When you think of 'homemade' what comes to mind? Making the Christmas decorations you saw on Blue Peter? Or the rich smells and tastes as you helped prepare the fruit cake and mince pies for festive family gatherings? Just as we feel so good when we remember our homemade creations, can we just as lovingly learn to craft our inner happiness and not depend on external things to bring that warm inner glow? In this evening's talk, Yogesh Sharda will explore our tendency to outsource our happiness (and unhappiness!) and share how happiness, like our homemade things, is actually in our hands! A student and teacher of Raja Yoga meditation for over 40 years, Yogesh has been a Personal Development trainer and workshop facilitator for over 20 years. He has presented seminars, workshops and courses for businesses, hospitals, universities, youth organisations and local community groups throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia, the USA, and Central and South America. Currently based in Istanbul, Yogesh coordinates the activities of the Brahma Kumaris in Turkey.

Developing flexibility and strength are essential ingredients in the training of gymnasts and dancers. However, increased flexibility without a corresponding increase in strength can result in injury. In the fitness world, both have to be balanced to maintain posture, efficacy and health. In this talk, our speaker will explore how we can understand and develop these same attributes to meet our everyday challenges. Judi Rich works as a graphic designer and fitness instructor. She also coordinates the activities of the Brahma Kumaris in Calgary which is her hometown. Though the intensity and activity of fitness and the stillness and silence of contemplation may seem incompatible, Judi has found that the opposite is true...that they actually enhance each other and create a sense of well-being.

How can we bring the light into our world and keep our inner light shining? Candle lighting, dance, wisdom, and insights with Sister Jaymini in conversation with Loveena Tandon - Foreign Correspondent, Speaker, and Presenter for the India Today Group in London. Loveena Tandon is one of India’s most respected journalists, an award-winning producer-director, and a documentary film maker. With more than twenty years of experience reporting, presenting and programming for TV channels including the BBC and for leading Indian TV brands. Loveena is Foreign Correspondent for the India Today Group in London. She broadcasts currently for Aaj Tak and for Headlines Today, the largest news networks in India, in both Hindi and English. She has also hosted more than two hundred editions of her weekly Chai Chat with Loveena show, debating and discussing hot economic, cultural and political topics of the day with a panel of guests. The show is a particularly big hit on the diaspora channels in the United Kingdom. Sister Jaymini has been a student, teacher and an experienced meditator with the Brahma Kumaris for the past 40 year. She is the main co-ordinator for community outreach in the UK and the facilitator of activities in the Midlands was well as London. Sister Jaymini is a tireless and dedicated worker who is often described as a catalyst in whose presence things begin to happen and the impossible truly becomes possible. She is the Director of Brahma Kumaris Publications in London, as well as the representative of the Brahma Kumaris on the Diwali in London committee which is composed of twelve Hindu organisations based in London UK.

How can we bring the light into our world and keep our inner light shining? Candle lighting, dance, wisdom, and insights with Sister Jaymini in conversation with Loveena Tandon - Foreign Correspondent, Speaker, and Presenter for the India Today Group in London. Loveena Tandon is one of India’s most respected journalists, an award-winning producer-director, and a documentary film maker. With more than twenty years of experience reporting, presenting and programming for TV channels including the BBC and for leading Indian TV brands. Loveena is Foreign Correspondent for the India Today Group in London. She broadcasts currently for Aaj Tak and for Headlines Today, the largest news networks in India, in both Hindi and English. She has also hosted more than two hundred editions of her weekly Chai Chat with Loveena show, debating and discussing hot economic, cultural and political topics of the day with a panel of guests. The show is a particularly big hit on the diaspora channels in the United Kingdom. Sister Jaymini has been a student, teacher and an experienced meditator with the Brahma Kumaris for the past 40 year. She is the main co-ordinator for community outreach in the UK and the facilitator of activities in the Midlands was well as London. Sister Jaymini is a tireless and dedicated worker who is often described as a catalyst in whose presence things begin to happen and the impossible truly becomes possible. She is the Director of Brahma Kumaris Publications in London, as well as the representative of the Brahma Kumaris on the Diwali in London committee which is composed of twelve Hindu organisations based in London UK.

Celebrating World Kindness Day My religion is kindness - Dalai Lama Kindness is contagious and, as scientific research confirms, it brings the giver, the receiver and even an observer the gifts of health and happiness. Every religion and faith teaches its followers to be kind and even nature has its own way of showing kindness. So what are the elements that make up kindness, where does it spring from, and are we sometimes just too busy to be kind? Speaker: Valériane Bernard was born, lived and studied in Paris. From a young age Valériane foresaw that only genuine personal engagement between people could create a quality of life in the human family. This insight led her to an active spiritual life from the age of 25 committing to peace through meditation and creating tools of awareness to advance the condition of women, promote fair relationships with our environment, resolve workplace disharmony and through interfaith gatherings within the community, broaden cultural understanding. Valériane has made her home in six countries and is fluent in four languages. Currently living near the France-Switzerland border, she continues to build bridges of understanding between cultures as the Brahma Kumaris’ representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

Often, we only begin to live when we are faced with life-changing illnesses or dying. Yet this transition can also be riddled with unmanageable fears that may never come to pass. Valuable time and energy is spent as we approach this uncharted territory with concern. Join Dr Raksha Balbadhur, who has had the honour to personally journey with and learn from so many as she shares her personal insights on this topic. Dr Raksha Balbadhur is a Medical Doctor who has specialised in palliative medicine for over twenty years. She holds a masters degree in ‘The Dignity Experience of Patients with Advanced Disease’ and is a board member of local and national palliative medicine bodies. Raksha’s main aim is to bring meaning and peace to the lives of her patients at the most challenging time of their lives. She is also a student and teacher of Raja Yoga meditation.

Get up, go to work, go home, go to bed, get up, go to work… Are you living life on repeat? Doing what’s easy, what’s familiar? Or are you living the life you want? Doing what you love, doing what really matters to you? Live your life with purpose and it’ll give you direction and focus, and make life more meaningful and joyful. Well, it’s a nice concept, but is it realistic, is it a myth? What if you don’t have the opportunity to find and follow your purpose? Join us for strategies on how to live more purposefully and make your life matter. Gabrielle Martin leads the Service Programs Department of the Brahma Kumaris in Australia. She is based at the BK retreat centre in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales and regularly facilitates retreats on a variety of self-empowerment topics and meditation. Gabrielle also works as a Strategic Planner in social development and enjoys the practical benefits of incorporating the subtle art of meditation into these contexts.

Being a responsible person is usually a good thing – indeed others often see you as a committed, dependable and trustworthy type who can always be relied upon. But how can we tell when the scales tip to being over responsible? What might be the practical signs that we are compulsively taking on more than our fair share? How do we go about rightsizing an inflated sense of responsibility so that we can restore balance and harmony to our lives? Valerie Bowker has been practising Raja Yoga meditation for over 20 years. She has a background in education and is currently co-ordinating activities at the Brahma Kumaris centre in Leeds. Valerie is a warm and engaging presenter with a deep interest in personal development and communication.

A special event for World Values Day Our speakers focus on the plight of refugees, who urgently need our support now. Each is an inspiring example of what can be achieved when we are motivated by the value of love. Charles Fowler chairs the Human Values Foundation, which uses positive values to promote young people’s social and emotional development, helps run the UK Values Alliance, and is project partner of the Collaborating Centre for Values-based Practice for Health and Social Care at Oxford University. He is the Coordinator of World Values Day. Gulwali Passarlay is the author of the best-selling book ‘The Lightless Sky - A Twelve-Year-Old Refugee’s Harrowing Escape from Afghanistan and His Extraordinary Journey Across Half The World. An award-winning activist and campaigner, Co-Founder of My Bright Kite CIC and member of Afghan Refugee Expert Network in Europe (ARENE), Gulwali is a passionate advocate, humanitarian, and spokesperson for refugees and asylum seekers across the UK and Europe. Georgeanne Lamont has worked for many years as an organisational facilitator, mindfulness teacher and mentor introducing spiritual and global awareness and values into education, businesses and public services. She is the founder of the Values and Visions Project and co-founder of The Values and Visions Foundation, author of The Spirited Business and co-author of Values and Visions and Values and Visions – Engaging students, energising teachers. Georgina Long is the UK Interfaith Co-ordinator for the Brahma Kumaris working with the different faith traditions at a local and national level. In this capacity, she leads on the City of Sanctuary Award (faith stream) working with refugees and refugee organizations in the UK. A wise and compassionate person, she has worked as an education coordinator in a top security prison and a volunteer trainer in a hospice. John McConnel is a stress management trainer and former prison governor and social worker. He has been studying and teaching Raja Yoga meditation with the Brahma Kumaris for over 30 years. John has a strong interest in the practical application of spiritual principles and insights in daily life. He is the author of Breaking Through The Darkness: how to defeat depression, anxiety and stress - a spiritual perspective.

Recognising World Mental Health Day Life today is stimulating to live through for some, but can bring anxiety and stress for others. So often people don’t know how or where to go to access support when such situations arise. Challenges can feel insurmountable, especially if a person is also experiencing mental health issues. Time and space are crucial to recovery, but are there some particular mental attitudes and practices that can really help? Acceptance is a crucial factor in recovery for many people. Join our panel for a three way conversation, on managing mental health against a background of spiritual practice. Dr Kala Mistry, who has been practising Raja Yoga meditation and working in mental health since 1992, will be exploring some perspectives and solutions with Meena Haeems, a mother, sharing from her own life and work experience and Elaine Horne, a retired mental health nurse and psychotherapist.

With constant news of violence across the borders and the dining tables of the world, it’s easy to despair of the human condition. It can also be easy to see the violence of others, but not the micro aggressions in our own thoughts, words and actions. With emerging proof of the spiritual web which connects us all energetically, the advice of Gandhi to be the change we want to see, has never been clearer or more pertinent, that In every moment by choosing peace, we are creating a world of peace, within and ultimately without. Speaker: Ash Patel Ash is a practitioner of Raja Yoga meditation and its teachings having realised the transformative power of meditation and the impact of good wishes. With compassion and heartfulness, he continues to learn and actively integrates these teachings into all aspects of his life, to bring about meaningful and practical changes.

A roadmap is a useful guide on a journey, if you know how to read it. But a wise navigator is alert to unexpected detours and obstacles but also to new, maybe surprising possibilities. So what kind of compass or guide do we need and what should we carry with us so that our relationships can become harmonious and enriching? Speaker: Erik Larson Based in New York, Erik has been involved with the Brahma Kumaris for over 35 years. With a background in Civil Engineering and experience in property loss control for over 30 years, he blends the very practical with the very spiritual to achieve a common-sense way to look at life and to help others. Erik is a Director of the Brahma Kumaris (USA) and also BK representative to the United Nations. He is a member of the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief and a member of the Committee of Religious NGOs. Erik is also a founding member on the Board of Directors of the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum.