Happy Soul Food Friday!
This week:
Celebrating 40 Years of Teaching the Wisdom Traditions at UC San Diego
Where Did the Time Go?
40 Years of Teaching the Wisdom Traditions at UC San Diego:
If as a student at UC San Diego in the 80’s, you said that 40 years later I would still be teaching on campus, I would say you were nuckin’ futs!
Yet, this weekend, we find ourselves hosting a mini-camp, banquet and roast, celebrating 40 years of my teaching the wisdom traditions (martial arts, yoga and meditation) for the campus ecosystem and with the generations of students over the years, touching thousands of lives- now all over the world.
What started as a recreation club while a Muir college student in the dorms is the longest running contiguous program on campus, thanks to the help, support and loyalty of so many students, friends, and colleagues- many who are Sensei in their own right that have grown their own black belts and contributed to our community wellbeing.
Part of the prep work for camp includes some self-reflection, which is always in order as we tend to venerate action and vilify reflection in our human doing v. human being roles.
Here are a couple of examples I thought the Soul Food community would find beneficial so they are in this week’s missive for your wellbeing.
The first is the PERMAH Survey-
The PERMAH Survey is all about self-assessing your wellbeing, exploring the presence in our lives of Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning Accomplishment and Health.
This free, confidential, and fast survey can help you to gauge your current baseline with respect to your wellbeing, your functioning effectively, and your ability to flourish even in challenging times, particularly with the enhanced focused on self-care and mental health we are all experiencing nowadays
Check it out here:
The PERMAH Wellbeing Survey | Wellbeing | Michelle McQuaid
Strength to Strength-
Strength to Strength is a powerful presentation by Arthur C Brooks at Harvard, based on a book of the same name (that some of us read as part of a book club) and serves as a practical roadmap to finding success, happiness and deep purpose in the second half of life.
If you are seeking more love, happiness, peace and purpose it is worth a listen:
You can play this like a podcast in the background while driving, cooking or cleaning if time is limited, but I do strongly encourage you to check it out.
A Blast from the Past:
Here is a short vid of the Inaugural True Triton Award I was honored to receive many moons ago
It speaks to the importance of volunteering and community engagement beyond writing fat checks and how we can all make a difference of consequence:
True Triton—Neville Billimoria, ’82 – YouTube
Finally, to end on a joyous sonic note enjoy the Sultans of Swing in the prime of their lives!
(Or go crank your favorite tunes)
Thanks this week go to Dr. Dan D and Awakening Conscious Leadership, Dr. Alan D professor extraordinaire at UC San Diego, Matt L and the men in the Conscious Leader Collective, and all the amazing members of our Aoinagi Karate community near and far that have stuck by me through thick and thin, especially my wife Barb!
Please pay it forward with purpose, bare it all, and stay in tune with your inner and outer nature!
Love,
Neville
Baring it all!
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“A strong wind may destroy a sturdy tree, but the willow bends and the wind passes through.” – Sensei Gichin Funakoshi
Happy Soul Food Friday! 
Congratulations on the 40 years! I just finished 42 years at UCSD.