Terry Ayling, Cities Coordinator for Compassionate Australia writes about the on-going devastation in Australia and in a shared conversation he had with the Charter's Religion, Spirituality and Interfaith sector.  Terry shares his thoughts about the impact of the recent bush fires and his hopes for the future. He writes: "“It’s been an unprecedented event that’s taken us all very much by surprise. And I think it’s going to profoundly change and reshape the Australian psyche, the environment, and our sense of community. It is triggering obviously a lot of wonderful outpouring of compassion, breaking people open from a sense of “me” to a sense of “we”. You know, people are doing all sorts of amazing and courageous things locally, in families that are distant from the fire events, but in communities all across the country. Read more of Terry's article.

A group in Austin, Texas, known as Mobile Loaves and Fishes (MLF), has been hard at work addressing the problem and building a community for its homeless. Founded in 1998, MLF started out with food trucks on the streets of Austin, seven nights a week, 365 days a year. These trucks continue to provide food, clothing and other life-sustaining items to homeless men and women who are struggling to survive. To date, some 20,000 volunteers have served over 5.5 million meals. The founder and chief executive of MLF, Alan Graham concluded, “Housing will never solve homelessness, but community will.” Join filmmaker Layton Blaylock who has made a documentary of Community First and Karen Yang, Education Director of Mobile Loaves and Fishes as they present the uniqueness of the village.  We will be sharing more about this daring experiment in the next weeks.  Register now for the webinar.

Emotional Intelligence skills and competencies can become the fertile ground for a more compassionate world. The skills that contribute to Emotional Intelligence can lead to the development of empathy and compassion--in individuals, in families, in the workplace, in communities, and among the interconnected societies of people throughout the world.During this course, you will discover your own Emotional Intelligence strengths, learn ways to add to your Emotional Intelligence competencies, and consider practical ways to apply your skills to build a more compassionate world. Learn more about the course and register here.

We all come from diverse cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities. We were also raised in various families of origin. Some grew up with two parents, some one, others lived with grandparents or other relatives. There are many who had stepparents (bonus parents), adoptive parents and even foster parents. With all the differences in our upbringings, those who are interested in this course have one thing in common. Your parental figures were not the ones you would have chosen for yourselves. You may have survived abuse, rejection, abandonment or neglect. You may still blame them or carry your own guilt and shame to this day. But that can change now. This course offers a way to cultivate compassion for you as well as your flawed parent. Understand how to love yourself regardless of the relationship you have or had with them. Learn how to reclaim your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. Whether or not your parents ever change who they are, you can live your life in peace knowing you did your part. Learn more and register for this course.