Masami's First Awakin Circle

Tonight was a special evening.  It was Masami-san's first ever Awakin Circle.

Her spiritual teacher, Masahisa Goi, told her that she would give birth to three daughters who would steward her immense work in the world.  But her daughters, although not shy of speaking to 10 thousand people or general assembly at the United Nations, were always reluctant to embrace such a leadership role.  It perplexed Masami-san.  Few years ago, when she first heard about ServiceSpace design principles, she couldn't sleep at night.  She realized that it was the era of "many to many" networks, and what the world really needed was "laddership" in place of leadership.  As a towering spiritual personality in Japan, the nuances of this new approach were rather foreign to the structures around her.  But she made a promise to herself to unlearn, relearn, innovate and whatever else it takes -- to embrace the new.  Over the years, she has been steadily stepping into that frame of mind, and today was a culmination of that.

An intimate circle.  In a living room.  No prepared remarks.  No agendas.

And it was a riot!  Read more in Trishna's post.



Due to her decades of deep spiritual practice, whenever Masami-san sees someone in need of help, she has involuntary reflex to help them.  Subsequently, intimate circles are exhausting for her.  But not today.  Her daughter, Maki, told me today was the first time she felt more energized than before she entered the circle.



At one point, Ani says out loud, "I'm feeling an urge to bow to her and request her blessings. May I?"  And to that, the 76-year-old Masami herself goes flat on the ground and bows to all of us!  Such abundant compassion, humility, and love.  

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