Dear Friends,

Happy MLK Day!

This Wednesday evening, we are delighted to have Charles Eisenstein as our guest speaker at Awakin Santa Clara. You can RSVP here.

Back in 2002, Charles wrote his first book. Five months later, he checked his total sales: five copies. Married, with three kids, he was soon evicted from his apartment, left to wonder: why am I doing this work? For self or service? Soon after, he had a metaphysical experience where he was confronted with a follow-up question: are you willing to work invisibly in service? He said yes. "That was part one of the disintegration of personal ambition. Then, I had to disintegrate the ambition to do big things to change the world. On a five thousand year scale, an everyday act of kindness is no smaller than anything a president does," he realized.

As the story goes, the more he let go, the more he was able to let in. His books became very popular, he gave talks around the world, Oprah invited him on his show. Originally a Math major from Yale and then a professor at Penn State, Charles tapped into his intellectual strengths to offer a new story that takes us from the age of separation to connection, a new framework for "sacred economics,"and a vision of a "beautiful world that your heart knows is possible." He also continues to be a tireless advocate for a gift economy.

Having attended various Awakin Circles as a "guest listener," it's a great joy to have Charles join us as a guest speaker this Wednesday at 7PM. As always, we are limited to the first 85 RSVPs.

In thinking of Martin Luther King Jr. today, I remember many everyday champions of non-violence -- like Ruby:

Six-year-old Ruby was the first African American girl to go to an all-white school on Nov 14, 1960. All the teachers refused to teach her, except for one: Mrs. Henry. Ruby received constant death threats and on the way to class every day, people would line up to shout and throw things. Mrs. Henry instructed Ruby to not speak to anyone, as she crossed the jeering crowds every day. But one day, she saw Ruby saying something, so she said, “Ruby, I told you not to speak to anyone.” “No, Mrs. Henry, I didn’t say anything to them.” “Ruby, I saw you talking. I saw your lips moving.” “Oh, I was just praying. I was praying for them,” Ruby responded. Then she recited her prayer: “Please, God, try to forgive these people. Because even if they say those bad things, they don’t know what they’re doing.” A six year old!

May we all grow in that kind of wisdom.

P.S. Thank you for your overwhelming response to our 2-day retreat this weekend. Given all your interest, we intend to host more such gatherings in the coming year!