Effective Parenting in Challenging times - The EPIC Program

On July 29, the Love to Share Foundation held a Parenting Workshop, exploring how to effectively parent children in challenging times and situations. The goal of this workshop was to illustrate the various factors involved in the relationship between parents and their children and how to enhance the connection and bond between both sides of a family.

Although there were a plethora of topics and ideas covered, one of the main points made was the role and importance of parental communication in building a strong and long-lasting connection with the child. Communication is an extremely broad term, and this workshop went into detail about the systematic
process of communication that is necessary from the parents to the child so that the message reaches the child in a way that does not impact the child’s self-image or confidence. The main steps to communicate in a way that builds healthy relationships within families are as follows: observing actions/words, recognizing the feeling with regard to the observations made, identifying what the ultimate need is, and communicating the need through these observations and feelings in the form of a request.

As described in the workshop, being able to communicate in such a systematic, compassionate, and empathetic way will foster the relationship between parent and child while also resulting in the child responding in the proper way, as opposed to an argument that damages the connection within a family.

Although we all enter this world as infants, it is essential to realize the importance of strong familial relationships and connections, as these connections are the building blocks for the future of the family, especially the child. Not only did the workshop contain the blueprint on how to maneuver through the intricacies of effective parenthood, but also provided hands-on exercises for the audience to employ each of the methods and processes described throughout the presentation for all of the topics such as Children’s Challenges and Parental Roles, Compassionate Communication, Connecting Empathetically, Goaded by the Past or Guided by the Future, Focusing on Strengths and Praising Wisely, and Keeping an Eye on Purpose and Valuing Values. This workshop was a huge success and was extremely rewarding and useful for all parties involved.

Love to Share Foundation focuses on self-improvement and personal development, which led to the emergence of the EPIC Parenting Workshop which focuses on building a congenial environment for positive, honest exchanges in a household leading to the all-round development of a child. This EPIC Parenting Workshop falls under the Building EPIC Relationships Module(registration link at end of article), which consists of in-depth sessions (extending till Fall) revolving around building strong interpersonal relationships at home, work, or a nonprofit one volunteers for. One of the many ideas demonstrated in these sessions is the PERMA model of happiness which conveys how positive relationships are key to one’s happiness. Mr. MK Ramanujam and Ms. Poornima Kumarasami have been working tirelessly on training and guiding the speakers of these workshops.

Mindfulness walk in raleigh, NC

Lake Pine Trail at 2200 Laura Duncan Road, Apex , NC, i s a 2.0- mile loop rail near Apex , North Carolina. This area is trendy for scenic views , bird-watching, biking, and running. The trail i s full y paved and easy to walk, with shady, dense, luscious green trees , a lovely lake, birds , and much more. Raleigh G O D organized a one-hour mindfulness walk on behalf of LTSF on 7/22/23 at @5: 30pm. We had about 11 people who participated in the walk and enjoyed it thoroughly . We gathered at the shelter towards the end, where one of the volunteers , Mathangi ji gave an excellent talk on the relationship between the brain, heal th, and mental well-being. She s tar ted by explaining the par t s of the brain and their funct ions . She then discussed how nature walks can be a great feast for our eyes and how they s low down thought s and calms our mind.

First Body, Mind and Soul Event in Dallas

Love to share foundation chapter had its first Body, Mind & Soul Retreat on April 28th in the presence of Mr. M.K. Ramanujam at One Eleven Ranch Park in Garland, TX.

The participants were given a warm welcome and a brief note on what to expect in the retreat, by Sriram ji from Houston. The day and place were beautiful, apt to begin the retreat; with birds chirping and greenery all around under the early morning sun rise. The first session was Yoga, led by Smt Priya Mahesh. She guided everyone with Sun Salutation – mantra & stretches and breathing techniques. Next in line, was a Silent-Walk session. Sriram ji guided everyone through this session. Following this, was the Reality retreat -Meditation session led by Sriram ji. Then came the most awaited session of Sri Ramanujam ji’s – “Vital Conversations”. He addressed the participants with more insight on the overall retreat and encouraged everyone to practice it consistently and spoke about the actual happiness and calmness we gain by practicing it regularly.

Around 20 – 25 participants from different walks of life took part in the retreat. The participants enjoyed the retreat very much and shared their individual experience on each session at the end. They also showed their interest in taking part in the upcoming sessions. A satvik lunch was served to all.

Reality Retreat Sessions in Bay Area,CA

Love to Share Foundation’s Bay Area chapter had its first Reality Retreat on the 23rd and 24th of April 2018  in two different locations, San Jose and San Ramon respectively.

Mr. M.K. Ramanujam, who guided us through this session helped us discover our true nature of peace and bliss through the calming practice of mantra meditation.

Mr. M.K. Ramanujam, very beautifully explained that meditation is not the first step but the penultimate step to perfection and he showed how we could meditate upon a sound- a Manthra, to silence the mind.

Manthras are powerful words which by nature has the ability to silence the mind.B ut the questions arises – How to silence the mind with a sound?

Ramanujamji explained this paradox with an analogy. He said, in order to prevent a plain neat compound wall being suddenly invaded by unwanted posters, its not just enough if we remove them all, but we also need to stick another message that would say – “Stick no posters” and we need to hold on to this  poster until we are assured that there would be no other new ones on the wall. Likewise in order to silence the mind, we need it to hold on to a mantra – until the mind is devoid of all unnecessary thoughts. That’s why the meaning of the mantra is -“mananAth thrayathe ithi mantra” – that which the mind can hold on to and that which protects the mind from unwanted thoughts.

Ramanujamji, demonstrated this with the powerful mathra called the “mahamanthra” and he used a simple technique to practice this meditation by slowly draw the mind inside from outside with this manthra – first physicaly by calling out the sound, then a little subtle(sookshmam) by imitation of the sound by mumbling and finally very subtle(athi sookshmam) as a thought in the mind.

All those who had gathered for this retreat session thoroughly felt revitalized and were amazed to learn this very simple technique of meditation to calm the mind.  Close to 80 people attended the reality retreat workshops on both days.

Body, Mind and Soul Workshop in Seattle

On Sunday, April 22nd  2018, Mr.M.K.Ramanujam conducted a  four hour long Reality Retreat: Body, Mind and Soul meditation workshop. The workshop had various segments in it including silent walk, yoga, meditation and Q&A. There were 25 attendees at the workshop and all of them went out relaxed and looking forward to more such sessions. The session received immensely positive feedback and hope that with more Reality Retreat classes, it will be able to instill calm and clear thinking for all the attendees. “Life is a lyric” was also released and was distributed to all the attendees of the workshop.

‘Yuva 2018’-Youth Leadership Workshop in Seattle

On Saturday, April 21st  2018, Mr.M.K.Ramanujam conducted the youth leadership workshop, Yuva 2018, for children 10 and above. This was conducted at YMCA in Sammamish and had very good attendance by about 25 children.

The talk walked the children through various stages that one goes through before having an emotion. Through this process, the children became familiar on how to deal with these various stages and how not to end up in an emotion without understanding why they are experiencing it. Through these types of workshops and through the teen Gopa Kuteeram classes, our hope is to instill self-confidence, clarity of thought and love for life with the generation next.

Work Life Balance Workshop at Microsoft Seattle

Mr.Ramanujam started out his visit in Seattle with a talk to the DevDiv Women Leadership Council at Microsoft that was attended by around 50 Microsoft employees. The talk covered work life balance and how one should look at work as a means to enrich life and not as something to be at odds with. His talk received very positive feedback with many wanting the presentation materials. This one hour talk happened on Thursday 19th April 2018.

Empathy for Leadership Workshop in Atlanta

On Friday March 16 2018,  a wonderful corporate event led by Mr. MK Ramanujam on Empathy for Leadership as part of Love To Share Foundation America initiative was conducted at Roam Perimeter, Dunwoody, GA.  Mr Ramanujam conducted a thought provoking session on the importance of Empathy in the corporate world and brought different perspectives with practical anologies on how to apply Empathy on different situations understanding the opposite party’s needs without compromising our need. The event was well attended; very interactive and over 60 software professionals attended the session. The audience were requesting for a longer workshop-kind session in upcoming year. Thanks to Mr. Manohar Ashwath for organizing the program.

Empathy for Leadership Workshop in Atlanta (Copy)

On Thursday March 15th   2018, Mr. MK Ramanujam addressed a group of medical professionals – doctors, nurses and Medical graduates as part of Wellness Program facilitated by Emory Hospital Wellness Program. The program was organized by Dr.Subra Kugathasan, MD.

Mr. MK Ramanujam talked about mind dynamics and how mindfulness techniques help improve listening skills, decrease professional burnout, improve workflow and help efficiency at work. He expounded various kinds of techniques that are widely followed for mindfulness and what benefit we can derive out of it. At the end of the session, Mr. Ramanujam also did a demo on the Mantra meditation technique which all the audience participated and experienced it firsthand. Over 30 Emory Hospital medical professionals attended the session. Thanks to Mr.Sabari for coordinating with Emory team.

‘Body, Mind, and Soul’ Retreat in Tomball,TX

By the Master’s Divine Plan, more and more seeking souls continue to find the path of happiness through the Body, Mind and Soul Retreat. On February 24th 2018, the retreat was an extra special one as it was conducted by Sri Ramanujamji.

About 30 registrants assembled at the beautiful Burroughs Park in Tomball, TX and started the day on a silent walk for 1 hour led by Ravi ji. This was followed by Yoga – exercises for the Body and the Breath, conducted by Malathi ji. The group then gathered for Reality Retreat meditation guided by Sriram ji. Sri Ramanujam Ji then gave a key note group motivational talk on the greatness of meditation and silent walk. How being on a path is so vital, but observing and enjoying the walk regardless of the chaos around is such a fascinating take-away. The day ended with harmonious lunch supported by Yen ji.

Future retreats will be planned on a once in a quarter basis to continue to motivate all in the pursuit of happiness.

Body Mind and Soul Retreat in Houston

Love to Share Foundation America conducted its first of a kind -Body Mind and Soul retreat away from the maddening crowd in the serene ambience of Brazos Bend National State Park on Sunday, January 21, 2018.

The event started with an hour of silent walk introspecting on the inattentive nature of the mind, followed by an hour of yoga for physical well-being. This was followed by Reality Retreat – divine name meditation in the rustic surroundings of the amphitheater of the park. Harmonious lunch was served to all the attendees and the event ended with a reassuring discussion on mental health.

By the divine grace of Sri Swamiji – 57 registrants immersed themselves in the journey of happiness. Young children also enjoyed the natural park with fun events and games. Due to popular demand Love to Share Foundation America will be hosting another retreat in the presence of Sri Poornimaji within a few weeks, please stay tuned for further updates.

‘Effective Stress Management’ Workshop at Facebook Seattle

Ms.Poornima conducted a  “Effective Stress Management” workshop at Facebook, Seattle office on Wednesday, December 5th 2017 from 12pm to 2pm. A diverse group of Facebook engineers attended that session. Facebook members from Menlo Park, California office, joined remotely through video conferencing session.

‘Happiness at Work’ Workshop in Microsoft, Seattle

Ms.Poornima conducted a session on Happiness at work for women’s in Cloud and Enterprise Division Microsoft. 20+ diverse group of professionals at Microsoft attended the session on Friday, December 1st 2017 from 12pm to 2pm. The session was very interactive and was well received by the audience.

First “Life and Soul”Community Health Fair in Dallas

Service to mankind is service to god. Love to Share Foundation America is a non-profit organization that aims to serve the community through food drives, health fairs, schools supplies drive, workshops, etc. It organized its first “Life and Soul” – a free community health fair in Dallas, Texas on October 7, 2017. This fair has been happening in Houston for several years now and it made its debut in Dallas this year. The event started with a brief introduction about the vision and goals of the health fair by Lakshmi Senapathi. Chief guests Dr. S K Nair, a prominent Neurologist from the Dallas Fort-worth area and Mr.Pardeep Kohli from Pebble creek  Montessori then shared few words about the importance of service to the community and then formally kicked off the event by getting their vitals checked by the doctors. The team of doctors at the fair consisted of Dr. Radhika Kolli, Dr. Aarthi Ravi and Dr. Lekshmi Nair. They were assisted by nurses Viji Sankaran, Sabitha and Arthi Ranganathan. The health fair offered free blood pressure, sugar screening and free flu-shots for participants. The organization also offered free bike helmets to kids in order to promote safety. A random participant was chosen to receive a free glucometer. About 20 participants benefitted from the event and received information on leading a healthy lifestyle. Love to Share Foundation America thanks the owners of Pebble creek Montessori for letting us use their premises for the event. Special thanks to the team of doctors and nurses, as well as to all the volunteers who came and spent their Saturday morning volunteering at the health fair. We are looking forward to coming back next year.

Seventh Annual “Life and Soul” Community health fair in Houston, TX

The 7th annual “Life and Soul” Community health fair was held in the Houston area of USA on September 16, 2017. This free health fair was organized by Love to Share foundation America, Global Organization for Divinity USA’s sister organization that focuses on social service and community activities. The health fair offered many free health tests including Blood pressure, BMI, blood sugar, EKG,thyroid ultrasound, bone density, lung function, stroke screening,mammograms, vision and hearing screenings.Several local health organizations and service providers came together to offer these services. Over 300 people attended the health fair, including participants and volunteers.

‘Walk with a Doc’ event in Manvel

Love to Share Foundation America’s Body, Mind and Soul Initiative conducted its fourth Walk with a doc event in Manvel – Pearland area on Saturday June 10th 2017. 25 community members walked approximately 2 miles and Manvel City Secretary Tammy Bell and Pasadena Fire Chief Aaron Bell were special guests. Mr. Bell shared very useful information about fire safety in homes and the use of fire trucks during motor vehicle accidents with the walkers.

Our next walk with a doc will be on July 29th and the special guest will be Dr. Hema Salvady who will talk about Joint Health.

Body, Mind and Soul conducts free weekly walks, Yoga and Reality Retreat Meditation sessions at Namadwaar Houston  at 3642 Bailey Avenue, Manvel Texas 77578. Please contact us at 281 402 6585 for more details.

‘Walk with a Doc’ –Special Event in Houston

Body, Mind and Soul of Love to Share Foundation of America organized a physical activity called “Walk with a Doc” on Saturday March 25 2017 . The event was sponsored by Texas Medical Association, Prudential and various other Institutions. The objective was to keep a healthy Texans and program has to be lead by a Physician. The Honorable Mayor of Manvel Mrs Martin addressed the gathering and the Mayor also lead the Walk. About 40 people (Men, Woman and Children) participated and walked together for about 1.9 miles (3 KMs) in the Manvel and Pearland area.

Table Tennis Tournament in Seattle

The 4th annual Love to Share Foundation America and Pro Sports Club table tennis championships happened in the Greater Seattle area on Sunday, March 19th, 2017.  A total of 28 players participated to help raise money that would help fund various non-profit causes such as free medical services. For the first time, in addition to the adult’s division, there was a children’s division as well.  The adult participants were divided into four pools of players with round robin play within each pool. The top player from each pool moved to the gold division to play off for the 1st through 4th places while the second placed player in each pool progressed to the silver division to play off for the 5th through 8th places.  For the children’s division, there were two pools of players with the top two in each pool playing off for the 1st through 4th places.  The tournament lasted for a total of three hours hours and involved some very high quality talent including a former Maharashtra state champion.

LTSF Booth in Laura Ingalls Elementary School

About six miles from the Houston Namadwaar there is a public School by name Laura Ingalls Elementary School. The School has about 800  students. These Students’ Parents have origin in several countries around the world such as UK, Germany, Italy, France, India,Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria. The School has a tradition of observing one day in a year as International Day. This year on Thursday, January 19th 2017  the International Day was celebrated on January 19 2017. The Love to Share Foundation of America has put up a booth to highlight the various social and voluntary activities such as the annual free health fair, free Meditation, Yoga and Fitness program offered under the name “Body, Mind and Soul”. The Principal, Teachers and other Staff besides about two hundred visitors visited the booth and enthusiastically enquired about the Foundation and its activities.

‘Building Inner Strength’-Workshop for Students in Bay Area

MK Ramanujam (Ram) held a youth workshop on Jan 15, 2017 in San Ramon and it was attended by 25 middle and high school students as well as many of their parents.

The workshop encouraged students to first develop one’s inner strength by understanding one’s feelings and needs. Then to build close relationships with others by understanding their feelings, actions and needs. Relationship building will become particularly important as the student transitions into college and work environments.

Needs are expressed through feelings. Reading one’s feelings correctly is key to analyzing the underlying needs. Ram stressed the importance of distinguishing ‘wants’ from ‘needs’ in order to build inner mental strength and to empathize with others’ actions. The message to students was that more one is open to understanding and fulfilling others needs, more they will be willing to connect and reciprocate to fulfill one’s own needs.

Students were grouped in small teams and given an exercise to act out feelings for their teams to correctly guess them. To wrap things up, each team had a chance to share three things they learned from the workshop with the rest of us.

Many parents also attended the workshop and in the end were able to share their learnings with the students as well.