Clare Dubois: Toward A Nature-Based Feminine Posted by Kozo Hattori, Jan 24 2018 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'Clare Dubois: Toward A Nature-Based Feminine ConsciousnessReflection questions: What does feminine consciousness mean to you, and how can tapping into feminine energy help address planetary crises?

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Building Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jan 23 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Building Non-Judgement. Judgement is both an innate and learned response. We have a natural instinct to judge our surroundings as part of our protective fight or flight mechanism but judging other people just by how they look is now less a survival response, and more a learned response. Can we teach our kids to be less judgmental and increase their empathy and compassion? These stories indicate we surely can. --Ameeta

Youth Retreat Surat 2018 - Towards HOPE! Posted by Mihir Kaji, Jan 23 2018 Hope is being able to see that there is light, despite all of the darkness – Desmond Tutu Earlier this month at the Youth Retreat in Surat, a bunch of us got to witness this light of Hope. We got together with some inspirational youth from various parts of the country to learn about their service journeys, and to collectively hold questions around it. With a soulful prayer to ground the collective energy, Jaimit reminisced about listening to his grandmother sing prayers when he was a child, and how that eventually blossomed into him holding prayer circles in his home town of Vadodara. Resonating the sentiment, Avani reflected that in today’s world which is geared towards instant gratification, how endearing it was to see slow-stories evolve organically, such as the evolution of Karma Meals and the journey of Vineet and friends who went from serving food to those in need ... Read Full Story

Xiao At Right Livelihood Circle Posted by Aryae Coopersmith, Jan 22 2018 Our Jan. 21 Right Livelihood Circle featured a group interview with Xiaojuan Shu, and a reading from her one-woman show which will be playing in San Francisco in February. Xiao's story, and the conversation that followed, were moving and inspiring for all of us.

Sarah Peyton: Why Self-Compassion Can Be Hard Posted by Preeta Bansal, Jan 17 2018 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'Sarah Peyton: Why Self-Compassion Can Be HardReflection questions: Have you ever struggled with self-criticism and tried to be kinder to yourself? Which tools and techniques have you tried, and which have you found to be helpful? What has been the role of offering kindness to others as you have tried to experience kindness for yourself?

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Confident Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jan 16 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: Confident Kindness. Confidently kind is a quality that evolves as we do selfless acts. Each time we reach out to another, it opens us up to being vulnerable as well. Our confidence grows as our acts of kindness are accepted. We realize that the door that we open for a deeper connection mirrors both ways. We see ourselves both in the giving and in the receiving. It is all the same gift. -- Mindy

With So Much Gratitude, On January ... Posted by Liz Helgesen, Jan 15 2018 With so much gratitude, on January 28, 2018, I will celebrate a ten year anniversary being part of the ServiceSpace Team. Adding voice to the Weekly Readings has changed who I am as a human being, and I am so grateful and blessed to be able to share these Readings with the world. Thank you, Nipun, Viral, Pavi and Somik for this opportunity to spread such beautiful words across continents for a decade. With my love to you all, Liz

Laddership News: Laddership News: Glowing Into January Posted by Jane Murray, Jan 14 2018 This month's 'Laddership Newsletter' was just posted online. Another new year, full of things that have never been! This month the theme is 'glow'. Lara invites us to be the glow of compassionate love and Chandni describes an experiment in which a soul's glow can be captured.

Awakin Q&A With Gary Zukav And Linda Francis Posted by Dinesh Mehta, Jan 13 2018 [At this week's Awakin Circle in Santa Clara, authors Gary Zukav and Linda Francis were visiting. They'd planned to just be "guest listeners" during the circle of sharing, but we were spontaneously moved to invite them to share reflections around this week's passage, followed by popcorn Q&A from around the circle. Below is a lightly edited transcript of the illuminating Q&A, which touched on topics of multisensory perception, driving force of love and fear, and spiritual partnership.] Question: Listening to you speak, I'm struck by how it's seems almost normal for you to view the world from this reflective space -- where you can notice the different elements of your personality and practice not being controlled by it, but rather, engage with yourself, others and the world from deeper sense of self and place of compassion. What prompted you to begin to see the world in such a way? Gary: My ... Read Full Story

In The Kitchen With My Granddaughters Posted by Anuj Pandey, Jan 12 2018 [Below is a touching story that Linda shared about her granddaughters and the topic of "spiritual partnership" at Wednesday's Awakin Circle in Santa Clara.] One day, I was in the kitchen, and our granddaughters were visiting us. They were pretty young, maybe 10 and 12, or maybe 8 and 10. They're sitting in the kitchen, and I'm making some food. I think I was making a smoothie. But I was in a hurry, and I had gotten caught in a frightened part of myself that was impatient and trying to get things done quick. I'm just running around the kitchen trying to get everything done. So my granddaughters are sitting in the kitchen, and I could see out of the corner of my eye that they're whispering to each other. Then, the older one says, "Grandma, I think you're in a frightened part of your personality right now." It made me laugh so hard that ... Read Full Story

The Candle's Lesson Posted by Somik Raha, Jan 11 2018 Some weeks back, we were with friends who had their own beeswax candle making set. We made a Buddha candle using a mold. It was so beautiful that for the longest time, I resisted burning it. Finally, in the last two weeks of December (last year) during some periods of solitude, I felt the irony of attachment to the Buddha's image and lit the candle just before going to bed. When I woke up, a strange sight awaited me. The Buddha's face was partially intact from the front. When I looked from the top, here is what I saw: After burning, the candle had hollowed out embodying an emptiness that had merged with the fullness of everything. All that's left now is a shell that allows the play of emptiness and fullness to be somewhat relatable. What a blessing to have this reminder of impermanence. This is the first time in my life that a candle has delivered such a deep teaching!

Fritjof Capra And His Work Posted by Xiaojuan Shu, Jan 10 2018 [Taking Capra Course was one of the most mind-opening learning experiences for me in 2017. It's an online course taught by Fritjof Capra based on his book--The Systems View of Life, which will certainly inspire more people to apply systems thinking in their organizations, corporations, and governments, and in all aspects of our lives. It can help unify series of social movements, such as the environmental and ecological movement, the feminine movement, the peace (non-violent) movement, the racial justice movement, and the holistic health movement, etc. Also through Capra's teaching, I understood conceptually how ServiceSapce ecosystem has been able to grow through relationships and networks and why ServiceSpace continuously holds space and circles for emergent questions and projects. Later last year, Fritjof Capra generously accepted our invitation to be on our Awakin Call in March this year. Deep gratitude for his generosity and humility, his love for teaching, and his gift ... Read Full Story

Ann Medlock: Sticking Her Neck Out For Democracy Posted by Amit Dungarani, Jan 10 2018 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'Ann Medlock: Sticking Her Neck Out For DemocracyReflection questions: Our guest this week believes in the inefficacy of compassion without action, and the need for people to be willing to stick their necks out. What has inspired you to take action in your life and stick your neck out in the face of others' suffering?

From Our KindSpring Community Feed — ... Posted by Mindyjourney , Jan 10 2018  Awesome work, dear kmbhai! POSITIVE THINKING MAKES POSITIVE RESULTS! --by kmbhai The better India website works for increasing positive things in society. They publish inspirational stories and videos on their website. This time they published a short video on RTI work (Right To Information Act). Here, I am sharing the video link. https://youtu.be/rwaWbM3g8rI Hope, you will enjoy it.  Thanks..

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: The Alchemy Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jan 09 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: The Alchemy Of Kindness. The power of kindness is the alchemy of transformation. Each kindness shared with love grows the heart of the giver, and sparks others who spread the ripples far and wide. May we all be bold with sharing our love, light, and kindness in the year ahead! --Mish

From Library To Post Office :) Posted by Anne Veh, Jan 08 2018 In November, a few of us visited a local library to share stories around the themes of gratitude and kindness. A librarian there had invited us to speak with their community on those themes, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving and holiday season. We'd planned a presentation with a bunch of stories from experiments, like our school Kindness Circles, the love warriors in Teach Me To Be Wild, and even a gratitude card-making activity. On the night of the event, it turned out that the audience ended up being quite an intimate bunch: two very sweet grandmothers in attendance. :) For us, it's always been more about depth than breadth:), and It ended up being the most beautiful evening! We scrapped our presentation and simply had a circle of sharing and conversation around all of our experiences in gratitude and kindness. The librarian actually had to (very kindly) kick us out ... Read Full Story

A "Famous" Poem Posted by Arathi Ravichandran, Jan 05 2018 Recently came across this stirring poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, and thought others would appreciate it as much as I do. Famous By Naomi Shihab Nye The river is famous to the fish. The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so. The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds watching him from the birdhouse. The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek. The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom. The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe, which is famous only to floors. The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it and not at all famous to the one who is pictured. I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back. I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do.

Two Strangers In Tanzania Posted by Dinesh Mehta, Jan 04 2018 [Below is a touching share from yesterday's Awakin Circle in Santa Clara, prompted by a reading on universality.] Hi, I'm Jackie and when I was about nine years old, I decided that we were all one. I knew that every place in the world could be home intellectually, but I knew that I wasn't going to experience that -- that things far away seem strange, and that I really wanted to live someplace different. I just determined that I was going to do that. And when I grew up, we did. It is different to experience the oneness of people and the wholeness of the whole world than it is to know it intellectually. And to know that people are the same underneath, although they are different. That the sameness is just as important -- if not more important -- than the differences. I think I ... Read Full Story

David Haskell: Interconnections Between People And Posted by Preeta Bansal, Jan 03 2018 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'David Haskell: Interconnections Between People And TreesReflection questions: Do you have a special relationship to a tree or a particular piece of your natural environment? How do you connect or communicate with it?

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: New Posted by Ameeta Martin, Jan 02 2018 Latest issue of 'KindSpring Weekly' newsletter is themed Spotlight On Kindness: New Beginnings. As we move into the new year, may we take the time to renew our spirits. Gently shedding behind what is no longer serving us and others, and moving forward confidently with love and light. Enough faith in our hearts to surrender to life. Enough sight and effort to create a better reality. And enough grace and joy to be grateful for what we have. Happy New Year from all of us! --Guri Mehta