Sangha of Auspicious Companions

February 19, 2018

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Hummingbirds: Bubbles Wrapped in Feathers

Their appearance has been described as “glittering fragments of rainbows, flamingo comets, and living gems,” but equally fascinating and beautiful is what hummingbirds are physically able to do and how they are able to do it. Their bodies, bones, and feathers are filled with air — which makes them little more than “bubbles wrapped in feathers” — yet an adult hummingbird visits an average of 1,500 flowers a day. Its resting heart rate is 500 beats per minute, and it breathes 250 times a minute. In this delightful and fascinating excerpt of “Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind,” Sy Montgomery and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas share lessons and lore learned from hummingbird experts. “Reasoning that surely a bird so tiny with feathers so brilliant must be born anew each day, the Spaniards who first encountered South America’s hummingbirds called them ‘resurrection birds.’ … They force us to see the world made new each time, and teach us to believe in ordinary miracles.” { read more }

Be The Change

Open your eyes to the ordinary miracles around you. To learn more about how to attract and protect hummingbirds in your yard visit the Hummingbird Society website. { more }

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February 18, 2018

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The Revolutionary Power of Diverse Thought

Elif Shafak is a Turkish author, columnist and speaker who writes stories of women, minorities, immigrants, subcultures, and youth in both Turkish and English. In this Ted Talk, she exposes the unprecedented challenges facing the world today, the attraction to and fallacy of following demagogues, and how these same problems will show us the way forward: the indispensability of democracy, the need for global solidarity, the beauty of cosmopolitanism and diversity, the portability of homeland, and the telling of stories that evoke the taste of freedom. { read more }

Be The Change

When does finding one’s tribe become engaging in tribalism? Choose one or more of these suggestions and expand your tribe: cover new ground by going to areas unfamiliar whether near or far from your home, take in a festival and celebrate food and art that are not of your tribe, try something new by joining a club or starting a hobby or attending a museum or cultural group, volunteer in communities (including countries) that are not part of your tribe, be open to new friendships (adapted from Doing Good Together) { more }

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February 17, 2018

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When Someone Threw Coffee at My Face

“Tonight, I went to see a play by, and full with, women I consider fierce.
En route, a car cut me off. I turned my bright lights on him and I drove right behind him. At the next stop light, I pulled up beside him. He was angry, and seemed to shout profanities at me. I rolled down my window and said, “Really? You’re mad at me when YOU cut me off?!” He retorted, “YES!” And then threw what I think was his coffee grande (with cream) in my face! It covered my face, my car and my steering wheel. Thankfully, it was cold. I didn’t know what to do but I was angry and tired and not feeling 100%, so I followed behind him with my bright lights on.” What happened next in this real-life story is rather astounding. { read more }

Be The Change

The next time someone offends or angers you, take a moment to try and remember there may be a side to their story that you can’t see.

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February 16, 2018

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How to Help Teens Find Their Purpose

“Research shows that teens and young adults that seek purpose report higher life satisfaction and levels of happiness. New research even suggests that a feeling of purpose in young people is associated with better physical health.” In this piece Patrick Cook-Deegan explores the power of transformative experiences in helping teenagers find their purpose. { read more }

Be The Change

What is your life’s purpose and how did you discover it? Share your story with a young person in your life. For more inspiration join this Saturday’s Awakin Call with Patrick: Reimagining School and Wayfinding Purpose. RSVP and more details here. { more }

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Forest Keepers – The Batwa Experience

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February 15, 2018

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Photographing the Beauty of Life in the Shadow of War

While violence might be the only thing depicted in times of trouble or war, its not the whole picture. Thats what photographer Ami Vitale learned in places like Kosovo and Gaza. At the age of 26, Vitale quit her office job in Manhattan to go abroad and make a difference. There, she got a job as a photographer for a business journal when war broke out nearby, instantly altering her course and putting her on the path to becoming a well-known war photographer. Tasked with photographing violence, Vitale focused on the frontlines, but saw other stories not being told. She found the moments that really touched her were the life-affirming ones. Sometimes in plain view, sometimes hidden away, the stream of humanity flowed. In this National Geographic talk, Vitale asks the question, “What if we chose to illuminate the things that unite us as human beings, rather than just the things that divide us?” { read more }

Be The Change

Find out where people are being displaced by war and conflict worldwide and learn how to help. { more }

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February 14, 2018

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Tea with Betty Peck

Betty Peck’s kindergarten in Saratoga, California was a magical place. One mainstay of Betty’s classroom cooking was the Kindergarten Bread. Baked weekly, the making of the bread takes children through all the stages of wheat, from kernel to loaf. The children plant the wheat each year, harvest it, grind a small amount to add to the bread, and learn about kneading, rising, and baking, singing songs about the different stages along the way. Each student even practices the letter of the week by forming it with dough (the tactile, three-dimensionality of which has been found to help students with reading and writing skills.) Every little thing in Betty’s classroom had its purpose- to show how everything in life is connected. The bread was a delicious, regular example of this. Read on for Betty’s recipes for a magical childhood and her kindergarten bread. { read more }

Be The Change

How can you spread a little magic into the life of a young child? For more inspiration here’s an in-depth interview with Betty. { more }

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February 13, 2018

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21 Lessons on Leadership and Love from an Uncommon Master

Frederic Pignon and his wife, Magali Delgado, travel the world performing and leading horsemanship and dressage clinics. Magali dazzles audiences with her ability to perform high-level dressage moves without so much as a bridle. Together the duo invite humanity into an altogether different approach to relationship. Their philosophy towards horses is actually a way of life: love, respect and understanding, patience and trust as the basis of connection to all things. As the hours passed, bundled against the elements in layers of coats and blankets, Kelly Wendorf began to hear not only some profoundly transformative lessons on optimal horsemanship, but on leading, living and relating. In this piece she distills 21 lessons learned from this encounter. { read more }

Be The Change

Consider the wisdom in Wendorf’s 21 Lessons. How do they inform the way you will interact with the people in your life? Consider Wendorf’s benediction:

“May we be closer to our kindest humanity this holiday season. May we listen more, speak less, inspire more and control less. May we be joyful. May we evoke joy in others.”

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