Happy Soul Food Friday!

Happy Soul Food Friday!

“I am blessed to live in a democracy, not a totalitarian state. But the democracy I cherish is constantly threatened by a brand of politics that clothes avarice and the arrogance of power in patriotic and religious garb.”—Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness

This week:
Community Heroes:
In a world in dire need of civility, San Diego has embarked on a Community Heroes campaign created by KPBS and the National Conflict Resolution Center, with sponsorship support from the San Diego Foundation, the Jewish Community Foundation and Mission Fed, honoring individuals who give selflessly to build civility and community.
http://www.kpbs.org/community-heroes/
We are proud to honor the first Community Hero of 2017 for her work on racial justice and equality, Elizabeth Bustos, and here are some remarks shared about Ms. Bustos at the inaugural lunch this past week..

Greetings fellow foot soul-diers committed to the cause of equity, inclusion and social justice!
Thanks for affording each of us the opportunity to be part of today’s amazing experience celebrating Ms. Bustos and by extension, all the community heroes making a difference of consequence in creating America’s kindest region.

Please forward this on, as EID (equity, inclusivity and diversity) are core values of this work…
Elisabeth,

Thanks for “championing the un-champion-able” and tackling racial injustice HEAD ON in South-East San Diego and by extension in our extended community with a little help from your friends!

It is no co-incidence that heart health is the underpinning of your decades of work towards healing and wholeness.

Your journey of heart health has taken our community from anger to courage to compassion.
Our collective journey of heart is moving us from broken hearts to whole-heartedness, and so vitally needed at this critical time in our EVOL (love backwards) –ution

You are modeling and mentoring how each of us, in our own ways, can turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones with grace and forgiveness applying equal parts; history lesson, civic engagement and assessing our own risk and/or contribution to this equation to advancing the human race.

Let’s remember, even the heart pumps blood to itself first…
Thanks for bringing voice to the silent killer that is anything but silent; as so many voices are crying out for dignity, truth and no excuses, birthed in a legitimate anger embedded in the pain of our existence, which serves as a foil to unmask the “posers” from the legitimate and committed change makers, which the people in the room today clearly represent.

Yes, Ms. Virtue has a great name.

But, you Ms. Bustos do too, and we can all learn from you:

B= Benevolence and a genuine love of humanity in all its manifestations
U= Universal truths that you speak and remind us all to hold sacrosanct
S= Social Justice, which should remain our moral compass in this journey
T= Togetherness/Inclusivity where we are all interconnected and interdependent (If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far, go together)
O= Own It! We all have a role to play in being part of the solution. A part or apart. That little space makes a big difference!
S= Service before self and subordinating our personal needs for the greater good
Trust and Truth
TnT- dynomite!!

Inspired by your courage, compassion and conviction…
Love,
Neville

Nominate a Hero!
The next critical topic is Affordable Housing and we welcome your nominations of people who:

Represent the topic of interest.
Promote community, collaboration and civility.
Showcase creative problem solving.
Support and align with the missions of KPBS and NCRC, and that of the program.
Resonate with and inspire our community (and have emotional impact).
Have significant indirect or direct community impact. You can nominate them here:https://kpbsoutreach.wufoo.com/forms/z1u0mm7g0nq8o40/

Happiness and Life Satisfaction: Our Word in Data
There is no doubt that the positive or negative view that we have of our lives is of huge importance to each of us. For this reason economists frequently recommend to include measures of subjective well-being in measures of social progress – and in particular to augment the usual measure of economic prosperity, GDP…
https://ourworldindata.org/happiness-and-life-satisfaction/

Zoom Focus:

Zoom Focus

“Vision without Execution is hallucination.”
– Einstein

I believe every one of us has a desire to accomplish great things, to do something meaningful, to have an impact. Yet, so many of us don’t take the actions necessary to create the success we desire. Then there are others who are very busy taking actions but the actions have nothing to do with their vision and goals. They’ve become lost in the busyness of life.

In my work with sports teams, businesses and organizations I have found that the key to individual and team success is to Zoom Focus. Zoom Focus helps you turn ideas and goals into reality and results. Zoom Focus helps you focus on your priorities, execute, and create success. Zoom Focus helps you take daily steps towards your big picture vision.

Now more than ever it is a time for action. It is a time for getting things done. It is a time to tune out the distractions and the noise from the doomsdayers and the naysayers and focus on what truly matters and what truly will help us create success. In this spirit here are a few ways to put Zoom Focus to work for you and your team.

Create your Big Picture Vision – This might be a goal or a dream. It might be a project that needs to be completed or a sale you are trying to close. It might be a company objective or a team mission. It might be a book you want to write, an initiative to improve your community, or a championship you want to win. Identify your vision and then you’ll be ready to Zoom Focus and take the necessary actions to get you there.

Ask One Question – Each day when you wake up in the morning ask the question, “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?” Then each day take action on those three things.

Tune out the Distractions – Turn off the television. Stop answering the phone. Don’t answer email right now. Talk to your friend later. First, get things done. Execute, accomplish and then feel free to embrace the distractions.

Say No and Yes – My friend once told me, “If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” He reminded me that we need to stop scattering our energy and wasting our time on trivial things that have nothing to do with our vision and goals and start saying yes to our priorities and to what truly matters. Each day we must make choices and those choices including saying “no” to people and opportunities so we can say “yes” to the work we are meant to do and the success we are meant to create.

Focus on Daily Improvement – I see it in sports all the time. Teams focus too much on winning the championship and forget to Zoom Focus each day in practice. They are outcome focused not process focused. The key is to focus on improving each day and take the necessary action steps. If you incrementally improve each day, each week, each month, each quarter, by the end of the year you’ll see remarkable results and growth. When you Zoom Focus on the process the outcome takes care of itself.

Teach Your Daughters Well:

The Three Things We Must Teach Our Daughters

In today’s society, women are suffering. Our young women are suffering.  My granddaughters are suffering. Not because they are incompetent or weak, but because society tells them day-in and day-out that they are NOT good enough.

These conflicting messages become apparent as early as pre-teen years because our daughters look around and become very aware that males have privileges that they do not, and they realize they live in a male centered world. So, it’s no surprise girls become great at becoming something they are not. Change is needed.

My advocacy of women came about because of deep and sustained research of leadership effectiveness that the Gap company asked me to do. What I discovered at Gap was that women have distinctive advantages in leading teams and organizations that rely on collaboration. Women are especially able to create and implement innovation that people and their customers valued, and women especially excel in conditions of ambiguity and change.

My subsequent research took me deep into the field of neuropsychology. This is a new field that studies the interactive effects of our brain biology and social environment. This led me to understand how negative impact of systemic bias severely limits the lack of confidence that most women battle when fulfilling their potential in the workplace. It also inhibits women’s happiness and life satisfaction.

Put simply, it’s a man’s world. It has been for thousands of years. And the world we currently have is about as good as male brains can make it. It doesn’t appear to be good enough.

Due to the explosion of world population from 2.5 billion to 7.5 billion people the last 60 years, and an unprecedented advancement of technology, everything in our world has become more intensely interconnected. It turns out, the holistic neuro networks of female brains are better designed to deal with this complexity than the linear brains of most males. However, unless women’s voices and thinking versatility is elevated to the highest levels of our institutions, the short term, binary, blue brain thinking of testosterone thinking will continue to dominate.

We need to train our daughters to overcome the female self-doubt that is driven by the bias in our world culture. We need to obliterate the limits of women’s contributions that will lead to better business, better government and a better world.

In my women’s leadership training I summarize the mindset of successful high functioning women leaders. It is based on years of leadership science that examines the results of 360° leadership surveys and the business results achieved by high impact women leaders. It is also very relevant in teaching and raising young girls.

The foundation is confidence.  Confidence arises when you believe that the result of your best efforts will be successful. When you don’t have that experience because others, who are less capable, are consistently given more opportunities and advantages than you, it is natural for your confidence to erode. Too often, women settle for jobs which are designed to help other people achieve their goals.  But for our world to work for everyone young girls and women need to pursue their goals.

The confident mindset is built on three principles:

1.Be BRIGHT: Carol Dweck’s  growth mindset research confirms that if you have an IQ of 115,  you can learn anything.  You can become a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon. You can certainly become the President of United States.   This idea is new for women.  In 1960, nearly all major universities would not except women into their engineering programs.  1960! Most states would not license women to become architects until the 1950s because architecture was considered too technical a field for women to master.  Unfortunately, that mindset lingers.  We have to actively build a confidence of our girls that they are intellectually, socially, and emotionally gifted to learn whatever they need to learn to make the greatest contribution they can make in whatever field they choose. Teach your daughters that they can learn anything.

2.Be BRAVE. Personal bravery is a willingness to try things at the outer edge of your competence. When you are  brave enough to push yourself out of your comfort zone your learning and development expands.  One of the greatest abilities of women is their mental and social agility which allows them to move beyond mistakes and shortcomings to endlessly become better and better. Recent research from McKinsey and Company reveals that women continue to seek and grow from feedback after age 40. The research found that as men age they tend to respond to negative feedback defensively. They become more self-justifying. For women, the greatest deterrent to bravery is perfectionism.  Teach your daughters that a well lived life is a life of progress not perfection.

3.  Be TRUE. In the Facebook era, we swim in an ocean of social comparison. But high functioning people do not define themselves by comparing their looks, their achievements or their stuff to anyone else’s. To be true means that you consistently invest the inner energy necessary to understand your unique motivated talents.  These are the abilities that you love to use and develop. These are talents that can be harnessed in the service of what intrinsically rewards you. When your highest motives and your greatest talents are combined you’re on the path to fulfillment.

You are not your body.
You are not your achievements.
You are not your grades.
You are not your friends.
You are not your emotions.
You are not your fears.

You are not any of these things because all of these things change. You are something much deeper.  You have an intrinsic, essential self that is gently seeking to be fully realized.  You’re not seeking self-fulfillment as much as soul fulfillment. This is not an airy- fairy, quacky notion. It is the conclusion of the collective wisdom of thousands of years of philosophers and spiritual leaders worldwide. And after three decades of helping people fulfill their inner sense of purpose as well as their professional and personal goals, it is also my strongest conviction.  Teach your daughters not to be defined by anyone else, and to seek soul fulfillment.

Be bright.
Be brave.
Be true.

These are the things to teach your daughters and the young girls in our communities. One of the greatest benefits in teaching them these three principles is that you will more fully become the truth that you teach. For it is in our examples that the most powerful teachers emerge, always.

– Will

If You Are Local:
Teach Your Parents Well…
TEDx Youth Event in Encinitas on Saturday, April 1, 2017
TEDx Encinitas is a TEDx Youth event with a twist…  Instead of adults sharing their wisdom with youth, at this event the speakers are the young people (ages 11-21) and the audience is predominantly adults.    Come hear the wisdom of some incredible young minds share their perspective on the theme “Changing Voices”.  The event goes from 1:00 – 6:00 PM and will include an entire experience including entertainment and experiential activities in addition to the speakers.  If you are committed to supporting our youth this is the place to be!
For tickets or more information go to www.tedxencinitas.com or call Robert MacPhee at (760) 846-0312.

Thanks this week go to Community Heroes, sung and unsung everywhere, Paul S, Larry H, Will M, Robert M, and all the children that teach their parents well!

Please Pay it Forward
Neville

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

“Perhaps the immutable error of parenthood is that we give our children what we wanted, whether they want it or not.
We heal our wounds with the love we wish we’d received, but are often blind to the wounds we inflict.”
― Andrew Solomon

Happy Soul Food Friday for the Week of Spring Equinox, Persian New Year, International Day of Happiness & Arts Advocacy Day 2017!

This week:

Fighting Hunger with an App:
Oscar Ekponimo grew up with very little food in Nigeria. He then became a software engineer and has invented an app that aims to end food waste by connecting retailers with charities who distribute provisions to the hungry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04x230f

The One-Winged Eagle that Soared Again:
John Stokes from Tennessee and Osceola , a one-winged eagle, have travelled across America taking part in educational shows. They even had a residency at Dolly Parton’s theme park Dollywood. But there was just one sadness in their lives – Osceola’s one wing meant he could never fly again. So John came up with an ingenious idea to solve the problem…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04wysr5

Spring Equinox & Persian New Year on Monday, March 20, 2017:
The Spring (Vernal) Equinox fell on Monday, March 20, 2017 at 3:29 am PDT and is a time of changing seasons as well as a significant astronomical event.

The Sun crosses directly over the Earth’s equator. This moment is known as the Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and begins the Spring season.

For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the Autumnal Equinox, and begins the Fall season.

On this day the sun rises precisely due East and sets due West.

It is a moment of equilibrium in the year. Translated literally, equinox means “equal night”.  Day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes, twelve hours of each, because the sun is positioned above the equator.

The Spring Equinox signifies a rebirth. The duration of light is about to overtake the darkness.  After the Spring Equinox, the days become longer and the air warmer. The soil becomes fertile and all hibernating life is re-animated.  It is a time to plant seeds of growth.

The Spring Equinox is a time of renewal – in nature, the home, and in us. More than just physical activity, “spring cleaning” removes any negative energy accumulated over the dark winter months and resonates with the positive growing energy of spring and summer.

The Spring Equinox is a time where there is a special quality of energy – to plant, grow and renew our lives. Energy is emerging from the ground where it has been dormant in the earth since the winter solstice.

Wishing you a special day, symbolic of balance in our life and with the environment!

Emotionally Healthy Families are Happy Families:
This past Monday marked the International Day of Happiness, a day for everyone to promote happiness and kindness, aiming to feel fulfilled and having the ability to reach our potential, both of which can be achieved by supporting good emotional health in ourselves and our families…
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nick-haismansmith/emotionally-healthy-famil_b_15383176.html

San Diego, Chula Vista among happiest cities in United States:
http://www.10news.com/news/san-diego-chula-vista-among-happiest-cities-in-united-states-according-to-study

Please Urge Congress to Support the Arts! 

This week, March 21^st was also Arts Advocacy Day 2017, and OPERA America joined dozens of national arts service organizations to revise and update the national policy briefs.

This year, approximately 650 advocates from across the nation are visiting D.C. to talk to Congress about the issues impacting artists, arts organizations and the communities they serve. In fact, this year’s slate of issues includes 18 different policy briefs that range from support for the National Endowment for the Arts and arts in education, to preserving the charitable deduction and the impact of the arts on healing.

Not in D.C.? Not a problem! You can add your voice to the millions advocating across the country by sending a letter to your congressional representatives. OPERA America continues to represent the field daily in Washington, D.C., meeting regularly with congressional offices, working with national coalitions on a range of issues and providing opportunities for grassroots advocacy.

KEY POLICY ISSUES

Support the NEA: Last week, President Trump released a non-binding budget resolution that proposed the elimination of 19 federal agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts. Congress must still put forward and pass their own budget legislation, which means there’s time to build and strengthen relationships with lawmakers and urge them to save the NEA and fund the agency at $155 million for fiscal year 2018.

Tax Reform: Congress is eager to tackle tax reform in 2017. There have been proposals from both sides of the aisle that would limit giving to charitable communities. The nonprofit sector is urging Congress to preserve the full scope and value of the tax deduction for all charitable gifts.

Visa Policy: With ongoing delays in the processing of visas for foreign guest artists, OPERA America continues to advocate to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of State to reduce the processing times. Advocates also urge Congress to enact the ARTS Require Timely Service (ARTS) provision, which would support increased efficiency.

To learn more about these and other issues, visit OPERA America’s advocacy page. And please take a minute to join arts advocates from across the U.S. in urging Congress to support policies and legislation that impact the arts sector. 

If you are local:

Local Robotics Team First to Win the Super Regional Championships!

FTC 4216 Rise of Hephaestus, spent over 5000 total hours working together over the past six months and won the Super Regional Championship in Tacoma, WA this past weekend as Team Captain of the Winning Alliance.  This is the first time a San Diego region FTC team has won at this level.  They are partially sponsored by none other than Qualcomm and a variety of other local sponsors.

The precepts they work under are:

Gracious Professionalism – FIRST

https://www.firstinspires.org/about/vision-and-mission

Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It’s a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions.

Here is a newspaper article about them that just came out (see page 7):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0tMUxbNho9ncE1VbERnQW1nNVk

And a news conference they were recently in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi_EXJ_dVAs

Their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riseofhephaestus4216/

Their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ftc4216RiseOfHephaestus

https://www.gofundme.com/ftc-4216-rise-of-hephaestus-worlds

Click here to support FTC 4216 Rise of Hephaestus Worlds! by Rise Hephaestus

Please help support our local Point Loma/Ocean Beach First Tech Challenge robotics team FTC 4216 Rise of Hephaestus!  We have spent over 5000 total hours working together over the past six months to advance to the Super Regional Championship in Tacoma, WA and finished as Team Captain of the Winni…

Thanks this week go to Billy S, the team at the Global Presence, & Matt N and the Point Loma/OB First Tech Challenge Robotics Team!

Pay it forward…
Love,
Neville

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

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,
it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”– Albert Einstein

Happy Soul Food for the Week of Pi Day!

This week: 

Pi Day was March 14th (3.14), and that’s also Albert Einstein’s birthday!

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

— Albert Einstein: The father of modern physics

Channeling All of Adam Smith without Selective Listening…
We all know and focus heavily on Adam Smith’s the Wealth of Nations but interestingly not as much on the Theory of Moral Sentiments.

The Theory of Moral Sentiments begins with the following assertion:

“How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortunes of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it. Of this kind is pity or compassion, the emotion we feel for the misery of others, when we either see it, or are made to conceive it in a very lively manner. That we often derive sorrow from the sorrows of others, is a matter of fact too obvious to require any instances to prove it; for this sentiment, like all the other original passions of human nature, is by no means confined to the virtuous or the humane, though they perhaps may feel it with the most exquisite sensibility. The greatest ruffian, the most hardened violator of the laws of society, is not altogether without it.”

Who We Are:
I am an immigrant.
I came over from India in the ‘70s with my courageous parents, and siblings, with just one suitcase each, following the dream and a hope for a better life.
Like many others, I remain seriously concerned about the pro-nationalist, isolationist rhetoric that threatens to undermine our democratic values and culture.
The following story and video are a powerful example of immigrants working hard and doing whatever it takes to attain the American dream.
It is a tale I am sure many immigrants can relate to and can help all of us increase our empathy, regardless of our immigration status or self-concept…
http://www.upworthy.com/storycorps-presents-who-we-are-blanca-and-connie-alvarez

How Creating Networks Build Winning School Districts:
Relationships and Social Capital are the foundation of everything we do in schools and probably beyond. Don’t undervalue the power of high trust relationships!
http://bit.ly/2ny4qyg

Humor: When the Kids Crash Your BBC Interview:
There are well-known drawbacks to working from home: the isolation, the need for self-discipline. But here is a new one: the invasion of the toddlers…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/world/europe/bbc-interview-toddler-interruption.html?_r=1

Thanks this week go to Jason P, SD Grantmakers and Storycorps Chair Gara L, Cindy S and the Mission Fed team, the amazing duo of Alan D and Devin V, and Mama Marlaine C!

Pay it forward you can’t take it with you!
Love,
Neville

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

New America’s Pledge:
We pledge allegiance to the principles,
Of the United Traits of America
And to the Values for which we Stand,
One Human-KIND
Under every God, or no God as YOU choose to believe,
INDIVISIBLE
With Dignity & Compassion for ALL.

This week:
We aren’t behaving like the united states, but can we at least stand up for united traits?
We have different beliefs about God, but can we be inclusive of all?

What values unite us?
What future do you envision for the next generation?

I wrote the Earth’s Prayer in 2009, and this week was inspired to craft a New Pledge of Allegiance.
Both might be blasphemy to some and piety to others…

The New America’s Pledge of Allegiance:
We pledge allegiance to the principles,
Of the United Traits of America
And to the Values for which we Stand,
One HumanKIND
Under every God, or no God as YOU choose to believe,
INDIVISIBLE
With Dignity & Compassion for ALL.

 

Robin Sharma has 20+ years advising billionaires, celebrated CEOs and other Titans of industry on how to multiply their income, lift their influence + unleash their highest impact. Here’s some of the strange paradoxes he has observed: –a number of them are super-wealthy but very poor –they have money yet lack meaning –they have a large net worth but low self-worth –they have jets and yachts but no joy and peace

May our soul-filled journey together remedy this!

Selflessness at work leads to exhaustion and often hurts the very people you want to help
Here’s how to share your time and expertise more effectively…
https://hbr.org/cover-story/2017/01/beat-generosity-burnout

Best States 2017:
How They Were Ranked in 68 metrics across seven categories
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/methodology

Higher Ed Rankings:
California is #3
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education/higher-education

Pre K-12 Rankings:
California is #42
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education/prek-12

Without Music, Life would B Flat!
Exploring the Mechanisms of Music Therapy:
The principles of neuroplasticity may underlie the positive effects of music therapy in treating a diversity of diseases…
http://bit.ly/2n7wsEG

Thanks this week go to the San Diego Grantmakers conference for inspiring the New America’s Pledge, both Adams, & Isabelle A.

Take A Stand!
Pay it Forward…
Love,
Neville

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

“One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the main aim in life.
The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work,
pleasure in its result and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community.”
–-Einstein

This week:

The Real Work

It may be that when we no long know
what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know
which way to go,
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

-Wendell Berry

 

A Zen Master’s Advice On Coping With Trump:
It involves a lot more than meditating…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zen-and-the-art-of-activism_us_58a118b6e4b094a129ec59af

 

Brené Brown Offers Brilliant Advice For Talking To Kids About Hateful Rhetoric
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brene-brown-kids-rhetoric_us_588a9446e4b0230ce61b0b39

 

The Miracles Going On Inside Your Body Everyday:
Sometimes you may feel like your body is beginning to creak and fail you on the outside, but do you ever stop to consider the incredible work that is taking place inside of it? There is so much going on and everything fits together so well, that it’s almost impossible to comprehend it. This will remind you that there are miracles going on inside your body every single day.

Live every day as if it is your LAST chance to make someone laugh.

“Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.”

Stay Grateful not hateful!
Thanks this week go to Kurt C, Tiffanie N, Marlaine C, and Larry H
Pay it forward!
Love,
Neville

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

“An individual has not started living
until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns
to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This week:

Let’s learn from history; and our experience with interning Japanese-Americans, rock stars; where success can be redefined, labels; and buying off on easy categories like intro or extro verts, social justice activists; like this disabilities champion.
Support social justice and creatives that will always provide perspective…

Loyalty Questioned:
Lessons about our constitutional rights from the internment of Japanese-Americans
Especially now, Takei said, we must remember “how easily people — because of fear and anger — lose sight of our important national values of justice and rule of law.” She drew parallels with Muslim Americans, refugees and immigrants, “as though demonizing other people is going to solve our problems.”
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/feb/19/farming-behind-barbed-wire-japanese-americans/

Beth Hart’s Advice to Fellow Musicians: ‘We Have the Right to Say NO’
“You’re in a business where you’re taught that your image and the way people perceive you is important,” she says. “But at some point, you realize it’s not important at all. Fame doesn’t matter, people approving of you doesn’t matter. And if it does matter, you’re in store for something very difficult and painful.”
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/21/516459187/beth-harts-advice-to-fellow-musicians-we-have-the-right-to-say-no

5 Myths About Introverts & Extroverts by Adam Grant:
“Get in touch with your inner ambivert.”
http://www.quietrev.com/5-myths-about-introverts-and-extroverts/

Nick Dupree Fought to Live ‘Like Anyone Else’
The activist campaigned to change rules, so people with disabilities could get nursing care and support at home past the age of 21.
Disability rights activist Nick Dupree who wasn’t supposed to live past his 21^st birthday died last weekend. Thursday would have been his 35th birthday.
A chapter about his life and struggles in included in a disability rights anthology: Occupying Disability: Critical Approaches to Community, Justice and Decolonizing Disability
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/22/516668777/nick-dupree-fought-to-live-like-anyone-else

How to Boost Financial Performance through Social Purpose:

Here is a CUbroadcast interview we did at the Education Credit Union Council Conference this past Monday.
http://www.cubroadcast.com/episodes/ecuc-interviews-mission-feds-neville-billimoria-on-boosting-financial-performance-through-social-purpose

Say Yes & Support the Future:
Our son Arman and his talented friends at Cinema school in SF are making their first film.  Below is a description and a funding site.  If you feel so inclined to donate I know these “creatives” would really appreciate it.  Check out the informational video on the front page – it’s a kick!  And, it’s so nice to see young people being creative and productive! The best part is that they are going to submit the film to a variety of festivals including South by Southwest, Kansas City Film Festival, and the San Francisco Film Festival.
Here is the link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/blackout-a-horror-short-film#/

With much love (and no obligation),
Neville

Here’s to recreating the United States Traits of America and Beyond!
Thanks this week go to Advocates for the Underserved, Under-represented, and Under-valued members of our communities

Pay it forward and put your money where you values are…
Love,
Neville

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

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life!” – Henry David Thoreau

Stay in the POS!

It is up to us as to what we focus on, how we interpret “it” and what if anything we intend to do about it.

Dr. Alan Daly at UC San Diego turned me on to Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) not so long ago, and it has provided a terrific framework for self-awareness, mindset choice and worldview implications. Here is a precis:

 

Imagine a world in which almost all organizations are typified by greed, selfishness, manipulation, secrecy, and a single-minded focus on winning. Wealth creation is the key indicator of success. Imagine that members of such organizations are characterized by distrust, anxiety, self-absorption, fear, burnout, and feelings of abuse. Conflict, law suits, contract breaking, retribution, and disrespect characterize many interactions and social relationships. Imagine also that researchers investigating these organizations emphasize theories of problem solving, reciprocity and justice, managing uncertainty, overcoming resistance, achieving profitability, and competing successfully against others.

For the sake of contrast, now imagine another world in which almost all organizations are typified by appreciation, collaboration, virtuousness, vitality, and meaningfulness. Creating abundance and human well-being are key indicators of success. Imagine that members of such organizations are characterized by trustworthiness, resilience, wisdom, humility, & high levels of positive energy. Social relationships and interactions are characterized by compassion, loyalty, honesty, respect, and forgiveness. Significant attention is given to what makes life worth living. Imagine that in this world, researchers emphasize theories of excellence, transcendence, positive deviance, extraordinary performance, and positive spirals of flourishing.

Welcome to POS or Positive Organizational Scholarship  which does not reject the value and significance of the phenomena of the first world view, but rather, emphasizes the phenomena represented in the second world view. POS represents an expanded perspective that puts an increased emphasis on ideas of “goodness” and positive human potential. It encompasses attention to the enablers (e.g., processes, capabilities, structures, methods), the motivations (e.g., unselfish, altruistic, contribution without regard to self), and the outcomes or effects (e.g., vitality, meaningfulness, exhilaration, high quality relationships) associated with positive phenomena. POS is distinguished from traditional organizational studies in that it seeks to understand what represents and approaches the best of the human condition.

 

POS like anything else has a number of biases implicit in the name:

“Positive” – represents an affirmative bias and orientation with an interest in exceptional, virtuous, life-giving, and flourishing phenomena.

“Organizational” -POS expands the boundaries of current theories to make visible positive states, positive processes, and positive relationships that are typically ignored.

How organizational practices enable individuals to craft meaningful work through fostering individual “callings,” or, how building on strengths produces more positive outcomes in a diverse array of settings such as classroom learning, employee commitment, leadership development, and firm profitability- in contrast to a more typical focus on managing or overcoming weaknesses.

“Scholarship”- draws from a variety of fields including:

Positive Psychology- and Martin Seligman’s work. Seligman argued that since World War II, traditional psychology has focused almost exclusively on human pathology, or on what is wrong with and lacking in individuals.

Community Psychology- with a focus on the presence of wellness not the absence of disease

Organizational Development and Appreciative Inquiry- Based on the assumption that organizations have a positive core which, if revealed and tapped, unleashes positive energy and positive improvement

Prosocial and Citizenship Behavior- or voluntary actions that provide benefit to other people

Corporate Social Responsibility- which centers on the obligation of organizations, especially corporations, to address societal problems and ills

 

POS is a fresh and in my view a much needed lens. It offers new ways of looking at old phenomena. By applying this new lens, elements that were formerly invisible become visible. POS helps people look at phenomena in new ways. POS is not value-neutral. It advocates the position that the desire to improve the human condition is universal and that the capacity to do so is latent in most systems.

What’s YOUR view?

The Greatest Love of All:

The Greatest Love of All

WHAT IF . . . the greatest love of all is loving yourself?

RESEARCH SAYS: Here are a few tips to help you love YOU:

• Embrace your feelings with a desire to learn what your feelings are telling you.
• Take responsibility for managing your feelings, rather than making others responsible for them.
• Stay open to learning with all your feelings, rather than avoiding the painful ones by numbing out with substances or distractions.
• You love yourself best when you take smart action regarding your emotional, physical and financial health, your time and space, and your interactions with others.
• Value your core self, rather than defining yourself through your looks, performance, and the stories others have about you.
• Approve what is good, face what is not good about you, and keep evolving. 
• Make your needs just as important to you as others’ needs. 

TRY THIS: Choose one or two of the tips above to focus on this week. To love yourself is the essence of self-respect.

The Positivity Blog by Henrik 

Now, I’d like to look back into the past. Back to the time when I was single. It was a period when I faced rejection a lot of the time. 

Which was actually a step forward for me. Because before that I spent much of my
time totally avoiding situations where I could be rejected. 

But still, being rejected hurt. 

So I’d like to share a couple of things that I learned during those years that helped
me to lessen the sting of rejection and that helps me to this day when I get
rejected in other ways.

1. Take some time to process it instead of forcing a smile on your face.

Trying to force optimism or to move forward when you are still in an emotional
turmoil or a bit shocked usually don’t work that well. 

So first just take a bit of time to process the thoughts and feelings that arise when
you have been rejected. 

2. Focus on what you still have in your life. 

Take some time for the thoughts that arose. But don’t get stuck in dwelling and in
dragging yourself down into an ocean of self-doubt and negativity. 

Instead, shift your focus to what you actually still have in your life. The people, the
passions or hobbies, the sometimes taken for granted things like a roof over your
head and that you don’t have to go hungry. 

Tapping into gratitude like this helps me to put what happened into perspective
and to not let it overwhelm me. 

3. Don’t think it’s all about you.  

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking there is something wrong with you if you
for example don’t get a second date. 

But not everything is about you. 

The other person may have his or her own self-doubts. Or things from the past he
or she has not moved on from yet. Or that person may simply be looking for
something or someone else than you.
That’s just how life is. So see if you can learn something from the situation but
don’t put everything that happens on yourself.
4. Strengthen your self-esteem.
A self-esteem toolbox filled with helpful thought habits and strategies do not make
you invincible to rejection or any other negative situation.
But it makes you stronger. It makes more things bounce off you. Instead of them
dragging you deeper and deeper down.
And with kinder self-talk that is actually helpful it is easier to learn something you
can use in the future and to keep going forward.

Have a self-kind day!

Employee Engagement: You’ve Got the Power
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvDKh31k1fM

If you are local…

Go Red for Women:
Women’s heart health matters!

Focus on Youth and/or Health Equity:

You might be interested in this community discussion and screening of Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope, presented by SDG members Alliance Healthcare Foundation (iEngageU) & The San Diego Foundation, with community partners. 

Resilience explores the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the birth of a new movement to treat and prevent Toxic Stress. Now understood to be one of the leading causes of everything from heart disease and cancer to substance abuse and depression, extremely stressful experiences in childhood can alter brain development and have lifelong effects on health and behavior.  The local panel of regional experts, educators, and service providers will discuss how to help build resilience in our community to create bright futures for generations to come.

Register online

Tuesday February 21, 3:00 – 5:30pm

Performing Arts Center

Chula Vista High School

820 4th Avenue • Chula Vista, CA 91911

Parking Lot located off K Street, between 4th and 5th Avenue.

Film includes Spanish subtitles.
Snacks and refreshments available.

Who Should Attend?
Educators
High School & College Students
Parents & Caregivers
Service Providers
Probation & Law Enforcement Representatives
Community Advocates 

Speakers

Dr. Karen Janney
Superintendent, Sweetwater School District

Barbara Jiménez
Director of Regional Operations, Health and Human Services Agency-Central & South Regions

Dr. Dawn Griffin
Forensic Psychologist & Associate Professional, Alliant International University
MaryRose Peralta
Principal, Chula Vista High School

Register online

Women’s Hall of Fame 2017:

You are invited to the  Women’s Hall of Fame 2017, an event that the Department of Women’s Studies at SDSU has co-hosted (UCSD Women’s Center, Women’s Museum & San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women) for the last 16 years. It is on Sunday, March 5th at 2:30 pm at the Jacobs Center. We have a great group of women being inducted this year. Please share this event info. Tickets for students and Women’s Studies folks are $25.00. There is a link to the reservations page and a link to the press release at the bottom of the invite.
This is a great event that recognizes diverse women from different communities and their life-long contributions to the betterment of San Diego–

Thanks for your support,

Please join us in celebrating these outstanding women on Sunday, March 5th!

View Press Release       Purchase Tickets

15 years at Mission Fed! Who would have thunk it…

Thanks this week go to Alan D, Huma G, Larry H, Henrik, Megan T, and all the teams working in the POS!

Pay it forward

Love,

Neville

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

“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”– Carrie Fisher (1956 – 2016)

It is National School Counseling Week!
“School Counseling: Helping Students Realize Their Potential,” is celebrated from Feb. 6-10, 2017 to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. Thanks for all you do outside of the classroom helping us with our psycho-social, whole-person skills!

The United Traits of America: What traits ultimately define us as a country and as humans beyond just red and blue states?
What have we really learned in school and life?
This vid might spark a response
Stand for something, or fall for anything!

Love Has No Labels:
My heart doesn’t see race, gender, religion- just your soul…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnDgZuGIhHs

Rethink Bias
We are all created equal…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWDZCVejcZQ

Creating a Personalized Connection with EVERY Student:
This Fifth grade English teacher in North Carolina has an elaborate, personalized handshake with every one of his students, inspired by their personality, “that brings them excitement and pumps them up for a high-energy class.” http://abcn.ws/2kiaieL
https://www.facebook.com/groups/parenting2.0/permalink/10154341086038061/

What if Money Does Buy You Happiness?

How to Get as Much as You Give (#447)

WHAT IF . . . Money actually really does buy happiness?  It does, but not in the way you might think!  RESEARCH SAYS: Charitable giving is scientifically proven to benefit the giver as much as the receiver. It works just like a positive feedback loop: giving makes people happier, and happier people give more. And it’s not just about money. Anytime you give—whether it’s your time, your affection, or your creative resources—your brain rewards you with a shot of feel-good hormones, and a bright new outlook on life and love.

TRY THIS: Think about what your greatest talent is. Do you excel at a particular skill—creative, athletic, mental, relational? Identify a person or group who could really use the resource you have to give. Give it and tell us how you feel and what you learned. Read Will’s latest leadership/career blog post: Three Super Bowl Life Lessons for All of Us

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life!” – Henry David Thoreau

If you are local-
Do You Vote with Your Feet and Frequent Organizations that Align with Your Values?

The sunshine is calling and so are your friends!

Earn $40 each when you Refer a Friend to Mission Fed

Sharing is caring

Be sure to tell all of your friends and family members about this great offer, and have them bring the coupon from our website with them when they visit the branch. There’s no limit to how many people you can refer!

Start your savings with a splash—tell your friends to open an account by March 31, 2017!

Plus, we’re giving back $1 Million to our members in 2017 with Mission Fed Money Match. Are you next?  Visit MissionFed.com/Refer-A-Friend for Full Rules.

Thanks this week go to Mehrad N and the Conscious Leader Collective, Trish H and the SDSU Ed team, Julia N & Marlaine C and the Parenting 2.0 team, Will M, the Mission Fed team, school counselors everywhere, and all you soul-filled people making our world better!

 Pay it forward
Love,
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

This week:
Globally:
For those precious few who prioritize understanding over brevity, this heady piece wherever you stand politically is a wakeup call that we sure ain’t in Kansas anymore Toto…

Anti-Globalist Conflict? This is Not Ordinary Politics!
We are clearly going through a phase change in the global political situation as evidenced by Brexit, other nationalistic sentiments and most close to home with the “Trump Insurgency”.
Viewed through the lenses of Communications Infrastructure, the Deep State, Globalism, the New Culture War, & Collective Intelligence we find ourselves in the middle of an existential conflict between two entirely different and incompatible ways of sensemaking. Note: If you don’t have the time to go through the whole piece, do scroll to The War for Collective Intelligence section…
PDF Copy: situational-assessment-2017-trump-edition-deep-code-medium

Locally:

Mission Fed TV Commercial Debuts During Fox 5 Super Bowl Pre-game on Sunday Feb. 5
While football fans all over San Diego are getting ready for the big game, they’ll be treated to a new Mission Fed commercial during the pre-game coverage. This new commercial asks people all over town, “What matters to you most in a bank?” and shows how they can find what they need at Mission Fed!

Watch for us during these pre-game shows:
7-9am Fox 5 Morning News Super Bowl Special
9-10am Road to the Super Bowl
3-3:30pm Super Bowl Pre-Kick
Your Success is Our Bottom Line

Personally acting Locally and Globally:
In the past week, I was privileged to be on the inaugural Real Talk San Diego 2-1-1 show and Facebook live, keeping our attention on creating a community based on courage, compassion and connection. 2-1-1 plays an integral role in our community connecting real people with real help. Enjoy!

Masterpieces of the Human Spirit: Enjoy Some of the Most Beautiful Churches in the World!
What is your Fav?

The most beautiful churches around the world ~Some of them took over 500 years to build.

The neo-Gothic Las Laras Sanctuary sits perched on a bridge spanning a deep river gorge in southern Colombia — one of South America’s most dramatic churches. 34 years to construct

Notre-Dame Basillica of Montreal

Barcelona’s and Antoni Gaudi’s, LaSagrada Familia Construction commenced in 1882. Estimated completion date: 2026 144 years

The soaring pillars and rainbow-hued stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia’s interior.

Asis Church, Taos, N.M.

Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

The 150-foot tall Cadet Chapel……17 spires.

Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, AZ.

Borgund Stave Church, Norway

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Washington Island, Wis.

Duomo in Milan
Construction commenced 1386
Completed 1965 579 years

Greek island of Santorini

St. Vinzenz Church, Heiligenblut, Austria.

Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome

Interior of Saint Peter’s.

St. Michaels Cathedral, Kiev, Ukraine

Cathedral-Basilica, New Orleans.

Church of Assumption, Bled Lake, Slovenia

Church of Our Savior, St. Petersburg, Russia.

St. Peter’s interior.

Chapel of the Rock, Estes Park, Colo.

Heddal Stave Church, Norway

St. Bartholoma, Lake Konigssee, Germany

Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Aparecida, Brasilia,Brazil.

Brasilia’s interior.

St. Basil’s, Moscow, Russia.

Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Dinant, Belgium

Lutheran Church of Hallgrimur, also known as Hallgrimskirkia, Iceland

Chapel of Thanksgiving in Dallas, TX.

Our Lady of Covadonga Cathedral, Spain.

Salisbury Cathedral, Britain Construction: 1220 – 1320

Yosemite Valley Chapel, Yosemite National Park.

Nuestra Nenora de Gracia, Cuenca, Spain

Stowe Community Church, Stowe, Vermont

Santuario Dom Bosco, Brasilia, Brazil

Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, San Diego, CA.

Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene, Jerusalem.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, Canela, Brazil.

St. Charles Cathedral, Vienna

pogost , or enclosure, of Kizhi in the Russian autonomous region of Karelia dates back to the 18th century and includes two wooden churches — one with 22 wooden domes — and a wooden clock tower.”
The UNESCO-listed pogost, Kizhi, Russia.

Crystal Cathedral, Grove, CA.

Sacre-Coeur Basilica, Paris

Church of Panagia Paraportiani, Island of Mykonos

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow, Russia.

Basilica of the National Vow, Quito, Ecuador

Church of Dmitry on Blood, Uglich, Russia.

Memorial Temple of the Birth of Christ, Shipka, Bulgaria.

Notre-Dame-du-Huat, France.

Notre-Dame-du-Huat Interior.

Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe, Puy-en-Velay, France

Thanks this week go to Karina L, Cliff P & Jordan G, Robin M, Donna H, Terri M & the Mission Fed marketing team, John O @ 2-1-1,  and to Cathy S & Meg M for keeping Soul Food Flying!

Pay it forward
Love,
Neville

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

“The champion wins first, then walks into the arena.

Everybody else walks into the arena and then tries to figure out what to do.”— Jim Fannin

We have much to learn from within,
but it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth
of the inner life.

We have much to learn from others,
but it is easy to get lost in the
confusion of the crowd.

“There was a time when farmers on the Great Plains, at the first sign of a blizzard, would run a rope from the back door out to the barn…
Today we live in a blizzard of another sort. It swirls around us as economic injustice, ecological ruin, physical and spiritual violence, and their inevitable outcome, war. It swirls within us as a fear and frenzy, greed and deceit, and indifference to the suffering of others.
We all know stories of people who have wandered off into this madness and been separated from their own souls, losing their moral bearings and even their mortal lives: they make headlines because they take so many innocents down with them”—Parker Palmer

One way out- or back as the case may be- is to reconnect with our soul (hence my commitment to Soul Food Friday’s for over half a decade)

This week:
An Inspirational vid about the Power of One Person to make a Difference
Responding with Soul to the Blizzard of the World with our Hidden Wholeness
The Paradox a poignant poem by Sarah Kay

Don’t think one person matters?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPeeZ6viNgY

The Blizzard of the World
“The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold
              and it has overturned the order of the soul.” – Leonard Cohen

Esteemed singer, songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, painter and artist of life, Leonard Cohen passed away in November of last year
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen

Those of us that care can be healers in a wounded world.
Our fastidiousness for living a moral code with integrity (the state or quality of being entire, complete and unbroken) is a testimony to the power and relevance of the time-worn wisdom traditions and our opportunity to contribute to a better world.

In the martial arts we tie our uniforms with belts, and even this tradition every time we “train” reminds us to pay attention: “are we the same person on the inside as we seem to be on the outside?”
Both ways of tying the belt; whether the inside and outside are unified at the knot at your center, or the alternative way that actually creates a Mobius strip where there is no inside or outside but they both keep co-creating each other, remind us of our yearning to be “centered”.

All the great spiritual traditions want to awaken us to the fact that we co-create the reality in which we live…

We have much to learn from within, but it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of the inner life.
We have much to learn from others, but it is easy to get lost in the confusion of the crowd.

If you are genuinely interested in understanding the paradox of both honoring your inner teacher, never living apart from one’s self, and at the same time never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other, then you need to create circles of trust in your ecosystem.

If this resonates, you might enjoy A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life by Parker Palmer
https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Wholeness-Journey-Toward-Undivided/dp/0470453761

 

The Paradox by Sarah Kay

When I am inside writing,
all I can think about is how I should be outside living.

When I am outside living,
all I can do is notice all there is to write about.

When I read about love, I think I should be out loving.
When I love, I think I need to read more.

I am stumbling in pursuit of grace,
I hunt patience with a vengeance.

On the mornings when my brother’s tired muscles
held to the pillow, my father used to tell him,

For every moment you aren’t playing basketball,
someone else is on the court practicing.

I spend most of my time wondering
if I should be somewhere else.

So I have learned to shape the words thank you
with my first breath each morning, my last breath every night.

When the last breath comes, at least I will know I was thankful
for all the places I was so sure I was not supposed to be.

All those places I made it to,
all the loves I held, all the words I wrote.

And even if it is just for one moment,
I will be exactly where I am supposed to be.

Thanks this week goes to the  Eric K & the Conscious Leader Collective for the introduction to Parker Palmer’s wisdom, Kurt C for the sublime poem and the GameChangers team for the inspirational vid.

Pay it Forward!
Blessings & Hallelujah!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q

Love,
Neville

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

“Afraid that our inner light will be extinguished or our inner darkness exposed, we hide our true identities from each other. In the process, we become separated from our own souls. We end up living divided lives, so far removed from the truth we hold within that we cannot know the “integrity that comes from being what you are.” –Parker Palmer