Gandhi 3.0 - Filled To The Brim With Love Posted by Marian Brehmer, Feb 08 2018 When Nipun’s invitation to join this year’s Gandhi 3.0 retreat landed in our email inbox, it filled us with joy and excitement. Just four months after our marriage in Istanbul, the invitation felt like a delayed wedding present. Our hearts resounded with an immediate YES to be there and something in us already knew that this retreat was going to be life-changing. In 2011 - I was 19 and just graduated from high school - I went backpacking across India. I remember visiting the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad back then. I read Gandhiji’s autobiography on the ashram lawns, my heart deeply touched by the spirit of the place. During my stay, I also happened to visit Manav Sadhna, Jayeshbhai’s NGO right next to the Gandhi Ashram. That afternoon there was a performance of slum children with some rappers from the US at Manav Sadhna. I took some photos, but didn’t get ... Read Full Story

Mary Rothschild: Attention, Digital Media And Young Posted by Rahul Brown, Feb 07 2018 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'Mary Rothschild: Attention, Digital Media And Young ChildrenReflection questions: How would you characterize the health of your own relationship to digital media? What practices do you follow that help protect your attention from being incessantly hijacked by the screens in your life?

Awakin Kids Circle Emerges In Surat! Posted by Parag Shah, Feb 06 2018 [One of the regular attendees of Awakin Surat circle heard about Awakin Kids circle and was moved to start something. Below is Manish K's letter from this week's inaugural circle. Feel very grateful. --Parag] Yesterday, we started the new journey of a "no exit strategy" ServiceSpace approach, with a local Awakin circle for children! It just so happened that circumstances cooperated, and organically the circle was initiated. For our first circle, we had scheduled an hour -- first 20 minutes of meditation, then 10 minutes of story-telling, 10 minutes of sharing, then some prayers, and some food. What was happily surprising was that all the children sat silently without making any disturbance. For most of them, it would be the first time sitting. Manya, my younger daughter (6 yrs) made a colourful drawing, and even name tags for everyone. She had also written a story in her own words. No use of readymade media. ... Read Full Story

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Happiness Vs. Posted by Ameeta Martin, Feb 06 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Happiness Vs. Meaning. Philosophers have long recognized two paths to leading a good life - happiness and meaning. Happiness is about feeling good and feeling pleasure; it involves an absence of pain or anxiety. Meaning is more active and is defined as "being and doing good" - a life involving service and contribution. Our featured story explores these 2 in more depth. Guess who feels better? -- Ameeta

Greetings To Everyone!! I Happened To Hug ... Posted by Tejaswi R, Feb 05 2018 Greetings to everyone!! I happened to hug a stranger who was crying miserable on a busy street - i wonder why no one is talking to him - we have become so insensitive to anyones pain? i asked him - what is the matter buddy? why are you crying? he replied it my mothers birthday today and he broke down Its been 11years since his mother passed - he recalled all the memories shared between them I learnt an importent lesson - Let us try to be little human - Let us pause, look around and see - someone somewhere might need our help Light and love Tj

Awakin RAK Posted by Pooja Zaveri, Feb 05 2018 It was a pleasure to be a part of the first Awakin Circle meet of 2018 on Jan 26, 2018 in Ras Al Khaimah at Neelam auntie and Manohar uncle's house. We began our journey by having one hour of collective silence and it was really so serene and calm. Add to it the weather outside was also so cool. Post one hour, we began our discussion on a small passage on Does Life have a purpose ? which was a thought provoking question where all the kind souls contributed to their thoughts. One thought which I was able to share is we all need to live life in its present form and also maintain unity among ourselves along with having a positive mind. it reflects upon me to stay bound with what life has given me now and what it will give me in future. We then had our yummy meal made by Neelam auntie and we had some pictures taken to capture the great memories . Looking forward to more such Awakin circles. More Smiles.

What Breaks Your Heart? Posted by Awakin , Feb 04 2018 This week's Awakin reading is by Maria Shriver titled 'What Breaks Your Heart?': What breaks your heart? What does your soul long for? And, how is that connected to how you are living your life now? I love this question because it’s made me think about my passion and purpose in a whole new way. I wanted to share it with you today because I believe this is a question that applies to all of us. And, I also believe that the answer lies deep within each and every one of us. I deeply believe that each of us is here to move humanity forward. I deeply believe that each and every one of us longs to be of service to others, and also to live our lives in a way that matters. “What breaks your heart?” is about the best question I’ve ever heard to help you get closer to your soul’s longing and closer to your life’s passion and purpose. But, I think before ... [Read more]

Call To Action - Opportunity To Send An Important Posted by Maria Jain, Feb 04 2018 Dear ServiceSpace family, I feel called to share this in our ecosystem to whoever feels called to join hands: This week, I received a letter from Jarvis Jay Masters - a fellow practitioner and an innocent man for 28 years on San Quentin Death Row - calling on friends to add their voice to call for his appeal to be heard. His appeal has been stuck in the system for over a decade. -> Link to his letter online: http://www.freejarvis.org In November 2017, Masters started a hunger strike to bring awareness to his and other cases of innocent people on death row, many of whom die before they have the opportunity to have their full appeals heard. Two hospitalizations and the loss of 60 pounds later, he has for now closed his hunger strike. The struggle for justice continues. Masters has written powerful books of his experience and life journey that shine a tremendous ... Read Full Story

Gandhi 3.0: Grand Rehearsal Of Unconditional Love Posted by Zilong Wang, Feb 04 2018 “The men who discovered for us the Law of Love were greater scientists than any of our modern scientists. Only our explorations have not gone far enough, and so it is not possible for everyone to see all its workings. Such, at any rate, is the hallucination, if it is one, under which I am labouring. The more I work at this Law, the more I feel the delight in life, the delight in the scheme of this universe. It gives me a peace and meaning of the mysteries of Nature that I have no power to describe.” -- Gandhi In the heart of Gandhi’s homeland, there is a modern-day experiment of the timeless Law of Love. They call it Gandhi 3.0, where "Gandhi" stands for the age-old principle of leading with inner transformation, and "3.0" represents the many-to-many networks that are popularized by Internet. In January 2018, around the 100th anniversary ... Read Full Story

Moved By Love: Holding Space Collectively Posted by Shaalini Srinivasan, Feb 02 2018 Latest issue of 'Moved By Love' newsletter is themed Holding Space Collectively. What transpires when a group of like-hearted people come together with no agenda and hold space collectively? As we step into the unknown, something sacred emerges in that field of deep trust and maitri. This month, we bring you a recap of recent retreats held in Ahmedabad, Auroville and Surat.

Owen Suilleabhain: Art, Hope And Wholeness In Troubled Posted by Birju Pandya, Jan 31 2018 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'Owen Suilleabhain: Art, Hope And Wholeness In Troubled TimesReflection questions: In challenging times where have you discovered hope and wholeness? Has there been a time in your life when art offered up an avenue towards transformation and healing, and if so, how?

An Unforgettable Retreat With Young Leaders Posted by Poonam Singh, Jan 30 2018 I woke up this morning feeling the world feels different today. We had our first Soulforce young adult leadership retreat this weekend. The first thought I had this morning was: “This weekend was truth!” When I woke up this morning, I felt so honored and privilege to have served these young leaders. So grateful. I also found myself having more compassion to myself and my family and even to strangers. I felt a shift in myself. This weekend we trained leaders in our community to create change in the world drawing from the deepest individual and collective wisdom they had. We called the retreat: Breathe, Connect, & Disrupt. It was about nonviolent resistance through self-transformation. It’s hard to find the words to describe how I feel right now, but I felt I must write it down so I don’t forget. I feel love flowing from my heart. I fell in love with these youth ... Read Full Story

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Growth In Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jan 30 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Growth In Every Opportunity. We all face difficult situations. Every experience and interaction can be an opportunity for spiritual growth. We can either resist the lesson placed before us and have that lesson repeated over and over for us until we learn it, or we can face every experience courageously and embrace healing. The truth is that "we alone determine the rate of which turmoil passes". -- Mish Rosen

Inspiration TO-GO Inspired By An Earlier ... Posted by Ashima Goyal, Jan 30 2018 Inspiration TO-GO Inspired by an earlier story on KS, a couple of us created this post-it wall of "Inspiration TO-GO" at a local school where I have recently started volunteering. We did it at the end of the day so that parents, students and teachers will see it as they come in the next morning :-). As we were writing the messages on each post-it, we felt like some messages were made just for us and we just posted them around our desk. We hope more people will find a message that will speak to them and they will take it. We also left some blank post-its and a pen for them to add to the wall. Happy Tuesday!  

A Beautiful Beginning Posted by Devendra Tayade, Jan 29 2018 A Beautiful Beginning 26th January (India)/ 25th January (USA) marked the beginning of the first Laddership circle for doctors and I was as nervous as anyone on this earth since, there was a realization that this could be a beginning of something significant. The theme for the first week was Stories and immediately we could see how our lives were intertwined by the threads of questions we collectively hold. Through this blog I am making an attempt lay down some of those common threads and the learnings they brought. They are as follows: 1. East meets West: This circle started with introductions and a simple question about what drew each individual to participate in this circle. With 4 fellows from east and 4 fellows from west, along with five volunteers who have experience on both sides of the globe it was powerful to learn about the backgrounds of each person, as ... Read Full Story

Awakin Dubai, 2018 Posted by sunita Lama, Jan 27 2018 After a gap of almost six months we, the Dubai community, were able to come together and connect in silence. It was a homecoming that was long overdue and deeply missed! There were challenges no doubt but when the intention is pure, all hindrances are overcome. Just a day before the scheduled date, Neha, our faithful coordinator, messaged to break the news that confirmations were canceled. This news however didn’t deter my plan or hurt my feelings as it would have in the past. (Vipasana therapy to the rescue!) I was determined to sit in silence even if it meant being alone (in the physical sense). Then at around 3:45, another message popped up with two confirmations, followed by yet another soon after. I silently offered gratitude to the universe and allowed the beautiful evening to unfold in its natural rhythm. What is meant to be, will be is what the ... Read Full Story

TAGS: Meaningful Connections, Podcast, Love, Purpose, ... Posted by Maria Jain, Jan 27 2018 TAGS: meaningful connections, podcast, love, purpose, NYC Dear ServiceSpace family, I've been in touch with a Finnish podcast host Johannes, creator of Lovepodcast (https://www.lovepodcast.fm) where he talks to people about "What is love and how does it appear in our lives?" So far, the conversations have touched upon topics like parenthood, acts of kindness, social justice and activism, masculinity, non-duality... Johannes will be in NYC on 17-20 February. He welcomes ideas on / connections to people to meet. (He & I will sit down to talk about www.buddhasondeathrow.com) Therefore, sending this little missive out to our ServiceSpace ecosystem. :) Whom should Johannes meet in NYC? Would love to hear from you and help make some meaningful connections happen. :) Sending goodness to all, Maria

Bayarea: KK Sunday (+ Healing+T, Gandhi, 3.0 And More!) Posted by ServiceSpace , Jan 27 2018 Dear Friends, As January melts into February, here's a few local events you may like to know about... This Sunday, Jan 28th, we're on for Karma Kitchen Berkeley from 11AM - 2:30PM. Bradley, Connie, Audrey and a spirited crew are looking forward to seeing and serving you there! One couple signed up to volunteer with the note, "It is our wedding anniversary and we would love to spend the day doing something meaningful." In a couple weeks, on Feb 11th, we're gathering together for another Awakin Circle at Banyan Grove. RSVP here. Then, on Feb 18th, Kozo, Bill, Sri, and Radha are building on an illuminating dialogue with a day-long retreat around Healing + Transformation! Gandhi once said, "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." In India last couple months, it's been a privilege to witness the gentle capacity of these labor-of-love spaces to shake the world with their daily, distributed, small graces ... Read Full Story

Gandhi 3.0 -- Bows Of Gratitude Posted by Zilong Wang, Jan 27 2018 Right in the Gandhian heartland, there is a modern-day experiment of the timeless Law of Love. They call it Gandhi 3.0, where "Gandhi" stands for the age-old principle of leading with inner transformation, and "3.0" represents the many-to-many networks that are popularized by the modern-day Internet. In January 2018, around the 100th anniversary of the Gandhi Ashram, the experiment culminated in a global retreat, the third of its kind since 2014. "It is difficult, very difficult to find words to express all that we've lived in Ahmedabad," wrote Vasco from Portugal, who authored the first book in Portuguese on mindfulness. "When people ask me how it was, I just stay silent, let my eyes and smile shine, bless them in my heart and give them a big hug. :) All words seem to dilute the sacredness of the experience… Feel touched at a deeper part of my being... Although in the last ... Read Full Story

Facing Sadness The Mindful Princess Style Posted by Somik Raha, Jan 25 2018 My 6-year old daughter Samani was sad that a friend had spoken a little harshly to her. After the sadness lingered over two days, we tried talking her out of it, but it didn't work. Finally, I had this conversation with her. Me: Are you feeling sad? She: Yes. Me: Would you like to stop feeling sad? She: Yes. Me: Then you will have to let it go. She: How? Pause... Suddenly, I remembered a conversation with my professor. Me: Ok -- you will have to repeat what I say, and then the sadness will disappear. Will you? She: Yes. Me: "I am feeling sad." She: "I am feeling sad." Me: Actually, I am having the thought "sad". She: Actually, I am having the thought "sad". [Her expression partially changes from sadness to one of curiosity] Me: Actually, the thought "sad" is having me! She: Actually, the thought "sad" is having me! [Her expression fully changes to curiosity and astomnishment] Me: It is eating me up! ... Read Full Story