Sangha of Auspicious Companions

August 28, 2012

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27 Non-School Skills Children Need

“When you got out of high school, did you know everything you needed in order to survive in life, let alone succeed? If you were lucky, you knew how to read and had some basic history and math skills, and if you were even luckier, you had good study habits that would serve you well in college. But were you prepared for life? Most likely not, unless you had parents who did you that favor. In fact, many of us screwed up our early adult lives because we didn’t know those skills — and we’re paying the consequences now. That’s a part of life, you might say, learning these lessons. But it’s also possible to prepare your child a bit before they go out on their own, and if we can’t get the schools to teach these skills, then let’s do it ourselves. What follows is a basic curriculum in life that a child should know before reaching adulthood.” Leo Babauta shares further. { read more }

Be The Change

This week, shares a skill with a child that you value now, which you didn’t yourself have as a child.

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May your study of this material deepen
your meditation practice and inspire
your dance with life.

Copyright (C) 2012 Life Balance Institute. All rights reserved.

August 27, 2012

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The Literary Physician & How Stories Heal

When physician-writer William Carlos Williams was asked how he managed his dual careers, he replied, “It’s no strain. In fact, the one nourishes the other, even if at times I’ve groaned to the contrary.” It’s a philosophy shared by Rita Charon, director of a new program in narrative medicine at Columbia University, where students and clinicians learn to shape the fragments of medical work — a symptom, a conflict, a difficult conversation — into coherent narratives that reflect not only their points of view but also the patient’s. Here, Charon explains how a habit of narrative writing can change the way a medical professional sees her patients and herself. { read more }

Be The Change

Bring narrative writing to your next project or activity, tying a variety of perspectives into a cohesive thread.

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ENDURING SUCCESS

It is often seen that human beings can endure problems quite well, but cannot endure success. When we are successful and have everything we desire, it can easily go to our heads. There is a great danger of losing our common sense and becoming careless and arrogant. As it is said, “Nothing corrupts a person more than power.” Very powerful people sometimes become so proud that they no longer care about their actions or about the effect they have on others. Losing any sense of right and wrong, they create severe problems for themselves and everyone else.

Even if we have all the success we could dream of—fame, wealth, and so on—we must understand that these things have no real substance. Attachment does not come from having things, but from the way our mind reacts to them. It is fine to participate in good circumstances, provided we can see that they have no real essence. They may come and they may go. When seeing this, we will not become so attached. Even if we lose our wealth we will not be badly affected, and while it is there we will enjoy it without being senseless and arrogant.

August 26, 2012

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The Billion Euro House

In January 2012, at the height of the economic crisis in Ireland and the rest of Europe, artist Frank Buckley was faced with the possibility of his home being repossessed. In a remarkable twist of fate, Frank set out to build himself a new home using shredded Euro banknotes and aptly named it “The Billion Euro House.” Through The Billion Euro House, Frank seems to ask us “What is the true value of money?” { read more }

Be The Change

Did you know that self-sustaining environmentally friendly homes built out of recycled materials are no longer science fiction ? { more }

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August 25, 2012

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Managing Emotions in the Workplace

You know the type: coworkers who never have anything positive to say, whether at the weekly staff meeting or in the cafeteria line. They can suck the energy from a brainstorming session with a few choice comments. Their bad mood frequently puts others in one, too. Their negativity can contaminate even good news. “We engage in emotional contagion,” says Sigal Barsade, a Wharton management professor who studies the influence of emotions on the workplace. “Emotions travel from person to person like a virus.” { read more }

Be The Change

Do something big or small to foster a culture of caring and positivity at your workplace.

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75-Year Old Bodybuilding Grandma

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August 24, 2012

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Can We Design Cities for Happiness?

Happiness itself is a commons to which everyone should have equal access. That’s the view of Enrique Penalosa , who is not a starry-eyed idealist given to abstract theorizing. He’s actually a politician, who served as mayor of Bogota, Colombia, for three years, and now travels the world spreading a message about how to improve quality-of-life for everyone living in today’s cities. Penalosa’s ideas stand as a beacon of hope for cities of the developing world, which even with their poverty and immense problems will absorb much of the world’s population growth over the next half-century. Based on his experiences in Bogota, Penalosa believes it’s a mistake to give up on these cities as good places to live. { read more }

Be The Change

Take a small step towards increasing happiness in your own locality today.

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