Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Kindness Daily: Love – The Long And The Short Of It!

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Love – The Long And The Short Of It! March 27, 2012 – Posted by revstephmc I have never lived in the same province as my only niece but she and I have a special bond. Since she was two years old I have written her a letter every week! We refer to them as my Thursday letters because my day off used to be Thursday and the first thing I would do would be to write to Brooke. She is ten now and quite grown up, but I continue to cherish the times when I write to her. I have only missed six Thursdays in eight years; because of a mail strike and a hospital stay. When Brooke was four she was talking with my mom. "Auntie Steph writes me a letter every week," she said "That’s a lot of letters," my mom replied. "What does she write about?" "Well …" Brooke thought about it. "She tells me that she loves me! Sometimes she says it long and sometimes she says it short!" She was absolutely right! She saw the love right through the envelope, past the stickers and addressed to her heart! 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 Proper Attire For A Stranger, by Tigerlily A Small Scoop Of Love, by earthling Buying a Miracle, by Anonymous Sandals at New Year’s Eve, by MS All It Takes Is Lemonade!, by beastly 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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An Indomitable Healing Spirit

As we live our truths, we will communicate across all barriers, speaking for the sources of peace. Peace that is not lack of war, but fierce and positive. — Muriel Rukeyser

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Good News of the Day:
For the past two years, James O’Dea has synthesized his remarkable life experience into what he calls “social healing”. A former Director of Amnesty International’s Washington, DC office and President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, O’Dea’s journey has taken him through both the depths of human suffering — and it’s transcendence. Along the way he has been wrestling with profound questions: What does it take for an individual, community and a nation to heal itself? This enriching conversation with O’Dea explores the roots of this tangled question and surfaces poignant reflections on the roles of forgiveness and service in healing the wounds of our world.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16AA246:C3009629A010612CAE4C4B306DB96391B4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
Heal a small wound from the inside out, starting with yourself, your family or your community.

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InnerNet Weekly: An Ego Strategy to Avoid Surrender

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. An Ego Strategy to Avoid Surrender by Eckhart Tolle [Listen to Audio!] What is conventionally called “love” is an ego strategy to avoid surrender. You are looking to someone to give you that which can only come to you in the state of surrender. The ego uses that person as a substitute to avoid having to surrender. The Spanish language is the most honest in this respect. It uses the same verb, te quiero, for “I love you” and “I want you.” To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true love has no wanting in it, no desire to possess or for your partner to change. The ego singles someone out and makes them special. It uses that person to cover up the constant underlying feeling of discontent, of “not enough,” of anger and hate, which are closely related. These are facets of an underlying deep seated feeling in human beings that is inseparable from the egoic state.When the ego singles something out and says “I love” this or that, it’s an unconscious attempt to cover up or remove the deep-seated feelings that always accompany the ego: the discontent, the unhappiness, the sense of insufficiency that is so familiar. For a little while, the illusion actually works. Then inevitably, at some point, the person you singled out, or made special in your eyes, fails to function as a cover up for your pain, hate, discontent or unhappiness which all have their origin in that sense of insufficiency and incompleteness. Then, out comes the feeling that was covered up, and it gets projected onto the person that had been singled out and made special – who you thought would ultimately “save you.” Suddenly love turns to hate. The ego doesn’t realize that the hatred is a projection of the universal pain that you feel inside. The ego believes that this person is causing the pain. It doesn’t realize that the pain is the universal feeling of not being connected with the deeper level of your being – not being at one with yourself.The object of love is interchangeable, as interchangeable as the object of egoic wanting. Some people go through many relationships. They fall in love and out of love many times. They love a person for a while until it doesn’t work anymore, because no person can permanently cover up that pain.Only surrender can give you what you were looking for in the object of your love. The ego says surrender is not necessary because I love this person. It’s an unconscious process of course. The moment you accept completely what is, something inside you emerges that had been covered up by egoic wanting. It is an innate, indwelling peace, stillness, aliveness. It is the unconditioned, who you are in your essence. It is what you had been looking for in the love object. It is yourself. When that happens, a completely different kind of love is present which is not subject to love / hate. It doesn’t single out one thing or person as special. –Eckhart Tolle Share the Wisdom: Latest Community Insights An Ego Strategy to Avoid Surrender Conrad P. Pritscher wrote: Thank you for the opportunity to respond. I have two Tollle books and three CD packages. He is wonderful and he has been a great influence in my living. I am not "pr… A wrote: This is so precisely right-on that it’s stunning. And the timing of reading this is perfect for me. Much gratitude to those who selected this week’s reading! Recently I’ve been musing a l… Edit Lak wrote: So true, so true… Indeed, so true.. I have spent my life in failed relationships, because from an early age were taught to ‘fall in love with people, right; But no one taught or teaches us… Manisha wrote: Although Eckhart Tolle uses the word "someone" throughout the text, what I found revealing is the last sentence where he uses "thing or person" almost synonymously, to suggest that… 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 Living Lessons of Biomimicry … Some Good News An Ordinary Magical Life The Dash Between The Years Meditation: A Compass and a Path Video of the Week Find No Enemy Kindness Stories Using My Hobby To Help The Homeless A Little ‘Game of Good’ Breakfast For A Tired Mom About Back in 1997, one person started sending this simple “meditation reminder” to a few friends. Soon after, “Wednesdays” started, ServiceSpace 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 70,747 subscribers each week. We never spam nor do we host any advertising. Archives, from the last 14+ years, are freely available online. You can unsubscribe anytime, within seconds. A Gift Economy offering of ServiceSpace.org (2012)

Year of Dancing with Life – Week 25

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Week 25: How to Abandon Clinging To receive Phillip’s weekly teaching, click here: http://www.lifebalanceinstitute.com/ dharmawisdom/dancing-with-life/ teaching/how-abandon-clinging 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.

The Dash Between The Years

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. — Maria Robinson

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Good News of the Day:
“While busy with work and deadlines and feeling somewhat under pressure, I was sent an advertisement for some inspirational books, one of which included the poem below. When I first glanced at the title, I assumed it was a poem about the race and rush of life, but as I read on it stopped me dead in my tracks and brought tears to my eyes. I had just snapped at a family member and didn’t take notice when she tried to get my attention. I stopped what I was doing and went over to give a hug to the person I talked to so sharply, and sat down to talk with her. Not only did it clear the air between us and made her feel a whole lot better, but my own mood also brightened.” A real-world story and a poem about life.
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Be The Change:
Live this day with a heightened awareness of how precious it really is.

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A Chinese Living Water Garden

It’s a rare fish that knows it swims in water. — Old Adage

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Good News of the Day:
Water is art activist Betsy Damon’s passion. She was studying sacred springs in China when she began meeting individuals interested in water from a variety of angles: medicine, hydraulic engineering, spirituality. This unique collaboration led to an invitation to review a major water project in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan. Because of her critique, the project was actually scrapped. But then Damon was asked to design a new project — which actually got built. Stretching along the Yangtze River and serving Chengdu’s roughly 10 million citizens, it’s the first municipal living water garden in the world — “Polluted river water moves through a natural, and artistic treatment system of ponds, filters and flowforms, making the process of cleaning water visible.”
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A9F0A:C3009629A010612C908B807DF3D95C93B4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
Check out the Living Water Garden gallery at Betsy Damon’s website:
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Kindness Daily: A Little ‘Game of Good’

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A Little ‘Game of Good’ March 24, 2012 – Posted by kcsmiles For the last two and a half years I have been giving out Smile Cards whenever I find an opportunity. I am sad to admit that my family and I are homeless, we live in a trailer which we were so kindly given by a family member. During this period, I have given out over 200 Smile Cards. I have always tried to find something kind to do, even when my husband lost his job and we were fighting to get by. I have started giving out coupons for free food, plus money for people to get at least one meal, on me. I always put my coupon, gift and Smile Card in a envelope that says "For whoever finds this". Once I left an envelope on someone’s work truck and got back into our trailer. I just happened to look out at the bus later and I saw the guy open my envelope and find the gift. He read the card and then he looked around to see who had done this. I just smiled to myself, without being found out. I always leave my gifts where people will find them, but never see me do it – I like it to be anonymous. Today I saw a car on the side of the highway with the hazard lights on. Further up the road, I saw a young couple walking beside the highway. I pulled over and asked them if they needed a ride to the next exit, after a second the guy said they could really use the ride. They said "thank you" when I dropped them off at the exit. I try to help others when I can, and sometimes no smile card is needed or given. It’s my little "game of good" and I really enjoy doing it and I hope to keep doing it! Smiles and Blessings to all! 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 Neighbor in Need, by sonshine I Bow to the Paint on my Walls, by Sukh Chugh Costco Love, by earthling Lo(o)se Change, by guin An Unusual Birthday Celebration, by JZ 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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Smile Newsletter: Offering a Word of Love

Mar 24, 2012 âPower without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.â — Martin Luther King Jr. “The other day, I was standing in a very long line at the drugstore. A gracious gentlemen in front of me allowed me to go ahead. Wanting to repay him for his kindness, I thanked him, paid for my items, and then paid for his purchases as well!” –trionafaye [ share your story >> ] You can also contribute comments on each story! Using My Hobby To Help The Homeless >> On The Subway >> Offering a Word of Love >> More Stories >> “I learned to become aware of the power of kindness by means of a friend of mine who only lives by Divine Grace so far(no income, no health insurance,no apartment of his own)and still is so generous in giving inspiration, compassion and attention to people in need of it. He opens hearts and by this means always some doors of support as well. It showed me that you can always give something, no matter how your present situation might be and I am very grateful for this lesson. Since then I became much more aware of the energy I send out to others and try to do something to empower and uplift people on a regular basis.” — Synergy 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, 1,016,950 cards have been shipped without any charge. The ‘Smiles’ newsletter is emailed to 89,116 subscribers with the intent of spreading more smiles in the world. You can unsubscribe anytime. get smile cards | donate | write to us

The Empathic Civilization

The functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion, and empathy. — Dean Koontz

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Good News of the Day:
We humans are soft-wired for sociability and affection, wanting to belong and to empathize. The question is “Can we extend our empathy to the entire human race and biosphere?” Bringing in recent insights from fields like neuroscience to anthropology, author and social thinker Jeremy Rifkin’s maps out a solution in a stunningly visual and cohesive way. In this ten-minute video, he defines the empathic civilization — and suggests that if we can imagine that possibility, we can save our species and our planet. “Empathy is grounded in the acknowledgment of death and the celebration of life, and rooting for each other to flourish and be … the ability to show solidarity not only with each other, but our fellow creatures.”
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A9E40:C3009629A010612CFE542B68B619AD89B4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
As you use your intellect today, make a conscious effort to add in courage, love, friendship, compassion, and empathy.

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Dalai Lama Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week Courageous Bodhisattvas risk their lives to help others, and so, when we are in relatively better, more comfortable situations, we must certainly practice giving. Even if they are threatened, the courageous ones will not engage in improper actions. Instead, after examining the situation carefully, when they find that certain actions are correct and justified, on the basis of reason, they engage in them even at the risk of their lives. That is the way of the decent, civilized and courageous ones, who do not follow misleading paths.(p.20) –from Generous Wisdom: Commentaries by H.H. the Dalai Lama XIV on the Jatakamala, Garland of Birth Stories by H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, translated by Tenzin Dorjee, edited by Dexter Roberts Generous Wisdom • Now at 4O% off!