Fuji Declaration

Update

OWL Is Now a Fuji Declaration Partner Organization

By partnering with the Fuji Declaration organization headquartered in Japan, the OWL community stands together with high profile global citizens around the world who share a common vision and common commitment.

OWL member and guide Alan Briskin has been working on the Fuji Declaration, which was initiated in Japan by Masami Saionji, Dr. Ervin Laszlo and Hiroo Saionji. It is an international alliance of individuals and organizations who are united by a shared commitment to advance a more harmonious, compassionate and sustainable era for all humanity. Their signatories include many well-known global leaders, they are very much aligned with OWL values, and any of us can sign the declaration.
Fuji Declaration Home Page

Text of the Fuji Declaration

Signatories
and how to add your signature to theirs.
An Historic Celebration
coming in May, 2015

New Book by Andrew Vidich

OWL global citizen Andrew Vidich Ph.D., is an author, academic, consultant and international speaker in the fields of meditation, mysticism and leadership. With a Ph.D. in Religion with a specialization in Islamic Sufism and the transformational methods within religious traditions, he has taught university courses ranging from Religion and Islamic Sufism, to Death and Dying. As a life-long student of three spiritual masters within the Sant Mat tradition — Sant Kirpal Singh, Sant Darshan Singh, and Sant Rajinder Singh — Andrew also serves as a respected teacher and leader in that community. His newest book, co-authored with Arthur Stein and published in November, is Let there Be Light: Experiencing Inner Light Across the World’s Sacred Traditions.

Congratulations Andrew!

andrew-vidich-2s
Light Let There Be Light explores seven of the world’s great spiritual traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Sant Mat. It leads the reader through a history of each tradition, highlighting its great stories, ideas, historical periods, and leaders. The common thread that ties everything together is Light (always capitalized in the book). Light as an image of the Divine, as metaphor, and also as an actual reality that followers of the mystical, inner practices of each tradition can experience.

From the introduction:

Today we live in a time filled with tremendous political, social, economic, and environmental challenges, along with possibilities for many transformational responses to these trials. One encouraging development in recent years is the increasing numbers of people of all ages around the world, especially among the younger generation, who are exploring ways to “tap inside,” developing their inner resources to more clearly access the spiritual side of human nature. We hope that, wherever you may be in your own spiritual process, this book will provide insight and inspiration for experiencing more empathy, friendship, and joy within daily life — and being of service to others wherever the opportunity arises….

We hope that inspiration from enlightened teachers, saints, prophets and sages, along with teaching stories drawn from many cultures contained herein, will encourage further explorations…. May we develop receptivity to recognize universal qualities that can illuminate our pathways throughout life, and enable all humanity to share together with mutual respect a world at peace.

Marshall Zaslov, MD, psychiatrist
author of the medical productivity handbook, The Successful Physician:

Let There Be Light is destined to become a classic — indeed a scripture — for the 21st century and beyond…. Dip into it or study it, use it as a guide, a workbook, or companion on your search for truth….

This single book actually contains a small sheaf of several free-standing books, each one on the inner Light as it forms the basis of a major world religion. Each one could be used individually to enlighten anyone in that tradition, so they can [better] understand their own scriptures…. Gift it to your local pastor, priest, imam, rabbi, monk, or minister. If Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, et. al., will read only this momentous work, and finally discover for themselves that their religions are all at heart identical — then the present bloodbath will end, and an enlightened peace will reign in the world!

You can check out the book on Amazon.

Compassion: 5 Speakers, 5 Views

NPR recently featured TED Talks from five well-known speakers offering five views of compassion from within contemporary Western culture, on the TED Radio Hour. For anyone aspiring to live a life of compassion, these talks offer a diverse set of viewpoints on which to reflect.

Karen Armstrong:
How Can We Make The World More Compassionate?


Religion scholar Karen Armstrong describes how compassion is the core principle in all world religions, in the form of the golden rule.

Daniel Goleman:
Why Aren’t We More Compassionate?


Psychologist Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, examines why we aren’t more compassionate more of the time.

The complete set of talks is at TED Radio Hour.

A Path Appears

A Path Appears New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn offer us a clear eyed, compassionate look — filled with both inspirational stories and well researched data — at how ordinary people everywhere, in the face of human suffering that can appear overwhelming, are acting to save lives and make a difference.

A great handbook for anyone in the OWL community committed to supporting a course change for humanity by supporting each other. Highly recommended.

“Nobody clarifies the social challenges of our time, or the moral imperative to help meet them, better than Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Their latest book, A Path Appears, offers an inspiring roundup of the many simple and effective ways in which we can lend our hearts and talents to grow hope and opportunity both at home and around the globe—and an important reminder that just because we can’t do everything doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do something.”
—President Bill Clinton

“Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have done us all a great service by shining a light on the problems faced by the poor. These stories of real people struggling for survival and opportunity serve as a powerful reminder that poverty is complex and painful, but the call to action doesn’t need to be. With insight, compassion and optimism, Kristof and WuDunn show us that we can all play a role in making the world a better place. A Path Appears is a compelling read that can’t help but to educate and energize.”
—Bill and Melinda Gates, Co-chairs, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Science of Kindness

Science of Kindness
KindSpring is a global movement of kindness with over 44,000 members. They practice small acts of kindness, share stories, and cheer each other on. They have put together a library of articles — from sources like the Wharton School, The New York Times, TEDx, the BBC, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Science Daily, etc. — that explores the research on how and why kindness works.

A valuable resource for all of us in the OWL community seeking to build our community and change the world through acts of kindness. See Science of Kindness.