
Oct 23, 2023 Cindy's touching comment on yesterday's DailyGood: Drinking the Tears of the World: Grief as Deep Activism ... "Thank you for this article. Since losing my son two years ago (when everyone was so afraid of covid that only two friends attended my son's wake), I have been waiting and waiting to read the words somewhere that might resonate. Over the past two years, I've probably read 30 books and 40 articles on grief. This is the only one that reached me. I'm very grateful."
Oct 20, 2023 Tomas Bjorkman recently invited us to a weekend retreat around inner development. He's the author of a compelling book, The Nordic Secret. Here's David Brooks describing it in the New York Times: Almost everybody admires the Nordic model. Countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland have high economic productivity, high social equality, high social trust and high levels of personal happiness. Nordic nations were ethnically homogeneous in 1800, when they were dirt poor. Their economic growth took off just after 1870, way before their welfare states were established. What really launched the Nordic nations was generations of phenomenal educational policy. They look at education differently than we do. The German word they used to describe their approach, bildung, doesn’t even have an English equivalent. It means the complete moral, emotional, intellectual and civic transformation of the person. It was based on the idea that if people were going to be able to handle and contribute to an emerging industrial society, they would need more complex inner lives. See also Tomas's Ted Talks: How Inner Development Can Create Stronger Democracies
Oct 19, 2023 KarunaNews: How Boston Halved Its High School Dropout Rate
Oct 18, 2023 KarunaNews: The Philanthropist Who Gave Away His Billions
Oct 15, 2023 Last week, ServiceSpace was invited to offer our vision to several thousand changemakers at a global Inner Development Goals Summit in Sweden. Below is the plenary on "AI + Heart Intelligence" from the ServiceSpace lens ... it felt like people were hungry for such a narrative! And more, including the workshop talk, visit this page.
Oct 14, 2023 A reflection from Mia ... This last week was filled with multiple funerals, multiple hospital visits, a major presentation, and family drama. Going into it, I had a feeling of overwhelm. So much pain, suffering; pressure; uncertainty. How would I enter? I took some extra breaths and told myself, "Just be Mia - no more, no less." Show up and be present. And, as my Buddhist grandmother taught me -- "Be kind. Don't hurt people." Looking back on the week, I realize that it was a profoundly powerful gift. I've had the honor of bearing witness to individuals striving to do their best with the wisdom, resources, and emotions they possess. So much strength even as some carried so much grief. Wow. I've been granted access to the most intimate spaces of pain and grief, where emotions run deep. To exchange and be accepted in such a manner, often without the need for words, was a truly humbling experience. During a time when we are inundated by images and stories of suffering and separation, these shared human experiences strengthen my heart, and my resolve. I realize too that whatever the situation -- good, bad, or indifferent -- I can choose to be present and kind. No need for overwhelm. One breath, one step at a time.
Oct 11, 2023 Trishna in London writes ... We offer a deep bow of gratitude to Jin Chuan and Jin Wei for holding space for all of us with such grace, presence and wisdom at today's retreat, and for the thoughtfulness with which they curated an incredibly nourishing weeklong learning journey. Many of us will continue to deepen our understanding of the virtues and most importantly how to practice them in our day-to-day interactions. Many people shared that today was the most at ease and relaxed they have felt in the presence of monastics and how much they were able to learn and take away as a result of the warm and friendly interactions, the way they held space and how honest and human they both were in what they shared. It's truly a testament to the community and lineage that Jin Chuan and Jin Wei are a part of in California, which is rooted in humility and builds bridges with its surrounding ecosystem in the spirit of service and generosity.
Oct 11, 2023 Heard at Inner Development Goals conference in Stockholm: "Humility is a lasting awareness of my own subtle arrogance." --Lorezn Sell (more)
Oct 7, 2023 KarunaNews: One Man's Mission To Save Ho-Chunk Language
Oct 4, 2023 What a joy to journey with so many people from around the planet -- for our 21-day Interfaith Compassion Challenge. Collectively, we wrote almost a 4000-page living textbook, with our personal stories, stories and practices. Wow. For a small glimpse, here's the video clips from our closing call! Leigh's reflections mirror how so many felt ... What stays with me is the learning about things I do not know about and letting go of my assumptions of what they are opens up a new beautiful world. Also, that there is so much that ties all the traditions together and when I see the continuity versus the disparity, it feels better being in the world. It's a very life affirming experience without pretending there are no hardships. I'll carry with me admiration for peoples deep generousity of time and spirit. I will carry with me the intention and practice of expanding my compassion to myself and others even if it's slow progress. I will carry with me that when I can stop and see a pattern that's not serving and make a new choice it can open up the world and make it better for me and the people I experience in the world. What a great opportunity and experience this has been. Thank you so much for the interfaith Challenge. Thank you, all!