Week Of Compassion
“Seinfeld” fans, do you remember the “Summer of George”?
It seems as if we’re in the midst of the “Week of Compassion,” and it’s exciting…and inspiring…and BUSY. Please read about our big week, and join us when you can. We’d love to have the COMPASSION IT community involved as much as possible.
Event #1 – Happy Birthday to the Dalai Lama!
The Dalai Lama turned 80 years old on Monday. He’s known for delivering his messages of peace and compassion around the world, and he’s one of my heroes. The Dalai Lama celebrated in Irvine, California, and COMPASSION IT had the incredible opportunity to be a part of the festivities.
Thanks to the kindness of an official at the University of California, Irvine, I watched the Dalai Lama’s talk in person and from the fourth row! I also met many people who are passionate about spreading compassion. A huge highlight was sharing COMPASSION IT with artist Gloria Estefan who later tweeted a picture of her COMPASSION IT wristband to her 520,000 Twitter followers! I also met Bao Nguyen, the smiley mayor of Garden Grove, the “City of Compassion.” He’s interested in bringing COMPASSION IT to schools in his town.
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a Dalai Lama junkie. I watched him speak on Saturday and Sunday thanks to live streaming footage of his events. I noticed a common theme that came up during the three talks I saw – compassion education. He pointed out that our education system focuses on materialistic gains instead of what our world truly needs for survival. He repeated that we need to do a better job teaching our young people how to have compassion for their fellow humans, our animals, and our planet.
Needless to say, I’m more inspired than ever after seeing the Dalai Lama speak. At COMPASSION IT, we are committed to making compassion education accessible to everyone in the world. It’s a big job, but with the help of all of YOU, we can do it. (More on this topic later…I’ll be blogging again soon!)
Check out this picture I took yesterday. Notice the COMPASSION IT band on the wrist of an unknown man in the foreground, and Gloria Estefan, Paul Ekman, Ann Curry, Thupten Jinpa, Dalai Lama, Dolores Huerta, Julia Ormond, Bob Thurman, and others in the background. I was in heaven.
Event #2 – FREE Online Global Compassion Summit
July 7-9, 2015
The Shift Network, Stanford University’s CCARE and the Charter for Compassion have gathered an unbelievable lineup of compassion and peace experts to discuss all things compassion. If you missed today, don’t fret! There are two more days of meaningful discussions.
Visit this link to join.
***Wednesday’s interviews feature Thupten Jinpa, Kristin Neff, Barbara Frederickson and Matthieu Ricard.
Wow.
The woman behind this incredible gathering is Emily Hine, and she made a personal promise to the Dalai Lama several years ago to further compassion education. I encourage you to learn about her promise by reading this recent Huffington Post article: A Birthday Gift for the Dalai Lama: Global Compassion Education.
Event #3 – Chopra Center’s Global Meditation for Compassion
July 11, 2015 (9am PST)
Last but not at all least, Deepak Chopra and Gabrielle Bernstein will soon facilitate their second annual global meditation. Last year’s global meditation set the Guinness Book of World Record for the largest online meditation gathering in history. I joined in, and it was a powerful experience.
This year’s theme is…wait for it…compassion! Learn more here. (P.S. – There’s a good chance that you’ll see glimpses of COMPASSION IT wristbands in the audience and on stage, so be on the lookout.)
If you’re in the San Diego area, you can attend the event in person. COMPASSION IT will be there, and we’d love to see you! Visit this linkfor tickets.
I’m beyond grateful that I had the opportunity to write a few posts about compassion for the Chopra Center, and I invite you to read and share them. The Chopra Center included these articles in its newsletter that reaches 1.5 million people, which has tremendously helped the COMPASSION IT word spread.
6 Ways to Raise Compassionate Kids
Compassion In Action: 15 Ways to Spread Kindness
How to Make Compassion Contagious
Needless to say, my team and I are working our little rear ends off this week to try and keep up with it all. Who knew that spreading compassion could be so darn demanding? We’re excited about what this “Week of Compassion” can do for our hearts and for humanity, and we are glad you can journey alongside us.
Please support COMPASSION IT! Purchase wristbands and other products at our online store to not only support our education programsbut to spread the message of compassion in your community.