15 Feb Love in Action: The Joy of Giving Back

An Interview with Turiya Hanover, co-Founder of Path Retreats

Turiya Hanover, co-founder of Path Retreats and Working with People Trainings, has been leading life-changing personal development workshops since 1973.  In the past 40 years of leading workshops, her work has evolved into an East-West approach which bridges western tools of psychological understanding with eastern methods of meditation and transcendence. Turiya’s work is internationally recognized, and she offers her transformational workshops and trainings worldwide.

Turiya, why did you and Rafia decide to start Love in Action at this time?

Love in Action really started for us last year, when Rafia, Talib and Shubhaa were on the beach with a group of people after Path of Love in Brazil.  They saw how much garbage was on the beach and Rafia suggested they work together to clean it up. And they did…and this action (in love!) really brought the idea into reality.

We have been thinking about Love in Action since then, as part of a step-by-step process for people doing the Path Retreats work. The first step is Path of Love, where you really discover who you are. You find yourself, and your truth.  The second step is Walking the Path, where you learn how to integrate those discoveries into your life. And then there is the next step, where you give to others. And this is Love in Action.

We feel it is a natural progression of this work to give something back and to offer something to humanity. Most people only take outer action and they forget about transforming themselves, but real change begins inside each one of us. In Path of Love we take people through a deep process of inner transformation…and once that has begun, the next step is to reflect that transformation into the world and do something that will make a difference.

Outer action can be on any scale…bringing up your children in a very loving way, coordinating a small cleanup effort in a community, or planting trees in the garden. If you do it consciously, that is Love in Action…finding some way to give back and create something that will bring what you have to the world.

It feels like a natural consequence of living your truth, to step out and create an action that will show your love in an outward way, not only in an inward way.

So that’s how the Love in Action got created. And I am so happy about it. I love giving something, it always makes me so happy to really give something from my heart, whatever that is.

What is your vision for Love in Action? 

My vision is that in all Path of Love regions, and even places we don’t yet offer Path of Love, that we create Love in Action projects. Actions can be small or large, with individuals or groups, where people come together and just decide, let’s do something. Let’s just see what we can do.

Many, many different possibilities are there.

I would love for there to be small communities in every area where people come together for projects…not because they have to, or because it is a duty…but because they love to. Something that comes from the heart and that they really enjoy.  Some action that is meaningful for them, and for another person or group of people.

Your first Love in Action project will be a Path of Love in Croatia, from March 20 – 27, 2018 for people of ex-Yugoslavia.  Why did you choose this as your first project?

We wanted to do it, to create a Love in Action Path of Love for the people in this region.  And we had two beautiful friends and committed seekers from this area who passed away, Toni and Žana, and this Path of Love is in a way honoring them. Toni worked together with an amazing, dedicated group in Croatia for many, many, years, and Žana had been building the Path of Love in Serbia in her own devoted way.  It just felt it was the right moment.

And we said, we want Love in Action projects to happen all over the world, so let’s start with ourselves.  None of us will be paid for the work, and we will all pay our own travel and everything.  We will just lovingly, happily do it for that field, and I am very, very happy to do that. It is going to be a big group, with many facilitators and close to 50 participants. And so many people wanted to come for volunteer staffing, it was also wonderful to see, as they all pay their own food, accommodation and travel just to be there and help support the participants.

People love to give, it is a wonderful feeling when you are switched on.  Giving is just a joy. It’s just a particular joy.

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