Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Video of the Week: Charlie Chaplin: Let Us Free the World

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 Mar 09, 2012 Charlie Chaplin: Let Us Free the World Some call it the greatest speech ever made. This remix puts Charlie Chaplin’s climactic address from “The Great Dictator” (1940) into present-day context, showing how the spirit of liberty, brotherhood, and equality that defeated fascism seven decades ago must be urgently reclaimed. Share: Related KarmaTube Videos Magic of Free Parking 365 Grateful Barrio De Paz: Peace Town Shift –The Movie 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 41,884 subscribers.

The Suitcase That’s Saving Lives

Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light. — Norman B. Rice

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Good News of the Day:
What if your carry-on suitcase could save a woman’s life? In the fight against maternal mortality in the developing world, a rugged, portable “Solar Suitcase” is providing reliable electricity to clinics in 17 countries where healthcare workers previously struggled to provide emergency obstetric care by the light of candles, flashlights and mobile phones. The Solar Suitcase powers medical LED lights, headlamps, mobile phones, computers and medical devices. In this National Geographic article, obstetrician Laura Stachel, Co-Founder of the non-profit WE CARE Solar, talks about the impact of a simple solar solution on emergency obstetrics.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A874E:C3009629A010612CAFC4C3CC1F3C28E4B4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
Read more about the impact We Care Solar’s work has had in different parts of the world.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A874F:C3009629A010612CAFC4C3CC1F3C28E4B4B847859706E37D&

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The Kindness Boomerang

There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life. — Sr. Mary Rose McGeady

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Good News of the Day:
What goes around comes around. This charming short film depicts the ripple-effect of kind acts — the way in which receiving an unexpected moment of generosity from a stranger can cause us to become more aware of the needs of those around us and to take action to become a vector of goodness.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8627:C3009629A010612C0AC9F6F6A74BD95CB4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
Set ripples in motion by doing a small act of kindess for a stranger today.

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Dalai Lama Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week Nature’s law dictates that, in order to survive, bees must work together. As a result, they instinctively possess a sense of social responsibility. They have no constitution, no law, no police, no religion or moral training, but because of their nature, they labor faithfully together. Occasionally, they may fight, but in general, based on cooperation, the whole colony survives. We human beings have a constitution, laws and a police force. We have religion, remarkable intelligence and a heart with a great capacity for love. We have many extraordinary qualities, but in actual practice, I think we are lagging behind those small insects. In some respects I feel we are poorer than the bees. –from The Pocket Dalai Lama by the Dalai Lama, compiled and edited by Mary Craig

Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Dharma Quote of the Week Nagarjuna offers us encouragement in terms of someone of modest potential accomplishing the practice, in verse 116: And even those who realized the truth Did not fall from the heavens, nor emerge Like crops of corn from earth’s dark depths, but once Were ruled by kleshas and were ordinary men. Not one of all the sublime beings who have appeared–individuals who had direct realization of the Dharma of the four truths–was already a sublime being right from the beginning: they did not fall from the sky, nor did they emerge from the darkness of the earth like a crop. In the past they were subject to afflictive emotions [‘kleshas’]–they were ordinary people dominated by the afflictive emotions. They are therefore worth following as an example for accomplishing the path.(p.150) –from Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend: with Commentary by Kangyur Rinpoche by Nagarjuna, with commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kyabje Kangyur Rinpoche, translated by The Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend • Now at 5O% off! (Good until March 16th).

Quote of the Week | Fearlessness and Patience

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A Heart Touched By Music

If you want the truth, I’ll tell you the truth: Listen to the secret sound, the real sound, which is inside you. — Kabir

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Good News of the Day:
“The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal. So I stood there listening. She must have felt my presence because she would occasionally look in my direction. By now I was telling myself that if she could perform in front of hundreds of people she didn’t know then I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked over and put some money in her carriage and she said, ‘Thank you.’ Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, ‘I have been going through a rough time lately, but you’ve made me hopeful again.’ ‘I’m happy that I could help,’ she replied. ‘Why are you so sad?'” So starts a real world kindness story.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A8559:C3009629A010612C76E566C9140613D4B4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
Thank someone who is clearly doing something because they love sharing it.

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The Power of Introverts

In our culture, snails are not considered valiant animals — we are constantly exhorting people to “come out of their shells” — but there’s a lot to be said for taking your home with you wherever you go. — Susan Cain

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Tip of the Day:
“Do you enjoy having time to yourself, but always feel a little guilty about it? Then Susan Cain’s “Quiet: The Power of Introverts” is for you. It’s part book, part manifesto. We live in an era that values its extroverts — the outgoing, the lovers of crowds — but not the quiet types who change the world. In this engaging interview Cain discusses what it really means to be an introvert, the value of solitude in the creative process, and why we need to shift our cultural bias for gregariousness.” This Scientific American article shares more.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A840C:C3009629A010612CCE762CD43B0CD5FAB4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
“Silence is helpful, but you don’t need it in order to find stillness.” Brief snippets from Eckhart Tolle:
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A840D:C3009629A010612CCE762CD43B0CD5FAB4B847859706E37D&

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InnerNet Weekly: Making Friends with the Present Moment

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Making Friends with the Present Moment by Alan Zulch [Listen to Audio!] Some months ago, for three successive nights, I was awakened by three insights that came to me – persistently and repeatedly – one per night. The first night’s message was: "Only the present moment is real." The second night’s message was: "You can trust the present moment." The third night’s message was: "Make friends with the present moment." How do I surrender the primacy of my conditioned mind and egoic will, and allow – moment-by-moment – space for stillness and the arising of my natural state of awareness? Doing so, for me, involves a certain amount of rational insight to initially coax the thinking mind from its constant daydreaming in the foreground into letting go and taking a secondary position in the background. This shift is facilitated by the first night’s message. With the mind’s move into the background, my body comes alive, my hearing clears and ambient sounds are bright. I’m alert but feeling a deep peace…I’m fully here, having taken a "backward step" into the present moment. Staying here, however, is a real trick – an all-or-nothing opportunity. One thought – indeed any mind intrusion – and I’m instantly back in my ego identity. Allowing my ego to step aside requires trust – not only that a larger intelligence is holding me, but that it’s capable of actively engaging in my practical affairs. This slow building of trust is assisted by the second night’s message. Some days, when I am especially calm, I can ease into the present moment for longer periods…successfully relaxing into this friendly – indeed loving – universe. Slowly, I’m making friends with the present moment, with being, in accordance with the third night’s message. Making friends with the universe is very, very enticing. Like a moth to a flame. My goal is to abide in presence, allowing being to inform my doing. It entails a fundamental shift of my identity, of who I take myself to be. Am I the ego? Or, am I the consciousness that is observing – with equanimity – from behind the drama? To the ego, simply being sounds dangerously disengaged. But now I know – gradually gradually – that being fully present is radically transformative and just the opposite of passivity, allowing one to be responsive rather than reactive, and in service to the need at hand. Ultimately, I can think of no higher aspiration than to become an instrument through which larger creative and healing forces of a friendly, loving universe can come into the world. This can only happen in the present moment, with complete trust. Gradually gradually. –Alan Zulch Share the Wisdom: Latest Community Insights Making Friends with the Present Moment PK wrote: I remember a scene in Peaceful Warrior movie where the hero asks the teacher to help him be in the present moment — and do it quickly because he needs to go to class soon. The teacher nods and throws… Conrad P Pritscher wrote: Thank you Alan for a wonderful statement. thank you Somik for sending it. I find it very difficult to stay in the present. I find myself staying in the present for relatively few sec… David Doane wrote: I certainly agree with your statement, Alan, and your three insights/messages. They’re actually very basic truths about life, it’s just that we humans often don’t accept them a… Samata wrote: Dear Friends, May this letter find you well and in good health. This is an very nice and interesting piece and I would like to initially address the idea of thought as a mental intrusion. I fe… Ricky wrote: I’ll begin with a quote from Richard Bach: ‘ You are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self.’ After the fi… 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. Audio Reflections From last week’s Bay-Area circle on The Secret of Work … Some Good News Cat Saves Owner’s Life Hours After Adoption Five Tips For Making Travel Meaningful The Sweet Spot between Doing and Being Video of the Week Designing For Generosity Kindness Stories To Whoever Finds This A Heart Touched By A Musical Soul The Hands We Are Dealt About Back in 1997, one person started sending this simple “meditation reminder” to a few friends. Soon after, “Wednesdays” started, CharityFocus 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 70,607 subscribers each week. We never spam nor do we host any advertising. Archives, from the last 10+ years, are freely available online. You can unsubscribe anytime, within seconds. A Gift Economy offering of CharityFocus.org (2008)

Year of Dancing with Life – Week 22

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Week 22: Attachment to Desire To receive Phillip’s weekly teaching, click here: http://www.lifebalanceinstitute.com/ dharmawisdom/dancing-with-life/ teaching/attachment-desire May your study of this material deepen your meditation practice and inspire your dance with life. If you are interested in studying Dancing with Life in more depth, sign up to receive your on-line study guide and other supplemental materials.