Serving the World: A Spiritual Practice

Learning about how serving the world can be a spiritual practice was made easier when I encountered these four helpful shifts in awareness:

From Doing To Being
From Attachment to Nonattachment
From Obligation to Love
From Duality to Oneness

The first, the shift from doing to being, represents a change in focus from being task oriented towards being mindful of the attitude with which I approach my service. Someone coined the phrase “never move faster than the speed of love,” which to me describes the attitude I aspire to when service. When I am tasked oriented, I can sometimes be rough with people, and leave an unpleasant emotional wake behind me. I’m learning to focus on how I am being while I am doing what I am doing.

The second, the shift from attachment to nonattachment, reminds me that I want to get to a place in mind where I don’t let disappointment degrade my engagement. A paraphrase of what Krisha said to Arjuna when asked what kind of people he favored might be: those who are neither buoyed up by praise or cast down by criticism are loved by me.

The third, a shift from obligation to love, prompts me to acknowledge that some things in life are not pleasant, and yet we have to do them anyway, and invites me to discover whether I can engage in the unpleasant activity with my focus on love. I am trying to not let my aversion to discomfort stop me from being open heartedly engaged in serving the world.

Finally, the shift from duality to oneness, to me is about the realization that although it appears that I’m doing something for someone else when I’m serving, it is also true that I’m doing it for myself, or the self of me that lives in all beings.

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We're Passing the Baton, is it to you?

We have mentioned before that we are intending to gradually scale back on bookstore duties and eventually step down completely. We are actively seeking people to help in the following areas: advertising, computer skills (Excel, Word), social media, graphic art (creative signage), special events, deep cleaning and the BIG ONE...retail management and retail buying skills. Passing the baton Yes, we wish to pass on the management of the store to new volunteers, preferably a manager and assistant manager (or perhaps a management team). In this store's management, the most important and time-consuming tasks are ordering product, input of product and managing the product. We would train and continue to advise (if necessary) to ensure a smooth transition of leadership in the two basic areas of gift items and books. For a while, we wish to retain the decorating portion of managing the store. Managing the store is a HUGE responsibility, but the rewards are ten...

Meet your extraordinary Board Trustee and Treasurer, Karen Hatten.

and....Karen wears many hats in Service to our community. On most Sunday mornings she can be found greeting guest and welcoming newcomers. Thank you Karen for your love and service to our spiritual community.

How to Volunteer

Please email the member of staff next to the area you are interested in and we will contact you. Landscape and gardening - william.abel@cslsr.org Sunday hospitality - linda.hann@cslsr.org Facility housekeeping - william.abel@cslsr.org Video team - christopher.fritzsche@cslsr.org Facility projects (painting, organizing, repair) - william.abel@cslsr.org Skilled help (electrical, plumbing, etc.) - william.abel@cslsr.org Event Parking Lot surveillance - william.abel@cslsr.org Zoom tech - russ.legear@cslsr.org "When we serve others, we gain more than hope. We gain energy." — Margaret J. Wheatley in Turning to One Another "All acts of service are meaningless unless they are given with love." — Sai Baba in Wisdom from World Religions by Sir John Templeton

Volunteer Community at the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

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