Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Video of the Week: Everybody Can Be Great, Martin Luther King, Jr.

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 Feb 03, 2012 Everybody Can Be Great, Martin Luther King, Jr. “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve… You only need a heart full of grace.” On 4 February 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached “The Drum Major Instinct” (adapted from the 1952 homily of the same name by well-known, liberal, white Methodist preacher J. Wallace Hamilton) from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. This short video excerpts the portion of the speech where King urges his congregation to greatness through service and love. Share: Related KarmaTube Videos Dance Like No One Is Watching Change for a Dollar Christian the Lion Stomacher – Untitled/Dark Divider About KarmaTube: KarmaTube is a collection of inspiring videos accompanied by simple actions every viewer can take. We invite you to get involved. Other ServiceSpace Projects: DailyGood // Conversations // iJourney // HelpOthers MovedByLove // CF Sites // Karma Kitchen // More Thank you for helping us spread the good. This newsletter now reaches 40,977 subscribers.

Training the Mind to Find Happiness

I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind. — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Good News of the Day:
“At first, I sat on a couch cushion in the middle of my living room, and meditated for 5 minutes using my kitchen timer. At the beginning, I experienced what the book referred to as a ‘waterfall’ of thoughts. Having never tried to focus my mind on something so simple as respiration, so many thoughts poured down on me: ‘What am I going to have for lunch?’ ‘What if this doesn’t work?’ ‘I should do a load of laundry.’ In these instances, the wild horse takes off. Then you have to grab the reigns, and lead the horse back to the path: your breath. The important thing is to commit to doing this, and not leave your seat until the timer goes off, otherwise the horse is in control instead of the rider.” Joanna Holsten writes eloquently about her early exploration of training the mind for happiness.
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Be The Change:
Run your own experiment of mental training for 5 minutes today.

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Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Dharma Quote of the Week Boundless joy is the joy you should feel when you see gifted and learned beings who are happy, famous or influential. Instead of feeling uneasy and envious of their good fortune, rejoice sincerely, thinking, “May they continue to be happy and enjoy even more happiness!” Pray too that they may use their wealth and power to help others, to serve the Dharma and the Sangha, making offerings, building monasteries, propagating the teachings and performing other worthwhile deeds. Rejoice and make a wish: “May they never lost all their happiness and privileges. May their happiness increase more and more, and may they use it to benefit others and to further the teachings.” Pray that your mind may be filled with boundless equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion and joy–as boundless as a Bodhisattva’s. If you do so, genuine bodhichitta will certainly grow within you. The reason these four qualities are boundless, or immeasurable, is that their object–the totality of sentient beings–is boundless; their benefit–the welfare of all beings–is boundless; and also their fruit–the qualities of enlightenment–is boundless. They are immeasurable like the sky, and they are the true root of enlightenment.(p.49) –from The Excellent Path to Enlightenment, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated and edited by The Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications The Excellent Path to Enlightenment • Now at 5O% off! (Good until February 10th).

Kindness Daily: My Children Lift A Heavy Heart

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My Children Lift A Heavy Heart February 2, 2012 – Posted by smilingdaisy My son, daughter, and I have been trying to write to people in our family and friends who are going through difficult times. So, recently we decided to make personal note cards for this purpose. My children sat down immediately and wrote to my brother with cancer, my sister with a sick husband, and an elderly friend living in a nursing center. I was so proud of them for being so thoughtful! Then, my son went out of the room and I heard a lot of whispering between my daughter and him. Well, my sister was over and had mentioned that a very close friend of hers (an elderly lady battling breast cancer) was having a birthday. Knowing that she loves angels, he and my daughter found a beautiful picture of an angel online, they printed it out, and he made her a gorgeous birthday card to cheer her day. The next day she called him and told him that her day had started out very tough. Then, when she received his card, it completely changed her entire day! She couldn’t thank him enough. I was so proud of him and of my daughter. It just proves that when we take an extra few minutes out of our day to let someone know we are thinking of him/her, it can make all the difference in the world! It changed that sweet, and very sick lady’s entire perspective on her birthday! Add/View Comment >> About Newsletter Kindness Daily is an email that delivers today’s featured story from HelpOthers.org. If you’d rather not receive this email, you can also unsubscribe. Similar Stories Eleven Envelopes with 101 Dollars, by Sukh Five Year Old Jacob’s Chocolate Cookies, by brighteyes Tagging the Whole Entire Plane!, by Anon Painting Mindil with Smiles, by FREEhugsROCK Grocery Store Flower Bouquet, by treeflowerpuzzle Helpful Links Smile Cards: do an act of kindness and leave a card behind to keep the chain going. Smile Decks: 52 cards with a kindness idea on each! Smile Groups: share your own stories, make friends, spread the good. Smile Ideas: loads of ideas that can support your drive of kindness. Unsubscribe If you’d rather not receive these stories by email, you can remove yourself with two easy clicks. Community

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Vinny Ferraro: The Heartful Dodger

What if it all belongs — everything around you? Just see if you can approach every moment with kindness. Know what that does? That allows you to live in a kind world. — Vinny Ferraro

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Good News of the Day:
One bitter night, in the rough end of New Haven, fifteen-year-old Vinny Ferraro and his gang were hanging out as usual by the projects when a chance encounter with a homeless man (who they were assaulting) changed the course of the rest of his life. “I didn’t know what compassion meant when I was fifteen. But I knew that that homeless guy had seen my heart. And that was scary. I had done my best to hide this heart, because it wasn’t safe in my world to be soft or show feelings. And he had seen right through me.” It is now Ferraro who looks into angry young eyes and finds a glimpse of compassion. In this candid piece, he shares his remarkable journey from violence and despair to mindfulness and freedom, inspiring thousands of underserved youth to similarly transform their lives.
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Be The Change:
When you next experience any traces of anger or despair, reflect on Ferraro’s thought: “Do your conditions lead inevitably to suffering? No, they don’t. Only a being’s perspective leads to suffering.”

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10 Keys for Achieving Group Flow

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. — Helen Keller

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Tip of the Day:
Recent scientific research reveals that great creativity almost always springs from collaboration, conversation, and social networks — challenging our mythical image of the isolated genius. Keith Sawyer has been studying the phenomenon known as “flow,” where we get so absorbed in a task that we lose track of time; it’s what some people refer to as being “in the zone.” Research shows that when a group is in flow, it’s more likely to resolve problems with surprising and creative solutions. Given how much of our personal and professional time is spent collectively, how can business managers, coaches, and the rest of us foster group flow? From studying improv groups, jazz musicians, and business teams, Sawyer shares that group flow tends to emerge when 10 key conditions are in place. This essay published by Greater Good shares more.
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Be The Change:
Get your group flow on: use some of Sawyer’s tips in your next group meeting.

**Share A Reflection**
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Quote of the Week | Reuniting with Our Openness

Learn More | Books and Audio | The Pema Chödrön Foundation

Teachings by Pema Chödrön, taken from works published by Shambhala Publications. Photo by ©Andrea Roth. Forwarded from a friend? You can subscribe to this e-mail emailList, and be sure to include both your old and new addresses. If you no longer wish to receive the Heart Advice e-mails, click here. If you can’t see the images, click here.