Greetings,
This episode came into being through an act of kindness extended towards Yulya. A small pebble that has been making big waves.
Kindness seems so simple that we don’t give it a lot of attention, as opposed to the seemingly stronger emotions of love, fear, and anger.
Yet, when we experience true kindness, which Irina described during the episode as a special frequency and an energy rather than something that can be given a verbal definition, something deep at the core drops and relaxes in us. And when we are able to extend kindness towards ourselves, it can become a transformative experience.
As we flow with kindness, more questions knock at our awareness. Why is kindness often met with resistance? Is true selflessness possible? And is it even a fixed condition for giving and receiving kindness?
Join us in this exploration.
Some things that have been said:
Irina:
“Kindness itself is just a certain type of vibration of the energy, and it’s a totally different matter how we connect to it — from the giving side and from the receiving side. How we give and receive kindness is always shaped by social structures, by our personalities, by how we build a relationship with the world.”
“The real connection to this frequency of kindness starts not with selfless acts, but with kindness towards oneself.”
“To be transparent about my intentions, first I need to be aware of my intentions. And the majority of people have no idea why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
“Why can’t we just do acts of kindness and receive acts of kindness and perceive it as just expanding these acts of kindness to the world?”
“The whole conversation had a very different feel to it — more tranquility, more tenderness. Maybe it’s because there was this energy in the room.”
Yulya
“I see that I’m receiving kindness every day from plants or trees… it’s maybe just about adding some kindness into this big pot where it creates some charge.”
“Maybe kindness paid us a visit. And we touched it, and it touched us.”
“Receiving kindness is beautiful. I just accept. I receive.”
“I wonder what it is about kindness that is so important, but at the same time, what is it about kindness that makes us turn away from it?”
“That act of kindness struck me with its non-attachment. It was an offer extended with open hands, not a closed fist. That openness made it very fluid and light — it was easy to take or not to take.”
Polina
“For kindness to be kindness, it has to be given freely and without an expectation of getting something back.”
“Kindness is sold to us as if it’s not selfish, but I think in practice often there is a take — in different ways, on different levels.”
“When I broke through the burden into the privilege of it, it became really an act of love — and kindness became more accessible, towards him but also towards me.”
“What if selfishness is the best thing you can do? If I know you’re selfish, I know that whatever you do is for your own benefit. Maybe there’s freedom in that.”
“We really allowed the frequency of kindness to be part of the fabric of this conversation today.”
In Flow,
Irina, Polina and Yulia
We cherish your presence, and joining us in flowing.
These conversations are open explorations, that become richer with time and participation of others. We’d love to hear if anything touched you.
📍Chapters
00:00 — Intro
01:15 — Welcome: Exploring Kindness
07:50 — The Kindness Soup: Words and Associations
13:05 — What Is Kindness?
20:30 — Kindness as a Frequency
24:41 — Selfless or Selfish Kindness?
27:06 — A Man and a Mouse: Act or Imprint?
35:04 — The Dance of Giving and Receiving
42:44 — What Do You Have to Give in Return?
49:10 — Reciprocity and Paying It Forward
52:57 — Inuit Wisdom: “Gifts Make Slaves”
01:01:44 — Kindness Begins with Self-Kindness
01:06:33 — Learning Kindness from the More-Than-Human World
01:12:34 — What Drives Selfless Acts?
01:17:00 — Practicing Non-Reciprocity
01:21:43 — Transparency in Giving
01:25:48 — Closing Reflections
01:39:55 — Outro
Follow us on the Major Podcasting Platforms here:
Find us here:
💌 Resources used under Creative Commons license:
Music “Echolocation” by airtone, source: CcMixter
