Rebels Of Kindness: How Loving-Care Transforms Self, Others & Planet

By Aaron Ableman and Justin Wilkenfeld

Finally! An interactive, fun and timely celebration of the power of human kindness. Aaron Ableman and Justin Wilkenfeld came together for something special with this remarkable celebration of a global movement toward loving-care. Inside the pages of this book are science-b

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kindhumans PBC
• Release date: Jun 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798987742907

Aaron Ableman

An award-winning artist and educator, Aaron Ableman is what happens when Charlie Chaplin meets Dr. Seuss. Aaron is an inspired leader in the emerging self-literacy movement and his life has been heralded in publications such as the LA Times, CNN, NY Times, MTV, Climate Reality Project, Origin Magazine, and the SF Examiner. Aaron is a CoFounder of BALANCE Edutainment & Imagination Heals, and the originator of the Pacha’s Pajamas brand. He is also a beatboxer, singer/rapper, soccer player and loves making crafts, especially dreamcatchers.

Book preview

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KINDNESS TO SELF

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KINDNESS TO SELF

Engaging in acts of self-kindness is a nutrient stacked life-enhancement drug (without the silly name or price tag!) since it yields endorphins to cultivate mental health and physical wellness. Additionally, it can impact the reduction of stress because perpetually kind people have 23% less cortisol - that’s the stress hormone.

A University of British Columbia study screened a large group of highly anxious individuals who performed at least six acts of self-kindness a week. After only four weeks, there was a significant increase in confidence, positivity, relationship satisfaction, and a drastic drop in social avoidance for these timid or anxious individuals.

Amazingly, Stephen Post (of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine) found that when we practice caring for ourselves and our relationships, everything from life satisfaction to self-realization and physical health is wildly improved. Lifespan’s are lengthened, melancholy or woefulness is reduced, and well-being is greatly increased.

Acts of self-care and kindness to self lowers blood pressure and helps the body create a cardioprotective hormone. Loving yourself is a foundational form of holistic medicine!

Like the sun rising over the highest mountain

I see that the light is I, a gold dawn fountain;

As I open my heart to the truth, I take a breather

I am my best student, my best teacher!

I give love to all because I am also the receiver!

I’m alive because of you, infinity and countin’

I am love myself, becoming a kind human now and again.

S.N. GOENKA

Rather than converting people from one organized religion to another organized religion, we should try to convert people from misery to happiness, from bondage to liberation and from cruelty to compassion.

A disciple once demanded of the Buddha what to do about the infinity of the world. The Buddha responded simply: Whether the world is finite or infinite, limited or unlimited, the problem of your liberation remains the same. In other words, our time is too short to fantasize about unanswerable questions, especially if our day to day lives are lost in ego and greed.

A similar approach to life was pioneered by the great teacher and bringer of mindfulness to the west, Mr S.N. Goenka. As a boy born to an affluent family of Indian ancestry, Goenka was raised in Myanmar and became a successful businessman with great power in the private sector. Yet for some reason, he felt stuck, angry and often thought only about himself. It was at that point that he started experiencing crushing migraine headaches and no medical doctors could find a cure. At the behest of a friend, he met with a Vipassana teacher named Sayagyi U Ba Khin and persisted with this teacher for 14 years of deep study. Conscious breathing and awareness of the thoughts that control our lives were two of the core elements of his learning journey.

Becoming a tireless rebel of kindness and compassion, Mr Goenka moved to India and began teaching Vipassana to whomsoever wished to learn. But he was residing in a country cruel in its divisions between caste or religion, so a meditative school designed ‘for anyone who can breathe’ was an indignity to the society. Mr. Goenka paid it no mind (pun intended) and soon attracted thousands of people from every part of the nation. His radically inclusive teachings drew people from countries all over the world to come and experience the power of meditation.

Over a half century later, with decades of daily teachings on the power of breath and mind, Mr. Goenka and the teachers he taught hundreds of thousands of people in India and around the planet. At the time of this writing, meditation centers established under his guidance are still operating in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, years after his death.

The practice taught by Mr Goenka goes back two and a half millennia to the Buddha himself. The Buddha never taught religion; he taught truth – a pathway to inner freedom which is ubiquitous to the human experience. In the same tradition, Mr. Goenka’s approach is totally open and available to all. For this reason, his teaching has had a profound appeal to people of all backgrounds, of every religion and no religion, and from every part of the world.

If you can’t make a 10 day silent retreat (though highly recommended and encouraged for everyone on earth!), try this 10 minute Vipassana-inspired meditation right now:

1. Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit, with your back straight and your eyes closed.

2. Begin by focusing on your breath, noticing the sensation of the breath as it enters and exits your nose. As you focus on your breath, try to let go of any thoughts or distractions that arise. If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breath. Over and over and over again.

3. Continue to focus on your breath for the entire 10 minutes, or for as long as you are able.

4. When the time is over, take a deep breath and slowly open your eyes.

It’s important to remember that meditation is a practice (not a perfect) and it can take time to develop the ability to focus and train the wild monkey that is the human mind. It’s okay if your mind wanders during the practice; that’s normal. Be kind and gentle with yourself—you are learning a new skill!

SELF-LOVE TRIBUTE

To love myself is the beginning

Of a life-long dance, rhythm-a-ning.

But to love another is the ending

Of this life long loneliness thing.

How do I find a way when

their opposites are tugging?

My loving me is what justice

feels like … Ouroboros!

But loving you is what mustard does with mayonnaise

So delicious it’s unafraid to share the tastiness.

The crack of your lip’s flavor exposes writ

Large, until life becomes soul food - a poet’s music.

You teach me that two is one, an infinite script.

Maybe trinity is within us all: we are the love we seek, isn’t it?

Everyone’s said it all before, the universe gets quoted,

Nature is the author of us all in motion:

Summertime, wintertime.

The beginning is my finish line.

The path is my destination.

My attitude defines success, let love win.

Aren’t we all just needing love’s medicine?

And love is the key to heaven’s door, let it in.

LORETTA AFRAID OF BEAR COOK

I consider myself a culture bearer, a keeper of the old ways, and I say that because I became a grandmother. I have a beautiful grandson, and I think it’s important to know these things…

Grandmother Loretta is a Lakota medicine woman and Sundance leader who is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge, wisdom, and kindness. Loretta grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation where she was immersed in Lakota culture and language. Thanks to family and the elders who trained her, she is considered a holder of key ancestral knowledge, including the Tiospaye’s Sundance pipe. Her fierce and courageous spirit is evident in her long-standing activism for the betterment of herself, her people and the planet.

Loretta’s activism began in her 20s, when she participated in the Trail of Broken Treaties, a protest in which 800 Natives occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in Washington, D.C. during a crucial federal election week in November 1972. The 20-point proposal paper that was presented during this protest became the basis for Native American tribal lands restoration, cross-cultural reconciliation, and future reconstruction strategies across Indian Country ever since. Sixteen of the 20 points have been resolved in the 47 years since that