Sangha of Auspicious Companions

How Language Enabled Innovation and Evolution

A different language is a different vision of life. — Federico Fellini

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
“How did ‘culture’ develop, exactly? Language, says evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel, was instrumental in enabling social learning — our ability to acquire evolutionarily beneficial new behaviors by watching and imitating others, which in turn accelerated our species on a trajectory of what anthropologists call ‘cumulative cultural evolution,’ a bustling of ideas successively building and improving on others. It might seem, then, that protecting our ideas would have been the best evolutionary strategy. Yet that’s not what happened — instead, we embraced this ‘theft,’ a cornerstone of remix culture, and propelled ourselves into a collaboratively crafted future of exponential innovation.”
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8AC3:C3009629A010612C73A2F4D44C6082A4B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~
Be The Change:
Use language to enable innovation and collective evolution: share your best ideas freely today.

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8AC4:C3009629A010612C73A2F4D44C6082A4B4B847859706E37D&

9 Essential Skills Kids Should Learn

He who learns teaches, he who teaches learns. — African proverb

~~~~
Tip of the Day:
“Unfortunately, I was educated in a school system that believed the world in which it existed would remain essentially the same, with minor changes in fashion. We had no idea what the world had in store for us. And here’s the thing: we still don’t. We never do. We have never been good at predicting the future, and so raising and educating our kids as if we have any idea what the future will hold is not the smartest notion. How then to prepare our kids for a world that is unpredictable, unknown? By teaching them to adapt, to deal with change, to be prepared for anything by not preparing them for anything specific. This requires an entirely different approach to child-rearing and education. It means leaving our old ideas at the door, and reinventing everything.” Author Leo Babauta shares further.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8936:C3009629A010612C8D0D4BAF7C4C4A02B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~
Be The Change:
Learn twice: teach a child in your life some life skills.

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8937:C3009629A010612C8D0D4BAF7C4C4A02B4B847859706E37D&

Video of the Week: Charlie Chaplin: Let Us Free the World

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 Mar 09, 2012 Charlie Chaplin: Let Us Free the World Some call it the greatest speech ever made. This remix puts Charlie Chaplin’s climactic address from “The Great Dictator” (1940) into present-day context, showing how the spirit of liberty, brotherhood, and equality that defeated fascism seven decades ago must be urgently reclaimed. Share: Related KarmaTube Videos Magic of Free Parking 365 Grateful Barrio De Paz: Peace Town Shift –The Movie 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 41,884 subscribers.

The Suitcase That’s Saving Lives

Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light. — Norman B. Rice

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
What if your carry-on suitcase could save a woman’s life? In the fight against maternal mortality in the developing world, a rugged, portable “Solar Suitcase” is providing reliable electricity to clinics in 17 countries where healthcare workers previously struggled to provide emergency obstetric care by the light of candles, flashlights and mobile phones. The Solar Suitcase powers medical LED lights, headlamps, mobile phones, computers and medical devices. In this National Geographic article, obstetrician Laura Stachel, Co-Founder of the non-profit WE CARE Solar, talks about the impact of a simple solar solution on emergency obstetrics.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A874E:C3009629A010612CAFC4C3CC1F3C28E4B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~
Be The Change:
Read more about the impact We Care Solar’s work has had in different parts of the world.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A874F:C3009629A010612CAFC4C3CC1F3C28E4B4B847859706E37D&

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8750:C3009629A010612CAFC4C3CC1F3C28E4B4B847859706E37D&

The Kindness Boomerang

There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life. — Sr. Mary Rose McGeady

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
What goes around comes around. This charming short film depicts the ripple-effect of kind acts — the way in which receiving an unexpected moment of generosity from a stranger can cause us to become more aware of the needs of those around us and to take action to become a vector of goodness.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8627:C3009629A010612C0AC9F6F6A74BD95CB4B847859706E37D&

~~~~
Be The Change:
Set ripples in motion by doing a small act of kindess for a stranger today.

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8628:C3009629A010612C0AC9F6F6A74BD95CB4B847859706E37D&

Dalai Lama Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week Nature’s law dictates that, in order to survive, bees must work together. As a result, they instinctively possess a sense of social responsibility. They have no constitution, no law, no police, no religion or moral training, but because of their nature, they labor faithfully together. Occasionally, they may fight, but in general, based on cooperation, the whole colony survives. We human beings have a constitution, laws and a police force. We have religion, remarkable intelligence and a heart with a great capacity for love. We have many extraordinary qualities, but in actual practice, I think we are lagging behind those small insects. In some respects I feel we are poorer than the bees. –from The Pocket Dalai Lama by the Dalai Lama, compiled and edited by Mary Craig

Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Dharma Quote of the Week Nagarjuna offers us encouragement in terms of someone of modest potential accomplishing the practice, in verse 116: And even those who realized the truth Did not fall from the heavens, nor emerge Like crops of corn from earth’s dark depths, but once Were ruled by kleshas and were ordinary men. Not one of all the sublime beings who have appeared–individuals who had direct realization of the Dharma of the four truths–was already a sublime being right from the beginning: they did not fall from the sky, nor did they emerge from the darkness of the earth like a crop. In the past they were subject to afflictive emotions [‘kleshas’]–they were ordinary people dominated by the afflictive emotions. They are therefore worth following as an example for accomplishing the path.(p.150) –from Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend: with Commentary by Kangyur Rinpoche by Nagarjuna, with commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kyabje Kangyur Rinpoche, translated by The Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend • Now at 5O% off! (Good until March 16th).

Quote of the Week | Fearlessness and Patience

If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view the online version

Learn More | Books and Audio | The Pema Chödrön Foundation

Teachings by Pema Chödrön, from works published by Shambhala Publications. Photo by ©Andrea Roth. Forward to a Friend | Manage Your Preferences | Unsubscribe

Shambhala Publications | 300 Massachusetts Ave | Boston, MA 02115 | United States

A Heart Touched By Music

If you want the truth, I’ll tell you the truth: Listen to the secret sound, the real sound, which is inside you. — Kabir

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
“The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal. So I stood there listening. She must have felt my presence because she would occasionally look in my direction. By now I was telling myself that if she could perform in front of hundreds of people she didn’t know then I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked over and put some money in her carriage and she said, ‘Thank you.’ Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, ‘I have been going through a rough time lately, but you’ve made me hopeful again.’ ‘I’m happy that I could help,’ she replied. ‘Why are you so sad?'” So starts a real world kindness story.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8559:C3009629A010612C76E566C9140613D4B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~
Be The Change:
Thank someone who is clearly doing something because they love sharing it.

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A855A:C3009629A010612C76E566C9140613D4B4B847859706E37D&

The Power of Introverts

In our culture, snails are not considered valiant animals — we are constantly exhorting people to “come out of their shells” — but there’s a lot to be said for taking your home with you wherever you go. — Susan Cain

~~~~
Tip of the Day:
“Do you enjoy having time to yourself, but always feel a little guilty about it? Then Susan Cain’s “Quiet: The Power of Introverts” is for you. It’s part book, part manifesto. We live in an era that values its extroverts — the outgoing, the lovers of crowds — but not the quiet types who change the world. In this engaging interview Cain discusses what it really means to be an introvert, the value of solitude in the creative process, and why we need to shift our cultural bias for gregariousness.” This Scientific American article shares more.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A840C:C3009629A010612CCE762CD43B0CD5FAB4B847859706E37D&

~~~~
Be The Change:
“Silence is helpful, but you don’t need it in order to find stillness.” Brief snippets from Eckhart Tolle:
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A840D:C3009629A010612CCE762CD43B0CD5FAB4B847859706E37D&

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A840E:C3009629A010612CCE762CD43B0CD5FAB4B847859706E37D&