June 2020:
Coming soon!
After having been on hiatus for a while,
we are getting ready to begin again
by holding space for conversations
among friends around the world
committed to the work of inner and outer transformation,
and cultivating connection among our communities for the greater good.
Stay tuned!
Recent OWL News:
A gathering of members of the Dalai Lama Fellows, with members of OWL, to explore the Global Community Garden vision of cultivating connections among our communities.
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First of all I want to apologize for not communicating for so long. With all the absolutely crazy events going on here in the U.S. and in Europe — and how friends in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Central America have been experiencing far worse — I’ve really been at a loss about how to respond. I feel like I’ve been wandering in a dark forest.
And I’m very grateful to have met some wise and inspiring people in that forest — people in OWL and ServiceSpace — whose words and actions are helping me find my way. To name a few: Scilla Elworthy Chad Harper Rev. Charles Gibbs Paula Green Sister Lucy Terry Patten Dimple Parmar Deborah Roberts Rev. Heng Sure There’s so much to be said about the wisdom they’re each bringing, so I invite you to follow any of these links to explore in detail. But in brief, here’s a common thread that’s coming through to me:
We’ll soon be scheduling our our first 2019 OWL Wisdom Circle, with a couple of surprise first speakers, The agenda: initiating a new, ongoing OWL conversation to explore interconnecting our communities. I believe that our only way forward as an OWL community is with involvement, creative action, and leadership from all of us!
So I invite you to get your responses back to us right away. All of us in the upcoming circle will have the chance to benefit by seeing each other’s responses, as we explore where we go from here. Looking forward to reconnecting and exploring paths together! In gratitude. |
It is written that King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. It stood for about four centuries before being destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. After the Hebrew exiles returned from Babylon in 539 BCE, they built the Second Temple, which lasted over 500 years before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. According to tradition both were destroyed at this time of the year, called the Three Weeks (17 Tammuz – 9 Av on the Hebrew calendar). Every year we observe the Three Weeks as a time of mourning and solemn reflection.
In ancient times the rabbis reflected on the question: what are we to learn from the destruction of the Temples? Their inquiry took them to two themes: what we value, and how we treat each other.
In the U.S. our “holy temple” has been in the values and ideals of American democracy. Although we’ve been painfully slow to live up to these ideals, they’ve always served as the guiding light that unites us, and toward which we, the American people, aspire and progress. But today my heart is breaking as I stand by helplessly, forced to watch the daily destruction of our democracy.
Is this the “Three Weeks” for America? Am I exaggerating? Can we still save our country?
Soon I’ll be joining with thousands of Americans in California and across the country to do what we can to help save our democracy by helping people vote in the coming election. But for now I’m sitting quietly with the question: what can we learn from the Three Weeks about the right course of action for today?
Ibn Ezra commenting on Leviticus 19:17:
“Don’t hate your brother.”
This is the inverse of “love your neighbor as yourself.” Behold how these mitzvot, both of them, are planted in the heart. And those who cultivate them shall remain in the land. Because it was senseless hatred that destroyed the Second Temple.
(Spain, 12th century CE)
