Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Discovering My Own Values

You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself. — Alan Alda

~~~~ Inspiration of the Day: “For most of my life, I believe I inherited my values from my context. Working at Facebook, efficiency and leverage became important to me, along with openness, connectedness, impact. These were the things that kept me up at night. What should’ve kept me up was my dad’s cancer. He’d been diagnosed sometime while I was in college, but I’d mostly pretended he hadn’t because that was easier. I assumed he’d just get better. But then one day, during my Facebook years, he got worse. X-years-to-live type of thing. I was tempted to push the news aside again and go back to helping democratize the world’s information (also known as processing my email) when something inside me flipped, snapped, woke up, sang out. I saw suddenly that I was living on autopilot.” Leah Perlman, co-author of Facebook for Dummies, shares a heartfelt deep-dive about uncovering her own values.
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~~~~ Be The Change: What are your own values — explore the question with a friend.

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InnerNet Weekly: Stand In the Tragic Gap

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Stand In the Tragic Gap by Parker Palmer [Listen to Audio!] The bad news is that violence is found at every level of our lives. The good news is that we can choose nonviolence at every level as well. But what does it mean, in specifics, to act nonviolently? The answer depends on the situation, of course, and a thousand situations might yield a thousand answers. Yet running through all of these answers we will find a single "habit of the heart": to be in the world nonviolently means learning to hold the tension of opposites, trusting that the tension itself will pull our hearts and minds open to a third way of thinking and acting. In particular, we must learn to hold the tension between the reality of the moment and the possibility that something better might emerge. In a business meeting, for example, I mean the tension between the fact that we are deadlocked about what to do and the possibility that we might find a solution superior to any of those on the table. In a post-September 11 world, I mean the tension between the fact that we are engaged in the endless cycle of war and the possibility that we might someday live in a world at peace. Of course, finding a third way beyond our current dilemma may be possible in theory, but it often seems unlikely in life. In a contentious business meeting, a better solution may well exist, but the pressures of ego, time, and the bottom line make it unlikely that we will find it. In a world at war, peace may be our dream, but the grim realities of greed, fear, hatred, and doomsday weaponry quickly turn that dream into a delusion. The insight at the heart of nonviolence is that we live in a tragic gap — a gap between the way things are and the way we know they might be. It is a gap that never has been and never will be closed. If we want to live nonviolent lives, we must learn to stand in the tragic gap, faithfully holding the tension between reality and possibility. –Parker Palmer Share the Wisdom: Latest Community Insights Stand In the Tragic Gap Derek wrote: Parker has a very interesting perspective on what I would describe as the duality of life – light versus darkness. It’s not that one is necessarily better than the other. It just is. Everything is alr… Conrad wrote: Thank you Somik for the opportunity to respond. Parker’s use of the word faithfully regarding holding the tension between reality and possibility is difficult to understand. Every day I hold this tens… Edit Lak wrote: This is great, by the time you finish reading this passage, it’s electrifying to the awakening, of the truth, of where we are today… and that is the ‘Tragic Gap’ The pa… Ummed Nahata wrote: i have been thinking ways to transform india for many years. nurturing step by step and now seen it happening. in transformed india i see a new beautiful world emerging. our light valu… J Sorentino wrote: Standing in the gap and accepting reality for what it is, one may find oneself at peace with the way things are, with no urge to change things to the way "they might be". This is, in a way, … Share/Read Reflections >> Wednesday Meditation: Many years ago, a couple friends got together to sit in silence for an hour, and share personal aha-moments. That birthed this newsletter, and later became “Wednesdays”, which now ripple out to living rooms around the world. To join, RSVP online. Audio Reflections From last week’s Bay-Area circle on Finding the Deepest Joy in Relationships … Some Good News Remembering Kindness 41 Years Later In the Pursuit of Happy Of Forests and Men Video of the Week Plastic Debris Art Kindness Stories A Small Gesture Meant a Great Deal About Back in 1997, one person started sending this simple “meditation reminder” to a few friends. Soon after, “Wednesdays” started, CharityFocus blossomed, and the humble experiments of service took a life of its own. If you’d like to start a Wednesday style meditation gathering in your area, we’d be happy to help you get started. InnerNet Weekly is an email service that delivers a little bit of wisdom to 68,640 subscribers each week. We never spam nor do we host any advertising. Archives, from the last 10+ years, are freely available online. You can unsubscribe anytime, within seconds. A Gift Economy offering of CharityFocus.org (2008)

Year of Dancing with Life – Week 5

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Week 5: The Three Kinds of Suffering To receive Phillip’s weekly teaching, click here: http://www.lifebalanceinstitute.com/ dharmawisdom/dancing-with-life/ teaching/three-kinds-suffering May your study of this material deepen your meditation practice and inspire your dance with life. If you are interested in studying Dancing with Life in more depth, sign up to receive your on-line study guide and other supplemental materials.

An Amazon Tour Guide’s Inspiring Story

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. — Confucius

~~~~ Good News of the Day: Nearly 21 years ago, Patty Webster landed her dream job as an adventure tour guide in the Peruvian Amazon. But as she shared the area’s beauty and culture with tourists, she realized there was a darker side to the rainforest paradise. “I saw how poor they were and realized that people were dying because they didn’t have medical care,” Webster said. She started sharing her supplies with the locals and soon began waking up to find people waiting outside her mosquito net to ask her for medicine. At one point, Webster — who had no medical training — gave someone stitches, following instructions from a book. “It was kind of scary,” she recalled. “If they’re depending on me for their health care … we’re all going to die.” That’s when she decided to stay and do something more. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169B9FB:C3009629A010612C33B668BEE2EF60C7B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: The next time you’re visiting a new place, look for an opportunity to do an act of service there.

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Smile Newsletter: The Japanese Man, Frank, and Michael

Nov 6, 2011 “What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now.” –Buddha “I received my smile cards last week and was itching to use them! I decided to go to a sandwich shope and ordered my meal and then added $5 to buy a gift card. When my order was placed I gave the gift card back to the cashier with a smile card and asked her to do me a favor and give it with the $5 meal card to whoever she wanted to, someone next in line or coming later in the day. I have no idea who got the gift card but the cashier gave me most heartfelt smile and said “how cool is that”! I was happy to see that the smile chain had already started! I love it!” –anonymous [ share your story >> ] You can also contribute comments on each story! Dining with Mr. Yepp, a Smiling Face in the Cafeteria >> Setting up an Apartment for a Girl in Need >> The Japanese Man, Frank, and Michael >> More Stories >> “Simplicity in a busy day, a child who seems alone, and elderly man and/or woman whose eyes meet mine and I want to say hello. Kindness is so gentle, so free, so easy to pass along. I was raised with many of my mother’s friends around and they were always so kind, smiling and a gentle hug or words of praise. Back then, kindness for your neighbor was simply a part of life – uncomplicated and extended with love and gratitude. It truly is so easy to be kind. Just fill your heart with love, put a smile on your face and look people straight in the eyes. You may find that a smile and grateful “hello” comes your way!” –msn53 What is a “smile card”? It’s a game of kindness — do something nice for someone and leave a card behind asking them to pay it forward. To date, 979,865 cards have been shipped without any charge. The ‘Smiles’ newsletter is emailed to 85,161 subscribers with the intent of spreading more smiles in the world. You can unsubscribe anytime. get smile cards | donate | write to us

Of Forests and Men

Our lives are like islands in the sea, or like trees in the forest, which co-mingle their roots in the darkness underground. — William James

~~~~ Inspiration of the Day: To commemorate 2011 as the International Year of Forests, the United Nations appointed Yann Arthus-Bertrand to create a short video to raise consciousness about forests. Using stunning aerial photography and video footage, the producer (whose previous online movie was seen by 400 million people) has done it again. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169B970:C3009629A010612C40A9EAD6DBD28AC1B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: Spend some time in nature today.

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Remembering Kindness 41 Years Later

Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change. Kindness that catches us by surprise brings out the best in our natures. — Bob Kerrey

~~~~ Inspiration of the Day: “I was a widow and an expectant mother in the same day. We had bought a new home and I had filled our two bedroom apartment with nursery items in anticipation of moving in. Now the house would be taken away. I knew I would have to go back to my parents’ home, at least until I delivered the baby. And the shock of my husband’s sudden death had made losing the baby a very real possibility. I moved back into my old bedroom. My twin bed, a crib and a dresser was all that could fit in the 8 x 10 foot bedroom. The rest of our furniture had to go into storage. I was able to pay for three months worth of storage and then I would have to sell all the new furniture we had bought.” A touching real-world story called ‘Remembering Kindness 41 Years Later.’ http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169B908:C3009629A010612C5705B91F69FEAEB5B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: Unleash your own ‘underrated’ wave of change — do an unexpected act of kindness today.

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Dalai Lama Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Video of the Week: Plastic Debris Art

You’re receiving this newsletter because you are a KarmaTube subscriber. Having trouble reading this mail? View it in your browser. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe Video of the Week Nov 04, 2011 Plastic Debris Art A commitment that began on their first date, Richard and Judith Lang have been collecting plastic debris from Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore in California, for over ten years. They use these plastic articles to make beautiful works of art, not just as an exhibition of their talents, but to draw attention to the deeper concern of plastic pollution of the world’s oceans. Share: Related KarmaTube Videos The Sand Dancer Milky Way Time-Lapse Video Wows The Web 22 Years of Walking, 17 Years of Silence Farmin’ in the Hood About KarmaTube: KarmaTube is a collection of inspiring videos accompanied by simple actions every viewer can take. We invite you to get involved. Other CharityFocus Projects: DailyGood // Conversations // iJourney // HelpOthers MovedByLove // CF Sites // Karma Kitchen // More Thank you for helping us spread the good. This newsletter now reaches 38,306 subscribers.

The Essence of a Great Presentation

Success is ultimately about connection, not perfection. — Whitney Johnson

~~~~ Tip of the Day: “A few months ago when I had worked with Macy in the recording studio, I found the circumstances even more daunting. Nearly every time I began to play, my mind would start churning: ‘I’m not a professional musician. I’m going to make a lot of mistakes. The audience/album producer/recording engineer will think I’m lousy. I am lousy. I am going to let Macy down. Why did I think I could do this?’ I’ve come to realize that my mental stumbling started when the performances stopped being about providing a musical foundation for Ms. Robison and creating a good experience for the audience — and became about me. As soon as my focus shifted to ‘How am I doing?’ ‘Do I sound good?’ ‘Do they like me?’ nerves inevitably took over.” Business author and advisor Whitney Johnson shares about the art of presentations. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169B65A:C3009629A010612C4CBE04D379FC0253B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: “Perfection is a goal somewhere in the future, totality is an experience herenow. Totality is not a goal, it is a style of life.” An interesting reflection from Osho. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169B65B:C3009629A010612C4CBE04D379FC0253B4B847859706E37D&

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