Sangha of Auspicious Companions

January 23, 2023

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The Matter with Things

“Iain McGilchrist is psychiatrist, neurologist, philosopher and writer whose seminal work, The Master and His Emissary (2009) presented the notion that the two hemispheres of the human brain approach the world in two very different ways. He argues passionately for the importance often overlooked in the modern world of the right hemisphere, which sees the world as a unified, living process. In his most recent book, The Matter with Things (2021) (see our review) he further explores the philosophical implications of this idea. The book is a magnus opus of some 1,500 pages which amounts to a very strong argument, supported by an extraordinary range of evidence, for a unified view of the cosmos. In the following interview he discusses his most recent book which brings together neuroscience, psychology and philosophy into a unified vision.” { read more }

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Learn more about McGilchrist’s work and writing here. { more }

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January 22, 2023

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Patterns of Extraction

“A new series of aerial images from photographer Edward Burtynsky reveals sites of displacement, erasure, and extractionall, at first glance, sublimeacross five African countries. From the breathtaking expanse of the Sishen Iron Ore Mine to the controlled might of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a story of reshaped and redefined landscapes emerges. Burtynsky makes visible the scope of human impact in sub-Saharan Africa, inviting viewers to digest vistas of both beauty and destruction, and to witness the marks, physical and abstract, that we set into the Earth.” { read more }

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Check out this preview of Burtynsky’s multimedia project, “In the Wake of Progress.” { more }

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January 21, 2023

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Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement

“In Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement, Nobel Prize Winner, Daniel Kahneman together with co-authors Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein show how noise helps produce errors in many fields, including medicine, law, public health, economic forecasting, food safety, forensic science, bail verdicts, child protection, strategy, performance reviews and personnel selection. And although noise can be found wherever people make judgments and decisions, individuals and organizations alike commonly ignore to its role in their judgments and in their actions. They show “noise neglect.” With a few simple remedies, people can reduce both noise and bias, and so make far better decisions.” { read more }

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Read an excerpt from “Noise” here. { more }

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January 20, 2023

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My Wish For Humanity

Learning to love takes time, sometimes a long time. Sometimes we feel crushed and like we can’t rise up again, but Antoinette Pienaars wish for humanity is for all to know that we are never completely dead inside. Life can begin again. Mother Nature teaches us the truth of our resilience and is there to help us. In this film, she wants humanity to remember these words: Open your heart like a flower. Don’t lose hope. Give yourself water for your soul and you will rise up again just like the plants in the South African desert have where she lives. In the process of opening our hearts and releasing the energy of sadness, anger and fear, and even breaking apart inside, we are letting go of that which deadens us and dries up our inner landscape. This desolation from a life of artificiality and stress keeps us from living life fully. In letting go of our dis-ease, we can be well again. If we are willing to take the inroads given to us, many that are unknown and unasked for, we can find peace in the end, and even along the way. This is Antoinette Pienaar’s wish for humanity: to let go of all that keeps us from living real lives of love. Not the romantic, Hollywood kind of love but the love that is quiet, powerful and true, and takes time to grow. It is to experience reality in the beauty of a life without expectations or judgments. { read more }

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Learn more about Antoinette Pienaar and her teacher Oom Johannes Willemse. { more }

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My Wish for Humanity

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January 19, 2023

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Katy Milkman: How to Change

“In her new book, How to Change, Katy Milkman offers simple yet profound insights about why better understanding our own internal obstacles–such as laziness, procrastination, forgetfulness, or our tendency to favor instant gratification over long-term rewards–is key to changing ourselves for good. Too often, books deliver one-size-fits-all approaches to common goals, like getting in shape or eating healthier. But since the internal forces preventing me from starting a new habit might be different from those preventing you from starting the same one, that doesn’t really work. That’s why it’s essential to tailor the science to our own barriers, picking and choosing strategies where they fit the internal opponent we’re up against, says Milkman.” { read more }

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Read an adapted excerpt from Milkman’s book here. { more }

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January 18, 2023

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What Does Justice for Animals Look Like

“Should a hummingbird be able to be a plaintiff in court? According to philosopher Martha Nussbaum, the answer is yes. In her new book, Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility, the distinguished professor of law and philosophy at the University of Chicago offers a new theory of animal justice that is meant to inform our law and policy. Her theory is based on the “capabilities approach,” which looks not only at the harm done to animals, but whether we’re infringing on their freedom to live full lives. Granting animals the rights, under the law, that they deserve has never been so urgent, Nussbaum contends.” { read more }

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More from Nussbaum in this interview. { more }

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January 17, 2023

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Caverly Morgan: The Heart of Who We Are

“When Caverly Morgan reentered society after eight years as a Zen monk, she was confronted with a question many of us are asking these days: Considering the enormity of the problems before us, how can one individual’s spiritual practice make a tangible difference in our world? Tami Simon speaks with Caverly about her new book, The Heart of Who We Are, and the connection between self-realization and collective transformation. They explore these topics and more: the difference between the absolute and the relative; introducing teens to inquiry practice; self-improvement vs. self-realization; the core experience of who we are in our depths; the power of community; meeting our deepest needs; “changing costumes within the dance of suffering”; connecting with others “essence to essence”; broadening public access to contemplative practices; escaping the trap of perfectionism; letting go of our conditioning, individually and collectively; egoic behaviors versus “acts of being.””Meditation teacher, non-profit founder, speaker, and author Caverly Morgan is the founder of Peace in Schools, a nonprofit that created the nation’s first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. More here. { read more }

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Take a few moments to reflect on what emptiness means to you.

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Inspiring Links of the Week

January 16, 2023

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Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder

“”Music,” the trailblazing composer Julia Perry wrote, “has a unifying effect on the peoples of the world, because they all understand and love it… And when they find themselves enjoying and loving the same music, they find themselves loving one another.” But there is something beyond humanistic ideology in this elemental truth –something woven into the very structure and sensorium of our bodies; as the great neurologist Oliver Sacks observed, “music can pierce the heart directly; it needs no mediation.” Psychologist Dacher Keltner examines what that unmediated something is and how it pierces us in a portion of his altogether fascinating book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (public library) — a taxonomy of wonder derived from his study of twenty-six cultures around the world, across which music, above all other forms of beauty and spirituality, emerges as the most universal of our creaturely portals into transcendence.” { read more }

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For more inspiration, check out this talk by Keltner, “What Science Taught Me About Compassion, Gratitude and Awe.” { more }

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