Understanding Seva: The Art of Selfless Service

Posted on by helpingsoul
“The best Seva is helping someone understand this eternal nature of life.”

Seva originated from Sanskrit, meaning “string.”  The translation implies that all matter is connected as a thread of existence; to interact with another is to interact with the whole.  As such, to serve one is to serve all or the whole.

Today, the meaning of Seva is a spiritual practice of selfless service inspired by divine love.  According to Harrison Graves, MD from the Art of Living, Seva is service with no expectation of reward. Graves states, “…Seva is a way of life — an inner attitude of giving.” Seva combines the yoga of action, Karma Yoga and the yoga of worship, Bhakti Yoga. Thus it is action from love.

Seva ranges from giving up your seat on the bus for an elder to caring for those wounded in war.  Seva is a personal journey expressed through our own gifts and passion to help those around us.  It is a test of our unique altruism and spiritual knowledge put into unconditional action. In other words, nothing is expected in return.  Seva is a completely selfless action detached from any particular outcome.

Seva provides the opportunity to serve our family, friends, coworkers, and all those we encounter; even all our activities with a heightened sense of connection with God, which is the essence of Yoga.

Ram Dass explains seva beautifully: “Helping out is not some special skill. It is not the domain of rare individuals. It is not confined to a single part of our lives. We simply heed the call of that natural impulse within and follow it where it leads us.” (Ram Dass was a co-founder of the Seva Foundation. Seva is best known for their work restoring eyesight to over 3 million blind people suffering from cataract blindness in places like Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.)

How Seva Can Help You, the Giver

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar shares how Seva also benefits the giver:

To increase our joy we must share joy with others. Giving is essential for spiritual growth. A willingness to share what we have and to help others is called seva.
Seva connects us to others and makes them a part of us. The barriers dissolve that separate our happiness from their happiness. Lingering moods of unhappiness or depression dissipate when our focus is on helping someone else.

Seva can become complementary medicine for those who suffer with anxiety and depression. The stressful mind and negative thoughts about self quiet when we focus on selfless service.

How to Serve

There are endless ways of practicing Seva. Creativity and imagination ensures Seva becomes a way of life. If you are helping to mentor a son or daughter, that is family Seva. If you adopt a pet from the shelter, that is pet Seva. Anytime you willingly donate your time and love to help others, you are acting with Seva.

Service, whatever form it takes, is the flow of love from one human being to another. This desire to share is our basic nature. Sincere giving — without any expectation of return — breaks the boundaries of conditional love and expands our ability to love every human being unconditionally.  Perhaps the best Seva is helping someone understand this eternal nature of life.

Service is the expression of love. Serve in whatever possible manner you can. Set an intention of service every day.  Ask yourself, “How can I be useful to people around me, and to the whole world?” Then your heart starts blossoming and a completely new level begins. Otherwise we’re always thinking, “What about me, what about me?” It’s nothing! Ask, “How can I be useful, how can I give to the world?

Eva is our own inner joy pouring forth into action.

Make service a way of life — and be happier.

About

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #96155) providing online therapy in California and Florida. I work with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, depression, grief and loss, trauma, and life transitions. My goal is to offer a safe, non-judgmental space where you can explore destructive beliefs, heal childhood wounds, and build a healthier relationship with yourself and others.

My integrative approach blends mindfulness, trauma-informed care, and compassionate insight to support meaningful and lasting change.

If you feel ready to begin, you’re welcome to contact me in the comments section. I respond within 48 hours.

 

Random Acts of Kindness

Posted on by helpingsoul

Change the world with kindnessKindness is defined by Encarta Dictionary as the ability to behave kindly; the practice of being or the tendency to be sympathetic and compassionate; an act that shows consideration and caring.

Kindness is contagious. One simple act of kindheartedness starts with one. Just that one gesture encourages another to follow and then so on and so on. Before you know all those around you are being kind and courteous to each other. What a glorious sight to envision. And it all started with just one.

I saw firsthand the evidence of an act of kindness by a good friend who bought two round-trip, un-named, and un-dated airline tickets to India. He became friendly with the owners of the dry cleaners in his building and over time learned their son moved back to India. They hadn’t seen him in 2 years or so and didn’t have the money to make the expensive trip from New York.

Several weeks passed and a Fed-ex package arrived on their doorstep. They were overjoyed with the surprise and thoughtfulness of his gift. Even though my friend is no longer alive, his memory remains as one of the most loving and caring men I have known.

From that one tremendous act of kindness, the parents were able to rejoice with their son in India and pass along the good fortune. We all can’t afford such a luxurious gift. It can be as simple as a smile. A Swedish research study concluded that it is very difficult to frown when someone is smiling at you. With a sincere smile the brain releases dopamine the same neurotransmitter that helps alleviate depression, Parkinson’s Disease, and Attention Deficit Disorder. Thus smiling contributes to internal peace and well-being. Bringing a smile to another in return makes you smile.

For tweens, creating random acts of kindness benefits the giver by gaining friends, increasing feelings of happiness and well-being, and popularity among peers, higher academic achievement, and more positive behavior and less bullying.

After covering the Newton, Conn., tragedy NBC News’ Ann Curry tweeted, ‘commit to doing one act of kindness for every child killed?’ People responded around the country and increased Curry’s request to 26 acts of kindness for every child and adult killed at the school. People were inspired to keep a tally of generosity on Facebook and encouraged others to follow.

From children at school to adults’ personal well-being, the benefits of random acts of kindness are astounding.

• Reduce bullying by teaching children to be givers of kindness
• Increase feelings of happiness and well-being
• Improve friendships
• Gives meaning and purpose to life
• Greater connection
• It just feels good

Like a spiral affect, one small act encourages another and then another. The power of one act of kindness inspires, nurtures, gives hope, confidence, and motivates others to take a similar course of action. The idea of random of kindness is so powerful that a foundation was created and dedicated to providing resources and tools that encourage acts of kindness. Check out http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

References

Kristin Layous, S. Katherine Nelson, Eva Oberle, Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, Sonja Lyubomirsky. Kindness Counts: Prompting Prosocial Behavior in Preadolescents Boosts Peer Acceptance and Well-Being. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (12): e51380 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051380

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-moment-youth/201301/acts-kindness-key-happiness-children-teens?goback=%2Egde_2053471_member_200549162

http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness_love_smile_thank_donate_joy_nice_listen_do_lend

Optimize Brain Function and Create Happiness

Posted on by helpingsoul

be_happyHappiness is a choice.  It can be a difficult decision to make with all the negativity in the world.  It doesn’t have to feel like such a daunting option when focusing on small changes.  Small changes create big leaps forward.  Over time a greater sense of happiness is enlivened.  If you want to optimize your brain health and create greater happiness here are some simple ideas.  You don’t have to do them all to achieve results. Focus on just a few and see how you can make small changes ripple outward.

1. Meditate.
2. Journal.
3. Write 3 things you are grateful for daily.
4. Exercise.
5. Create random acts of kindness.
6. Drink at least 6 to 8 oz of water daily to stay well hydrated.
7. Eat healthfully with lean proteins, 5 to 7 cups of fruits and vegetables and whole grains daily.
8. The suggested nutritional supplements tyrosine (500 – 1500 milligrams) 2 to 3x daily; OPC (oligomeric procyandius) grape seed or pine bark (1 milligram per pound of body weight); and gingko biloba (60 – 120 milligrams 2x daily) help increase dopamine and blood flow to the brain and may help with energy, focus, and impulse control. Before taking any supplements, first consult with your doctor.
9. Think positive, healthy thoughts and rid yourself of automatic negative thoughts.
10. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting people.
11. Spend time with people you want to be like. You are more likely to become like them.
12. Talk to others in loving, kind, helpful ways.
13. Fill your environment with comforting smells such as lavender, rose, or cinnamon.
14. Breathe into your diaphragm.
15. Effectively confront and deal with situations involving conflict.
16. Develop clear goals for your life (relationships, work, money, and self) and reaffirm them every day.
17. Focus on the positive things in your life more than the negative.
18. Establish eye contact with and smile frequently at others.
19. Notice when you are stuck, distract yourself, and come back to the problem later.
20. Write out options when you are feeling stuck.
21. Seek out the counsel of others when feeling stuck. Often just talking about feeling stuck will open new options.
22. Enhance your memory skills by learning something new every day.
23. Sing, hum and move in rhythm often.
24. Touch others frequently in a loving and appropriate manner.
25. Power pose daily for 2 minutes.

Life brings many challenges.  There are many uncontrollable ups and downs.  Regardless of what life may throw us, we can still choose to be happy.  Adding just one or more habit from this list ensures you are controlling what you can.  You are making certain your brain performance and personal well-being are at their best.