'Young Business Creatives' in Stockholm
Talk at YBC by Anadagiri
Young Business Creatives (YBC), Stockholm, Sweden
Talk at Young Business Creatives (YBC), Stockholm
Almost 150 students & teachers of the YBC, Stockholm had gathered to listen to OWA Senior Faculty Ananda Giri speak on ‘Awareness for an Extraordinary Life’ on the morning of Friday 18th February. Mr. Daniel Lundqvist, Director of Studies at the YBC, participated in the 3-day ‘A New Beginning’ seminar in Verona in October 2010. Seeing the immense value of the ‘Life-Education’ that is being imparted at OWA, he has ever since remained interested in bringing this education to the students at his school.
According to him, YBC is not just another school, but a modern workplace for young adults; a creative meeting space for learning and development of ideas. The vision of YBC is to be a school that, better than any other, prepares students for this new world, that is emerging amidst rapid changes. Competences and skills that promote creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, communication, business-mindedness and personal qualities are particularly important for this. YBC is an innovative and creative investment by the municipality of Nacka, Stockholm for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Entrepreneurs are not just people who start businesses. They are creative! They know that the need to be able to navigate in a digital and communication-dense landscape is increasing, as is the need for creative people. Creative people like challenges and solving problems. This is why YBC focuses on creativity.
Ananda Giri’s talk revolved around the importance of bringing intelligence into emotions and functioning from a place of peace and joy in life. He pointed out that self-acceptance was vital for any form of growth in life. The students participated intently with very good questions. Ananda Giri was particularly very inspired to know that a few students were actually working on a project on ‘How to improve the quality of people’s lives’ and chose to spend personal time with them mentoring them and helping them develop more insights on inner fulfillment and material success.
OWA expresses hart-felt gratitude to Mr. Daniel, the students and other members of the school, whose love and support have made possible this event & looks forward to working more closely with YBC towards helping people lead happier and fulfilled lives!
Friday Evening Talk
A freezing temperature of -15 degrees stood in stark contrast with the immense warmth of people’s love & response to OWA in Stockholm on the evening of 18th February 2011! With almost 80 participants at Senior Faculty Ananda Giri’s spiritual discussion on ‘Awareness & Freedom’, the beautiful hall of the SMI (Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut), a Music School in Central Stockholm was completely full. The audience sat in rapt attention for the complete duration of the talk, which lasted for two hours, while beautiful questions and insightful answers characterized the evening & created a beautiful atmosphere for self-awareness to unfold. Ananda Giri highlighted the importance of self-acceptance as the most powerful tool to cut through mental conflicts, particularly guilt, self-hate and blame. He also went on to explain how the idea of perfection is perhaps the most debilitating concept that has plagued humanity for ages, turning man against oneself and causing enormous inner conflict.
Anna Christoferson’s soul-stirring music at the beginning and at the end during meditation transported the audience to a whole new dimension of connecting with the presence and feeling love and joy in their hearts.
'Into Happiness' with Ananda Giri in Stockholm
The ‘Into Happiness’ workshop on Saturday saw a very different crowd; most of them being well accomplished entrepreneurs looking for a higher dimension to success and well-being in their life. The beautiful venue set in the heart of Stockholm, offered stunning views of the nearly frozen sea and the city on all sides. A bright and sunny morning, clear blue skies coupled with heaps of snow all around not only augmented the beauty of the city but raised the spirits of the participants as well.
The workshop primarily revolved around the importance of self-love and self-acceptance to achieve any form of growth in life. Ananda Giri lead the participants through contemplative sessions of self-enquiry and guided meditations that aimed at helping them love and embrace themselves as they are. The workshop concluded with sharing the gift of presence.
Into Happiness: Students & Young Adults in Malmo
A group of young students, all of the age group 20-25 years gathered on Sunday afternoon in Malmoe for an ‘Into Happiness’ workshop with Krishnaraj. The focus of the workshop was on realizing that happiness is an inner state of being & does not really require favorable situations to be there at all times. Such a state of being is purely a matter of choice & one becomes capable of choosing happiness over conflict only when one becomes aware of the destructive effects of conflict in life. Through a series of examples and anecdotes, Krishnaraj helped them understand the importance of making this choice and further taught them a 5-step process of self-enquiry that would aid them in being free of conflict, when it arises. The teachings evoked much curiosity in the group and many found it highly comprehensible as well as highly applicable to real life challenges. The workshop ended with meditation and sharing the gift of presence, during which quite a few reported of feeling very peaceful and happy.
OWA sincerely offers thanks to the organisers and helpers at Stockholm and Malmoe whose energy, commitment and love made it all possible!
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