Sharing Our Values
for a Better World Project

What are Your Values and How Will You Share Them?

Few people today take the time to reflect on their values and to clarify within themselves what they care about most. Our values are what we share at every moment though our attitudes, behavior and relationships. Our values motivate our every action. There is a universally recognized hierarchy of values which moves from the lower material values to the higher spiritual values.

In most countries, the majority of people and communities are now largely influenced by material things, thus creating cultures of accumulation, possessiveness, selfishness and ultimately greed. It is these values which effectively stifle the higher order values such as peace, love, care, selflessness and generosity. These higher values are also the inherent qualities of the human spirit.

The State of the World Reflects the State of Our Values

While acknowledging that the many situations of conflict, exploitation, poverty and stress in the world require practical and sustainable resp9onses, the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University recognizes that the root cause of each of these situations lies in the values held by individuals and communities. In this context and with this perception, the Barhma Kuamris uninitiated the Sharing Our Values for a Better World (SVBW) project on September 24, 1994, in preparation for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations.

The Aims

Adopting as its central focus the tenant in the Preamble of the United Nations Charter, “To reaffirm faith in the fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person . . .” The SVBW project aims to:

• Raise awareness of the existence of higher order values as spiritual qualities inherent within the individual regardless of political, economic, cultural, professional or ethnic background;

• Create a safe and enabling environment for individuals to explore and express these spiritual values individually and collectively;

• Offer specific self-development and self-management methods, techniques and groups dynamics which can be used to revive and strengthen spiritual values within the individual;

• Increase awareness of the value of self-development undertaken by each person individually and people collectively, as a contribution to a better quality of life.

Preparation and Implementations

Values at he Heart of the Project:

Respect – Tolerance – Honesty – Cooperation – Humility – Love – Responsibility – Unity – Freedom – Simplicity – Happiness – Peace.

Activities centered around one of these values each month has provide a year’s preparation before the final month beginning September 25, 1995. Activities will then focus on the twelve values to form a worldwide outreach until October 26 1995.

Living Values – A Guidebook

Living Values: A Guidebook, was specially prepared to assist in the implementation of the Sharing Our Values for a Better World project. The guidebook consists of statements of the above 12 values. It also offered a variety of methodologies to help facilitate processes which allowed for a deeper understanding and practical application of each of the values, while acknowledging the richly diverse interpretations and expression of each values.

Activities include dialogues, seminars, workshops, lectures and other innovative initiatives to encourage active participation in school, family, community, professional and international context.