ServiceSpace.org | Change Yourself, Change the World

Seven People Cutting Stones

iJourney.org — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:56:00 -0700

This week's iJourney reading is by Roger Walsh titled 'Seven People Cutting Stones': For several weeks strange sounds had drifted over the mountains from the neighboring valley. There was much talk in the village about what these noises could be, but no one could make sense of them. Even the village elders had never heard anything like them. Finally one of the young men of the village was chosen to cross the mountains and see what was going on. After two days of hiking he reached the mountaintop and saw in the valley far below a hive of activity with dozens of people working. As he drew closer, he saw a line of people, each with a huge stone in front of them that they were hammering and chiseling. When he finally reached the valley floor he approached a young man at one end of the line and asked, “What are you doing?” “Huh!” grunted the young man. “I’m killing time until I get off work.” Puzzled, ... [Read more]...

Wavy Gravy: Saint Misbehavin

DailyGood.org — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:10:00 -0700

"I was asked, in the mid-seventies, to go the Children's Hospital in Oakland and cheer up kids. On the way out the door of my house, someone handed me a red, rubber nose. I discovered it enabled me to get out of myself and be entertaining to the kids. After awhile, I began to paint my face up as a clown. I worked with kids almost every day for about seven years. I had to go to a political rally at Peoples' Park and I didn't have time to take off my clown stuff. I discovered that the police didn't want to hit me anymore. Clowns are safe." Wavy Gravy, the MC of Woodstock, hippie icon, beloved peace activist, humanitarian and clown shares more about his colorful journey in this interview. [Full Story]...

Ajay, My 10 Minute Teacher

Jitu Mishra — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:54:02 -0700

On a fine summer morning I left Ahmedabad and drove all the way to Pedhamani, a village on the bank of River Sabarmati, about 90 km from home. Throughout the way I had been engaged with my mind on the prospects of my contribution on education.

As I reached Pedhamani, I was greeted warmly by Jaldeepbhai, a man in his late 20s. With relation to maturity even a man more than 50 years old would have no match with Jaldeepbhai. When I revealed my obsession of teaching to village kids, Jaldeepbhai gently said: “in the process of interaction with kids you might discover yourself as a student and children as your teachers”.

About 2 hours later when I joined the kids in an informal workshop of clay modelling, I met Ajay, a boy of hardly 10/11 years old, and a student of class 5. He became my teacher for 10 min and taught me how to make a clay turtle. While he was teaching me I found him very passionate and patient, qualities that even adult teachers lack. I felt very humble, by looking and appreciating children’s creative skills and talent. For a moment, I was fixed as my mind started debating on the real purpose of education. Is it to just remember a few words or vocabulary or knowing basic math skills on pen and paper or allowing children to flow with their imagination and nurture their dreams?

We live in a world of visible impact that has shadowed the spirit inner transformations. We see human relationships more from a give and take perspective, not connecting through hearts. In a market driven economy, projects with road maps often sideline such random act of services that give us inner joy and purpose to live as humans.

It was Ajay, who showed me a path on inner journey, though he was not aware of it. There was no condition, no previous contacts, but only love that bound the two souls for a period 10 min so intensely.

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Three short rickshaw stories & generosity

Ram Upadhyay — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:11:55 -0700

Three short rickshaw stories & generosity (one of them is about Udaybhai in Ahmedabad)... Posted by Nithya Shanti on Facebook (who recently attended the Awakin gathering in Pune!).

Three Amazing Rickshaw Stories...

Yesterday a few friends and I began sharing auto-rickshaw stories. Now it is common in India to complain about how rude and corrupt rickshaw drivers are. However our stories revealed a very different side to these people who ferry us across busy, smoke filled roads each day.

The first story was shared by a friend who said that he has made it a practice to give every rickshaw driver TWICE the amount he is asked for. Once when he did this the driver was very confused and asked him why he was giving him twice the fare. My friend replied, "I would like you to keep the money, and if ever you see an old or sick person needing a ride on a hot day, if you wish you could give them a free ride with this extra money". The driver was moved beyond words. He actually waited at the same place and when my friend finished his work he again offered him a ride. When they reached the destination he refused to accept any money and said that people had always treated him like a cheat, but today his heart had been deeply touched and the feeling he was experiencing within was priceless.

How wonderful!

The second story was shared by another friend who described a happy rickshaw driver with a fare meter which did not work. A young lady got into his rickshaw and complained that his meter was not working. He smiled and said she could pay him whatever she felt was fair. She complained that this what all rickshaw drivers say and then they overcharge once they reach the destination. She said who would not pay any more than Rs. 20. He smiled and said that even if she did not pay anything that would be okay. She was surprised and said maybe she would really do that! She began asking about his family and how he managed if he gave people free rides and he said he was always supported somehow. They had a rich conversation. When they reached the destination she smiled and said that she had decided not to pay him anything. Unfazed, he laughed and said, "That's perfectly okay. I am always taken care of by the grace of God. Have a nice day!" So she walked away without paying anything! When the rickshaw driver looked behind he saw a Rs. 100 note neatly tucked into the seat. She was so moved that she had paid him five times the fare!

How very wonderful!!

And the third story is about a rickshaw driver in Ahmedabad called Udai-bhai who runs a "gift economy" auto service. His rickshaw is immaculately clean and equipped with drinking water and newspapers. Wherever he takes passengers, the meter always reads "zero". He tells them that their trip has been paid for by the passengers before them! He has been running this service six days a week for the last several years and it is amazing that with this pay-it-forward idea no one has taken undue advantage of him and his service is still running!

How amazing!

We shared several other stories as well, all so touching and true, about instances where we had been touched and grateful to auto drivers. Isn't it time to re-examine our assumptions about them? Isn't it time to see them as our brothers who serve us instead of always seeing them in a poor light. If we want to bring out the best in them we must first bring out the best in ourselves and see the best in them. They will certainly rise to the occasion.

Just wanted to share this as it moved me deeply (which is appropriate because rickshaws are all about having a moving experience!). The quality of our life experience is the quality of the stories we tell!

May you touch someone's life today!
May this be the happiest day of your life!
And so it is!

-- Nithya Shanti ...

Vinya shares ...

Vinya Sankaran Vasu — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:44:06 -0700

Our forest call guest today was Sheetal. Sheetal mentioned how much Wednesdays at Santa Clara have nourished and inspired him. It is no surprise that he started Awakin circles in Pune and spread the love :). A few weeks ago, his wife Khushmita has posted a beautiful blog entry about Wednesdays at Ahmedabad and the inspiration Madhu and Meghna imbibed from the awakin circles they were at in Santa Clara. One act of service inspires another and another until what is left is circles of love that fill our world with ripples of more circles of love… ...

Elemental: Water, Film & the Human Spirit

DailyGood.org — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:10:00 -0700

Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee is a director, producer, musician and composer who set out on a journey around the world to film a documentary about water -- that integral substance that connects us all and sustains life. In this conversation, Emmanuel talks about his practice of focusing on the process rather than the outcome, staying authentic to himself and those he films, and trusting the ripples. He reflects on what the making of the film taught him and how, much like a river, it encouraged him to let go and flow with his journey. "Elemental" is currently screening in the United States and across the globe. [Full Story]...

Share My Dabba

Shalini Sahai — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:03:50 -0700

A new campaign in Mumbai uses the famous lunchbox network to feed the street children of the city. Some would define it as “social innovation” – using an existing infrastructure for social impact.

What is Share My Dabba? Share My Dabba is an initiative to get uneaten food in dabbas (lunch boxes) to hungry children on the street. It’s not charity but an attempt to create a practical, every day system for food relief.

Why Share My Dabba? 300 million children across the world will go hungry today. 200 thousand in Mumbai, with 2 starving to death. All this while we leave behind food. In the dabbawala system itself, out of the 120 tons of food transported, approximately 16 tons is wasted. Wouldn’t you rather share this with a hungry child than throw it in the bin?

How does it work? On a diet? Not feeling that hungry? Skipped lunch? More food than you can eat? If you have any food uneaten in in your dabba, all you need to do is put a Share sticker on it. The sticker allows the dabbawalas to identify the ones Shared from the ones empty. When the dabbas, on their way back, go through sorting the ones with a Share sticker are kept aside. This gives volunteers a window to open these dabbas and give the food inside to children. They then repack the dabbas and keep them back while the children finish the food.

When do the children get the food? Right after lunch, barely an hour and a half after it’s eaten.

What about the quality of food? It’s the same food you would share with your colleagues or friends during lunch. Or that you would eat off your colleague’s plate. Some of it does go cold by the time it reaches the children, but remains just as nutritional. As far as transmitting germs through the food goes, would you share your food with a friend if you were ill? We expect participants to follow the same logic. If someone does paste a sticker with malicious intent, it will be traced back to them.

Will this program come to my city? We hope so. All we need is a strong food network we can attach ourselves to. But first, we’re trying to make this work in Mumbai.
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Unconditional Income Experiment

Tapan Parikh — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:16:55 -0700

A very interesting experiment of Uncondition Income -- The idea of giving money to the poor without asking for anything in return startled some. "They told us the men would use the money to get drunk, and the women to buy jewelery and saris," said Dewala. "But it’s a middle-class prejudice that the poor don’t know how to use money sensibly. The study showed that a regular income allows people to act responsibly. They know their priorities. When something is rare, people measure its value. (Anyway, in tribal villages, people distil their own liquor.) The main advantage is regularity. It makes it possible to organize, save and borrow. The principle is that a small amount of money generates a great deal of energy in a village."...

Dennis Dentists and Giving

Amit Dungarani — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:14:00 -0700

Dan Pink asks Adam Grant: "Okay, let me just get this out of the way. People named Dennis are almost twice as likely to become dentists as people with comparably popular names. What the heck is going on here and why should we care?" Adam responds: "The evidence here is very controversial, but it does turn out that we’re surprisingly drawn to careers—and people, places, and products—that remind us of our own names. If your name is Dennis or Denise, when you first learn about dentists, you might have a slightly more positive feeling because it taps into something familiar that’s part of your identity. Research by Brett Pelham and his colleagues suggests that this is true for a wide range of names, especially if our names are rare and we identify strongly with them. The self-similarity effect extends to helping: we’re more likely to give time and money to people who remind us of ourselves. We should care about this for two reasons. First, subtle factors can shape where we direct our giving, and we need to be cautious about helping for the wrong reasons. Second, if we want to convince other people to be more generous, we can often boost giving by showing them how they share uncommon commonalities with others in need." ...

Kindness Ideas of the Week

HelpOthers.org — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:31:00 -0700

Couple Smile Groups ideas that were posted this week ... lowerthenumber shares: "I helped stop someone from commiting suicide! " fzw1998 shares: "To smile " JlyneHanback shares: "I sent a heartfelt email to someone for Mother's Day whom I know has lost their own mother in the past couple of years to try to lift them up and get them through the day." ...

Nivendra- shares ...

Nivendra- Uduman — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:04:36 -0700

Hi Everyone:) There is a friend of mine, whose cousin has undergone several brain surgeries due to a tumour and is still not fully recovered. He is showing slight signs of improvement and is still not talking or moving too much. It's been a while now, and the family needs a great deal of support and empowerment. He lives with his father as his mother passed away when he was young. He is an university student and is really smart and always kind and generous. There is a great deal that he can contribute to the world, and to humanity.

His name is Pahan, and Pahan is still holding onto life. He is a fighter, made of true steel. So, I wondered whether all of us kindness warriors could get together and write Pahan and his father letters of love? It would mean the world to them to know that folks all over the world care about them, because there is still a long way to go. Pahan would not be able to read or understand what we send him, but I strongly believe that our love, kindness and compassion would give him and his family the strength they need.

So, if you beautiful folks out there would like to write a note/letter for Pahan and his father, please do so, and drop in an e-mail to ( lettersforpahan@gmail.com). I will make sure that they get each and every note/letter you send. Please do share with your wider network.

With Smiles,
Nivendra ...

Venkatesh shares ...

Venkatesh Seshadri — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:45:43 -0700

A lot of service comes from one's deeper self - that part which experiences quiet joy, truth, goodness and beauty- one that is not affected by daily dance of circumstance. This deeper self negates the usual ego self prompted thro the body, senses, mind and intellect. This overcomes afflictive emotion and provide a sense of selflessness. An act of compassion can arise only to people who are in touch with their deeper self....

David Foster Wallace's Speech for the Ages

DailyGood.org — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:10:00 -0700

O, the maddening tedium of the everyday responsibilities of adult life! It plagues us because the "default setting" of our mentality is to feel victimized by circumstance. We place ourselves in the center of the universal narrative, making the plot-line all about ourselves. In his 2005 commencement address, novelist David Foster Wallace speaks refreshingly about personal empowerment. The freedom comes from an open-minded awareness of the possibility that there are less self-centered, complex, and gladdening narratives spinning around you -- even in the most frustrating situations. "It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down," he shares. "Not that that mystical stuff is necessarily true. The only thing that's capital-T True is that you get to decide how you're gonna try to see it." Excerpts from his talk have been woven into this video that has recently gone viral. [Full Story]...

Miles Of Smiles, Berkeley Edition

Audrey Lin — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:17:58 -0700

“There is a sense of universality in smiling that serves as a bridge for interacting,” Bhoutik reflects. “Mother Teresa said it best, ‘Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.’”

Inspired by a series of smile events in Fremont and San Francisco, a few kindred friends came together in Berkeley on Mother’s Day to pay our gifts forward.

Gathered at Leah’s just-moved-in apartment, we kicked off the afternoon by crafting notes to leave on car windshields and give to passer-by on foot. Once everyone arrived, we grounded ourselves in a couple minutes of silence, shared introductions in an opening circle, and put the finishing touches on our smile posters, and hit the streets!

From Fumi setting the speed limit at "65 Smiles-Per-Hour" to Jo's electrifying smile dance moves to Scott's speedily witty smile notes, B2's skillful vision to bring us all together on one median strip, Leah's playful facilitation of art and beautiful offering of space, Guri's way of finding just-the-right quotes and snapping stunningly swift photos, Nipun's boundless enthusiasm and endless support, and Michelle and Sarah who picked up some signs and joined the fun, my cup is overflowing with the simple joys of smiling! :) Not to mention, a surprise run-in with Neerav (who, incidentally, was at the first Miles of Smiles years ago), Trushna, and Kavi, their adorable little one. :)

It’s true what B2 shares about smiling—it really is a bridge for breaking down barriers. There’s something about the benevolence of a smile, and the collective group energy, that made strangers dissolve into friends. From the moment we step out of Leah’s door, we begin making friends. The family eating lunch outside strikes up instant, inquisitive conversation. Jo is approached by several people, and delves into lengthy conversations with each of them. An older man in a weathered suit and hat asks Guri what we are doing. As she explains it to him, he smiles.

“Such a delight,” he nods. “Such a delight.”

In the first few minutes upon arriving at Shattuck and University, a young woman named Michelle crosses the street. Something keeps her from walking away. After watching for a bit, she introduces herself, takes an extra sign from Fumi, and joins in the cheering. Later on, Sarah stands on the same street corner beaming one of the widest, longest lasting grins I’ve ever seen. We wave, offer her an extra sign, and she eases into the mix as though it is second nature.

Positioned between two traffic lights, cars flood past us in waves. AC Transit bus drivers honk in support as they turn the corner. Some roll down their windows. Others drive by without a second glance. One car circles around again. And again. And again. Cheering all the way.

A few folks walking by call out: “Why are you doing this?”

To which we reply, “Why not?”

Honking takes on new meaning. At this particular corner, they’re usually prompted by frustration at being stopped by two traffic lights back-to-back. But this afternoon, they were celebratory. Some honked in response to our signs. Some just echoed the other cars honking. Whatever it was, the spirit was infectious. Each honk was like an ode to life—a celebration for moms, for smiles, for each other.

B2 shares:

In the midst of hundreds of passing cars honking and cheering us on, one interaction stands out for me. As we were about to wrap up, a middle age lady stops at a red light turns her head to read one of Leah's signs. "I'm Selling Love! It's Free". I'm not sure what prompted her, but she instantly rolled down her window and with a laugh exclaimed, "We are in the same business!"

After all we weren't in business, we were in giveness. :-) Give smiles, and spread love. And in the spirit of spreading love, she reached out with a memorable Mother's Day car-hug!

As the afternoon came to a close, we walked back to Leah’s apartment, our cups overflowing from all the smile-energy. It’s beautiful to witness the abundance of when one keeps on smiling. :)

As stranger chats with us along the way, Leah spontaneously gifts him the batch of homemade rice krispie treats that she was carrying. Scott and Jo run into friends seated outside a café. A man pushing a dolly syncs his steps with us and exuberantly dances down the sidewalk. As we re-enter the apartment building, another family bookends our day with a look of recognition and a warm welcoming greeting, “It’s the smile people!”

The next day, we hear from our new friend, Sarah, who had taken one of the signs home with her, and shared smiles with strangers the whole way back. She shares in an email:

“It was fun to build my courage and confidence to smile at people walking in the street. I’m looking forward to next time, and I’m going to keep smiling at strangers.”

Thank you, for a beautiful afternoon, and a beautiful reminder that “Sometimes your joy is the source of my smile, and sometimes your smile is the source of your joy.”

More photos in this album. ...

Ramblings of a meditating mind

Sandeep Sudeep — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:40:28 -0700

# Every breath, every second is a miracle. It was never present before, it will never come again. Between the breadth and second, life thrives. Live in infinity in that breath.

# It takes immense hard work, attention to grasp life. It is only possible if one is aware of its deepest motive and if self understands its limitations. Realizing the limits can ironically break you free.

# whenever you are ready, you will be taken up to new dimension. Universe ensures this.

# Man can only be happy if he is free, by being unconstrained in so called social context and yet it is ironical we spend most of our lives building walls, building exclusivity. Seems very contradictory.

# It is only if you are an individual, you can think of becoming collective. Without sense of self, collective consciousness cannot evolve.

# Deep in your heart, you know what is it that you stand for, what you are, what you want to be, you know it and you knew it all along. One needs raw courage to face oneself naked. But once you see it once, you know how to transform without effort.Effortlessness comes with lot of effort.

# Look within deeply, spontaneously, non judgmentally.

# Psychological Hurt is deep function of ego, of self protection, of insecurity. If you are hurt, you go in a shell not because you earned the right to be exclusive but because you are afraid of being left stranded. You are afraid to be vulnerable, afraid to open up and giving the power outside of self. But this hurt is a mental construct of accumulation. Breaking away from the hurt is easy. It just means that you are open to universe, you are not corrupted by your experience, by your self or world image. Life is very short so be completely vulnerable, allow every one to pass through. For that you need to stop seeing things from prism of pain or pleasure.

# Letting go, it is surprising you can achieve miracles.

# Don't struggle, Don't strive, Don't put effort, don't hope, don't expect, Close your eyes, don't discriminate. In stillness, life will reveal. Efforts will be made, results will be accomplished but without residues.

# Fearlessness is not a practice, it cannot be achieved through time or some process. It will come uninvited if you see that you are scared.

# Every moment, every minute will generate new emotion. These emotions are mirror on which deeper self will reflect itself. More we are in touch with emotions, more clear your perception will be.

# you have to become passion without center, intensity without motive....

Summer in the Forest :)

Kanchan Gokhale — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:29:56 -0700

Movies have a strong summer line-up and so do Forest Calls! Our latest confirmation was Marina Gorbis, head of Institute for the Future and author of 'Nature of the Future' where she will speak about the power of social currency. And on August 31st, the famous radio show host Krista Tippett on the art of conversation! Along the way, we'll also feature many everyday heroes from Sheetal (this week!) to Vlad to Afreen. If you can think of guests we should interview, please let us know! Our next open date is in September. And we hope to hear you on one of the calls too!...

Positive Satyagraha :)

Rahul Brown — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:46:12 -0700

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he says. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely." That's what Robin Lewis, head of Abercrombie & Fitch said. Greg Karber said, "I was really upset by his comments, and I wanted to do something to turn that negative energy into a positive social good." Here's what he did that turned into a viral video (watched over 4M times):

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11 Places So Beautiful It's Hard to Believe They Exist!

DailyGood.org — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:10:00 -0700

"Our world is so full of wonders that new and amazing places are discovered every day, be that by professional photographers or amateurs. Different geographical locations, climatic conditions and even seasons offer the widest variety of natural wonders: pink lakes, stunning lavender or tulip fields, breath-taking canyons and mountains, and other places you can hardly believe actually exist! Some of the pictures in this collection will be of all natural sights you can find while traveling around the world, while the others have experienced human interference -- but even in these cases, the result of such collaboration is spectacular." This piece offers up photos of 11 incredibly beautiful locations that really exist. [Full Story]...

Neeti shares ...

Neeti S W — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:53:15 -0700

Silent Wednesday, on a Tuesday here in Nigdi, Pune made special by Nithya Shanti....as he quotes "How Wonderful!" So much inspiration, so much insight and yet the Silence flows............
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Pancho magic!

Pratyush Rajvanshi — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:07:56 -0700

First read of the morning: This beautiful interview of our Brother Pancho, A Citizen of The World. Then, I was taken to another DG article about him! Had tears flowing freely early in the morning itself:) Not sure why! Out of gratitude and inspiration for sure, but something more than that too:)

Thank you Pancho! You talk a lot like the being I get to meet sometimes (when I am able to recede within) :)...