Best

John Shinavier aka Swami, Executive Director

Happy Holiday

John, Executive Director

Whether you get your news from newspapers, blogs or CNN there has been a lot of devastation in our world.  We view pictures of people in distress and it taps into that part of our brain which contains the primal responses of “Fight or Flight”.  It’s more mental now than actually physical which was more of what our ancestors had to deal with, but we still go through it day by day.  This causes us to react in the usual sort of ways like; over-medicating, shopping, or keeping CNN on all day.  These are not well thought out choices that successfully deal with levels of anxiety.

Over thirty years ago my beloved Guru, Ma,  taught me that whenever I felt overwhelmed, anxious or depressed, the one way to deal with those uncomfortable feelings was to help someone else out who was worse off than me.  Being the skeptic that I wrongly identified with back then, I had to be pushed and prodded until I was able to “get out of myself” that resulted in bringing myself back into balance.

I started doing service over thirty years ago with some reluctance, but it actually worked.  When you do this kind of activity on a regular basis it can become a great way to not only put your “stuff” in a proper prospective, but you begin seeing a better image of yourself through the eyes of those you serve.

I started “Under the Bridges and Under the Streets” in honor of that lesson learned at the feet of my Guru, Ma Jaya, in 1993.  Since then, our all volunteer foundation has served over a million people.  We make and deliver bagged lunches to those who live on the streets.

Serving another takes one out of his or her isolation and connects them to a much bigger picture that is good.  Try it!

Sincerely

John Shinavier

aka Swami Laxman Das

Executive Director of “Under the Bridges and on the Streets.”

Super good news!  Under The Bridges is in the running to win $500.00 from the good folks at GOOD via their GOOD Maker campaign.

It’s a competition and the only way we can win is to have the most votes!  Will you click the link below and vote for Under The Bridges?

Then, share it with your friends so they can vote for us too! Only 10 days left to vote!

Thank you in advance!  We can feed a lot of homeless people with that money so please take a moment and help us.

Vote for us by clicking the link below!

http://goodhand.maker.good.is/projects/UnderTheBridges

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us!

Have a great week.

Best

John Shinavier/Executive Director

“Under The Bridges and on the Streets”, has been nominated for a “Classy Award”.  Please go to the following link to vote.

 http://www.stayclassy.org/stories/food-delivery-service-under-our-freeways

This came to me today as I removed my AIDs ribbon to throw a shirt into the wash.  I had been volunteering back in the late 80′s and early 90′s at USC County Hospital.  At the time the group “Act Up” was in full strength, and had secured one of the sections of the hospital for those with HIV and AIDS.  The rooms were cleaner, and the staff more empathetic and educated about the virus.  As a steady volunteer I would go to that floor and spend a couple of hours talking, comforting, doing what I could for the person in bed who in those days would possibly be dead soon.  One boy I met there was from a small village in Mexico.  He was 16 yrs old and had been thrown out of his village when his family discovered that he was gay.  He had made it to S. California, and did the only thing that boys of that age could do to survive, he sold his body to any car that would stop on Santa Monica Blvd.  His name was Manuel and he was all alone.  A friend had come accompanied me to see if doing this kind of service would work for him.  When I told him the boys story and he saw him, he immediately left the room and was sobbing in the hall.  I asked Manuel if there was anything that he wanted?  He paused, and shook his tousled head.  I asked him again telling him that in doing so, he was helping someone else do service. He smiled and then requested a C.D. player (portable) and some music.  I answered in the affirmative before I thought of how I was going to do this.  I did visit over forty clients there.  I held his hand for some time and just listened to him.  When I left his room, my friend was hysterical and embarrassed that he had left the room.  He asked me what the boy needed?  You know the rest of this story.  When doing service truly from your heart, your presence is very bright and in tune to the Universe.  While you are in this bubble, all things are possible.  Don’t hesitate.  Don’t think.  Just say “yes”, and in my experience that person that your helping will always receive what they need.

Laxman Das Jaya aka The Cookie Man

John aka Swami , Executive Director

A family of 6 lives under one of our freeways bothering nobody, yet when we go back there again, there will probably be a large burn spot against the cement meaning the Cops told them to move. Director of “Under the Bridges.”