By Madhavi dasi

Radha Govinda Mandir in Venice, California is growing and changing daily through the service and dedication of the wonderful devotees in the temple and surrounding community. They are working hard and inspiring each other and the inspiration is spreading through to all of us. The programs have been more and more successful each time. More participation, smiling, chanting and general appreciation has been going around. Hope is returning that indeed the temple project and Gurudevaâ€™s preaching mission in LA is possible. Financial difficulties are dissolving and more and more support is emerging. Classes are held multiple times a day, Sunday programs are regular, festival days are breathtaking, the temple room is glowing, the building is clean, the programs are timely and organized, and everyone is participating more and more.

How did this complete change come about, you may ask? It is an important thing to identify, what is working? Then it can consciously continue and be reproduced. The main difference in the approach this time around was the request from the leadership to the full community for help. Upon this invitation we decided that it was important to have training and development as a part of the ongoing support of this great project. As it has been recognized that though there is a high financial responsibility with the building it has always been the â€˜people problemsâ€™ that has gotten in the way of the success, one way or another.

The amazing thing about people is that we almost all mean well, though misguided at times. At the foundation of our training is this belief. We have met up for a couple of community teambuilding days and several more days with the devotees involved with the temple on a regular basis. In these trainings we created the space for all to identify the strengths of each other, offered tools for better understanding and communication, and opportunities for all to shift their perception of the situation. We use an experiential format which is very interactive and offers opportunity for participants to learn through action. The activities are neutral but how we play is how we do life or how we do anything is how we do everything! Therefore activity followed by reflection offers a very tangible way to see what is working and what isnâ€™t.

Here are some interesting statistics for experiential learning.

The average adult retains:

10% of what he/she reads

20% of what he/she hears

30% of what he/she sees

50% of what he/she hears & sees

70% of what he/she says

90% of what he/she says & does

We create a safe space by using some guidelines of participation, such as people not advising each other, the use of â€˜Iâ€™ statements, and not getting into the â€˜storyâ€™ (the negative past experiences). This has whittled down our group to those who are showing up to really do the work. People who arenâ€™t ready to take action find that this type of training is not for them; nonetheless those dedicated are leading the way and through their influence the mood of the temple is changing. There is a growing atmosphere of appreciation, support and willingness to cooperate. Devotees are getting to know each other at a deeper level and love and respect is emerging.

One very important thing to know is that there are no quick fixes it takes commitment. The sanga in La is taking it seriously and we are inspired to continue as a learning organization â€“ open, growing and adapting with all that comes our way!