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Proper Selfishness | Geoff Marlow
“The problem was that in trying to be someone else I neglected to concentrate on the person I could be.” Charles Handy
Conventional wisdom suggests that selfishness is to be avoided on a spiritual path and replaced by selflessness. However, we can’t hope to help others find and fulfil their potential unless we focus first on doing this for ourselves. This is “Proper Selfishness” – knowing, caring for, and cultivating our self. Only then can we discover our purpose and endeavour to embrace and embody who we are.
Join us this evening for an exploration of this vitally important aspect of human existence. Our speaker, Geoff Marlow will take up:
• What is meant by ‘Proper Selfishness’ in a spiritual context?
• How do we balance pursuing our own goals whilst fulfilling our responsibilities to others?
• What are the pitfalls and challenges?
Speaker:
Geoff Marlow has more than 35 years’ professional experience helping organisations throughout Europe, Asia and the US create cultures that enable them to flourish in an increasingly uncertain and unpredictable future.
He has been a student and teacher with the Brahma Kumaris since 1990 and regularly conducts BK workshops, seminars and lectures around the world.
Synchronicity | Philippa Blackham
Synchronicity is an ever present reality to those who have eyes to see – Carl Jung
Improbable coincidences take our breath away and make us feel that the hand of destiny is guiding us. How can we interpret the subtle language of synchronicity and how do we increase this magical, benevolent conversation between the universe and ourselves?
Speaker:
Philippa Blackham worked for almost 20 years as a producer and presenter for the BBC, including seven years at BBC Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour'. Since then, she has trained as an Interfaith Minister and now serves as a celebrant. She is part of a team that heads up the Media & Communication work of Brahma Kumaris, UK. She has practised Raja Yoga meditation for over 40 years.
A Greater Love: Demystifying Detachment | Eric Le Reste
Love and detachment may seem like polar opposites or perhaps a lofty ideal for committed mystics. But actually, life is calling all of us to love more deeply, and to go beyond the expectations, disappointments and complications which come with being attached.
Based in Montreal, Eric Le Reste was with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC/Radio-Canada, for more than 35 years. As a Journalist and producer, he worked for the main television news and current affairs programs within the French services. Alongside his career, Eric always maintained a special interest in spirituality, and for the past 40 years he has taught the meditation and philosophy offered by the Brahma Kumaris, an international organization for which he acts as the Canadian Coordinator.
Maha Shivratri | The Story of Immortality - Amarkatha
It has been said that Parvati was listening to the story of immortality in order to become free... immortal... free from the burden of fear and sorrow.
An afternoon of Sacred Darshan (Glimpse) of Amarnath, an Exhibition, plus an enchanting Stage Performance depicting the story of immortality - through live dances that bring the age-old tale to life and give us the wisdom to be fearless and conquer inner demons.
Inspiring Inclusion | Samantha Fraser & Waltraud Idir
Celebrating International Women’s Day
In a world of diverse cultures and perspectives it is more important than ever to navigate a path toward a future where everyone has a feeling of belonging and is valued and appreciated for their unique contribution.
Samantha Fraser in an empowering conversation with Waltraud Idir exploring:
· What are the barriers to inclusivity?
· How do we break these down and build bridges that unite?
· Tangible strategies to cultivate an inclusive mindset
· What is your vision of such a world, what would it look and feel like?
Speaker 1: Waltraud (Val) has practised Raja Yoga meditation for 20 years. She is passionate about self-empowerment and community cohesion. Based in Croydon, her professional background is in developing inclusive international projects in training, education and self-leadership as a consultant. Val is experienced in working with people from all backgrounds.
Speaker 2: Samantha Fraser has been a primary school teacher for nearly 25 years. Although born and educated in the UK, she spent 20 years working in different countries in Southern Africa as a teacher and also coordinating activities for the Brahma Kumaris centres there. Samantha is currently based at the Global Retreat Centre in Oxfordshire.
The Enigma of the Right Behaviour | Jim Ryan
There is no right or wrong behaviour. The only meaningful choice is between fear and love. - Gerald Jampolsky.
The complexities in understanding behaviour arise from the multitude of perspectives and ideas that society, religion, and culture generate to maintain order and control. With the myriad influences that shape our conduct, there comes the age-old question: What defines the right behaviour?
Jim Ryan has been a teacher, a headteacher, an HR trainer, and a management consultant. He has been a long-time student and teacher of meditation and spiritual philosophy. For over 40 years, he has been a student and teacher of Raja Yoga Meditation with the Brahma Kumaris. Throughout the UK, Jim has supported numerous students and teachers of the Brahma Kumaris. Currently, he contributes to the activities at the Global Retreat Centre in Oxford.
Jim has authored six books, including "Dialogues of a Silent Mind" and "In the Stillness – Meditations to Read."
For the "Lights of the World" animation, please use the following link:
https://brahmakumaris.uk/resources/...
or
https://youtu.be/8Ml4udVlxoI
Travelling Light | Rekha Vallishayee
The traveller with a small bundle over their shoulder is an image many of us savour. We often long for lightness, which we lose through inner and external complications, carrying burdens of the past and future in our heads and hearts. To be able to live in the moment, responding wholeheartedly to people and situations in front of us, treading lightly on the earth and trusting in the good that lies before us - all these are keys to travelling light.
Join us for a special encounter with a ‘light traveller’ and learn the secrets of ‘travelling light’.
Rekha Vallishayee has been a keen meditator since her teens. Thirty years on, her love for silence and her gentle, compassionate nature bring a stability, clarity and calm that is very evident in her presence, responses and relationships. Originally from India, Rekha is now based at the Brahma Kumaris UK co-ordinating office in London where she is a key member of the IT team and helps to co-ordinate Tamil service.
Force of Habit – Breaking Free | Mathias Steffen
By the end of January most people will have given up on their New Year's resolutions. Why is that? How do habits of a lifetime form, and why is it so difficult to change them? Habits have many levels and faces. In a sense they are just energy, taking one form or another. Give up a habit and more often than not it will manifest in another form.
How can we be creative and use the energy that has fuelled our bad habits for something useful, something beneficial?
Speaker: Mathias Steffen
Mathias lives in Switzerland and is a stress and resilience coach and a former headmaster. Since discovering Raja Yoga during his travels in India, Mathias has found that by practically applying a spiritual perspective in his life, he has been able to deal with all sorts of people and challenges in a positive way. Mathias coordinates the activities of the Brahma Kumaris Centre in Zurich and is part of the National Coordinators Team in Switzerland.
Language of the Heart | Lotta Arbman
So many languages, so many modes of expression in our world today. They create connections between us but also barriers to affinity and understanding. The language of the heart transcends these barriers and connects us at some deeper level which also touches the divine.
Speaker: Lotta Arbman
Mostly based in Stockholm, Lotta is the National Coordinator for Brahma Kumaris in Sweden. At heart, Lotta is an inquisitive dreamer with an artistic background in illustration and painting. For some 13 years, Lotta has been able to combine her creative flair with her administrative skills as Secretary to the Spirit of Humanity Forum. The Forum is a platform for leaders to discover new and innovative ways to move forward, based on deep human values.
Does AI have an IQ? | Neville Hodgkinson
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing so rapidly as to bring warnings of an ‘existential threat’, in which super-intelligent robots turn against their human creators. But doesn’t the future of humanity lie within us, rather than in our machines?
Speaker: Neville Hodgkinson is an author and journalist who specialised for much of his career in writing about science and medicine. He has been a student of Raja Yoga for more than 40 years.
Silence - The Seed of Genius | Denise Lawrence
The creative mind evolves in silence
Genius cannot arise through education or training. A genius stands apart from others connected in silence with their inner wellspring of original thought, perception, and skill to emerge words, images, music, and interpretations of the meaning of life that have not been seen before. A genius is an instrument of the divine creative force that flows through expressing what sustains the hungry spirit.
Denise Lawrence has been a student and teacher of Raja Yoga for 50 years. She has established centres of the Brahma Kumaris Spiritual University in Europe and North America. An author and broadcaster, she is based in France and travels widely offering talks and retreats on spirituality and meditation.
Angels Everywhere | Maureen (Morni) Chen
We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds. Anton Chekhov
Throughout history and in many cultures the existence of angels has been a source of fascination, comfort and delight. They are often portrayed as other worldly beings, helpers of God, whose nature is divine. Their qualities and virtues are frequently experienced as a reassuring presence of light and love.
In this talk, we will explore who or what angels are, how they work and what their special role is at this time. Perhaps you might even find that the angel in you is waiting to be revealed...
Speaker: Maureen Chen is a native of Sydney, Australia, and is currently the Co-ordinator of the Yarra Valley Living Centre, a retreat centre near Melbourne. She is the author of a book: Mystic at the Edge, a Western Woman Coloured by Asia, a deep and reflective spiritual travelogue of her own journey. Maureen has coordinated meditation, leadership and spirituality-based activities and projects in over 50 countries for more than 40 years.