The Jain religion is organized around a beautiful concept: Anekantvad. That translates to "multiplicity of views." Beyond the simplistic right and wrong, left and right, good and bad, it invites a journey through the nuances of context, and arrives at an elegant simplicity on the other side of complexity. It lands us at the doorsteps of an interconnected harmony, and what the Dalai Lama would describe as, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

Starting 9/11, we are hosting a global, 21-day Interfaith Compassion challenge. Everyday, participants receive a prompt from a unique faith, with "heart" prayer, "head" readings, and a "hands" act of service – with its streams effortlessly flowing into the ocean of compassion. Baha'i faith's emphasis on equality, Sikhism's practice of 'langaar' (offering a meal), the chanting in Sufism, sermon-less gatherings at Quaker churches. There's even a day dedicated to atheism and secular ethics! Coupled with daily prompts are inspiring weekly calls – with more than 25 luminaries, poets, artists and mystics – to collectively evoke the sacred in a way that ripples out into the world.

To join with kindred spirits from around the globe, and help co-create this field of compassion: RSVP for Interfaith Compassion Challenge.

Last year's challenge, with participants from 58 countries, was perhaps most notable for its unexpected emergence. Like the Tibetan monks offering a rarely heard chant, live from a monastery in Asia. It's almost as if our coming together in this way unlocked something in the matrix of our inter-connection. After the closing call, a podmate mirrored how many of us felt: "How many times do we actually hear other's hearts? Today was very profound and tearful for me, because we all listened with our hearts. I'm still feeling a euphoric high. I'm walking around doing my work with a dust rag in one hand and a smile on my face!"

Sacred in the mundane. Solitude in community. Simple, but not simplistic. Rooted and yet extending out.

The revered mystic, Vimala Thakar, writes: "Compassion is a spontaneous movement of wholeness. It is not a studied decision to help the poor, to be kind to the unfortunate. Compassion has a tremendous momentum that naturally, choicelessly moves us to worthy action. It has the force of intelligence, creativity, and the strength of love. This vast intelligence that orders the cosmos is available to all. The beauty of life, the wonder of living, is that we share creativity, intelligence, and unlimited potential with the rest of the cosmos. To realize that we are not simply physical beings on a material planet, but that we are whole beings, each a miniature cosmos, each related to all of life in intimate, profound ways, should radically transform how we perceive ourselves, our environments, our social problems. Nothing can ever be isolated from wholeness."

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