Landing In Taiwan, Again
May 15, 2018 | permalink
It was super sweet to see Ven. Zizhou pick me up at the Taiwan airport. She's been a nun for 35 years, is a PhD from Illinois, and does a lot of grassroots work. One gets the sense that she doesn't do airport runs too often, but I was deeply touched by her care -- from coffee to the home-made sandwich that an accompanying lay person had made.
Here's a photo from my last trip, when we pulled off some epic acts of kindness.
And this time, here we are, prior to a talk she had organized at NCCU:
Awakin Eisenstadt: What Are The Odds!
Apr 27, 2018 | permalink
In the evening, we held an Awakin Circle in Eisenstadt, in a rural part of Austria. For many months now, Eisenstadt has been home to weekly Awakin Circles.
Katherine's parents had just given us the use of their entire restaurant. A sign that translates the feeling we all had: "So glad you are here."
Again, a sacred energy seemed to fill our space. We went around in a circle, and then I closed with some stories. So many wonderful people, like a 78-year-old local named Ghookie -- "I used to smoke 30-40 cigarettes a day, drink many bottles a day. Then I found Paramhansa Yoganananda and it changed my life. I've been meditating 2 hours a day for the last 43 years." We all felt like friends.
By night, we discovered a beautiful painting. "Oh, this is your painting?" "Yes." "What's this sign?" "Oh, it says you can give whatever you think this painting is worth to you." "So, what if someone says, it's worth 10 Euros to me." "Well, it's happened once. And what can you do? You give for 10 Euros. You trust in the flow." :)
By night, I was pinching myself. What are the odds that my parents would start an Awakin circle thousands of miles from this small Austrian village, and that someday I would find myself in this circle with all these strangers who feel like family?!
Austria Retreat: You Are In Me, I'm In You
Apr 27, 2018 | permalink
Ollie and Katherine, alongside the gang, hosted a full-day retreat in Eisenstadt today. Lots of inspired folks, inspired stories, and inspired connections. And yum, vegan food -- all the way in rural Austria. :)
After we finished a beautiful circle of sharing in the morning, one woman raises her hand and says, "I have to share something." With a quiet confidence, she says, "In our meditation today, I experienced something that I've never experienced before. You know, how we have been talking about how we are all connected -- well I experienced that. I saw all these colors, and realized that the boundaries between us don't exist." Realizing that others may not be able to relate, she said, "You know in that movie Avatar, where everyone just plugs into each other and together it unlocks this remarkable radiance -- that's what I experienced today. It was the most magnificent experience of my life. I could just feel that all of you are in me, and I'm in all of you. We're all one."
Talk At BOKU. Bows Of Gratitude.
Apr 26, 2018 | permalink
In Vienna, I spoke at BOKU college today, to an overflowing house of several hundred young environmentalists crammed into an auditorium, and also the aisles and beyond. :) The title of my talk was "Being the Change, Changes the Being".
By the end, the field in the room turned electric. It was almost as if all our heart beats were synchronized, and perhaps some of our breaths, too. Boundaries between all of us felt rather blurry. The organizers later told me it was the first time that they had seen a standing ovation in any of their programs. I had to actually interrupt their applause, just so we could get to Q&A.
One never knows what actually triggers such a field, but everyone, myself included, could feel the love.
At the end, I got to pick a raffle winner for a really cool bike -- and, without skipping a beat, he said (in German :)) that he would pay it forward!
Bunch of them followed-up with a 21-day challenge, and many other ripples are in motion.
One young woman shared a particularly remarkable story. When we happened to be talking after the talk, her ex-boyfriend also happened to be in the impromptu circle that had emerged. They had a bitter breakup just a couple weeks ago; he was cheating on her, and the woman he was now seeing also ended up in the circle. Oblivious to all of this, my topic of conversation was the usual -- selfless love. And it was in the air.
This girl later told me, "I'm really a jealous type of person. I couldn't stand my ex or his new girlfriend, but I knew then what my act of kindness for the night would be. It would be an act for myself. I went up to his new girlfriend and had a casual conversation, and just wished her well. [Pause] It was a big moment for me. Perhaps a mini turning point for my consciousness."
May we all continue to be at the edge of our consciousness, in service to the greater good.
Karma Kitchen Vienna! Angel Is In The Details.
Apr 26, 2018 | permalink
Today, we hosted the first first Karma Kitchen in Austria! To get a glimpse into the magic, read Hermann's quick post and check out the photos.
We usually hear, "Devil is in the details," but actually "Angel is in the details," too. We had a Michelin-star chef volunteer with us. He met Alma two months ago at a gathering, and shared how cooking for others had saved his life. It wasn't so much the cooking part, but the "others" part. He not only signed up, but is keen to keep serving in many other ways. The event was hosted at the Markhoff -- "a village inside a city". Stephan, Markhoff's founder, was so moved to see everyone excited about the smallest things, from origami lotus-folded napkins to the dinner presentation. Generosity really brings the village together, and he can't wait to do it again in his space.
Perhaps one of the most touching details was the community that Katzi and Hermann have built up over many, many years. They keep doing small acts with great love, and support everyone and anyone, without asking for anything in return. Few months ago, both their cars separately broke down. They both needed to replace their cars, and it was unclear that they would be able to afford it. Katzi was thinking of getting a motorbike. Somehow, someone put a crowdfunding page and in a week, everyone had pitched in a boatload of money to get them both used cars. After Karma Kitchen finished, someone sang a beautiful song (in an Austrian dialect) that moved many to tears -- "Your generosity has kept us moving, and so it's only right that we keep you moving." Then, we huddle outside to surprise them with cars ...
All too often, people smile at the fruits. But the angel is in the details, and the roots. :)
"Atomic Energy" At Awakin Vienna
Apr 25, 2018 | permalink
My first time in Austria was 24 hours in transit -- that featured many moments of joy, including the first Awakin Circle in Vienna. Christine and Heidi have continued that circle twice a month, every month, since then. And Katherine started another one in Eisenstadt. Ripples abound!
Today was my second time in Austria, this time a bit longer, and I had the great joy of starting with Awakin Vienna tonight. Close to 40 of us joined, including Ashima from Romania, and many other friends. I spoke about the power of circles, the slow stories it incubates, and the vision of a many-to-many possibility.
For many of them, it was the first time meditating. One of the fellows was a body builder, who shared, "I had been going from one concrete box to another, and yes, this is a concrete box, too, but the feeling was totally different. I sat down in silence for the first time, and in just minutes, I felt like tremendous atomic energy. It was amazing." He wants to now head to a 10-day meditation retreat. :) Various others in the circle are keen to start other local circles, too.
Slow Stories, With Deep Roots
Apr 24, 2018 | permalink
Tonight, at Trishna's home, we held an Awakin Circle that she said was the most diverse group she's anchored in her 8-year history of hosting.
Beneath that diversity, though, were a lot of invisible affinities. Jade, who is a local bike mechanic, biked 1.5 hours to join the circle: "Something you said last time really stayed with me, so I thought I'd come for a hug." I met Deepa at last year's circle, and on a whim, she ended up sitting a 10-day meditation retreat with 50 of us in India last December ("I'm usually not in tears like that," she now promises me. :)) She asked two of her friends, Lucy and Sophia, to join. Kush, whom I love to tease as the famous Paralympian torch bearer in London, is someone with whom I did a Laddership Circle. I last met David, who is doing the remarkable work of bringing relationship into metrics, many moons ago but some connections have a way of sticking. :) A first time college student met me at another event, and said, "I couldn't believe you actually emailed me back, and that, too, so thoughtfully and past midnight! Seriously, like I couldn't believe it. I stared at the email for at least 20 minutes. Thank you. I knew I had to come today."
All to say, there's a splashy kind of way to get 60 people into a room, and then there's the Awakin way. It's a "slow story", and slow stories give you deep roots.
That's precisely what I spoke about. Gaus's white shirt, Shiv's yogurt and the after effect, and Steve's work with "wounded animals healing wounded human beings." All slow stories, with deep roots.
As they say, there was clearly a vibe in the room.
One woman later wrote to me that she is going to start practicing kindness with her daughter and keep a daily diary of her reflections. Couple folks are keen to start Laddership Circles. One sweetly insisted that I "really underestimate myself" and has connected me to a BBC filmmaker for a documentary. :)
The whole circle felt like a family, without any boundaries between us.
And a super sweet note: "Prior to this weekend, I hadn’t heard of ServiceSpace or Awakin Circles, but I’m so very grateful that it happened. I felt very humbled, lucky and privileged to be part of the weekend events and feel quite overwhelmed (in a good way)! Today, I feel massively unsettled, ha - like I’ve had an awakening! Similar to my Vipassana experience a few months ago. I think it will take me a few weeks to unpack everything that I have gained from both the conference and the retreat yesterday and to explore my next steps. What I do know for sure, though, is that every positive thing that I experience, every opportunity I have in my life, I want to share with others, particularly with those from under-privileged backgrounds, and those who feel disconnected, excluded, lonely, lost or isolated. I will call on you to help me pay it forward."
'Creating The Future' in London
Apr 24, 2018 | permalink
Today, I spoke to 500 investment bankers -- an event put on by Weatherbys bank, and curated by our friend Mike Dickson. In the audience was also our good-humored buddy, Marc Winn from Guernsey Island. When I visited Guernsey last, Marc SMS'd a one-liner to Mike: "You need to have ice-cream with Nipun tonight in London." (We were indeed having an ice cream circle that day. :)) Let's just say that it's been a sweet connection ever since.
I might've been the only one not in a suit, but I think Silicon Valley people are excused? :) I spoke about Technology, Values and Ethics. In particular, about "ratio, relationships and resilience". As technology increasingly becomes a black box, can we retain the ratio of tech innovation with inner growth? Can we ensure that our relationships don't contract into echo chambers? Can we build systems that are resilient?
The response was wonderful, particularly since ServiceSpace is actually doing something about it. At a cursory glance, ServiceSpace doesn't seem like a technology company -- but were it not for our 18 million lines of codes, we simply couldn't organize so many people without any overhead. However, we don't lead with technology since, as I said in the talk, we are shifting "Invention is the mother of necessity" to "Necessity is the mother of invention." :)
As we got in the coffee line, the woman in front of me poured coffee for myself and another friend, and the person after me decided to do the same for the rest of the line. :)
One of the folks who came up to me was Pierre, who is the owner of Huntsman. (The night before, we had dinner at Huntsman, and like in the Colin Firth movie, I kept wondering if any of the knobs were going to open up to a closet full of goodies. :)) He wanted to connect me to some folks, and then spoke about some of his CSR work. I then said, "Why don't you decentralize it a bit more? Just imagine empowering one of your employees to find one unsuspecting customer every month and gift their suit to them! It would totally make their day, and they would probably tell the story for a long time to come." He loved the idea, so let's see. :)
Earth Day: Soil, Soul And Society
Apr 22, 2018 | permalink
On Earth Day today, 30 of us came together to share stories, do "hands" activities on the streets, and ultimately end with a group hug to the backdrop of a Michael Jackson song (it's a long story :)). The retreat was titled Soil, Soul and Society.
I was particularly touched by Harsha's story of her mom: "We grew up quite poor, but my mom was always a giver. She taught me that if you have an apple, you always cut it in slices so it can be shared. And you always give to others first, and eat whatever is left. If nothing is leftover, you take delight in knowing that you shared everything you had."
I spoke about Mark Dubois's journey. He was one of the founders of the International Earth Day, that reached 200 million people. Although I didn't share this, in my heart, I was remembering my happy encounters with him. His gentle humility has always moved me, and it made me reflect how we don't really know how to take care of our elders like him. It is quite apropos, because that same lack of sensitivity is what is separating us from our Mother Earth.
We ended with a blessing by Pierre:
For the sheer miracle of a substance as mysterious and omnipresent as water to the rugged beauty of a mountain range, for the amazing functioning of living creatures and systems of all sorts that challenge our deepest knowledge to the constantly renewed abundance of Your goodness expressed in the produce of the earth and seas, including the unbelievable variety and wisdom of the animal kingdom we have barely begun to grasp, we bless You.
In front of the utter perfection and symmetry of every single flower, seashell, plant, crystaline rock, we stand in awe and bless You. For the century-old sequoia or oak trees in their majesty which sprang from a tiny grain or acorn to the rolling of the galaxies, for the magic of microbes and all other microorganisms to the silent communication systems between plants and between animals and plants, we bless the incredible Intelligence that runs this phenomenal show called the universe and fall on our knees in utter awe.
Happier World: Be The Change, Surrender The Rest
Apr 21, 2018 | permalink
This morning, I spoke at Happier World conference, organized by Shamash and Chi. Both consider themselves ServiceSpace volunteers. Every year, they organize this event around my London visit. It is full of inspired speakers, inspired energy, and inspired ripples -- and this year was no exception.
Last year, I remember meeting a young woman in the elevator. She was very sweet, and shared about her labor of love project, and asked me if I would be willing to help. Although I had very little space on my schedule, I fit it in. It was very sweet, and just this week, someone (unknown to me) subtitled it in Vietnamese, and it has spread virally in Vietnam (ahead of my visit next month).
Ripples take their own path and take their own time. We just have to be the change and surrender the rest. :)
At the end of the conference, we went to dinner and spoke deeply about various topics. Shamash, who is a big-hearted organizer and Laddership alumni, has now got a beautiful space called "Museum of Happiness" that he is continuously trying to align with ServiceSpace organizing values. It's a great joy to see the remarkable journey it's taking and the thousands of lives it is touching.
Next up? Shamash's brother is excited about an Awakin Talks event in London. A bit like a TedX event, but with an explicit focus on inner transformation.