“7 Billion Acts of Goodness: Returning to Who We Are”, is an initiative designed to exponentially increase expressions of benevolence in the world. It is a movement based on the spiritual truth that goodness is innate, and that by cultivating a spiritual awareness of the self, we can tap into this inherent goodness in a way that makes us capable of generating unlimited acts of goodness. Our goal is to embark on a journey together to re-discover this truth and create a global culture of care and compassion.
This initiative has been inspired by the body of knowledge taught by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization
Goodness = benevolence, which is literally good will. We develop our capacity of good will through expressing good wishes towards ourselves and others; as much as possible. And the first and foremost good wish is one we have for the self, one that acknowledges our true identity – that I am a spiritual being. An Act of Goodness (AOG) does not have to be a heroic act. A simple shift in our awareness above and beyond the limited perspectives can transform an ordinary act into one that can uplift and inspire others to perform good deeds.
This initiative gives us access to our innate goodness in a way that is sustainable and independent of what is going on around us. As we face increasing turmoil and uncertainty in the world, maintaining a cool head and an open heart is becoming more and more challenging. This is about meeting the overwhelming stress, sorrow and violence with an exponential, ripple effect of care and compassion. People are aware of what a good act is, are already acting with love and kindness, and would ultimately like all their actions to be good. But without the strength that comes from a foundation of spirituality, their actions can be colored by dependencies, attachments, desires and expectations, leading to frustration, resentment, being overwhelmed and complete burn out! And usually the ones who are caring for others consistently neglect themselves. They are looking for guidance. They need spiritual power. And we need to be the examples.
7 billion serves to underscore the fact that, ultimately, it isn’t about numbers or even about performing 7 billion acts, but rather, how spirituality makes us capable of expressing goodness so that it touches 7 billion souls. That, as spiritual beings, we have the capacity to positively impact countless others with the quality of energy and vibrations we generate by holding a spiritual awareness of ourselves.
AOG uses an inside-out approach, which recognizes that what we do is important, but how we do it is essential. To support this approach, we will be inviting people to reconnect with their inner goodness, using three access points: Awareness, Attitude and Action.
Awareness: A state of being aware of and experiencing, that “I” am intrinsically good. It all starts and ends here. What if one AOG could automatically generate countless others? By changing our awareness to a spiritual one that goes far beyond race, gender, age, language, culture, religion, etc., we are tapping into an unlimited potential to instantly transform and elevate our attitude, vision, thoughts, words and actions.
Attitude: It is a state of mind resulting from the awareness of the self we are holding, which determines our thoughts, feelings and perceptions about everyone and everything. Holding an attitude of unconditional and benevolent feelings allows us to experience goodness in everything we do.
Action: Includes any form of expression; from the physical actions we perform through our bodies, to more subtle ones, like the way we see each other, or the thoughts we have. When we comfort or give happiness to someone, it bounces back and fills us with internal happiness. Good actions make us feel good about ourselves, and an elevated awareness and attitude ensures that the impact of those actions is good.
