President Grant opened the meeting with the announcement that this is ‘Rotary Year of Youth Services’. Even though most services have gone “virtual”, including upcoming RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership) there continue to be lots of activities. Sadly there have been no student exchanges this year.President Grant also wished everyone a Happy Mother’s Day weekend.
In personal news: Madhu is studying Rotary Peace Programs and Mary is soon retiring from her long career in Real Estate. And Ken and his wife are heading back to their summer home in Ottawa but he will continue to attend via Zoom. Bon Voyage!
Don’t forget to register for the June 04 District Conference. 4 of our members are already signed up.
SPEAKER:
Our Speaker today was Marnie Watson, a City Planner who is currently doing Intuitive Coaching. She also happens to be our member, Jean’s, daughter.
We were delighted to find that Marnie chose to take the club through a short meditation exercise. It was calming and invigorating at the same time. She stressed that finding the quiet, loving voice inside you is helpful. And she reminded us that our negative thoughts do not necessarily represent the truth; especially when we are self-critical. Her words of wisdom were these: if you are kind and compassionate to yourself you can be the same to others.
CLUB ASSEMBLY
President Grant gave us the results of the club survey which indicated that Literacy, the Environment, Poverty and Homelessness, Indigenous needs, and the drug crisis were all noted by members as areas of focus.
Our projects and activities will mirror the top items in this list and our theme will be Literacy & Environment (including environmental literacy). Indigenous literacy will fall into this category with the potential “Write to Read” initiative.
And our speaker co-ordinator will look for someone to enlighten us on the drug crisis. Naturally, our bursary and scholarship work will continue to serve students.
Regarding Write to Read: Hans is researching a potential connection with the Steveston Rotary Foundation as a partner. He also emphasized the potentially greater need for library services in small and isolated indigenous communities outside of the lower mainland. Madhu, our indigenous liaison, concurred, suggesting that in this instance, our hands-on involvement might not be as critical as getting such services established in areas of greatest need.
Grant emphasized that we should not be held back on other ideas, but instead create small action groups and plans to which sub-groups can contribute time and labour. In COVID times this might be helpful. A good example is the Sock Project which Ron spearheaded and completed almost single-handedly with his partner’s help.
Dianna, chair of the Projects Committee, reported that the Hoop-a-thon for scholarships and bursaries raised over $40,000 in its second virtual year. Kevin was our club’s “shooter” and did very well. Dianna will follow up on last year’s student scholarship winner and report back.
Dianna was also instrumental in securing a location for our up-coming shred-a-thon in July at the Church parking lot which hosts the Christmas tree sales. There was a short discussion about a minimum payment and use of social media to spread the word.
In closing Hans, our Membership Chair, reminded people to invite friends and potential members to our Zoom meetings.
Reminder: Project Committee meeting at 12:30 Friday May 16 on Zoom. Be there!!
SPEAKER
Our guest speaker was ably introduced by Jean, who was amply qualified to introduce Marnie Watson; by chance she happens to be the Marnie’s mother. The subject of the presentation was Intuitive Coaching, a phrase which which although it does not trip lightly off the tongue, evidently involves the search within its adherents for one’s personal intuitive voice, which we all apparently possess … though many of us have long since lost the necessary calmness of purpose and have given ourselves over to the rubric “I don’t want to put myself out there!” The symptom is often expressed as a reluctance to express an opinion when, in reality, one would be well served by doing so. The source of that unknown aptitude is the appropriate decision to overcome this emotion by the active use of the techniques of meditation (which Marnie limned as a ‘foundational truth’, one that we should all practice by the appropriate distillation of our thought processes).
In the past, Marnie indicated, she thought little of the techniques and foundations of meditation. She cited a particular experience of her own when she attended a meeting in an abnormally chilly room, and because she had forgotten to bring a sweater, started to think of herself as an ‘idiot’ for having forgotten to bring the garment. In the result, she began to mentally beat-up on herself, only later realizing that other things and events of that same day counter-balanced the negativity induced merely by the simple forgetfulness in failing merely to bring a sweater: this was an experience in re-balancing, which she ascribed to the act of bringing ‘love and compassion’ to oneself in moments of need by the active use of meditation.
Urging us to "give mediation a try”, Marnie suggested a brief excursion into the experience by “getting comfortable, closing one’s eyes to the world around you, expressing ‘I am loved' to oneself, and concentration upon slow and steady breathing". These moments of practice evidently had an effect on the group: Mary expressed a thought that we were collectively about to drift into a state of hypnosis. The talk was well received, apparently especially by Jean herself, who stated that some of the subject-matter quite novel to her!
In the past, Marnie indicated, she thought little of the techniques and foundations of meditation. She cited a particular experience of her own when she attended a meeting in an abnormally chilly room, and because she had forgotten to bring a sweater, started to think of herself as an ‘idiot’ for having forgotten to bring the garment. In the result, she began to mentally beat-up on herself, only later realizing that other things and events of that same day counter-balanced the negativity induced merely by the simple forgetfulness in failing merely to bring a sweater: this was an experience in re-balancing, which she ascribed to the act of bringing ‘love and compassion’ to oneself in moments of need by the active use of meditation.
Urging us to "give mediation a try”, Marnie suggested a brief excursion into the experience by “getting comfortable, closing one’s eyes to the world around you, expressing ‘I am loved' to oneself, and concentration upon slow and steady breathing". These moments of practice evidently had an effect on the group: Mary expressed a thought that we were collectively about to drift into a state of hypnosis. The talk was well received, apparently especially by Jean herself, who stated that some of the subject-matter quite novel to her!