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The month of September started with our weekly Sunday conversation on twitter discussing the nature of play, and how playfulness influences our spiritual health. The consensus of the community seemed to be that we don’t nearly play enough as adults (as compared to children), and that if we incorporated more of this sense of play into our daily lives, we would be much better of in all areas of our lives.

The role of Service was our topic of discussion on the second Sunday of September. The concept of “service before self” was explored and we examined whether this is a realizable ideal or not in today’s fast-pace world. One theme that emerged during this chat was that we have to make service to others a priority in our lives – and that the lack of doing this can stunt our spiritual growth.

The third Sunday in September was a discussion on one of my favorite topics – the nature of the Mind. The mind can be our best friend and yet, when unrestrained (like the loose reins of a chariot), it can be lead us astray in response to the inputs from our senses. Several concepts like discretion, discrimination and intellect were brought forward during this particular chat, and will be explored in future discussions.

Inner Peace was our topic for the fourth Sunday of September – perhaps a natural follow-on to the discussion on the nature of the mind. Some questions that were explored during this chat were – where does inner peace come from? what disturbs it? what techniques can we use to maintain inner peace, and so on. A theme that emerged from this chat was that inner and outer peace are deeply interconnected, and that our inner peace impacts our families and communities deeply.

This brings us to the final Sunday of September. As has become tradition, we will try and find the common thread among the topics of the past month, and look forward to the next month of October. I invite you to join the #SpiritChat community on Sunday September 30th at 9am ET / 2pm UK / 6:30 India as we continue our journey on twitter.

I hope you will join us,

Kumud

Update: Here is the html Transcript for the chat. Here is the pdf version for download. Also see the questions asked during the live chat held Sep 30th 2012 at 9am ET. Feel free to answer in the comments or tweet with hashtag #spiritchat to share your answers with the community.

Q1. Let's begin with play. What are a few, NEW playful things you did in September? #SpiritChat

Q2. Spiritual growth is serious work. Not much room for play. Agree or disagree? Why?  #SpiritChat

Q3. What is it about trying NEW, creative play that lights up our spirit? #SpiritChat 

Q4. Service before Self. Who did you observe practice this recently? Please share. #SpiritChat 

Q5. What changes occur in our minds when we engage in service to others? #SpiritChat

Q6. What are some occasions when your mind feels most at rest? During play? During Service? #SpiritChat

Q7. How does the state of your mind affect you inner peace? #SpiritChat 

Q8. What three lessons will you take from September into October? #SpiritChat