Welcome Back to This Week’s Edition of Soul Food Friday!

This week:
Let’s inspire (breathe life into), encourage (put courage into) & enthuse (fill with the divine) one another every day!

“You rise by lifting others.” –Robert Green Ingersoll

 

We Can ALL Use Some Help Over the Finish Line from Time to Time:

Now these are real champions of the human spirit and I wept with the profundity of their ability to keep their eye on the prize!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OOjME8SoU0

“When you are feeling blessed you can’t be stressed”

Can We help?
Save the Date- Your Personal Invitation to “Looking For LOVE in All the Right Places-Keeping the Good Changes This Pandemic Has Spread In Our Lives”- Zoom Webinar: Thurs July 30th 2020 @ Noon Looking For Love in All the Right Places
How to discern and keep the good changes that this pandemic has spread in our lives, so we can regain our joy, re-energize our spirit, and grow the love.

Most of us, even the most stress-hardened are emotionally and spiritually fatigued from months of adjusting to life in a Covid world.

In lieu of a summer vacation to distant places, or even a spa day or retreat, can we give ourselves a mini-stay-cation, with a little help from our friends, to reframe our current circumstance and recharge our spirit (yes even on another zoom call!)?

Of course we can!
Find the gift in this moment.

Join Moshe and Neville as they create the space for us to get real, get clear, and get on, with how we would like to show up in the Covid world.

Together we will explore the current conditions we find ourselves in and our habituated responses to them.
In a brave, safe and even sacred space we will gently challenge our beliefs, reactions and responses so we can grow together.
And yes, LOVE has everything to do with it!
We will:

• Shift from Life is happening TO ME to Life is happening THROUGH ME.
• Reclaim your Passion, Purpose, and Priorities as you release from the grip of this Pandemic.
• Practice Straight “A” Gift Giving to someone in your life:  Acknowledgment / Attention / Appreciation and rise up by lifting others

 

Registration details next week…                                                                                                                                                            “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile.

 But sometimes your smile is the source of your joy.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

OXYGEN FOR YOUR SOUL:

Truett Cathy asked, “How do you know if a man or woman needs encouragement?”
He answered, “If they are breathing.”

With so many suffocating in pessimism today we need encouragement, optimism and faith to provide us with oxygen for our souls.

The word encourage means “To put courage into.”

We all need to encourage and put courage into ourselves and others.

Today let’s:

Attack This Day with Enthusiasm – The word enthusiasm comes from the root word “entheos” which means filled with the divine. Let’s tap into a greater power and strength to keep going. Faith in God doesn’t make life easier. It makes you stronger.

Feed the Positive and Weed the Negative – Your mind is like a garden. You need to weed the negative and feed the positive each day to create a fertile environment that produces amazing fruit. The more you feed yourself with the positive the more you can feed others. If you don’t have it, you can’t share it. Weed, Feed, Share!

Be Thankful – You can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are feeling blessed you can’t be stressed. Think about what you are thankful for right now. Write it down. Think about it throughout the day.

Talk to Yourself instead of Listen to Yourself – Don’t listen to the fear and negative thoughts that fill your mind with Doubt and Discouragement (two of the 5 D’s). They are lies that try to hold you back and keep you from living your destiny and purpose. Instead speak truth to the lies. The truth is you are here for a reason. You are here to do great things and you have greatness inside of you. The truth is you will prevail through this time.

Live and Look Forward – Your vision is greater thank your circumstances and your purpose is greater than your challenges. Stop looking backwards. Your life isn’t there anymore. You can’t change the past, but you can find focus, optimism and peace in the present to create your future. Stop looking at the negativity on the screen and look up to the heavens. Then look out into your future and think about what you truly want to create. If you can see it you can create it. If you have a vision you also have the power to make it happen.

Someone told Zig Ziglar that motivation doesn’t last to which he replied, “Neither does bathing. It’s why you have to do it each day.”

Encouragement works the same way. We are facing a difficult time. There’s a lot of pain and suffering. The struggle is real but so is your power to overcome.

Remember to encourage and put courage into yourself and others each day. Don’t worry about the future. Just encourage yourself daily and give your soul the oxygen it needs to be fully alive and thrive.

Stay Positive!

 

Red, White And The Blues (1A NPR):

The blues grew out of the Black experience in the American South. It generated jazz, R&B, rock and roll, rap – virtually every piece of modern music.

We’re spotlighting blues recordings selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry. These recordings have been chosen for their historic, aesthetic or cultural importance to American society.

On this holiday weekend, we celebrate America’s birthday with music from John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Memphis Minnie, Jimi Hendrix and others.

And we hear from legends like BB King, Angela Davis, Dan Aykroyd, Maria Muldaur, Vernon Reid and many more.

https://the1a.org/segments/red-white-and-the-blues/

 

Thanks this week go to Isabelle A, Moshe E,  Larry H, and our NPR stations for getting me over the finish line this week!

Pay it forward with Purpose.
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“If you treat an individual as s/he is, s/he will remain how s/he is. But if you treat one as if s/he were what s/he ought to be and could be, s/he will become what s/he ought to be and could be.” Goethe

 

cj2

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow.

The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Here we are in 2020, with the World struggling, America hurting, and many Souls suffering.

As we celebrate the character of our nation, expressed in our independence and liberties- inalienable rights we hold sacrosanct- we might want to also attend to our immutable responsibilities to one another.

Liberty and Justice
Liberty AND Justice for all
INDIVISIBLE- with liberty and justice for ALL

This one vid emotionally captures the best reflections of the American Spirit.

 

Enjoy your independence AND perhaps take a moment to reflect on our interdependence.
We need each other!

“Justice is what Love looks like in Public“

“Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there“–Virginia Burden

Thanks to Larry H for the link, pay it forward and Love ALL!
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”— Benjamin Franklin

 

 

 

 

Isn’t she awesome?  And she’s only 7.

Welcome to this week’s Soul Food Friday!

THE 5 D’S THAT WILL DEFEAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT THEM c/o Larry H:

Turn on the news. Look around. Read your social media feed. We all know the country is increasingly divided. People are fighting. Marriages are ending. Suicide attempts have increased substantially. Too many have lost hope and are giving up. Why is this happening and what can we do about it?

1. Doubt – Instead of trust we have a lot of doubt and fear. We see the world through the media headlines instead of through the lens of faith, hope and love. Ultimately the enemy’s goal is to plant seeds of doubt that God can’t be trusted. The enemy knows if you don’t trust God you will believe his lies and if you believe his lies you won’t trust God. It’s a game of deception.

 

2. Distort – Evil creates doubt by distorting truth with lies. These lies come to you in the form of thoughts that your future is hopeless, that our country will never recover from this, that you don’t have what it takes to succeed, that it’s going to be like this forever, that the worst is yet to come. When negative thoughts like these come into your mind, you need to know that they aren’t coming from you. After all, who would ever choose to have a negative thought? When you are sleeping and dreaming or having a nightmare are you choosing your thoughts? When a thought pops into your head are you choosing it? Thoughts are spiritual. Your negative thoughts are lies and fear is a liar.

 

3. Discourage– Evil creates doubt and distorts truth with lies in order to discourage you. The enemy knows it can’t beat you on its own. So it tries to discourage you so you beat yourself and give up. We don’t give up because it’s hard. We give up because we get discouraged. To many are believing the lies, getting discouraged and giving up.

 

4. Distract – You know the saying, “If the devil won’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” He’ll get you to focus on all the things that don’t matter so you don’t invest in what does matter. He tries to distract you from your core purpose and mission. Right now, social media and the 24/7 news is distracting a lot of people and causing them to be their worst, not their best. Too many are taking the bait of hate and being distracted.

 

5. Divide– The word “anxious” literally means divided. There is so much anxiety because we feel divided from God, from each other and from ourselves. Evil’s ultimate goal is to divide us from God and from each other. Right now evil is doing a great job of dividing this country politically, racially and physically. “Social distancing” “Quarantine” “Isolation” “Pick a side”. When we are divided, we lose the battle.

 

It’s a spiritual battle and many are losing the battle because they have no idea they are in a battle. If your enemy knows you are in a battle and you don’t, you surely will lose. Once you know you are in a battle and see how the 5 D’s is the enemy’s only game plan then you can counter it and win it.

I know this isn’t politically correctly to share. It’s easier and safer to ignore this topic. But most have no idea they are in a battle because too many are afraid to share what’s going on. But I can’t let people continue to lose the battle when I know how they can win it. If I didn’t share this with you then I would be keeping the winning plan from you.

So here goes! This is how you Win:

1. Trust instead of doubt. Don’t let the seeds of doubt take root. Instead plant seeds of hope and faith and trust. Trust in God. Have faith even when the circumstances aren’t positive.

 

2. Don’t believe the lies. Instead speak truth to the lies. The truth is you are here for a reason. There is a plan for your life. Your vision and purpose is greater than your circumstances. No matter what happens you have the power to overcome your situation. You have greatness inside of you and you are here to do great things. No matter what happened in your past you are capable of creating a great future right now. The truth is we will overcome this challenging time and we will be better and stronger for it.

 

3. 3. Instead of feeling discouraged make time to encourage yourself and others each day. Your team needs encouragement. Your family needs encouragement. The more you trust and speak words of encouragement to yourself and others you will overcome the discouragement that defeats you.

 

4. Instead of letting distractions get in the way focus on what matters most. Stop watching the news and invest in your relationships. Stop buying the doom and gloom and focus on building your business. Stop arguing on social media and start loving people.

 

5. Instead of division focus on uniting. Unite with your team. Connect and unite with your friends. Find ways to bring people together instead of creating separation. Unite with God spiritually. Make time for prayer, meditation and gratitude. You were meant to be one with God, not divided. When you experience this oneness you feel more love, peace and joy. When we are united with ourselves, with God and with each other we will win the battle.

There’s a reason why Star Wars, Harry Potter, Superman, Black Panther, Wonder Woman, etc. are about the battle of good and evil. It’s because it’s the major narrative of our existence and one that exists deep within our soul. It resonates with us because this is the battle we all face and one that we are facing together right now.  If you have been thinking to yourself, “this sure is a strange time and something weird is going on” now you know what’s behind the challenges we are facing.

 

Wishing you a Wonderful Summer and Celebrating the Solstice!

Stay in Tune With Your Inner and Outer Nature!

Summer Solstice by Billy S:
Solstice means…standing-still-sun.
A time when the sun seems to stand still in the sky,
The Summer Solstice is the longest day and the shortest night in our year.
When the North Pole is pointed sunward and the Sun is at its greatest distance from the equator.

The sun also now sets the farthest north on the horizon.

At this time of the year, the days are warm, all the plants are energized by the sun and the land is filled with rich new growth.
Summer is truly a celebration of the primal creative force of nature……fertile and blooming with abundance.
Humans for many millenniums have marked this sacred time in the yearly cycle of life.
Celebrating the solstice can be a beautiful reminder that our lives are part of a larger order, always changing always renewing.

The beginning of summer represents a time for purification and renewed energy.
This is a time of cutting through resistance and obstacles, using the Sun energy to illuminate and light your way upon your path.
Fire is especially important, symbolizing the light, heat and power of the sun.
Into a fire, you can throw a piece of paper with written goals to achieve and anything you want to release.

The Summer Solstice is:
A time for reflection and renewal.
A time for feeding the spirit and nurturing the soul.
Plant a seed for a more intuitive, simpler and natural lifestyle.

Some rarities this around this year’s Summer Solstice follow…

Rare ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse on the Longest Day of the Year:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-06-21/rare-ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse-on-the-longest-day-of-the-year

Summer Solstice 2020 Combines with Solar Eclipse at New Moon:
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/uk-news/summer-solstice-2020-midsummer-eclipse-18448013

Vast Neolithic circle of deep shafts found near Stonehenge:
Exclusive: prehistoric structure spanning 1.2 miles in diameter is masterpiece of engineering, say archaeologists
A timely solstice find!
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jun/22/vast-neolithic-circle-of-deep-shafts-found-near-stonehenge?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown,
for going out, I found, was really going in…
— John Muir

Choose Love with Eric K:
From many hours in conversations with execs, I know that your attention is being hijacked.
Specifically, and I feel this too, by the constant flood of anger, and fear from cruelty, racism, and animosity!

These fear/hate attention grabbers are materially weakening your life, leadership, and relationships.
Wherever our attention goes, our energy goes. And wherever our energy goes determines what we have, who we are, how we lead, and how we live.

So, to counterbalance hate and fear, we need to place our attention on love.
Yup, love.
All too often it’s excluded from our professional vocabulary.
Just last night a colleague countered that I should speak of kindness, or compassion, but that love has no room in business.
I disagree. It has a place anywhere that humans work together.

I offer for your consideration a brief and beautiful riff on love from Barbara Fredrickson, writing in Love 2.0
“Beyond feeling good, a micro-moment of love, like other positive emotions, literally changes your mind. It expands your awareness of your surroundings, even your sense of self. The boundaries between you and not-you—what lies beyond your skin—relax and become more permeable.

While infused with love you see fewer distinctions between you and others. Indeed, your ability to see others—really see them, wholeheartedly—springs open. Love can even give you a palpable sense of oneness and connection, a transcendence that makes you feel part of something far larger than yourself.”
It’s worth reading the above quote again.
And as you digest this idea and perspective of love, it’s clear that love isn’t a “nice to have” part of conscious leadership, but a “must have” essential aspect of it.

And a bit more from Barbara Fredrickson.
“Perhaps counterintuitively, love is far more ubiquitous than you ever thought possible for the simple fact that love is connection … Love blossoms virtually anytime two or more people—even strangers—connect over a shared positive emotion, be it mild or strong.”

We can choose love. It really is a choice.
Sometimes it’s a difficult choice, but so is choosing to think strategically, make hard decisions, and ask questions instead of giving answers.
Love is a feeling, yes, and it’s also a verb – its action.

So, in a world flooded with fear and hate, with racism and marginalization, I urge you to choose love.

In the spirit of leading and learning and loving.
Eric

 

Speaking of In Tune…

OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE:

Experience Moving Music from “Schindler’s List” in the largest European synagogue in Budapest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFGrooN6YDc

 

Where Do You Find Yourself On The Cultural Competency Scale?
Implicit Bias and Cultural Competency Training Might Just Save Us!

Thanks this week go to Larry H, Billy S, Eric K, as well as Cathy and Dani that help me get Soul Food out every week!
Please pay it forward.
Love
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

 

It’s Soul Food Friday for

 

Business Leaders Unite:
Join us for So Cal’s Largest Virtual Mixer June 25, 2020 @ 4pm
Join us again for one of the LARGEST virtual mixers that include members from Business Executives Council (BEC), Connected Women of Influence (CWI), Conscious Capitalism, SPIRE (formerly Corporate Alliance), Sales & Marketing Leadership Alliance (SMLA), TiE South Coast San Diego, Chamber of Purpose and more!
To register: http://tiny.cc/BLUJune25

This week:
Greenwood, 1921: One of the Worst Race Massacres In American History (60 Minutes Episode)
The death of George Floyd, in the hands of Minneapolis police, came on Memorial Day. Ninety-nine years before, that same week, black Americans suffered a massacre. In the days after World War I, a neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, called Greenwood was among the wealthiest black communities. Oil made Greenwood rich, but jealousy made it suffer. In 1921, a white mob, with incendiary rage, burned Greenwood to ash. Even memories were murdered when the dead were dropped into unmarked graves. Last December, before the pandemic, we found Tulsa preparing to embrace a reckoning, with a plan to exhume the truth and raise the dead.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/greenwood-massacre-tulsa-oklahoma-1921-race-riot-60-minutes-2020-06-14/

Let’s Get Real:
What is Systemic Racism?
Here’s What it Means and How You Can Help Dismantle It
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/15/systemic-racism-what-does-mean/5343549002/

 

We Are All Entitled to our Own Opinions But Not to our Own Facts:
How Big is the Racial Wealth Gap?
Though there is a lot of focus on the social inequalities occurring in the U.S., we should also take a deeper look at the economic inequalities as well.
Many of the social issues experienced by people of color throughout America would be greatly mitigated if they had more economic power.
https://ofdollarsanddata.com/racial-wealth-gap/

 

Listen to Understand, Don’t Listen for Rebuttal
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Life Advice:
It is not where do I find meaning in life, but how do I create meaning!
An adult scientist is a kid who hasn’t lost their curiosity…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtahB1-MNvk&feature=share

Ray Roberts Speaks His Truth As A Black American
https://omny.fm/shows/danny-and-gallant/ray-roberts-speaks-his-truth-as-a-black-american

 

 Interested in Rehabilitating the US Police System?
Here is something you can do:
https://www.change.org/p/state-governers-rehabilitating-the-us-police-system-4039795f-3757-4ae7-ad8d-9b205660f39c?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=2a5c5550-a38a-11ea-b3c4-9f2c3ed48ad9

 

Music Helps!
Here is a playlist that might resonate…
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6mHZ78AHgtZgyc7DcQyTWH?si=m5OQ0ESRT0mLqYBH_MEs3w

It Includes:

• Rehumanize Yourself by The Police https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTXt93-jD4o
• American Dream Plan B by Tom Petty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSWJZzoznaY
• Taking It To the Streets by the Doobie Brothers  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rxWPEdYCnI
• Living for the City by Stevie Wonder https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+living+for+the+city+by+stevie+wonder&qs=RI&pq=living+for+the+city+by+stevie+wonder+youtube&sc=1-44&cvid=696D2D2EC3004717B6601F18C96F196D&sp=1&sid=1C808CEFD187640D21918236D0A56534&jsoncbid=0&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dyoutube%2bliving%2bfor%2bthe%2bcity%2bby%2bstevie%2bwonder%26qs%3dRI%26pq%3dliving%2bfor%2bthe%2bcity%2bby%2bstevie%2bwonder%2byoutube%26sc%3d1-44%26cvid%3d696D2D2EC3004717B6601F18C96F196D%26FORM%3dQBRE%26sp%3d1&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=1D9CBC976D2906EFD0181D9CBC976D2906EFD018&FORM=WRVORC
• American Soul by U2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQkkgD2p3Ow
• Living on a Thin Line by the Kinks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkt7YHG9Fys
• American Idiot by Green Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Z5N0Z6zH0
• The Good Fight by Timothy B. Schmit https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+good+fight+by+timothy+b.+schmit+youtube&docid=608029581996982374&mid=184EBADE1CE2827AA058184EBADE1CE2827AA058&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
• American Storm by Bob Seger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKnVvR42aNk
• Rocking in the Free World by Neil Young https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvxxdZpMFHg
• Throwing Stones by The Grateful Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3biwHnIArMg

 

Thanks this week go to Brad D, Ron M, Mehrad N, Elaine T, and Eric K.
Please pay it forward
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go FAR, go together.”

–African Proverb

Happy Soul Food Friday,

–Sign in Our Neighborhood

This week:
Whether is it personal, political, educational or musical, there must be something that resonates for you!
Now more than ever, we must work tirelessly to influence, build and support a more just, equitable and humane society.
Silence is Compliance. No Bystanding!

 

What Can I Do?

STOP the CRUELTY with Eric K
Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel Acho

 Political Implications:

America Needs Moral Leadership. Instead, We Have Donald Trump with Stephen Colbert
James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution:

The Role of Education:

Every Day Presents an Opportunity to Make a Difference with Teach For America ED Dr. Randy Ward

 The Power of Music:

The One Thing I Would Like to Say to the Whole World…Rehumanize Yourself! with The Police

 

Stop The CRUELTY!
I’m sad, mad, heartbroken and confused. And I’m frightened. Just like my clients, family, and neighbors I’m asking myself what to do? What to do?

I haven’t figured out great answers. And not figuring out answers really pisses me off. I’m used to having answers, and I have great skills for finding answers. So not figuring it out is frustrating and frightening.

What I have figured out, is that there is much cruelty around us. Marginalization and harassment is cruelty. Bullying and oppression is cruelty. And George Floyd’s murder is cruelty. That wasn’t justice, it was cruel. It’s one thing for a cop to restrain someone, I get that, but it’s another thing to hold someone until they go limp and choke to death. Cruelty is behavior that causes pain or suffering; but it’s also callous indifference to that pain and suffering. Cruelty shows up as racism, and also as anti-Semitism, xenophobia, chauvinism, and bigotry.

As a Jew, my DNA is laced with millennia of cruel persecution, harassment, and organized efforts to kill and eliminate my ancestors and family. I’m not alone in this. So are African Americans, Gypsies, Gays, Palestinians, Rohingya, and a painfully long list of targeted populations. Some cruel people act alone, some act in groups. And right here in the USA there is systemic cruelty in legal, educational, and financial systems.

No doubt you believe that you’d do something to stop cruel behavior. No doubt you’d stand up for yourself and others. But you’re likely deluding yourself. Marianne LaFrance, Yale psychology professor, asked a group of women, “How would you feel if you had a job interview and someone asked you really sexist, ugly questions?”

Almost everyone answered the way you and I would, something like: “I would walk out. I would give the person hell.” So she tested people. Her team set up interviews (the positions were attractive, but the jobs were fake), and interviewees were asked several sexist, ugly questions. Every one of the women interviewees was just silent. Every. One. Was. Silent.

How we believe we’ll behave, and how we actually behave in stressful, cruel, and demeaning situations are not the same. People behave much more meekly in reality than in their minds. And cruelty spreads and normalizes with each instance that we accept and tolerate. With each silent acceptance of pain and suffering we increase the presence of cruelty.

I’ve already said I don’t have great answers. But here’s what I’m thinking about and doing, and what I’m inviting you to think about and do with me.

Say something. I’m not willing to be a complicit participant when I see or hear cruelty. Meanness in the office, bullying in politics, and racism in the streets are cruel actions. Every silence emboldens the cruel. I can speak up with courage, yes. But I can also speak up from love, and I can speak up from my values of compassion, service, and collaboration.

Feel the shame. My feelings are guides and indicators. Feeling shame and remorse are signaling that there is a better version of me waiting to come forward. I won’t drown my shame and regret in rationalization or denial. Rather, these feeling marinate in my psyche and call forward my best self.

Don’t be cruel. I won’t cause pain and suffering to people around me. How can I tell? I watch people’s reactions to me. I will be more curious about their experience of me. I commit to not act with anger, malice, sarcasm, or bullying.

Black Lives Matter. I acknowledge the systemic cruelty of racism and am getting educated about the history and impact of slavery and oppression. Saying “all lives matter” is more denial. Yes, all lives matter, but we have to emphasize returning black lives to equality and dignity.

Vote. Trump is a cruel man who perpetuates cruelty. I’m not a registered Republican, but I’m aligned with some fiscal Republican positions. But Trump’s cruelty in his conduct and speech is perpetrating and perpetuating cruelty. There are better leaders to follow and emulate.

Practice love. I feel love, and I also practice love behaviors. Specifically, I practice compassion – doing something to relieve another’s suffering, and I practice deep listening – giving my full attention to someone.

I wish that every human brother and sister reach their potential and realize their dreams. And I wish that we all rise in consciousness and spiritual clarity. And this much I do know, the markers of spiritual evolution are never cruelty and oppression, the markers of spiritual evolution are always kindness and inclusion.

In the spirit of leading, learning, and loving.
Eric

 

Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel Acho:
An opportunity for allies. Silence Is Compliance!
https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=272134207491609&_rdr

 

After Days Of Unrest, America Needs Moral Leadership. Instead, We Have Donald Trump with Stephen Colbert:

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Well said!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuU-SHQljDQ&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0XKBHhltMIgXl_8zQIdL0rDyO2JwBAs7UkkSMtEYhM2k3BhHob716gsn0

 

James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution:
I have the utmost respect for James Mattis. He is a warrior, not just a soldier. There is a difference…
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/

 

Every Day Presents an Opportunity to Make a Difference with TFA ED Dr. Randy Ward:

Dear Teach For America San Diego Community,

It is with a saddened heart that we must continually address the injustice that so many of us have persevered over time. The recent protests remind me of those 1968 nights in Roxbury, a ghetto neighborhood of Boston where I grew up, when my brothers and friends stood on the corner of Blue Hill Ave and Dudley Street to watch the unfolding of the Roxbury riots after the assassination of MLK.  I was 12 years old at the time and unfortunately knew discrimination all too well as a young black boy growing up in a very racially divided Boston. That experience has shaped my entire life and dictated all that I wanted to impact in the brief amount of time I am afforded here in this world.

After 40 years in education struggling to create a level playing field for the students, schools and districts I have had the privilege to lead, I have come to understand that every day presents an opportunity to make a difference. That’s why I joined Teach For America San Diego as their Executive Director.  I understand that Teach For America truly has a “Superpower:”  Teach For America finds, develops, and supports exceptional and diverse leaders – individually and in teams – so they can transform education and expand opportunity with children, starting in the classroom.  That is our secret sauce! You are the secret sauce!  YOU continue to give me hope for light at the end of this long tunnel.

I look forward to our collective impact today, and every day into the future.

If you are seeking ways to learn or take action:

Donate

Black Lives Matter

George Floyd Memorial Fund

Black Visions Collective

NAACP

Reclaim the Block

Campaign Zero

Unicorn Riot

San Diego Community Fund (Bail bonds for protestors)

 

Self-Care 

• Self-care in the face of racial injustice from Therapy for Black Girls
• 4 Self-Care resources for days when the world is terrible from Colorlines
• Self-care for people of color after psychological trauma from Just Jasmine
• Black Lives Matter Meditations for Healing from Racial Trauma from Dr. Candice Nicole

 

Learn more

• Affirming Black Lives Without Inducing Trauma from Teaching Tolerance
• What Matters from Black Lives Matter
• Coverage of Criminal Justice on Colorlines
• Let’s Talk! Discussing Whiteness from Teaching Tolerance
• Anti-racism for White People: White People, You Gotta Do Work Now from Awesomely Luvvie

 

Support Students

• The Urgent Need for Anti-Racist Education from Education Week
• Resources for Talking About Race, Racism, Racialized Violence with Kids from the Center for Racial Justice in Education.
• Teaching About Race, Racism, and Police Violence from Teaching Tolerance
• Why Teaching Black Lives Matter Matters | Part I | from Teaching Tolerance
• Teaching Resources for Black Lives Matter School Week of Action from D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice
• Addressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network

 

Take Action

• Follow Arizona-based Poder In Action on Twitter or Instagram for ways to organize and take action locally.
• Connect with a local chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
• Review Active Bystander Training from the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University
• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice from Medium

Be well and be safe,

Randolph Ward, Ed.D. Executive Director, Teach For America San Diego

 

The One Thing I Would Like to Say to the Whole World…

Rehumanize Yourself!

The Police
https://www.google.com/search?q=rehumanize+yourself+by+the+Police&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS872US874&oq=rehumanize+yourself+by+the+Police&aqs=chrome..69i57.10719j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

He goes out at night with his big boots on
None of his friends know right from wrong
They kick a boy to death ’cause he don’t belong
You’ve got to humanize yourself

A policeman put on his uniform
He’d like to have a gun just to keep him warm
Because violence here is a social norm
You’ve got to humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

I work all day at the factory
I’m building a machine that’s not for me
There must be a reason that I can’t see
You’ve got to humanize yourself

Billy’s joined the National Front
He always was a little runt
He’s got his hand in the air with the other *unts
You’ve got to humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

I work all day at the factory
I’m building a machine that’s not for me
There must be a reason that I can’t see
You’ve got to humanize yourself

A policeman put on his uniform
He’d like to have a gun just to keep him warm
Because violence here is a social norm
You’ve got to humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Thanks this week go to Eric K, Hal D, Arman S-B, Randy W and Ron M.
Please pay it forward with action not silence, with love and not indifference…
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.
I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
–Angela Davis

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:
Our heartfelt support goes out to everyone dealing with the confluence of climate emergency, compounded by a 100 year pandemic, exacerbated by the sobering economic realities, and now serious social unrest.
Let’s stand with our Black brothers and sisters as well as all historically marginalized communities in the United States.
It is up to us to amplify the voices and ideas that will lead us to a more equitable society.
This has got to change, but it will require every one of us to step up!

 

Spike Lee Releases Chilling Short Film About Police Brutality:
Spike Lee released a powerful new short film about police brutality in America following the death of George Floyd. Protests have been raging across the United States in recent days since Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a white police officer in Minneapolis kneeled on his neck. Lee’s new film, 3 Brothers – Radio Raheem, Eric Garner And George Floyd, cuts together a scene from his 1989 film Do the Right Thing, featuring the death of Radio Raheem, with footage of Eric Garner’s death in 2014 and Floyd being arrested earlier this week.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/george-floyd-spike-lee-releases-chilling-short-film-about-police-brutality/ar-BB14RYNy

 

It’s the Twenty-First Century. Why is Everything Still So God@#$%^& Racist? Why Racism Still Defines Our Lives and Poisons Our Societies — And Why It’s So Hard to Unravel with Umair Haque

Why is America still so racist? There are easy answers — it was a slave state, then a segregated state. Just until a few years before I was born, “interracial marriage” was illegal in the great state of Virginia where I grew up. What would it have made of my marriage to a nice white lady? Would it have put me in prison, or her — or both? The easy answer: America’s still so racist because within the living memory of a middle-aged person it was still the world’s biggest apartheid state and we forget that all too easily.
https://eand.co/its-the-twenty-first-century-why-is-everything-still-so-goddamned-racist-5ea49ed03ed5?source=email-825f64e43327-1591011453141-digest.reader——0-73——————8944463b_bd36_414e_8c33_88dbe1d4269b-1-9149dc26_79a9_4ed9_8bf8_731be3e39b31—-

 

I Cannot Remain Silent

Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so by Mike Mullen, Seventeenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-cities-are-not-battlespaces/612553/

 

Do the Right Thing! How a City Once Consumed by Civil Unrest Has Kept Protests Peaceful:

Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, made no arrests and reported only minimal property damage during a weekend march.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/nyregion/newark-peaceful-protests-george-floyd.html

 

Shortening the Line:
Let me tell you the story of a Mughal emperor, Akbar, and his wise minister named Virbal. All the courtiers were jealous of Virbal because he was obviously the emperor’s favorite. They asked the emperor why: “What does Virbal have that we do not have?” The emperor promised to answer the question on some other day. One morning, as his courtiers arrived, the emperor posed a question to them. He drew a line on the board and asked them to “make the line shorter.” Easy! Everyone attempted to rush to the blackboard, and one of them managed to erase a part of the line.

The emperor said, “No, no. Shorten the line, but do not touch it!” Well, that was indeed a puzzle. Nobody could solve the problem. The emperor finally beckoned to Virbal to “come make my line shorter without touching it.” Virbal quietly got up, took a piece of chalk, and drew a parallel line:

_____________________ the emperor’s line

___________________________________________ Virbal’s line

“Your line is shorter, Your Majesty,” Virbal declared.

In the act there was no need to diminish the work of another, no need to compete. Virbal went deep within himself (this is meditation!) for the answer and devoted himself to the task at hand. Whoever is fully restrained, in possession of his senses and emotions, acts constructively and in all humility. Whoever learns from the wise will doubtless achieve “success without competing.”

–From Whole Hearted: Applied Spirituality for Everyday Life by Swami Veda

 

Growing Old:

As a respite from the madness and sadness, experience some sublime natural pictures and insightful thoughts on age & aging…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our heartfelt support goes out to everyone dealing with the confluence of climate emergency, compounded by a 100 year pandemic, exacerbated by the sobering economic realities, and now serious social unrest and protest.
What’s next? Locusts?
Oh yeah, we have them devastating crops and communities in Africa…
Stay Resilient People!

Thanks this week go to Mehrad N, & Larry H for this week’s submissions, as well as to Social Justice & Equity Warriors everywhere.
Keep the faith and please pay it forward… 

Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

 

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.
I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
–Angela Davis

This week: The Science of Wellbeing, Women in Science & An Interview with God

The Science of Wellbeing:
Let’s Not Waste a Crisis. Here is Yale’s Course Available to All of Us For FREE!

You can engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits.

Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change.

You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.

https://bit.ly/3gzSb0r

 

Women in Science

Women in science are battling both Covid-19 and the patriarchy:

The pandemic has worsened longstanding sexist and racist inequalities in science pushing many of us to say ‘I’m done’, write 35 female scientists. Successful female scientists are, by definition, resilient. We have overcome well-documented barriers throughout our lives: discouragement by teachers, family and society to pursue careers in STEM fields; a lack of role models; hostile and sometimes abusive work environments; disproportionate domestic work and caring responsibilities; and biases against us in favour of men in every aspect of our professional lives – hiring, promotion, publishing, pay, service loads and grant allocation. These barriers are felt even more keenly by women of colour, who face the intersectional effects of racism and sexism.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/women-science-are-battling-both-covid-19-and-patriarchy

 

I Dreamt I Had An Interview with God:
Here is something to uplift your spirit. Asking existential questions is a gift of this challenging time, a byproduct of disrupting “ordinary reality” or “business as usual”…If the G’d word bothers you, simply replace with a higher self/purpose construct of your choosing, as this is timeless, universal wisdom, with amazing photographs. This works just as well if you are simply “communing with nature”.
Here’s to that higher power/self/knowing/being- regardless of how each of us conceive it, believe it, & ultimately, strive to actualize it.

INTERVIEW WITH GOD

 

Thanks this week go to Ruby B, Isabelle A & Larry H for this week’s submissions!
Stay safe and please pay it forward.
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

‘When the Heart weeps for what it has lost, the Spirit rejoices for what it has found.’-Sufi saying

This week: Protecting Our Most Vulnerable & Taking Care of Each Other

Jokes aside, those of us that have raised children know the effort and undertaking required by all parties, to get to graduation.
Commencement ceremonies around the Country have been upended by Covid, and educators and parents are coming up with unique and creative ways to honor all the hard work that has led to graduations without “pomp and circumstance”.
Last weekend provided a national stage for a powerful celebration and genuine affirmation for so many that are entering uncharted waters, and these two short speeches in particular really resonated for me as I hope they will for you as well…

 

President Obama’s Speech to the Graduating Class
Obama’s Virtual Commencement Speech To Class Of 2020: ‘This Is Your Generation’s World To Shape’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta5anRPf8rQ

 

LeBron James’ Graduation Message to the Class of 2020: Stay Close to Home
LeBron James congratulates the class of 2020 in his Graduate Together commencement address, offering a message of inspiration as high school seniors around America look forward to their lives after graduation. In the celebration hosted by LeBron and President Barack Obama, LeBron encouraged students to recommit to their communities and set the world on a new path.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjyLt9FhlE

 

Protecting Our Most Vulnerable:
Now more than ever, conscious leaders must deeply attend to their most at risk stakeholders. This is both a biological necessity and a moral imperative.
In work with Dr. Alan Daly from UC San Diego, we are supporting local school district leaders in navigating Covid while taking care of the most vulnerable in our communities.
The Emperor Penguins do this intuitively, forming a circle around their most vulnerable and forming a shield with their backs to ward off danger. Perhaps we can learn a thing or two from them!

Honoring Our Past and Preserving Our Future:
When we lose our connection to history we risk it all…
We would do well to acknowledge the land and pay respect to those of the First Nations on whose shoulders we are blessed to stand, instead of through ignorance and arrogance stepping on their heads!
Here is an example of both:

The Navajo Nation At Risk:
The largest Native-American tribe in the United States has the third largest infection rate of Covid-19 right behind New York and New Jersey..
Our dear friends created this video to raise awareness and support.
Please help by sharing this video with others, as they need help urgently…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s9pLNpKhlU&fbclid=IwAR3yVMM9OYw2TYR80JdMKKhkoNI1TI-x8LazcARIGyE4aangxNaEV-n5a7s

 

Speaking of Vulnerability-

No Words Needed…
The Wonderful Thing About Photographs Is That They Often Render Words Unnecessary…

Thanks this week go to Bob C, Alan D, Stefan Y-H, Larry H as well as preservers of tradition and protectors of the vulnerable everywhere!
Please pay it forward with purpose
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it.”

       –Mother Teresa

This week:

WE ARE NOT IN THE SAME BOAT:

An appeal to stay empathetic

I heard that we are all in the same boat, but it’s not like that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa.

For some, quarantine is optimal. A moment of reflection, of re-connection, easy in flip flops, with a cocktail or coffee. For others, this is a desperate emotional, financial & family crisis.

Some can’t stand the loneliness. Others are going crazy because their World has become smaller. While for others it is peace, rest & time with their mother, father, sons & daughters.

With the $600 weekly increase in unemployment some are bringing in more money to their households than they were working. Others are working more hours for less money due to pay cuts or loss in sales.

Some families of 4 just received $3400 from the stimulus while other families of 4 saw $0.

Some were concerned about getting a certain candy for Easter while others were concerned if there would be enough bread, milk and eggs for the weekend.

Some want to go back to work because they don’t qualify for unemployment and are running out of money. Others want to kill those who break the quarantine.

Some are home spending 2-3 hours/day helping their child with online schooling while others are spending 2-3 hours/day to educate their children on top of a 10-12 hour workday.

Some have experienced near death from the virus, some have already lost someone from it and some are not sure if their loved ones are going to make it. Others don’t know anyone who’s had it and don’t believe this is a big deal.

Some have faith in God and expect miracles during this 2020. Others say the worst is yet to come.

So, friends, we are not in the same boat. We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different.

Each of us will emerge, in our own way, from this storm. It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance. Not just looking, actually seeing.

We are all on different ships during this storm experiencing a very different journey.

–Unknown author

 

Reasons to Be Cheerful:
Humans have a built-in “negativity bias,” which means we give bad news much more power than good. Would the Covid-19 crisis be an opportune time to reverse this tendency?
This episode is not about the Covid-19 epidemic — unless you think it is…
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/reasons-to-be-cheerful/

 

The Choices Before Us: Can Fewer Options Lead To Better Decisions?
To many people, an abundance of options is a good thing, a symbol of freedom and control. You get to choose whether to spend your Saturday at a movie or a baseball game. You decide whether to try the new restaurant down the block, or to stay in and cook. It’s your call whether to take the job with higher pay, or the one with the better work-life balance. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has eliminated these and other options that we used to take for granted. And for many of us, this sudden contraction of choice has been a struggle.
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/04/850104564/the-choices-before-us-can-fewer-options-lead-to-better-decisions

 

Long Live Little Richard!
Little Richard has died, aged 87. BBC Archive will never tire of his 1972 interview on Late Night Line-Up.
This is a classic interview!
https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/2691775331059950/UzpfSTE0NTAyNTU3ODY6MTAyMjA2MDQ4MDA4OTcyMTI/?from_close_friend=1

 

Thanks this week go to Paul S, Dr. Paul C, Arman S-B, as well as gratitude to NPR and KPBS in San Diego!
Please pay it forward.
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“I felt in need of a great pilgrimage, so I sat still for three days.”—The 14th-century Persian poet Hafiz

This week:
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”—Victor Frankl

Thank A Teacher!

 

Ticket Without A Seat:
This movie has won an Oscar for the best animated movie, yet it is only 3 minutes long
See how life can change when our perception changes…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlfqFe9xyd8

 

How to Assess Trustworthy Leaders During a Pandemic:
For people deciding which leaders to trust during the coronavirus pandemic, examine their arguments.
During this pandemic, two types of trust have been guiding how we motivate, impact, listen to, and influence one another: affect-based trust and competence-based trust.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2020-04-21/commentary-how-to-assess-trustworthy-leaders-during-a-pandemic?src=usn_tw

 

Are You In ‘the space between’?- with Carolyn Tate:

n Zen, Ensō is a circle drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes. It expresses the reality that everything that has a beginning also has its end. Some endings, such as the ending of a season occur gradually without us really noticing. Other endings, such as the loss of a job, are abrupt and traumatic and turn our life upside down in an instant. Yet other endings, such as the end of a marriage, occur slowly and painfully over time.

Absolutely everything that begins, has an end. Nothing is eternal. Some endings we choose. Many we don’t. Endings can be sad or joyful. They can offer relief or send us into despair. Nothing will stop an ending if it is meant to be. Endings occur because something new must emerge.

I think we all agree something new will emerge at the end of this virus, as does Charles Eisenstein, author of  The Coronation. It’s a most erudite and compelling essay that poses many questions and offers no answers. I loved every word and read it three times to let it sink in.

My good friend Angela Raspass loved the essay too, so we decided to record a podcast on it. I’ll share ‘Conversations on The Coronation: A woman’s perspective’ next week.

Now back to Ensō. Some are drawn or painted as closed loops, while others are left open as in the image above. Ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe and mu (the void). When I reflect on the void between the beginning and the end of the brushstroke, I think of the famous quote by Victor Frankl.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Right now, many of us are sitting in ‘the space between’.  In this space we can rest and reflect on how to respond once the virus subsides – as citizens for society and as business leaders for the economy. We can ask ourselves the important question. What purpose do I want to serve in this new world?

How are you sitting in ‘the space between’?

Thank you so much for allowing me into your life. I don’t take your support lightly.

Yours on purpose

Carolyn Tate

 

“Forget Retirement – It is Time for You to Uncover and Live Your Passion and Purpose -The Next You” with Marcy Morrison and Eric Mowrey:

My dear friends & colleagues, Marcy Morrison and Eric Mowrey of Careers with Wings have just launched their free online course “Forget Retirement – It is Time for You to Uncover and Live Your Passion and Purpose -The Next You”. This course consists of 3 videos that are less than 10 minutes each, with easy to use worksheets to help you get clarity of what you love, the difference you want to make, tips on how to connect and collaborate with other leaders and how to map it out to take action now.   This is built on Marcy’s 13 years of helping 100’s of people uncover and live their passion and purpose through Careers with Wings.  Here is the link to the free course https://careerswithwings.com/the-next-you/.

 

Think About Our 4-Legged Friends And Not Just On Giving Tuesday:
Giving Tuesday is past but the need hasn’t’…

It’s no secret that I love dogs.  And like many of my friends, we love helping them experience a better life.

Tuesday May 5 was more than just Cinco de Mayo this year.  Giving Tuesday is a day when each of us can reflect on our good fortune and give back in many ways.  Every day is a perfect one to donate and every dollar we send to any of them helps a four-legged friend in need.

Here are some links below to some options. I hope you elect to choose your favorite.

 

HOME FOR LIFE
www.homeforlife.org

 

SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY
www.sdhumane.org

 

LAB RESCUERS
www.labrescuers.org

 

RANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY
www.rchumanesociety.org

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GERMAN SHEPHARD RESCUE
www.socalrescue.org

 

HELEN WOODWARD
www.animalcenter.org

 

COASTAL GERMAN SHEPHARD RESCUE OF SAN DIEGO
www.coastalgsrsd.org

 

SAVE THEM ALL
www.bestfriends.org

 

Thanks this week go to Larry H, Paula C, Carolyn T, Marcy M, Eric M & Bob C.
Please Pay It Forward.
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“The future is not the result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created – created first in the mind and will, and created next in activity.
The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.
The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.” –John Scharr