Sangha of Auspicious Companions

August 27, 2017

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Rebecca Solnit: On Breaking Silence

Human beings have a tendency to remain silent regardless of whether they need to utilize their voices. Rebecca Solnit sees how that tendency has harmed the women’s movement. She quotes poets, inspirations, authors and more, including Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Audre Lorde, Elie Wiesel, Hannah Arendt and Laura Jackson. Rebecca believes and acknowledges that the quickest fix is to use our voices, noting that there’s a difference between a meditative silence and a silence where we choose not to speak up when we knew it would make a difference. { read more }

Be The Change

What is one thing you can use your voice to make a difference with this week?

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August 26, 2017

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Medicine Baba: When a Man Becomes a Movement

In the aftermath of a building collapse in East Delhi, India, that left some dead and more suffering, Omkar Nath Sharma felt helpless. Before his very eyes, people in pain, some dying, needed medicine but had no money. And the local hospital could not help. Then it struck him: maybe people had medicine in their homes that they no longer needed. Though he was 80 years old, he could walk, he could talk, he could collect medicine for the needy. So he started calling out to people in their homes from the street, “Do you have any medicines that are not of use to you?” And he collected castoffs to give to those who needed the medicine. Then, the movement grew. This short video tells the story of Medicine Baba, whose successful operation with humble beginnings has saved countless lives. { read more }

Be The Change

Visit Medicine Baba’s website for more information on this remarkable man. { more }

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August 25, 2017

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The Grace of Great Things

What if the goal of education becomes making visible and lifting up the souls of all those involved in the process? How might this way of reclaiming and re-grounding the learning-teaching relationship transform both the individual souls involved and the institutional souls of the systems themselves? Parker Palmer reflects on these and other profound questions with respect and grace in an article adapted from a keynote address he delivered on Spirituality in Education sponsored by the Naropa Institute. Weaving together rich and varied stories of Merlin the Magician, Rosa Parks and the poet Ranier Maria Rilke with those of Nobel prize winning scientist Barbara McClintock and the discoverers of the DNA molecule; Parker describes “education at its best these profound human transactions called knowing, teaching, and learning”. { read more }

Be The Change

Download the PDF version of Parker Palmer’s keynote address and share it with educators and with young adults in your life as the fall semester begins. { more }

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August 24, 2017

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The Power of a Beginner’s Mind

Picture this: A substitute teacher wearing a kimono and speaking Japanese to inner city students. Surprising? That was exactly the intention of Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu as he attempted to cultivate a “beginners mind” in his students. He asserts that the moment the unexpected is encountered, mindfulness begins without training. The attention is completely focused on the unknown, senses alert in the uncertainty of the moment, and the mind open. He says of the experience of teaching mindfulness to students, “I also want students to experience vulnerability because I believe that it is a key to education as a lifelong commitment to self-reflection rather than a detached mastery of a finite body of knowledge. Vulnerability means appreciating mystery as much as mastery, and being comfortable with not-knowing, ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity, cultivating awe and wonder that deepen our knowledge.” Read on to understand how allowing for the unexpected can foster a beginner’s mind in oneself. { read more }

Be The Change

The next time something unexpected occurs, observe how awake you become in that moment and notice how fresh the world looks from a beginner’s mind. How can you practice being awake more often?

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August 23, 2017

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How Do I Love Trees? Let Me Count the Ways…

Trees are interwoven into our existence in so many ways. They give us air to breathe, shade from sun, beautiful colors in the autumn, timber to build our homes, food to eat, paper to write on, and so much more. In this ode to our wooded friends,the team at Gratefulness.org have compiled a series of quotes, stories, poems, and photographs that delve deeper into our connection to trees. Going beyond the practical gifts they afford us, these reflections speak to the spiritual connection that has long existed between humans and trees. { read more }

Be The Change

Find a way to say thank you for all you love about trees. Volunteer at a local arboretum, donate to a national park, plant a tree in your own backyard, or add your own photographs, poetry, or thoughts on how trees have impacted your life.

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August 22, 2017

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Nightshift at the Marriott

An emergency search for a room in a town where all hotels were full brought the author and his jet-lagged wife at midnight to a new Marriot-in-construction, as yet seemingly manned by only one or two staffers. A whole line of room-seekers vied for their attention with customers with unmade beds. In a tense, strained situation, the author begins to admire the young staffers doing their best, and a cosmic shift takes place. From being overworked staff dealing with irate customers, they become companions as they make the bed together. The ending may surprise you. { read more }

Be The Change

Be observant of states of tension and emotional pressure in anyone trying to help you today, and “walk a mile in their shoes.” We are all in this world, and this life, together.

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August 21, 2017

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Elie Wiesel on How Our Questions Unite Us

What do leadership and loneliness have in common? What is the difference between solitude and isolation? How might we live through to the other side the intense feelings of being alone that can come upon us? Maria Popova explores these rich and subtle questions in this Brain Pickings article. She delves into a rare essay, “The Loneliness of Leadership” written by holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. { read more }

Be The Change

Reflect on the difference between solitude and isolation. Reach out today, to someone who may be isolated. It could be someone you know or the next stranger you see. Make a connection; with a phone call, a hug, a smile, or simply a look in the eyes.

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In Other News

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August 20, 2017

Small Acts of Kindness

Featured Kindness Stories

	Her maternity and baby things provided a timely offering for the young pregnant woman.
	A dropped drink by a 5-year-old provided an opportunity for kindness.
	A kindness bag kept in her car provides help for the homeless.

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