Nuggets From Karla McLaren's Call Posted by Chris Johnnidis, Sep 17 2020 [WIP!] Last Saturday, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with Karla McLaren. Karla McLaren, M.Ed. is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and empathy pioneer. She is the author of The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings are Trying to Tell You (2010), The Art of Empathy (2013), and the multi-media online course Emotional Flow: Becoming Fluent in the Language of Emotions (2012). Her most recent book is Embracing Anxiety: How to Access the Genius of this Vital Emotion (June 2020). Karla’s lifelong work focuses on her theory of emotions, which revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens new pathways into self-awareness, effective communication, and healthy empathy. She is the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics LLC. Her work now focuses on teaching empathic mindfulness skills that help people interpret the messages and gifts inside their emotions so that they can increase their empathy and emotional awareness. Below are ... Read Full Story

Karuna News: 5AM At The Beach -- And Other Acts Of Posted by KarunaVirus , Sep 16 2020 Newest issue of our newsletter is out!What do two homeless men, a security guard, youth in Australia, and mental health specialists in Denver all have in common? Here's a hint: "My dad taught me the first time I went fishing you always make a place look better than when you got there," Marc Gervais says, as he sweeps up beach litter before dawn. Through this week's stories, we are buoyed by the remarkable emergence that surface from individual's intentions to take care of their communities -- leaving people, places, and themselves in resoundingly better spirits than how they found them.Read the full newsletter here ...

Tuesday Ryan-Hart: Equity At The Center Of Systems Posted by Janessa Wilder, Sep 16 2020 This week's Awakin Call guest: 'Tuesday Ryan-Hart: Equity At The Center Of Systems ChangeReflection questions: Our guest this week believes that working together drives collaboration and the discovery of shared purpose, rather than vice versa. The real work, she says, is that which drives collaboration (or perhaps paraphrasing Rumi, that which moves diverse groups beyond whatever stands in the way of love). With this framing, what do you see as part of your real work?

Positive Tongue Posted by OLUWATOYIN MIXONEMESEH, Sep 16 2020 Ensnared, Justified or Condemned by the words of your mouth. (Matthew 12: 37) The bible says in Proverbs 18:21 : ”death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eats its fruits” There are many sayings that we are what we eat, what we say and these leads to who we are or who we become. How we talk about ourselves matters. How we think about ourselves matters more. The words we use can either limit our success or unlock our potential. Proverb 12: 18 “there is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” After all, today is the day to cast aside self-doubt! And now is the time to look beyond your fears. Choose to indulge the power of positivity with us. Speak life into yourself every day, use empowering words each day, boost your morale and strengthen ... Read Full Story

KindSpring Weekly: Spotlight On Kindness: Unlikely Posted by Guri Mehta, Sep 16 2020 The latest issue of 'Spotlight on Kindness' weekly newsletter is themed: Spotlight On Kindness: Unlikely Allies.Editor's Note: People like to have as much authority over their lives as possible. We know who we love, who gets our time and attention. Life, however, has its own plans. It might be less like a merry-go-round, with the same individuals and more like a crossword puzzle that requires different pieces to work together. This week's stories show us that life can sometimes astonish us with unlikely allies. --Guri

Inspiring Link Posted by Sanjeev Verma, Sep 15 2020 Swami Agnivesh: Reflections and Memories Katherine Marshall reflects on the life and legacy of the late Swami Agnivesh, a religious leader who spoke truth to power as he worked to create a better world through activism on a wide range of critical issues, from hunger to HIV/AIDS to modern slavery.

Harshida Aunty's Meal Plan: Wednesday-night Soul Food Posted by Mark Peters, Sep 14 2020 Every Wednesday night, without fail, for more than two decades, Harshida Aunty – along with a rotating cast of selfless volunteers – have served up savory soul food for Awakin Circle attendees at the Mehta's home in Santa Clara. Imagine the intentionality that has gone into acquiring, scrubbing, cutting, slicing, dicing and cooking the few hundred thousand vegetables that went into preparing these savory meals over the years. Imagine the challenge of serving the various dishes warm from a residential kitchen, when the Circles are unpredictable in both length and size. Imagine all the glasses, plates, bowls, forks, spoons and knives that were washed, dried and stored away again until the process starts anew in a few days. Karma yoga and bhakti yoga commingling in a bowl of delicious dal for hungry ghosts. Is this not the highest form of sadhana? In one of the parables shared two millennia ago by Yeshua (aka ... Read Full Story