Sangha of Auspicious Companions

How 17 Equations Changed the World

Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity. — Albert Einstein

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Good News of the Day:
When legendary theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking was setting out to release A Brief History of Time, one of the most influential science books in modern history, his publishers admonished him that every equation included would halve the book’s sales. Undeterred, he dared include E = mc^2, even though cutting it out would have allegedly sold another 10 million copies. The anecdote captures the extent of our culture’s distaste for, if not fear of, equations. And yet, as mathematician Ian Stewart argues in his book: In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World, equations have held remarkable power in facilitating humanity’s progress and, as such, call for rudimentary understanding as a form of our most basic literacy.
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Be The Change:
“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.” A short passage called “A Pale Blue Dot,” by Carl Sagan.
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InnerNet Weekly: Is the Universe Friendly?

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Is the Universe Friendly? by Albert Einstein [Listen to Audio!] "I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves. "For if we decide that the universe is an unfriendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to achieve safety and power by creating bigger walls to keep out the unfriendliness and bigger weapons to destroy all that which is unfriendly and I believe that we are getting to a place where technology is powerful enough that we may either completely isolate or destroy ourselves as well in this process. "If we decide that the universe is neither friendly nor unfriendly and that God is essentially ‘playing dice with the universe’, then we are simply victims to the random toss of the dice and our lives have no real purpose or meaning. "But if we decide that the universe is a friendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding that universe. Because power and safety will come through understanding its workings and its motives." "God does not play dice with the universe," –Albert Einstein Share the Wisdom: Latest Community Insights Is the Universe Friendly? Einstein seems to imply that different beliefs will drive different actions and lead to entirely different experiences – knowing this, which beliefs of yours would you try changing and to what? Einstein focuses on the loss of control when randomness is accepted as the primary explanation of life – what comes up for you when you think of randomness? What does the statement “God does not play dice with the universe” mean to you? Conrad P. Pritscher wrote: The following Einstein quote says much: "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and fe… Navin sata wrote: GOD= GENARATES INFINITE ENERGY,O=OPERATES WITH THIS ENERGY , D= DESTROYS, in hinduism we call it brahma,vishnu,mahesh,one god three function for our limited understanding,our lord is always SAT{… Xiaoshan wrote: Is universe friendly? I truly do not know the answer. I will try not even come up with an answer. … David Doane wrote: For me, the universe is friendly. That doesn’t mean it is all nice, all peaches and cream. The universe is like the weather, like any person, like the unconscious, like me — warm, col… Ganoba wrote: The essential and fundamental error is to consider the universe to be separate from us, "the other". We try to correct this error by asking whether it is friendly or otherwise. This qu… rahul wrote: A true friend is one who acts for your benefit. So before you can answer whether the universe is friendly, you must deeply consider both the nature of what benefits you most and the question of … 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. Some Good News A 39-year-long Lesson in Forgiveness 9 Steps to Achieving Flow (and Happiness) at Work Intelligence Is Overrated: What It Really Takes to Succeed Video of the Week World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements Kindness Stories 12 Caring Women A Random Act of Recycling Lillies And Baby Breath For A Stranger 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 71,070 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)

Why Leaders Must Feel Pain

The wound is the place where the Light enters you. — Rumi

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Good News of the Day:
On a plane flying cross-country, a CEO and management consultant tunes into a fellow passenger’s sharp-edged interaction with her five-year old daughter, and finds himself unexpectedly in tears. The incident unleashes a series of insights on the importance of acknowledging the pain we encounter in ourselves and the world. “This act of diving deeply into the feelings we avoid, the feelings we don’t necessarily even know we have, is, I have come to believe, our only hope of breaking our link in the chain of hurt, suffering, and ineffectiveness. That’s a leadership issue. Because every leader is a human being. And when we avoid feeling the suffering we naturally experience as human beings, we perpetuate it and act against our best interests in our relationships with our colleagues and the people we manage, as well as with our families.”
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Be The Change:
The next time you face a painful situation, make an effort to feel the pain — without propagating the suffering.

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Smile Newsletter: Learning Kindness From My Father

May 6, 2012 “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” — William Bruce Cameron “I often carry a thermos of hot tea when running errands. Today, it was raining, and I offered a cup of hot tea to a very wet woman in the supermarket. She was still smiling when she left.” — cf [ share your story >> ] You can also contribute comments on each story! Learning Kindness From My Father >> A Random Act of Recycling >> A Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget >> More Stories >> “Working with the elderly daily, I see the circle of life with them. They’ve been where we are, we’re at where they’ve been, we’ll be where they are. It’s a joy to always do the loving acts of kindness to such an incredible age of people. A simple smile to a woman in the passing, offering to help find that “special” item they may be looking for , but with age, can not see well anymore. Singing their favorite music from years gone by along with them. You can see the smile or sometimes tears as they remember “when” way back. There’s many acts of kindness a person can do each day, what we think may be making the other persons day, is also making our day much less selfish and so much better.” — teeter 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, 1,033,929 cards have been shipped without any charge. The ‘Smiles’ newsletter is emailed to 90,044 subscribers with the intent of spreading more smiles in the world. You can unsubscribe anytime. get smile cards | donate | write to us

The Gift of the Swamp Shake Spill

Serendipity is the faculty of finding things we did not know we were looking for. — Glauco Ortolano

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Good News of the Day:
“The lid came off, and the rotary movement of my body as I was rising from the bent over position created a mini-tsunami of green-brown liquid from the tops of my shoes, on to my papers — covered desk, across the room to the credenza, the plants on top of it, the books in its lower shelves, up the wall and onto the ceiling — where the fluid finally dissipated before completing the full circle and landing on my head! … As I began to mop up the mess, I noticed that the area worst hit on my desk was a valued collection of some of my favorite notes and quotes that I had accumulated over the years. Of course, my attention was drawn to these wisdom sayings and I realized that I hadn’t looked at most of the sayings for some time.”
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Be The Change:
Be open to the hidden gifts within even frustratingly ordinary moments.

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Kindness Daily: Team Mattie

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Team Mattie May 5, 2012 – Posted by ironlady48 A friend’s son was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. Some of the parents at the school where he was enrolled formed a support team headed by the wife of one of the physicians on the case. E-mails were sent out asking for people to volunteer to bring meals to the hospital for them. More people volunteered than there were slots available. A call went out to send things that might be interesting and helpful to get him to participate in his therapies (chemo and physical) and boxes arrived almost daily, including some from South America and military locations in the US and elsewhere. His Mom started a blog about his treatment and virtually every time she described something Mattie needed, someone stepped up to help. He fought bravely but lost the battle almost a year ago. His mom says they would not have made it though without the support of "Team Mattie," those volunteers who did so much for the family and are now helping them adjust to life without their son. 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 My Mom’s First Truly Anonymous Kind Act, by twiceblessed Invisible Smiles In an Empty Flower Vase, by twiceblessed Grandma’s Ice-Cream, by Patricia Holding My Hand, by Shriraj Supplies for the Troops, by siegelks 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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Intelligence Is Overrated: What It Really Takes to Succeed

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. — Tao Te Ching

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Good News of the Day:
Albert Einstein’s was estimated at 160, Madonna’s is 140, and John F. Kennedy’s was only 119, but as it turns out, IQ score aren’t everything when it comes to predicting your success and professional achievement. IQ tests are used as an indicator of logical reasoning ability and technical intelligence. But by itself, a high IQ does not guarantee standing out. This article, originally appearing in Forbes magazine, discusses the value and importance of the other quotients that help determine success and fulfillment: EQ (Emotional Intelligence), MQ (Moral Intelligence), and BQ (Body Intelligence).
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Be The Change:
Work on developing your other quotients this week: EQ (Emotional Intelligence), MQ (Moral Intelligence), and BQ (Body Intelligence).

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Video of the Week: World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements

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 May 04, 2012 World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements The World Peace Game, a brainchild of public school teacher John Hunter, pits teams of students against each other as leaders of countries in crises and conflict. The students scheme and negotiate, compete and cooperate, wage war and make peace. But the game is not won until all countries enjoy security and prosperity. Says one fourth grader, âOne of the things I learned is that other people matter. In this game one person canât win, everyone has to win. That taught me a lot about cooperating with other people, being generous, and having an attitude that, if you work together, you can achieve anything.â Share: Related KarmaTube Videos Sound of Music Train Station The Fun Theory: Piano Stairs The Sand Dancer How To Be Alone 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 43,204 subscribers.

Finding Nimo: A Rap Star’s Journey With 16 Slum Kids

The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children. — Mahatma Gandhi

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Good News of the Day:
At the pinnacle of a dizzying career, Indo-American rapper Nimo was haunted by an unshakeable sense of emptiness. In his mid-twenties, he abandoned the limelight and found himself meditating in the foothills of the Himalayas. There an inner voice nudged him to radically simplify his life and find his purpose in service of others. He moved to the Gandhi Ashram in India and dedicated himself to the children in the surrounding slums. Fast-forward to April 2012: Nimo and a dance troupe of sixteen of “his kids” are touring the world with “Ekatva” — a performance whose ultimate message is Oneness. Read more about Nimo’s inspired journey and the transformation of a ragtag group of slum kids into global emissaries of unity who are bringing grown audiences to their feet in tears.
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Be The Change:
Meet the children of the Ekatva Tour through their stories, and get involved.
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Kindness Daily: Lillies And Baby Breath For A Stranger

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Lillies And Baby Breath For A Stranger May 3, 2012 – Posted by enpai Yesterday, after finding this site, I enrolled in HelpOthers! Some really great stories got my own creative juices flowing. Living near a hospital, I decided to give flowers to one of the elderly people I often see there. I hopped on my bicycle and did not let the hesitancy I felt overcome me. I was going to do this – period! There she was, an elderly woman in a wheel chair with a man sitting beside her on the low stone wall around side of the hospital building. I zipped on over to a flower stall in the nearby market and bought a bunch of pink lilies and some baby breath. The kind lady wrapped them up and off I went. The elderly couple were still there when I got back. But they looked like they might be about to leave. I approached them. The woman, with her gray hair cut very short and a tube in her nose, looked at me blankly as I bent down to give her the flowers. Her husband took the flowers and placed them on her lap. Then she managed to take them in her hand. As the three of us looked at each other, I was surprised that the usual polite refusals of the Taiwanese were not said. The man and I locked eyes as he repeatedly said XieXie -Thank you! I smiled and stood there for a few moments then rode off. Today, I bless them for their presence and thank them for allowing me to help. 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 You Are So Beautiful To Me, by Aurelia Looking for Josephs, by Della The Wall Outside the Window, by Purvi Confronting Road Rage With Compassion, by Megan Children Have The Best Hearts, by ljcrowefamily 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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