Looking back over 2014, it seems like it’s been an especially troubled year for our planet, but also a year that brought many hopeful signs and examples of the positive course change for humanity that we’re all working for.

I hope that as you look back over your year, you see times of real learning and growth, and feel some satisfaction at having acted to make a difference for others.

For the OWL community, our global citizen members now include people in six countries. We’ve doubled the number of people involved with OWL, and doubled the number of wisdom circles on our calendar. And we’ve continued to develop our web site with new tools — including social media features, Zoom video-conferencing, and this newsletter — for staying connected as we grow.

Here are some headlines on this last day of the year:

• On the OWL Blog:
  • Rev. Heng Sure, Managing Director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, at Awakin Circle
  • Karen Armstrong, Daniel Goleman, and three other well-know thought-leaders share their views on compassion.
  • Your blog at OWL! Contact Aryae to find out how.
• January Events:
  • Global Awakin Call: Jan. 3, 10, 17, 24
  • Silicon Valley Awakin Circle: Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28
  • Coastside Community Circle: Jan. 8
  • OWL Wisdom Circle 1: Jan. 13
  • Karma Kitchen in Berkeley: Jan. 25
  • Complete OWL January Wisdom Circle Calendar

See the details below.

If you’ve got any news, updates or events (see guidelines in the OWL Wisdom Circle Calendar) that you’d like to share with the OWL community, please let me know.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

In gratitude.

Aryae

Rev. Heng Sure at Awakin Circle

Dharma Master Heng Sure is Managing Director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery and author of numerous books on Buddhist practice. He spoke as a special guest at the Silicon Valley Awakin Circle on December 17.

He was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1976. The following year he and a fellow monk undertook an 800 mile journey along the California coast through some of the most beautiful and also some of the most dangerous parts of California, committed to taking three steps and a bow the entire way.

You can hear Rev. Heng Sure’s talk, and read about his story, on the OWL Blog.
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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.
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You can access the complete set of talks at the OWL Blog.
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Jan. 3, 10, 17, 24: Global Awakin Call

Global Awakin Calls are a project of ServiceSpace.

They’re held every Saturday, 9:00 – 10:30 AM Pacific Time, by dial-in teleconference, to share insights and inspiration with like-minded people from around the world.

This Saturday, January 3, OWL member Steven Karlin, founder of Wilderness Associates, will be the featured speaker.

Find out more.

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Jan 7, 14, 21, 28: Silicon Valley Awakin Circle

Awakin Circles are a project of ServiceSpace, which is guided by the vision:

Change Yourself, Change the World
We believe in the inherent generosity of others and aim to ignite that spirit of service. Through our small, collective acts, we aim to transform ourselves and the world.

Awakin Silicon Valley is held every Wednesday, 7 – 10 PM. The agenda:

Find out more.

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January 8: Coastside Community Circle

Neighbors and friends in the Half Moon Bay area sharing time for silence and reflection, connecting with ourselves, each other, our community, and the world. The inspiration comes from Awakin Circles. We share the vision of changing ourselves / changing the world.

Held in El Granada on the 2nd Thursday most months at 6:30 PM, at the home of Aryae and Wendy.

Find out more.

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January 13: OWL Wisdom Circle 1

The founding wisdom circle of the OWL community, and an incubator for wisdom circles around the world. Our purpose: to support a course change for humanity by supporting each other.

This is a monthly global video conference. Our first speaker in January is Deidre Combs, an author, consultant, teacher, adjunct faculty member at Columbia University and an assistant professor at Montana State University. Over the past 20 years she has been facilitating dialogue and providing cross-cultural conflict resolution training after writing three books on that topic. She provides leadership training and coaching for State Department sponsored international activists, teachers, and government and university student leaders.


Deidre will share her story, vision, challenges that she’s engaged with — and offer a question to the group for reflection.

Find out more.

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Jan. 25: Karma Kitchen

Karma Kitchen first opened in Berkeley on March 31st 2007, by several volunteers inspired to seed the value of a “gift economy”. It has now spread around the globe.

Run by volunteers, our meals are cooked and served with love, and offered to the guest as a genuine gift. To complete the full circle of giving and sustain this experiment, guests make contributions in the spirit of pay-it-forward to those who will come after them. In keeping this chain going, the generosity of both guests and volunteers helps to create a future that moves from transaction to trust, from self-oriented isolation to shared commitment, and from fear of scarcity to celebration of abundance.

Karma kitchen in Berkeley is held the last Sunday of every month

Find out more.

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Complete OWL January Wisdom Circle Calendar

You can find all the information you need to sign up for any of our January events at the January Wisdom Circle Calendar.