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We all find ourselves in a new landscape
We have all, as a world community, unknowingly passed over a threshold and are suddenly finding ourselves in a totally new landscape. And it seems it will keep changing and there will be no going back to the world as it was. This brings us many new challenges, but also many new beautiful opportunities which we could not have anticipated. There is a chance to stop and reflect like never before, to see new perspectives and re-evaluate what is important in life. One of the most memorable statements which our beloved guiding star Dadi Janki gave us in one of the early planning meetings of SoH Forum, was: “Humanity means humility! No Ego!” It was said with a wagging finger and a smile of warning. This statement has become very vivid now, how we the humanity must be humble. We are all in the same boat, and this gives us a chance to see beyond borders, to cooperate and create meaning in our lives. We have an opportunity for real change, from inside and out. In this spirit we, the organisers of the Forum are inviting all of you to join us in our 15-minutes practice of meeting in silence every Friday at the same time. Just to connect, to be in each other’s presence without words and support each other in a subtle way, from heart to heart.
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Fridays for Silence
Building a subtle network of pure thoughts
Fridays at 11.00AM GMT
Please check your local time
Join us in this simple spiritual practice, to empower yourself and help shift human consciousness towards core human values.
CLICK HERE a few minutes before we start. You can always use the same link
- Mikes will automatically be muted
- We will see the faces of participants in many small windows on the screen
- We will be guided into a soft peaceful silence in the beginning, then just sit in silence in each other's presence
- A few words at the end will indicate that the 15 minutes are over
Looking forward to meeting you in silence!
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Governing with the energy of love
By Mark Milton on behalf of the Board of Directors
Words can provoke war and can declare love! Our language starts within our own mind and heart, in relationship with ourselves. If we are to consider changing behaviour, this is a good place to begin. Let’s do our part, and continue to encourage leaders to talk about spirituality, love, resilience, caring, peace, harmony, inclusion, listening, and compassion... Allowing leaders to govern through the energy of love is a powerful lever towards the change we need and aspire for. The SoH Forum will continue to offer such spaces.
Read more HERE in our Annual Report 2019
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Words on Silence
by Dr Scherto Gill
who has been leading the programme work together with Maureen Goodman.
Almost all religious and faith traditions, as well as many non-religious cultures, celebrate silence and take silence as their spiritual foundation. From monastic vows, to meditative contemplation, from mindfulness practices, to retreats in nature, the quietude is seen as invaluable in focusing our attention on what is deeply within, but also what is beyond ourselves, in preparation for prayers, and in anticipation of divine wisdom.
Read more HERE
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The 5th International SoH Forum, Iceland
3 - 5 June 2021 SAVE THE DATES!
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We had been working on plans for several gatherings in different parts of the world since last year when we, like everyone else, suddenly landed in a totally new environment. We are reflecting, observing the developments and having conversations among ourselves about how the SoH Forum best can serve in this new environment. Webinars and online meetings are clearly in our future. We will come back with more details as we go along.
We are still planning to hold the 5th international SoH Forum in Iceland, in nature close to Reykjavík on 3-5 June 2021. So, please save the dates and we will come back with more details further ahead.
The plans for the regional Forums are on hold. We are looking at alternatives online. We will share details when the picture is clear.
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Caring Beyond the Crisis
An article by our collegue Kurian Thomas published by our friends Initiative of Change
By nurturing our inner selves through spiritual practice, we can cultivate the values that are crucial to bridging the divides in our society.
How we are helping others and how we will continue to help others in the coming months. During times of crisis, it is important to focus on the needs of others and to look for ways to help those who are suffering. And while this is important in a crisis, we need to remember to continue to look for ways to help and offer support in the months ahead. Care and support should transcend societal divides – when someone is in need, it does not matter their political party, religion or how much you have in common with them.
Tending to the values of honesty, purity, unselfishness and love – this is the long-term work we should all be doing so that we can see healing take place in our society and see some of the divides start to narrow.
Read HERE
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We are nature
Interview with Dr Thomas Bruhn, dr. in Physics and co-leader of the project A Mindset for the Anthropocene at the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany, and speaker at the 4th SoH Forum in Reykjavik 2019.
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"For me it is clear that we cannot expect our system as a whole to change into a more sustainable mode if our consciousness and our way of living does not transform equally with it."
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Read more HERE
Video - interview at the Forum HERE
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Young leaders exploring practical spirituality
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The 'Leading from Within' project on Iceland continues
The SoH Forum’s initiative ’Leading from Within’, for young leaders and changemakers, started in Iceland before the Forum in 2019. It has been ongoing with small groups of young leaders meeting regularly with the aim of exploring and applying practical spirituality in daily life. The number of those who have participated is growing and the plan is to have follow-up workshops every month to support the young people in becoming the changemakers they would like to be. We would like to expand this work with youth to the regional Forums.
A School of Young Leaders
- an initiative in Latin America inspired by the SoH Forum
An amazing young leader, Javier Manzano age 28, is the chair of the Noka Munaiki Foundation, an organisation that works on the rehabilitation of young people with drug addictions in Argentina. He and his team are very interested in spiritual responses to their daily challenges in dealing with many youth trapped in drug consumption, poverty and very high levels of violence.
Moira Lowe, one of our team members in Latin America which is organising the regional SoH Latin America Forum in Argentina, shared with Javier the intention of working with youth and increasing youth participation in the Forum. He was very touched. Moira invited him to hold workshops and dialogues with those interested in participating in the Forum, which resulted in Javier’s decision to create the School of Young Leaders.
Participants come from different fields of society, such as university students and young professionals from government, business and social fields, and they are between 20 and 35 years old.
Inauguration was to be held early in April but, due to the current Covid situation, it has been postponed until gatherings are allowed.
The Government of Santiago del Estero is evaluating the possibility of supporting them.
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David Cadman and Dr Scherto Gill are planning to open a virtual School of Love based on their research. The school will be situated in this beautiful house in Cyberspace and it will be providing the following:
A Meeting Room of courses on Love, including Foundation courses on Love and the Divine Feminine and Love in Western Philosophy.
A Library providing references to books, videos and other material, including examples of Love at Work and the work of the SoH Forum.
A Kitchen for sharing conversations on Love and comforting recipes.
It is expected to be open by September.
If you would like to be kept informed about the plans, you are welcome to contact David Cadman: david@davidcadman.com
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Holistic Peace
By Dr Garrett Thomson, contributor to and supporter of the SoH Forum.
- How can spiritual peacefulness be expressed in the stormy world of political-economics?
- What kinds of systemic social changes are needed for us to live as peaceful spiritual beings?
- How can contemporary political-economics be reframed by ancient spiritual traditions?
We asked Dr Garrett Thomson to give us a glimpse into the writings of the the book 'Understanding Peace Holistically - From the Spiritual to the Political' which he co-wrote together with Dr Scherto Gill. In the book they build up a theory of peace from the spiritual to the relational and communal towards the socio-political. They also identify key principles that characterise international and institutional processes that nurture peace.
Read more HERE
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In search of Spiritual Intelligence
By Betty Steinhauer, a long time friend and supporter of the SoH Forum. She writes:
"Dear SOH Forum Family, I hope all are well in this most interesting time! Humanity and Humility are qualities that were important to me and so I became the listener and the learner in this new book 'In Search of Spiritual Intelligence'. I had the priveledge of interviewing 39 individuals across the globe, from all walks of life and ages, about their own Amazing Spiritual Journey. At least five of them I had met at the numerous SoH Forums held in Iceland, where many friendships were developed over the years. Finally I have come out of the closet with my own relationship of love for God, or the Divine."
Read more HERE
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More economic growth or growing better together?
By Olivier Onghena - 't Hooft, contributor to the 4th SoH Forum
In my recently published book, 'The Book of Noble Purpose', I describe in the last chapter (A World of Noble Purpose) how we as human species will suffer big time from our own short term thinking and unconsciousness, from irresponsible political leaders who are more concerned about their next reelection than the next generations, from the unacceptable inequalities between the uber-rich-have-alls and total-poor-have-nots, from the disconnection from ourselves, what is truly essential for us and what will help us increase our joy in Life. Therefore we have to get our act together.
The last couple of weeks I have been silent, observing, analyzing and trying to understand what is happening with us, the economy and the world. I have tried to understand what this whole crisis means, what kind of political leadership has shown up, what sort of position the business world has taken, what kind of future lays ahead of us. I came to five conclusions.
Read MORE
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UNITY
A spiritual practice
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While the news continues to call our attention to political divisions, we are mindful of the spiritual teaching of “one hand, one heart” —that all our individual appearances are specific manifestations of the Whole Essence. This concept of Divine Oneness—of a prevailing unity behind the appearance of diversity—is a central theme in many mystical traditions. Regardless of our political stance, we can benefit from considering and focusing on our oneness—our commonalities—rather than on that which scares and divides us. Here are some spiritual practices to build awareness of our unity.
From the monthly spiritual practice by the Fetzer Institute. Explore HERE
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Forthisworld - a digital platform for positive change
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Parham Shafti who attended the 3rd International SoH Forum in 2017 has since then worked with a brilliant idea to bridge the gaps between everyone who wants to promote a positive change in the world. He has gathered a team of talented people and together they are creating a place to give people a chance to meet around critical matters that need radically new ways of collaborating, independent of where they are in the world. So that we can put all the insights, talents, and strategies out there to the best possible use.
They are fusing the following elements into a functioning system:
- Matchmaking that unites the players around common goals – to make it easier to find and support each other.
- Digitised innovation methods with collaborative intelligence as a driving force – to get good ideas to become impact-ready faster.
- An open and simple user interface that makes the whole journey visible – so people can contribute, follow the progress, learn and amplify impact.
Parham says: “By coming together, we can finally channel our ideas and resources toward collaboration with a common goal. That's what's needed to bring progress.
Now, after reaching the design and a prototype we feel is good enough to move forward with, we are looking for investors and collaboration partners who are willing to contribute to accelerating the development of the platform.”
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So, if you feel intrigued and want to hear more, please don't hesitate to get in touch with
Parham Shafti: parham@forthisworld.org
Website: www.forthisworld.org
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Love in action around the world
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A beautiful and powerful expression of a spirit of humanity: The Compassion Prison Project - Bringing Compassion, Childhood Trauma Awareness and Creative Inspiration to the men and women living behind bars. www.compassionprisonproject.org See the gripping trailer HERE
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The coronavirus slayer!
How Kerala's rock star health minister helped save it from Covid-19
The health minister in Kerala managed to keep death cases down to 4 deaths in a state of 35 millions. She heard about it in the news on the 20th January and immediately took action, established a control room etc. A very inspiring story! Article from The Guardian HERE
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Spontaneous acts of goodness
"His goal is to feed as many people as possible"
From SGN = Some Good News with John Krasinski. Watch HERE
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The power of silence in a noisy world
Could we all do with a bit more silence in our lives?
Writer Harriet Shawcross says yes - but be careful, it's strong medicine.
A powerful article published by BBC HERE
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Are YOU Alone or Lonely?
Reflections in time of lockdown
Article by Mike George
As we are asked to live more isolated lives there is no shortage of advice on what ‘to do’ during our lockdown. Dr Google will provide us with hundreds of ideas. But there is much less advice on how ‘to be’ alone during these challenging times. Certainly, self-isolation is a bit scary for some as they are not accustomed to being on their own. Being only with ‘myself’, being isolated, is not an easy reality for many people.
So perhaps these few insights may help. Perhaps not.
Read more HERE
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Open Towards Love
An article from Heartfulness Magazine
There is a story that when the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan were sweeping across Central Asia, destroying cities, massacring the population, fearful dervishes ran to the great mystic Shams, the teacher of Rumi, shouting, “The Mongols are coming, the Mongols are coming!” He calmly replied, “I have been teaching you to be a duck, now swim.” For those of us drawn to the path of love, now is the opportunity to put our practice into action, to bring care and compassion into our communities, rather than being caught in the collective patterns of anxiety or panic that are swirling around us. This pandemic has taught us that we are all one, no one is separate, no countries or borders can limit the spread of the virus. Rather we have to respond from a place of shared humanity, helping and supporting each other. Read more HERE
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In Memorandum of Dadi Janki, our Archangel
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Dadi Janki, Spiritual Head of Brahma Kumaris who helped creating the Spirit of Humanity Forum, has at the age of 104 passed on from this physical life on Friday 27th March 2020.
We are very proud of and humbled by her fierce support SoH Forum, it has been blessed by Dadi Janki from its very start. She has always been modern, unafraid of new ideas, seeing further than others, acting younger than others and seemed to take a great deal of joy in mixing and make friends with all kinds of people, no matter what status they have in the world. She really represents a true spirit of humanity. She flew all the way from India just to participate at the 1st Forum in 2012 at the age of 96, contributing and listening with a blinding enthusiasm and energy after a long haul travel just to travel all the way back to India again.
We can now all clearly feel how she is supporting the Forum with light and spiritual power from up above!
Dadi Janki at the SoH Forum in pictures and videos HERE
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Beautiful poems we have read at our Fridays for Silence
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The Songs of the Spirit
From a book of messages received by Hélène Peyret
« Les Chants de l’Esprit »
© Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation, India
You are right to call for love,
it embellishes everything, and it sanctifies everything.
One has only to desire it strongly
and he will be as one with it,
and forget the ugly side of life.
You should imagine that it, the ugly side,
does not exist anymore,
that purity is everywhere in this world,
that men understand and support each other,
that everything is beautiful,
and that life is a long ode to the Divine,
a love song that covers everything.
So, that is a dream would you say ?
Yes, it is necessary to dream of this world,
so that one day it will exist
as we describe it,
and as you may wish it to be.
Such worlds already exist in the universe,
so why should that not happen on Earth ?
Work so that your thoughts make it materialize,
and your acts build it.
Make sure that your heart distils a nectar
which nourishes creatures that surround you,
being yourself in a perpetual state of grace.
No, it is not utopia,
Such an idyllic world could be built.
Do better:
Work toward its construction.
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The Only Place
by Steve Taylor
When the future is full of dread
and the past is full of regret
Where can you take refuge except in the present?
When maelstroms of tormenting thoughts
push back the barricades of your sanity
the present is the calm centre where you can rest.
And slowly, as you rest there,
the niggling thoughts and fears dissolve
like shadows shrinking under the midday sun
until you don’t need refuge anymore.
The present is the only place where there is no thoughts-created pain.
The present is the only place.
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The Challenge
by Steve Taylor
How will you know how strong you are
unless your strength is tested?
How will you know how deep you are
unless turmoil breaks your surface
and forces you to dive?
How will you know what sleeps inside
until the whole of you is challenged to wake up?
Then you’ll turn inside to gather your resources
your untapped reserves of strength and skill
then rise like a sun, amazed by your own brightness,
stronger than you ever suspected
deeper than you ever dreamed.
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A different take on the story of the two wolves
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Inside each of us there are two wolves fighting
One is fear, arrogance, greed, anger, hatred and despair.
The other is love, humility, generosity, courage and calm.
It is usually said that the one you feed wins. But, in fact, victory does not lie in wiping out the scared and angry wolf, but in winning its heart with empathy, love and respect. By nourishing the loving wolf it will become able to take care of and melt the heart of the fearful and desperate wolf. When the fearful wolf have been cured of its fear and despair, the two wolves will merge and become one wolf and run happily towards the sunrise!
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