosity at Karma Kitchen! Next Sunday, July 29th, we're on in Berkeley! Do swing by for lunch if you're local. Or, if you'd like to volunteer from 10AM-4PM, we do have a few spots open. In the last month, we've been witness to some remarkable stories at Karma Kitchens around the globe. In Nepal, Sushil reports the first KK Kathmandu, where guests were wowed by the big-hearted volunteers, who "were all physically disabled, myself included". At KK Dubai, Sehr calls it a "massive heart surgery" -- with stories of a celebrity chef volunteering, CNN filming, and the theme: "It's Cool To Be Kind"! In Toronto, Thu hosted KK in the Park, with a future city council member tweeting: "Unforgettable." (and she's at it again tomorrow!) In NYC, Ebony wondered, "Can New Yorkers open their hearts?" And discovered, why, ... Read Full Story

Inspiring Link Posted by Vinod Eshwer, Jul 20 2018 HOW TO PLANT A TREE ( FOR SOMEONE YOU LOVE) sometime ago, reforestIndia got a call from a few folks at enableIndia- an organization that trains the visually impaired to be "job ready". a group of 5 visually impaired people wished to volunteer to plant trees. "how many trees do you wish to plant?" we asked. (usually, the average response is 1 tree, 2 trees or maybe even 7 to 10 trees. no more.) but these people had a greater vision. "we want to plant 500 trees" they said. "fine. would you like to start with 50 trees?" ok. ok. before this call happened, we'd been getting many requests from tree lovers asking us to make an instructional/demo video on "how to plant a tree ". this seemed like a good time for the film to be made. so, without knowing what to expect, i ended up at the planting site with a camera. the volunteers, strutted in with their foldable ... Read Full Story

A Recent Learning About Law Of Love Posted by Trupti Pandya, Jul 18 2018

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Pollinating Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jul 17 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Pollinating Kindness. Our friends at The Pollination Project recently launched a Global Kindness Program to provide $1,000 grants to help seed and spread kindness around the world. They are looking for kindness projects that will help spread the joy, love and inspiration kindness brings! Do you have an idea that would benefit from the grant? Check out the video below for more information. - Ameeta

Nuggets From Clare Dubois's Call Posted by Gayathri Ramachandran, Jul 17 2018 Clare Dubois is the founder of TreeSisters.org, a women’s crowd-funding and consciousness-shift campaign to inspire women towards the reforestation of the tropics and shared leadership around ecological restoration. TreeSisters reflects Clare’s exploration of the links between feminine consciousness and Nature’s intelligence. It is currently funding over 1.7 million trees across Kenya, Madagascar, India, Brazil, Cameroon and Nepal. Clare founded TreeSisters after a car crash that delivered a life changing message – it was revealed to her that the tropics needed to be reforested within 10 years – that women were the missing piece in the climate change crisis – and that feminine consciousness needed to be reinstated. Her primary work is in the creation of processes, tools, courses, and messaging that can access the nature-connected essence of woman and activate new forms of leadership. Some of the nuggets that stood out from the call: Deep learnings from a car-crash Clare ... Read Full Story

Prahlad Tipanya Retreat At Banyan Grove Posted by Rahul Brown, Jul 17 2018 On any given day in India, hundreds and thousands show up to hear him sing and speak. When he gives a TED performance, literally the biggest name in Bollywood shows up to introduce him. Whether it is five minutes on a national stage or a few hours on an evening performance, two things remain true: Prahlad-ji remains unchanged, and the audience is left wanting more. Much like the 15th century saint Kabir who inspired Prahlad-ji’s journey, he has a way of getting to the heart of the matter instantly with the incisiveness and clarity, even as it’s offered humbly with love. In chatting before the retreat began, he says to me, “Rahul-ji, the work of the Sufi saints and saints of all traditions and eras has been to break down boundaries and bring people together. Through transcending differences we’re able to approach Oneness-- but to reach it we must concentrate our minds. ... Read Full Story

Wow, We’ve Done It; The Second ... Posted by Pham Thi, Jul 16 2018 Wow, we’ve done it; the second Awakin Circle in Hue! “It was a very peaceful evening” as most of us cited. Some of us were comfortable enough to fall asleep a few times during the first hour while some others enjoyed the time and space that allow them to “feel the beauty of silence and honored the collective spirit of dear friends, brothers and sisters”. We’re now excited to look forward to our next gathering!