Bloom Where You Are Planted Posted by Trupti Pandya, May 15 2021 I have been working at a government shelter home for women for a few years. While some are waiting for a hearing from the court, others are on the mental health spectrum. Some of them were children when they came here. Their parents, guardians, or a cop dropped them at the shelter home, as there was no one to take care of them. Life/existence can feel purposeless and powerless with a history of difficult life circumstances, and staying in a place like this that is hardbound with barbed wire fences, high walls, and rules, life/existence can feel purposeless and powerless. In the Devotion and Purpose Pod, I went through an inner churning process with daily prompts and reflection, which helped me crystalize my personal value and refine my purpose in my being and doing. I was inspired to hold space in the shelter home, the same way space was held for ... Read Full Story

Two Gifts Of Devotion Posted by Trupti Pandya, Apr 18 2021 "What's an experience of devotion that has stayed with you?" While reflecting on these questions in our Devotion Pod orientation yesterday, two stories came to my mind. In my primary school years, our science teacher would start her class with a prayer. It felt unusual as none of the other teachers would do that. And as children, some of us resisted and use to make fun of her, but she would continue doing it day after day. Like everyone around me, I would also stand up, fold my hands, and listen to her singing. As a child, I did not realize what was happening, but I distinctly remember tears flowing while listening to some of the words from the prayer. As I grew up, I realized that I was finding strength from those prayers as the meaning unfolded. My teacher seeded as a child was something intangible yet omnipresent, like the goodness ... Read Full Story

Reading Thomas Merton And ServiceSpace Posted by Nancy Chu, Apr 03 2021 I remember the first time I read this passage by Thomas Merton. I was a student in my early 20s, and it struck me deeply. I was so moved by his powerful vision of the sacredness of humanity. Since then, whenever I realize that I have lost that sense of trust and wonder, I revisit it: In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness. This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I ... Read Full Story

Compassion Is The Measure Of Our Humanity Posted by Wakanyi Hoffman, Mar 31 2021 On Sunday, about 40 of us completed a two-week Compassion in Education Pod. What stood out for me is this idea of measuring the value of a good education. We have measures for academic performance and intelligence, we keep scores of sports achievement, our musical proficiency is measured by the ability to sing or play a note in perfect pitch, but we struggle to find ways of measuring the value of all of these pieces of education. As I reflect on the insightful stories that were shared in this pod, I am deeply compelled to conclude that the true measure of one's education lies in an individual's natural inclination towards compassion. How one reacts in a crisis, how one treats strangers, how well one shows up in their family, community, at work, and in the world has a lot to do with how compassionate a person is. That to me is ... Read Full Story

In Memoriam: Makala Kozo Hattori Posted by Preeta Bansal, Mar 27 2021 [Below is a note that was sent to our Awakin Calls volunteer team.] As many of you know, we lost a dear friend, brother, co-journeyer and co-servant earlier this month. Makala “Kozo” Hattori (1965-2021) was much more than one of the coordinators of our Awakin Calls team – he was an inspiration, guide, tireless volunteer, and cheerleader as well as purveyor/transcriber/translator of so much of the weekly wisdom that emerges from our collective efforts to bring forth sacred conversations into the world. Though I don’t live in the Bay Area, there was hardly an Awakin Circle or ServiceSpace gathering that I attended while in town where Kozo didn’t embrace me with his warm smile and big hug, his wry humor, and his boundless enthusiasm for some of the most recent Awakin Calls conversations he was listening to – the details of which he had an uncanny recall. “Wow – I’m still reeling ... Read Full Story

Humility Of The Breath Posted by Christopher Moreno, Mar 18 2021 For me of late, humility is like breathing -- an opportunity to pause, reflect, feel, let go, relax, heal, regenerate, and connect with yourself and others in ways that might not be otherwise if I wasn't mindful of my embodied strivings and the effects that they may be having on others (and their strivings). Every night my five-year-old son, Marcel, and I have a ritual of storytime and a few songs. Since late January, Marcel asks me to perform the "cure" for him and his older brother, that he describes as a preventative for possible "bad" dreams they may experience during sleep. This "cure" is an incredibly humbling practice of metta meditation and mindfulness, that I just learned as a part of the "Four Brahmaviharas" Pod in January. Soon after I learned it, I did a guided session with Marcel and his brother one night (after sensing that he was afraid of ... Read Full Story

Sow With Tears, Reap With Joy Posted by Aryae Coopersmith, Mar 18 2021 In last night's Awakin Circle, Nimo shared a joyous song from a legendary Gandhian sculptor, Kanti-dada: I was struck by how the lines: "We came crying, crying / But shall go laughing, laughing" are almost identical to the words from Psalms that we sing in the Hebrew blessing after a meal. The lyrics of that are: "The one who sows with tears will reap with joy":

Often Times Transforming Ourselves Seems So ... Posted by Amit Dungarani, Mar 10 2021 Often times transforming ourselves seems so daunting or perhaps the idea of making an impact/change in the world seems too hard. One of the values I love about ServiceSpace has always been to focus on the small because it is with time and patience the small can be incredibly impactful (especially vs. the alternative of doing nothing at all). I came across this image that reminded me of that. Thank you ServiceSpace community for the constant inspiration, random acts of kindness, gift economy way of living, laddership way of leading, and for constantly reminding us of the power of the small!  

Mark Dubois: The Little Tree Posted by Alda Cirincione, Mar 06 2021 We closed our Water Pod Call this an incredibly inspiring Q&A with Mark Dubois. It ended with this touching story: Christina, in our heartbeat exercise, shared a beautiful reflection that mirrored the feeling for so many of us: "This week has caused me to slow down a bit and pay more attention to this fundamental element of life. How often I overlook the water pouring out of the showerhead to bathe me, or the water of my tea, or that cool sip of water that I seek to quench my thirst. I have thought of myself as the clouds. I have seen how water "struggles" and perserveres. I have learned how to look for through lines. And I have cherished those moments of being joy-stricken. Because water is my predominate nature, it has also connected me more with myself. And because water is the predominate nature of us all - I feel more connected with these wonderful beings that I've had this week's encounter with, and all on the planet (and beyond)."

A 3-Year-Old And The Limping Duck Posted by Amritha Mandagondi, Feb 11 2021 At this week's virtual Santa Clara Awakin Circle, as we were exploring our time with the Emptiness Cafe, our friend Swaroop shared this moving story of his time with his daughter at a park: One day my daughter, who was about three years old then, and I were sitting in a park and saw a large group of ducks just walking by. One of the ducks was limping and my daughter was staring at this duck very curiously. After a couple of minutes, she asked what happened to the duck. I said maybe it got injured during paddling or something happened to it, but it is doing fine as it is still able to walk with one leg and jump, eat food and fly. To this, she said, "Okay," and continued to stare at the duck limping. Then, she comes back asking, "Why are the other ducks are not helping him?" "Yes, you are ... Read Full Story

3 Men In A Convenience Store; Faith In Humanity Posted by Shaila Menezes, Feb 11 2021 How much love is latent in a few bananas, saltines and a few bottles of Gatorade? Bear Necessities Grill & C-Store is a convenience store for students at Cornell University. Seth, George, and Harry are men who work there. I have not met them. I have only spoken to them on the phone. What I found these guys carry in their store is immense amounts of beauty, warmth and kindness to strangers. It will stay with me for the rest of my life. It floods me with Awe at the tapestry of life where someone takes the time to listen, notice, share, and make choices. My freshman son was in his dorm room feeling very weak and unwell. He had no energy to go down to the dining hall because he had been up the night before due to food poisoning. His roommate hadn’t yet arrived. I googled and found the convenience store, Bear Necessities Grill ... Read Full Story

How Much Time Does It Take To Gift A Tshirt? Posted by Rohit Rajgarhia, Feb 06 2021 Sharing one of my favourite stories, which came up in an Awakin Talk between Rahul Mehta, Rajni Bakshi and Rajiv Khandelwal. Everytime I remember this story, I feel touched, so sharing with all you here. Rahul: I would switch track to a personal story. You spoke of your experience of volunteering at the blind school. We also heard another story from your friends Jyotsna and Sachin. Jyotsna spoke of her 3-year old Rohan (now a 26-year old) who liked a tee-shirt you were wearing (bought from the US) and asked you to get him one like that. You promised him to get it on your next US trip a few months away. Unfortunately, you could not locate one of Rohan’s size on your US trip. Years later, on Rohan’s 18th birthday, you gifted him the very same tee-shirt neatly folded, preserved for over 15 years in as-if-new condition. You waited for ... Read Full Story

When My Grandson Discovered His Shadow Posted by Saroj Pathak, Feb 04 2021 [Our family's morning yesterday seemed to echo this week's Awakin passage on The Hole-y Bucket. :) I shared these stories in last night's Awakin Circle, and was encouraged to share here as well.] This morning, we went hiking in the Marin Headlands with my two little grandkids and my son, Anupam. We were going up the hill. There was this beautiful ocean below the cliff, and a little bit of a hill on the side. We were walking up, and little Benny -- he's two years old -- discovered his shadow. The shadow was going up the hill. He looked at it for a while, and then, he decided he wants the shadow to come down. So he's climbing up the hill trying to catch his shadow to come down. And he struggled for a while. I kept telling him, "Benny, if you just walk yourself, the shadow, will follow you." He didn't understand it. ... Read Full Story

Light In A Dark Hall Posted by Theresa Pathak, Feb 04 2021 [I was reminded of this story during last night's Awakin Circle.] One time, I was with a bunch of strangers in India. I was giving a presentation, and power went out. It was in a dark hall, and I was with two other colleagues. I was so embarrassed because we had invited all these people here. It was a public talk, and we couldn't do anything about it. Our mic was gone. There was no light. Everyone's sitting here in darkness, and I was just like, "Oh my goodness." You know, when the power goes out, you feel like you should be in control of it, because you're hosting the event. I was so embarrassed, and we just kept going on, talking in the dark, hoping people would stay. It was really ridiculous. I mean, there were no windows. Nothing. It was a dark hall. All of a sudden, a man in the ... Read Full Story

A Brown Bag Story Posted by Brinda Govindan, Feb 04 2021 [Many years ago, I noticed that my brown Chipotle bag had a beautiful story from Paulo Coelho. I have saved it on my wall ever since! I was reminded of this when I read the passage for this week's Awakin Circle and Brian Conroy shared the same story. It reminded me that the cracks are both how the light gets in and also how the water gets out!.] A legend tells of a man who used to carry water every day to his village, using two large pitchers tied on either end of a piece of wood, which he placed across his shoulders. One of the pitchers was older than the other and was full of small cracks; every time the man came back along the path to his house, half of the water was lost. For two years, the man made the same journey. The younger pitcher was always very proud of ... Read Full Story

Absolute Reality – A Starting Place For Learning Posted by Bonnie Rose, Jan 05 2021 As human beings, making our way in a complex world, we naturally want to make sense of life. We do this by unconsciously picking one perspective and clinging to it. We say, “This is Truth,” when really it is just true for us. Your “truth” depends on your perspective. Perspective influences our seeing and our relationship with what is. It’s not wrong to have a perspective. We don’t have to labor to eliminate them. We all have perspectives that help us navigate. But we can apply skillfulness to our relative perspectives. When we refrain from clinging to our perspectives, this creates room for others. In back of all perspectives, all relative truth is Absolute Reality. Absolute Reality, or pure awareness is the Truth that encompasses all perspectives, all possibilities. It is the consciousness that says “yes – and.” Mystics use words like Absolute Reality, Awareness, Consciousness, Source, or in my case “Rumi’s Field” as ... Read Full Story

The Word 'Listen' Has 'Silent' In It Posted by Swara Pandya, Dec 28 2020 [A few of us were recently reminded of this story Meghna shared in a Sacred Space Pod earlier this year. We just had to share the beauty.] About 5 years ago, I was on a trip to attend a community event in Delhi. During the day, we had some time off, and a friend suggested we go to this very sacred Gurudwara (a temple where most sikhs would offer prayers). I'm not particularly of that faith by birth, however, going along to that holy place somehow seemed like a very natural 'Yes'. It was about 8pm in the night, and I was tired as I held my sleeping daughter in my arms. It seemed like a long walk carrying my little one -- so I decided to sit by this bed of holy water in the temple. Right then, this monk started offering a Gurbani (a prayer) from inside the Gurudwara. It ... Read Full Story

Ripples Of The White Envelope Posted by Bijan Khazai, Dec 25 2020 I recently came across this account of a woman and her family's White Envelope tradition at Christmas: It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it – overspending and the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma – the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else. [...] Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was on the wrestling team at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. [...] As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, ... Read Full Story

Nipun's Talk At Jubilee Gift This Week Posted by Michelle Long, Dec 25 2020 Nipun spoke at our Jubilee.gift gathering a couple days ago, and it touched me deeply. His insights coming from his 30-day silence retreat had us all swimming in love, and I joked that I'm booking him to speak after every meditation retreat. :) This was a part of Jubilee Gift: The Course, an invitational 9-month Journey into Money & Belonging for wealth holders, entrepreneurs, and wisdom keepers. Our aim is to break from the economic and financial models we have known, to transmute financial capital into a flow that enables everyone’s gifts, and to build the spiritual ballast we are going to need as the world radically changes shape. His talk was part of this month's session: "Practices & Conditions", which was about about the practices that keep us trained on, and operating from, an open heart. We had given one of his old posts about his own personal practices as contextual reading. I am filled with gratitude Nipun and wanted to share this with this whole community!! :) Also - a quote I have on my fridge that I used in my introduction ...

A Life-Changing One-Way Conversation Posted by Grace Woo, Dec 21 2020 [During a Sacred Space Pod in September, I was remembering this incident, and a couple volunteers encouraged me to share about it here, too.] I often have very early morning conference calls. I enjoyed the morning calm and the ocean breeze that blow away the Los Angeles summer heat. A few weeks ago, while I was on a 5am call, my neighbor yelled out from his window. "Can you please close your window when you have a conference call?" He sounded exasperated. Tired. I stopped. I cannot argue back. I reflected on his word, and imagine how my conversation sounds like from his side. And then it became clear to me - he is right. I never realize I am ruining the morning calm for others that is so dear to me. I almost want to yell "THANK YOU!". But that would be weird. So I just closed the window. From that moment on, before I ... Read Full Story