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On Nov 4, 2010 Nipun wrote on A Realm Beyond Measurement, by Andrew Cohen:

We took a break from our usual Wednesday format to have an incredible guest speaker this week -- Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi!

At the age of 23, in a rather poetic way, he became a monastic in 1967. "I never had to struggle with the decision to become a monk. One morning I simply woke up and thought, 'Why don’t I ask Ven. Giac Duc if he could ordain me,' and that was that." For more than 25 years, he's had a chronic headache that often makes even reading, writing, and speaking are difficult -- and with that experience, he speaks about "Pain Not Suffering". As a revered Buddhist teacher and scholar, he is an international authority on the words of Buddha; even when leaders like Dalai Lama need clarification, they turn to Bhikkhu Bodhi. Most recently, Bhikkhu Bodhi has taken a unusual monastic stance on service and started Buddhist Global Relief.

If attendees of the talk would like to share a reflections or notes for the benefit of everyone, please do so below. They will be emailed out to all event participants of last Wednesday.

On Sep 24, 2010 Nipun wrote on A Neuron with Imagination, by Francisco Ramos Stierle:

This week, we experimented with a new idea -- propose a "be the change"/"pay it forward" action related to the weekly iJourney reading. While people have brainstormed such an idea before, this particular one came via Amit Dungarani after a CharityFocus retreat on Sep 19, 2010. And the time was ripe for implementation.

Francisco Ramos Stierle (aka Pancho!) initiated this idea, by offering this idea for the week:

"What if this week, we generate some of this loving-kindness and share it with our neighbors? Sit in meditation -- as we do on Wednesdays -- and fill up that gorgeous heart of yours with your best energy, trespass those imaginary walls of isolation, knock on your neighbor's door and connect with that neighbor you have not chatted with in weeks (months?). Like a happy healthy neuron trying to connect with our neighbor neuron, let's generate that love and release it in the form of a hug, a smile, a healthy meal, compassionate listening, loving speech, shining eyes, gardening, a poem, a book, a song, a compliment or any expression of cooperation, collaboration or collectivism -- whatever comes up. Perhaps you want to carry on some of the legacy of an "ancestor neuron" and share that wisdom with your neighbor. [If you want to step it up, look for that neighbor who challenges you the most.]

Do we think/feel we will be able to keep that heart full of love regardless of the response of our neighbor? Are we willing to receive some energy from him/her and process it with the same original intention? How long are we able to keep this flow?

One neuron at a time -- to connect the entire healthy brain of the Earth Community. Imagine!"

If you have any stories to share around this, please share it here.

On Feb 19, 2010 Admin wrote on Beyond Endings, by John O'Donohue:

For the first time, Komi walked in for Wednesday meditation. Heavy built man from Togo, Africa. During the circle of sharing, he shared some heartfelt tidbits. As he was leaving, few of us got into a spirited conversation. "Did you know he was a cop?" "What do you mean 'was a cop?'" "I just quit, man," Komi says. "How come?" "It was just too much." "What was too much?"

"Like, one time, I was on patrol and it was very cold and I saw this young couple snuggled up on the streets. They weren't on drugs, they were drunk, they were just a little out of luck and very cold." After a gulp, Komi adds: "Someone had called the cops so I had to get them out of there. But to where? They were good people. I just couldn't do it."

Pancho asks, "Have you even policed any protests?" "Oh, that is too much. You wear this riot gear, they give you this long baton. Have you seen it?" Just describing the outfit, tears glossed over his eyes.

"They told me that cops don't do what I do. That's social service. So after two years, I quit and am going into social service," he concluded with hearty laugh. To which Pancho added, "Compassion is perhaps the highest form of security."

On Oct 13, 2009 Admin wrote on Clinging Causes the Pain, by Tenzin Palmo:

Just read David Brooks column that essentially speaks about how scientists are discovering what happens to us biologically (and nuerologically) when we cling, and how that shapes social behavior. Interesting ... In 2001, an Internet search of the phrase “social cognitive neuroscience” yielded 53 hits. Now you get more than a million on Google. Young scholars have been drawn to this field from psychology, economics, political science and beyond in the hopes that by looking into the brain they can help settle some oldarguments about how people interact. These people study the way biology, in the form of genes, influences behavior. But they’re also trying to understand the complementary process of how social behavior changes biology. Matthew Lieberman of U.C.L.A. is doing research into what happens in the brain when people are persuaded by an argument. [...] The work demonstrates that we are awash in social signals, and any social science that treats individuals as discrete decision-making creatures is nonsense. But it also suggests that even though most of our reactions are fast and automatic, we still have free will and control. Many of the studies presented here concerned the way we divide people by in-group and out-group categories in as little as 170 milliseconds. [...] Consciousness is too slow to see what happens inside, but it is possible to change the lenses through which we unconsciously construe the world. Since I’m not an academic, I’m free to speculate that this work will someday give us new categories, which will replace misleading categories like ‘emotion’ and ‘reason.’ I suspect that the work will take us beyond the obsession with I.Q. and other conscious capacities and give us a firmer understanding of motivation, equilibrium, sensitivity and other unconscious capacities. The hard sciences are interpenetrating the social sciences. This isn’t dehumanizing. It ... [View Full Comment]

In 2001, an Internet search of the phrase “social cognitive neuroscience” yielded 53 hits. Now you get more than a million on Google. Young scholars have been drawn to this field from psychology, economics, political science and beyond in the hopes that by looking into the brain they can help settle some oldarguments about how people interact.

These people study the way biology, in the form of genes, influences behavior. But they’re also trying to understand the complementary process of how social behavior changes biology. Matthew Lieberman of U.C.L.A. is doing research into what happens in the brain when people are persuaded by an argument. [...]

The work demonstrates that we are awash in social signals, and any social science that treats individuals as discrete decision-making creatures is nonsense. But it also suggests that even though most of our reactions are fast and automatic, we still have free will and control. Many of the studies presented here concerned the way we divide people by in-group and out-group categories in as little as 170 milliseconds. [...]

Consciousness is too slow to see what happens inside, but it is possible to change the lenses through which we unconsciously construe the world.

Since I’m not an academic, I’m free to speculate that this work will someday give us new categories, which will replace misleading categories like ‘emotion’ and ‘reason.’ I suspect that the work will take us beyond the obsession with I.Q. and other conscious capacities and give us a firmer understanding of motivation, equilibrium, sensitivity and other unconscious capacities.

The hard sciences are interpenetrating the social sciences. This isn’t dehumanizing. It shines attention on the things poets have traditionally cared about: the power of human attachments. It may even help policy wonks someday see people as they really are.

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On Mar 24, 2009 Nipun wrote on Watching Volcanoes Explode, by Vimala Thakar:

Vimala Thakar recently passed away. For those that don't know about her, this WIE article does a great job explaining it, and I've also posted the anecdote of how I met her once.

On Jun 10, 2008 Nipun wrote on Tell Me Your Story, by Dan Gottlieb:

Dan Gottlieb has an incredible story -- a car crash in 1979 left him paralyzed and went through a lot of suffering; in 1985, he started a "voices in the Family" mental health show which turned into a bi-monthly column in Philadelphia Inquirer; and most recently he came out with a book, Letters From Sam (fully available on Google Books) which contained letters to his developmentally challenged grandson. Incredible guy, indeed!

On Mar 11, 2008 Admin wrote on Technique is Unimportant, by Leigh Hyams:

Here's a great interview with Leigh Hyams in 'works & conversations' magazine: http://www.conversations.org/story.php?sid=94

On May 8, 2007 JZ wrote on Questioning Our Questions, by Eric Vogt, Juanita Brown, David Isaacs:

Richard Bach used to say, "The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while and watch your answers change." I tend to agree.

On Apr 10, 2007 Nipun wrote on Moving in Wholeness, by Vimala Thakar:

Here's a great article about the story of Vimala Thakar: http://www.wie.org/j10/vimala_fire.asp

On Mar 3, 2007 JZ wrote on Evolving From Hope to Hopelessness, by Margaret Wheatley:

On a slightly tangential note, Harvad just published their Breakthrough Ideas of 2007 and listed "hope" as #5:

Most business leaders shy away from the word "hope." Yet hope has been shown to be the key ingredient of resilience in survivors of traumas ranging from prison camps to natural disasters. So if you are an executive trying to lead an organization through change, know that hope can be a potent force in your favor. And it’s yours to give.

On Nov 2, 2006 Nipun wrote on The Four Relinquishments, by Peace Pilgrim:

On that note, here's the link to the Happiness Project: http://happiness-project.com/

On Oct 12, 2006 Nipun wrote on Ourselves We're Helping, Ourselves We're Healing, by James Carse:

Smile Deck: 52 cards with smile-card information and a particular idea on the back. If you had to pick one, what would it be? Gwhyenth Chen -- touching and healing. "I want my performance to be healing." At one of her performances, she couldn't feel her hands. No one person was playing. Every single person in the audience, she was in touch with, and were playing through her. Juliard -- New York music school -- has created unbalanced geniuses; technically finest but many of them are unable to carry out conversations. Practice, practice, practice is their mantra. Rev. Heng Sure: We have to ask ourselves -- Do I have a drive to be so good at something to spoil it? What is it? Whatever your skill, do I know how to stand the pressure of society, parents, peers ... to be so good that you can still maintain the center? How do we know? Middle path, that avoids extremes, works. Ancients said that virtue is the root, and wealth is the branch tips. Confucius had music as a part of education curriculum -- music, medicine, math, archery, chariotering, speech and virtue. He really valued music so highly. What if Juliard could establish a meditation class? Those musicians would be more important than politicans. My cousin is an MD, who works with hospice patients, end of life patients. Just listens to them, making them come to ease. Just by being there, she heals. As she progressed, she was doing that over long distances. I tried that with my classmate's daughter, and it seems to have worked. There's something there. **Smile Deck idea: send positive thoughts to someone in need. A friend did a study with 35 cancer patients. Did spiritual practices, didn't necessarily come from spiritual background, but all of them reported feeling a sense of wholeness, as if they were bigger than the body. Everyone got to space of peace. Dialgoue -- comes from greek, dia-logos: meaning flowing through. Made me think of Victor Frankl,... [View Full Comment]

Smile Deck: 52 cards with smile-card information and a particular idea on the back. If you had to pick one, what would it be?
Gwhyenth Chen -- touching and healing. "I want my performance to be healing." At one of her performances, she couldn't feel her hands. No one person was playing. Every single person in the audience, she was in touch with, and were playing through her. Juliard -- New York music school -- has created unbalanced geniuses; technically finest but many of them are unable to carry out conversations. Practice, practice, practice is their mantra.
Rev. Heng Sure: We have to ask ourselves -- Do I have a drive to be so good at something to spoil it? What is it? Whatever your skill, do I know how to stand the pressure of society, parents, peers ... to be so good that you can still maintain the center? How do we know? Middle path, that avoids extremes, works.
Ancients said that virtue is the root, and wealth is the branch tips.
Confucius had music as a part of education curriculum -- music, medicine, math, archery, chariotering, speech and virtue. He really valued music so highly. What if Juliard could establish a meditation class? Those musicians would be more important than politicans.
My cousin is an MD, who works with hospice patients, end of life patients. Just listens to them, making them come to ease. Just by being there, she heals. As she progressed, she was doing that over long distances. I tried that with my classmate's daughter, and it seems to have worked. There's something there. **Smile Deck idea: send positive thoughts to someone in need.
A friend did a study with 35 cancer patients. Did spiritual practices, didn't necessarily come from spiritual background, but all of them reported feeling a sense of wholeness, as if they were bigger than the body. Everyone got to space of peace.
Dialgoue -- comes from greek, dia-logos: meaning flowing through. Made me think of Victor Frankl, Man's Search For Meaning -- logo therapy. Web 2.0 version of this -- our collective search for meaning.
Being trained for perfection. Past thought was titled -- Totality, not perfection.
"Ourselves we are helping, ourselves we are healing." Quote by Dr. V. He gave sight to millions, healed others but he sees himself as being healed.
Have to have generosity towards myself. Helps me react less. **Smile Deck idea: Talk to a teen. Take them out for lunch. Our culture desperately needs inter-generational dialogue.
My mom left for India. Monday's quote was about elephants; calf was attached to mother. Very interesting that I saw that all together.
Went on a hike in the hills with a retired, senior citizen. At one point, I asked him about his knees (few years ago, I got into an accident and found that I tore my knee; chiropractor twisted and turned all parts of my body but somehow the knee was fixed!). He said that one of his friends was teaching yoga to monks and he tore his knees; his masters tells him to go to the desert to cultivate and upon his return, his knee pain is gone but his master was limping and stayed that way for his whole life!
Been working a lot. Been very conscious. Taking a three month leave of absence. **Smile Deck idea-- Leave my favorite poem in someone's cube, or a door; leave a favorite book and have somebody find it.
My mother has no background in medicine, yet she had this closet of medicine and we would always be fine in 10-15 minutes. When I grew up, I took medicine from the closet but it didn't work; so I asked her to give it and it would miraculously work! It was unbelievable but it worked even with our neighbors. It's not the medicine that heals, it's the love.
My dance theatre is one of the best oddissi dancers around. When she's on stage, she cries but I still think she's being authentic.
Being trained in western medicine, physician comes from power; healthy is very rigid idea in the mind of a physician and that is very limiting. In the movie K-Pax, Kevin Spacey is in a mental hospital because he claims to be from another planet. Psychologist asks him, "Are you willing to be believe that you might be from earth?" "Yes. But are you willing to believe that I might be from K-Pax!".
Healing can be divided into three levels. First level is like moving -- this is the basic medicine; second level, is like touching -- neuro-chemical response that produced a deeper impact on the patient; and perhaps even higher level is transcendence, irrespective of disease.
Touching only if you're being touched, is a powerful concept. Working with underprivileged children, it's very easy to see that.
Friend was going through a hard time; as he was entering a building, passed a security guard, and I security gaurd came out to say-- "I saw you in the camera and you looked a bit sad. Can I give you a hug?" Changed all dynamics. Someone at her center responded to the suffering and then offered a response. Makes me think of the number of accidental healers in the world!
I'm a teacher who works with behavioral problem students. One day when I was strategizing, I heard something in a classroom of 25 kids, all standing up looking at their desk, saying their times-table together in a chant. It was amazing.
**Smile Deck idea-- have a dialogue with yourself, ignore the cellphone.
Love is an important ingredient for healing.
My sister and I were running a bunch of errands. Sitting and talking. Our restaurant waiter was geniune and so nice in a unique sort of a way, so I felt like I wanted to do something for him. My sister and I look through our purses and ultimately, we left a note of ten bucks for him with a smile card. We were elated. What a great and simple way to make someone's day. It made everything more meaningful and for the rest of the day it just seemed like we kept running into great people, but perhaps it was just our eyes that had shifted.
One of the neighbors invited all the teachers for dinner saying, "I just want to appreciate the work you guys do." **Smile-deck idea.
Scientist discovered something called mirror neurons. Because of them, it becomes possible for us to actually feel and understand what's going with those around us. Touching isn't about transmission. It's more of one person touching that center and the collective space making it possible for another person to find their center.
Being vs. doing. Highest form of leadership is where you are not moving anyone, not persuading. Rather just because of your "Being", others are inspired to do something. **Smile Deck idea-- figure out what others lack and be an example of that change yourself.
What happens when people are touched? Beer ad-- knees touch of guys on a couch and it's awkwards. It happens again. When there's a touchdown, they all forget about their notions and embrace each other!
Path of enlightenment: a lonely path to understand that you're not alone.
Hindi movie, Munnabhai MBBS, starts hugging folks as a way to transform lives. Smile is big way to heal.
I'm overwhelmed by the kindness in this room tonight. I have done about 500 concerts so far, the happiness I was trying to bring my listeners is so selfish compared to what's in this room. My best performance, I didn't play for the audience but for the Boddhisattvas.
I love the idea of sharing idea but i have no ideas to share.
**Smile Deck idea -- appreciate people that nobody appreciate. Like the checkers at the airports. I try to create relationships with the folks I encounter. Even at Kaiser Permanente. If someone is extra nice, I try to tell their boss about it.
"What you appreciate, appreciates." --Lynne Twist

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On Aug 16, 2006 Nipun wrote on Serving Like The Mountain Stream, by Allan Watts:

Serving like a mountain stream: its always changing. Visit with 77 year old: biggest smile, happy to go to grocery shopping because it's an outing; smallest things matter. Service: so many problems, can do so little. compassion -- it's Latin roots mean sharing the pain without sharing the suffering. Busy doing good; you'll *just* get to heaven in next rebirth. A meditation teacher used to say Boddhisattva's have nothing to do, but they go out looking for trouble. You should be spiritual before you help. My friend would be disaapointed that he got only 80 people to donate blood that day. Dream: skinny boy, I want to help but no one was listening; next morning I was giant and just being could create a torando. Giving freely, without attachments, accounting. Service was never a thing to do. All streams go towards the ocean. Dalia Lama: "Be selfish. Be generous." Serving is actually the most selfish thing you can do. How can you eradicate poverty? I thought of NGOs. I went to Africa and saw that this model was broken; specific plans are limited. Visited 20-25 hospitals and none of them had sustainability plan. People need to change their mind, then everything will change. The more I teach, the more I learned. If you want to give, just give without attachment. Be natural. Analogy of stream reminds me of Wednesdays. We all carry a little bit into Thursdays and Friday. There's a dynamism to it, with apparent permanence because it's always there. I end up being lazy; sometimes, I'll just opportunities of service pass by. Howard Thurman once said, "Don't ask so much what the world needs; go out and do something that makes you come alive because what the world needs most are people who have come alive." Incorporate service into what makes you come alive. I believe in directly helping the needy, without organization. Each one, catch one. :) Flowing stream made me think about gratitude towards parents, t... [View Full Comment]

Serving like a mountain stream: its always changing.
Visit with 77 year old: biggest smile, happy to go to grocery shopping because it's an outing; smallest things matter.
Service: so many problems, can do so little. compassion -- it's Latin roots mean sharing the pain without sharing the suffering.
Busy doing good; you'll *just* get to heaven in next rebirth.
A meditation teacher used to say Boddhisattva's have nothing to do, but they go out looking for trouble.
You should be spiritual before you help. My friend would be disaapointed that he got only 80 people to donate blood that day.
Dream: skinny boy, I want to help but no one was listening; next morning I was giant and just being could create a torando.
Giving freely, without attachments, accounting.
Service was never a thing to do. All streams go towards the ocean.
Dalia Lama: "Be selfish. Be generous." Serving is actually the most selfish thing you can do.
How can you eradicate poverty?
I thought of NGOs. I went to Africa and saw that this model was broken; specific plans are limited. Visited 20-25 hospitals and none of them had sustainability plan.
People need to change their mind, then everything will change.
The more I teach, the more I learned. If you want to give, just give without attachment. Be natural.
Analogy of stream reminds me of Wednesdays. We all carry a little bit into Thursdays and Friday. There's a dynamism to it, with apparent permanence because it's always there.
I end up being lazy; sometimes, I'll just opportunities of service pass by.
Howard Thurman once said, "Don't ask so much what the world needs; go out and do something that makes you come alive because what the world needs most are people who have come alive." Incorporate service into what makes you come alive.
I believe in directly helping the needy, without organization. Each one, catch one. :)
Flowing stream made me think about gratitude towards parents, teachers and friends. I felt humbled by their selfless help towards me.
Running outdoors; was really hot; I stopped and looked up the enormous trees and saw how it is so constant.
I tried to give food to the homleess, but I kept getting rejected. :)
I appreciate the diversity in the room, and the perspectives I get on it.
It's very easy to give to somebody who's close to you. Looking after a bonsai tree vs. looking after the forest. There's a danger of making the giving condescending.
Giving is a way to absolve ways to atone for my sins at work where it is "kill or be killed". How do you deal with that contradiction?
I can't remember a time when I gave. Is that ok?
Be careful what you give, because you might just receive it. :)
Rivers and clouds, examples in the quote, don't really have a choice. Humans aren't in that state of choicelessness.
What can you really give? Time. That's the only thing in abundance.
Ads shouldn't be in textbooks. On TV, you can turn it off. Then you will have teachers spending ten minutes talking about the commercials.
To alleviate poverty, ultimately, helping people help people. The moment you make it big, it falls apart.
Keyword here is unselfish. Act of giving can be selfish or unselfish.
Teachers in India taught Algebra while selling vegetables.
Simple things which I generally call "cute", I now see value in.
Service can go in a religious direction, which can lose its essence, because the focus shift from the giver to the receiver.
Service shouldn't be an emotional game; can't be evaluated soley by those metrics.
Was in South Africa, was adopted by an old couple, and I was following them in the poorest province of the area. They wanted to touch my skin, because they've never seen yellow people. :) I was just "hanging out" but it helps me and the locals.
Ego revels in accomplishment. Is service just a manifestion of that same ego?
Sanksrit Verse gives thre role models of service: tree which takes the heat of the sun and gives shade without discrimination; flowing river goes as if it's own nature and while flowing it bends and purifies all who come across it; cows are the third example, even after its death its parts are used by all.
Do what makes you come alive. Material poverty isn't really a metric to judge need by. Middle class neighborhood help is just as good as any.
Service isn't something I talk about. I showed at 13 and doing little things, and it changed my life.
My dog teaches me how to serve and be with others. We go to a quadrapelgic ward, some of whose patients don't get out.
While serving be mindful of their motives.
Giving water ... that's how my grandfather gave. They would sit down under their tree.

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On Jul 26, 2006 Nipun wrote on Giving it All up to the Stillness, by Marion Wilson-Gruzalski:

Wednesday circle of sharing notes: Monkey puts his fist in the jar, grabs the nuts and can't remove his fist. Empty hand release him, but a tight fist traps. That's our story. Anias Nin: "Life shrinks in proportion to one's courage." Courage is courage to embrace the unknown. "waiting" has a negative connotation generally When we need help, why doesn't the inner voice get louder? Jealousy is the last sin to go; ambition leads to jealousy. Am I ambitious? I used to be but now some of emptying has occured in me. Inspiration that makes you not have plan B -- that's real inspiration. And it isn't a remarkable, external event. College freshman: don't know what to do but maybe I should just wait patiently? There are different levels of stillness. God sells. An athiest won't get elected. Survival, freedom and hope. That's inspiration for Barak Obama. Singing requires being quiet. One has to keep trying. Takes a lot of patience. In solitude, other people's voices drain out and I can listen to my own voice. In winter, one friend would go out and come back in. Why? "Just in case the sun comes up, I wanna be ready." Cooking quietly yields better food than otherwise. What about things more involved with cooking? 1% inspiration, 99% inspiration. My gorilla mind: I think I'm in cage but the door is wide open. When I put effort to listen, I can't listen too much. Deep listening of others is a good analogy for how to be with yourself. Intuitive moments are moments of inspiration ICICI cpresident -- real inspiration always comes in a gap A. R. Rahman: I don't write these songs; inspiration comes and I write. Not just one-time inspiration but trick is in regularly finding it. I am "looking" for inspiration, not waiting Which college should I go to? "I know but I'm not going to tell you," my college advisor says. 'Any hints?' 'Goto the top of the hill. After all, isn't intuition thousands of years of evolution packed into one moment.' He... [View Full Comment] Wednesday circle of sharing notes:

Monkey puts his fist in the jar, grabs the nuts and can't remove his fist. Empty hand release him, but a tight fist traps. That's our story.
Anias Nin: "Life shrinks in proportion to one's courage." Courage is courage to embrace the unknown.
"waiting" has a negative connotation generally
When we need help, why doesn't the inner voice get louder?
Jealousy is the last sin to go; ambition leads to jealousy.
Am I ambitious? I used to be but now some of emptying has occured in me.
Inspiration that makes you not have plan B -- that's real inspiration. And it isn't a remarkable, external event.
College freshman: don't know what to do but maybe I should just wait patiently?
There are different levels of stillness.
God sells. An athiest won't get elected.
Survival, freedom and hope. That's inspiration for Barak Obama.
Singing requires being quiet. One has to keep trying. Takes a lot of patience.
In solitude, other people's voices drain out and I can listen to my own voice.
In winter, one friend would go out and come back in. Why? "Just in case the sun comes up, I wanna be ready."
Cooking quietly yields better food than otherwise. What about things more involved with cooking?
1% inspiration, 99% inspiration.
My gorilla mind: I think I'm in cage but the door is wide open.
When I put effort to listen, I can't listen too much.
Deep listening of others is a good analogy for how to be with yourself.
Intuitive moments are moments of inspiration
ICICI cpresident -- real inspiration always comes in a gap
A. R. Rahman: I don't write these songs; inspiration comes and I write.
Not just one-time inspiration but trick is in regularly finding it.
I am "looking" for inspiration, not waiting
Which college should I go to? "I know but I'm not going to tell you," my college advisor says. 'Any hints?' 'Goto the top of the hill. After all, isn't intuition thousands of years of evolution packed into one moment.'
Health: complete well being of physcial, social, emotional and spiritual being.
Carlos castaneda: "find your spot". Went to sleep after frustration and that his spot.
It's a "constant struggle to surrender"
Two types of inspiration: inspiration coupled with ambition, deeper inspiration that stems from stillness
To remove a blockage, to remove it, resort to a cherished relationship -- unconditional love.
I no longer wait for inspiration; i come to wednesdays. :)
"sitting quitely doing nothing, spring comes by itself, grass grows by itself."

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On Jul 25, 2006 Jesse wrote on Go Placidly Amid the Noise and Haste, by Max Ehrmann:

This poem is also referred to as 'Desiderata', for those familiar with that piece of work. In some reference books, Desiderata is still sometimes thought to have been 'found' at Old St. Paul's Church in Baltimore and to date back to 1692. It was actually written by Max Ehrmann and copyrighted by him in 1927, the copyright was renewed in 1954 by Bertha K. Ehrmann.

On Jul 12, 2006 Jesse wrote on To Transcend: Observe Cause and Effect, by Dan Millman:

Great point, Arzu!

On Jun 12, 2006 Nipun wrote on Magic of Service, by Bo Lozoff:

Heaven/hell story: to serve others is heaven, to serve yourself is hell.
Difference between sensibility and sensitivity
Sri and Tristan's journey to Africa: giving is selfish?
What really motivates? Happiness. It's neither selfish or selfless.
We don't give to help, but to feel good.
Every kind act creates a ripple of compassion
In Japan, Raj's mentee would call him all the time, even if he's at a bar. Because of the mentor role, Raj changed; he needed it me more than I need him.
There's actually an Optimist club
All religion say: in giving we receive.
Wayne Dyer: seratonene increases when you give ... and receive
Only way to keep service selfless is to be spontaneous
No discrimination is when it the only way something is selfless
Selfishnes only comes into the picture when we are separate
shift from mind state of separation to heart state of unity
Not for-getting but for-giving
Homeless man turns philanthropist!
[Shilpa?] asked a Jain monk: why is life is so dificult? He simply replied: "Wear your own shoes and hold your own umbrella."
[Fred's?] motto in life: make one person happy today
Anyone can give. Scott is going to start a listening club. All you have to do is listen.
Why analyze? I'm there, the kid is there. No one is serving anyone. We are just connecting. Maybe that's true service.

On Jun 12, 2006 Nipun wrote on Waiting To Be Found, by Prem Rawat:

What is silence? Not absence of sound, but absence of self. Cause of conflict and war is our inability to stay in the present. War is always for something in the future. Peace is always in the now. Is peace transient or permanent? Peace is no self Essence of all of us is peace and love: when one feels it, it goes outwards Peace for me could be a deep breath. Anything that leaves you with clarity. I grew up in a war; nobody knew what peace really was. First step to peace is realizing it's possible. Wars start because of groups -- and exclusive mindset. Should we be hard on ourselves if there's war? Peace is not the absence of hostility but the presence of love. Three things that help me with peace: faith, acceptance and gratitude If you wish to understand war, meditate in the slaughterhouse. Five confusions: time, views, afflictions, living beings, life span. Degrees of wisdom have very little to do with external. Equanimity is the supreme measure. Cool book name -- one minute wisdom. Another name: no second. Rev. Heng Sure: easier to meditate through downtown LA, than Beverly Hills. BH had fake peace. Person who tolerates injustice is weak Be peaceful but watch out for tigers Research: people who think they're lucky are able to find things that unlucky people don't look for. Disaster in Russia, Oaklahoma bombing -- we need to change. Duality of the heart -- we need time to come to the right decisions; we need to stop haste. Peace is within. One day a stranger walked by. "Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar, "I have nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What's that you're sitting on?" "Nothing, " replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I've been sitting on it for as long as I can remember. "Ever look inside?," asked the stranger. "No," said the beggar. "What's the point, there's nothing in there." "Have a look inside," insisted the stranger. The beggar, reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid. With astonishme... [View Full Comment]

What is silence? Not absence of sound, but absence of self.
Cause of conflict and war is our inability to stay in the present.
War is always for something in the future. Peace is always in the now.
Is peace transient or permanent?
Peace is no self
Essence of all of us is peace and love: when one feels it, it goes outwards
Peace for me could be a deep breath. Anything that leaves you with clarity.
I grew up in a war; nobody knew what peace really was. First step to peace is realizing it's possible.
Wars start because of groups -- and exclusive mindset.
Should we be hard on ourselves if there's war?
Peace is not the absence of hostility but the presence of love.
Three things that help me with peace: faith, acceptance and gratitude
If you wish to understand war, meditate in the slaughterhouse.
Five confusions: time, views, afflictions, living beings, life span.
Degrees of wisdom have very little to do with external. Equanimity is the supreme measure.
Cool book name -- one minute wisdom. Another name: no second.
Rev. Heng Sure: easier to meditate through downtown LA, than Beverly Hills. BH had fake peace.
Person who tolerates injustice is weak
Be peaceful but watch out for tigers
Research: people who think they're lucky are able to find things that unlucky people don't look for.
Disaster in Russia, Oaklahoma bombing -- we need to change.
Duality of the heart -- we need time to come to the right decisions; we need to stop haste.
Peace is within. One day a stranger walked by. "Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar, "I have nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What's that you're sitting on?" "Nothing, " replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I've been sitting on it for as long as I can remember. "Ever look inside?," asked the stranger. "No," said the beggar. "What's the point, there's nothing in there." "Have a look inside," insisted the stranger. The beggar, reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.

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On Jun 12, 2006 Nipun wrote on Social Action, by Ajahn Pasanno:

No notes this week, since Madhusudan Aggarwal was our guest speaker about his iJourney to India.

In his talk, Madhu highly recommended watching Baraka.

On Jun 12, 2006 Nipun wrote on Truth is a Pathless Land, by J. Krishnamurti:

We had a spontaneous guest speaker, a Gandhian named Dr. Prasad: How people react depends on the mindset Basic problem in rural areas -- what do we live for? We're all responsible for each other Life based development, not death based development. If every villager has a cigarette, we can make money but is that progress? Exploitation has taken subtle forms -- advertisment, marketing Greed is the base of the problem -- we are creating more and more loss to society. Instead of creating wealth, our paradigm has come to grabbing maximum wealth. As Gandhi said, there is enough for everyone's need but not greed. Some notes from the roundtable: Are organization are useless? Not always. As organizations get larger, purity is lost. Organization can't lead to freedom ... it's not spirituality. El dorado by Edgar Allan Poe Truth -- there's no one truth; it's all true. But until we experience it, it's just a belief. It's not enough to hear somebody's truth. Words don't describe things as well as experiences. Truth is one thing that manifests in different ways; love's opposite is hate, pleasure is pain, but Truth has no opposite. To find one's blind beliefs, one should question oneself. Is killing is a natural part of life or can it be avoided? What's the "truth"? Krishnamurti's brother's death proved to be a pivotal experience for JK's journey to a "pathless" land. Truth has to be internal and personal; that can't be organized; but for practical things, people should come together and cooperate Be quiet for truth to rise; no longer a question of right or wrong One life is the same as many lives Don't lie, you gotta go to God, there's no means of transport and you gotta walk your way Krishnamurti has a point but it's overstated. Karen Armstrong. What's the difference between religion and cult? "Religion is to help you discover yourself but a cult is to use your weakness to manipulate you." Confucious: you can make someone follow your s... [View Full Comment] We had a spontaneous guest speaker, a Gandhian named Dr. Prasad:

How people react depends on the mindset
Basic problem in rural areas -- what do we live for?
We're all responsible for each other
Life based development, not death based development.
If every villager has a cigarette, we can make money but is that progress?
Exploitation has taken subtle forms -- advertisment, marketing
Greed is the base of the problem -- we are creating more and more loss to society.
Instead of creating wealth, our paradigm has come to grabbing maximum wealth. As Gandhi said, there is enough for everyone's need but not greed.

Some notes from the roundtable:

Are organization are useless? Not always.
As organizations get larger, purity is lost.
Organization can't lead to freedom ... it's not spirituality.
El dorado by Edgar Allan Poe
Truth -- there's no one truth; it's all true. But until we experience it, it's just a belief.
It's not enough to hear somebody's truth.
Words don't describe things as well as experiences.
Truth is one thing that manifests in different ways; love's opposite is hate, pleasure is pain, but Truth has no opposite.
To find one's blind beliefs, one should question oneself.
Is killing is a natural part of life or can it be avoided? What's the "truth"?
Krishnamurti's brother's death proved to be a pivotal experience for JK's journey to a "pathless" land.
Truth has to be internal and personal; that can't be organized; but for practical things, people should come together and cooperate
Be quiet for truth to rise; no longer a question of right or wrong
One life is the same as many lives
Don't lie, you gotta go to God, there's no means of transport and you gotta walk your way
Krishnamurti has a point but it's overstated.
Karen Armstrong.
What's the difference between religion and cult? "Religion is to help you discover yourself but a cult is to use your weakness to manipulate you."
Confucious: you can make someone follow your system, but can't make them believe in it
Just because you're an organization, doesn't mean all constituent understand what it stands for.
My grand uncle, Dr. V talks about institutions as temples; ultimately it doesn't belong to one person.
Idea of a belief being a personal thing didn't resonate -- I get comfort when others share same beliefs.
It's not the organization but the people that participate in it.
Being addicted to religion is better than being addicted to crack.
Organization can be very liberating if they're founded on the right principles.
How does an individual stand up for oneself in the face of fundamentalism? Organizations are often too strong.
Really, what's an organization? Three friends sitting and talking is organization?
Ultimately, each one has to walk their own path -- that's the crux of it.
If "truth is a pathless land" and there's no path, then where is it? It should be where you are.

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