Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Dalai Lama Quote

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week External circumstances are not what draw us into suffering. Suffering is caused and permitted by an untamed mind. The appearance of self-defeating emotions in our minds leads us to faulty actions. The naturally pure mind is covered over by these emotions and troubling conceptions. The force of their deceit pushes us into faulty actions, which leads inevitably to suffering. We need, with great awareness and care, to extinguish these problematic attitudes, the way gathering clouds dissolve back into the sphere of the sky. When our self-defeating attitudes, emotions, and conceptions cease, so will the harmful actions arising from them. As the great Tibetan yogi Milarepa says, “When arising, arising within space itself; when dissolving, dissolving back into space.” We need to become familiar with the state of our own minds to understand how to dissolve ill-founded ideas and impulses back into the deeper sphere of reality. The sky was there before the clouds gathered, and it will be after they have gone. It is also present when the clouds seem to cover every inch of the sky we can see.(p.22) –from How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships by H.H. the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins How to Expand Love • Now at 2O% off! (Good until February 10th).

Video of the Week: Everybody Can Be Great, Martin Luther King, Jr.

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 Feb 03, 2012 Everybody Can Be Great, Martin Luther King, Jr. “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve… You only need a heart full of grace.” On 4 February 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached “The Drum Major Instinct” (adapted from the 1952 homily of the same name by well-known, liberal, white Methodist preacher J. Wallace Hamilton) from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. This short video excerpts the portion of the speech where King urges his congregation to greatness through service and love. Share: Related KarmaTube Videos Dance Like No One Is Watching Change for a Dollar Christian the Lion Stomacher – Untitled/Dark Divider 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 40,977 subscribers.

Training the Mind to Find Happiness

I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind. — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Good News of the Day:
“At first, I sat on a couch cushion in the middle of my living room, and meditated for 5 minutes using my kitchen timer. At the beginning, I experienced what the book referred to as a ‘waterfall’ of thoughts. Having never tried to focus my mind on something so simple as respiration, so many thoughts poured down on me: ‘What am I going to have for lunch?’ ‘What if this doesn’t work?’ ‘I should do a load of laundry.’ In these instances, the wild horse takes off. Then you have to grab the reigns, and lead the horse back to the path: your breath. The important thing is to commit to doing this, and not leave your seat until the timer goes off, otherwise the horse is in control instead of the rider.” Joanna Holsten writes eloquently about her early exploration of training the mind for happiness.
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Be The Change:
Run your own experiment of mental training for 5 minutes today.

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Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Dharma Quote of the Week Boundless joy is the joy you should feel when you see gifted and learned beings who are happy, famous or influential. Instead of feeling uneasy and envious of their good fortune, rejoice sincerely, thinking, “May they continue to be happy and enjoy even more happiness!” Pray too that they may use their wealth and power to help others, to serve the Dharma and the Sangha, making offerings, building monasteries, propagating the teachings and performing other worthwhile deeds. Rejoice and make a wish: “May they never lost all their happiness and privileges. May their happiness increase more and more, and may they use it to benefit others and to further the teachings.” Pray that your mind may be filled with boundless equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion and joy–as boundless as a Bodhisattva’s. If you do so, genuine bodhichitta will certainly grow within you. The reason these four qualities are boundless, or immeasurable, is that their object–the totality of sentient beings–is boundless; their benefit–the welfare of all beings–is boundless; and also their fruit–the qualities of enlightenment–is boundless. They are immeasurable like the sky, and they are the true root of enlightenment.(p.49) –from The Excellent Path to Enlightenment, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated and edited by The Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications The Excellent Path to Enlightenment • Now at 5O% off! (Good until February 10th).

Kindness Daily: My Children Lift A Heavy Heart

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My Children Lift A Heavy Heart February 2, 2012 – Posted by smilingdaisy My son, daughter, and I have been trying to write to people in our family and friends who are going through difficult times. So, recently we decided to make personal note cards for this purpose. My children sat down immediately and wrote to my brother with cancer, my sister with a sick husband, and an elderly friend living in a nursing center. I was so proud of them for being so thoughtful! Then, my son went out of the room and I heard a lot of whispering between my daughter and him. Well, my sister was over and had mentioned that a very close friend of hers (an elderly lady battling breast cancer) was having a birthday. Knowing that she loves angels, he and my daughter found a beautiful picture of an angel online, they printed it out, and he made her a gorgeous birthday card to cheer her day. The next day she called him and told him that her day had started out very tough. Then, when she received his card, it completely changed her entire day! She couldn’t thank him enough. I was so proud of him and of my daughter. It just proves that when we take an extra few minutes out of our day to let someone know we are thinking of him/her, it can make all the difference in the world! It changed that sweet, and very sick lady’s entire perspective on her birthday! Add/View Comment >> About Newsletter Kindness Daily is an email that delivers today’s featured story from HelpOthers.org. If you’d rather not receive this email, you can also unsubscribe. Similar Stories Eleven Envelopes with 101 Dollars, by Sukh Five Year Old Jacob’s Chocolate Cookies, by brighteyes Tagging the Whole Entire Plane!, by Anon Painting Mindil with Smiles, by FREEhugsROCK Grocery Store Flower Bouquet, by treeflowerpuzzle Helpful Links Smile Cards: do an act of kindness and leave a card behind to keep the chain going. Smile Decks: 52 cards with a kindness idea on each! Smile Groups: share your own stories, make friends, spread the good. Smile Ideas: loads of ideas that can support your drive of kindness. Unsubscribe If you’d rather not receive these stories by email, you can remove yourself with two easy clicks. Community

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Vinny Ferraro: The Heartful Dodger

What if it all belongs — everything around you? Just see if you can approach every moment with kindness. Know what that does? That allows you to live in a kind world. — Vinny Ferraro

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Good News of the Day:
One bitter night, in the rough end of New Haven, fifteen-year-old Vinny Ferraro and his gang were hanging out as usual by the projects when a chance encounter with a homeless man (who they were assaulting) changed the course of the rest of his life. “I didn’t know what compassion meant when I was fifteen. But I knew that that homeless guy had seen my heart. And that was scary. I had done my best to hide this heart, because it wasn’t safe in my world to be soft or show feelings. And he had seen right through me.” It is now Ferraro who looks into angry young eyes and finds a glimpse of compassion. In this candid piece, he shares his remarkable journey from violence and despair to mindfulness and freedom, inspiring thousands of underserved youth to similarly transform their lives.
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Be The Change:
When you next experience any traces of anger or despair, reflect on Ferraro’s thought: “Do your conditions lead inevitably to suffering? No, they don’t. Only a being’s perspective leads to suffering.”

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10 Keys for Achieving Group Flow

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. — Helen Keller

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Tip of the Day:
Recent scientific research reveals that great creativity almost always springs from collaboration, conversation, and social networks — challenging our mythical image of the isolated genius. Keith Sawyer has been studying the phenomenon known as “flow,” where we get so absorbed in a task that we lose track of time; it’s what some people refer to as being “in the zone.” Research shows that when a group is in flow, it’s more likely to resolve problems with surprising and creative solutions. Given how much of our personal and professional time is spent collectively, how can business managers, coaches, and the rest of us foster group flow? From studying improv groups, jazz musicians, and business teams, Sawyer shares that group flow tends to emerge when 10 key conditions are in place. This essay published by Greater Good shares more.
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Be The Change:
Get your group flow on: use some of Sawyer’s tips in your next group meeting.

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Quote of the Week | Reuniting with Our Openness

Learn More | Books and Audio | The Pema Chödrön Foundation

Teachings by Pema Chödrön, taken from works published by Shambhala Publications. Photo by ©Andrea Roth. Forwarded from a friend? You can subscribe to this e-mail emailList, and be sure to include both your old and new addresses. If you no longer wish to receive the Heart Advice e-mails, click here. If you can’t see the images, click here.

Kindness Daily: A Saturday Well Spent

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A Saturday Well Spent January 31, 2012 – Posted by Bluebell Today my heart is full of joy and gratefulness for my family and for the beautiful people I encountered today. My husband worked all night as a police volunteer and got home at 5.30 a.m. in the morning and then left at 4 p.m. this afternoon for another shift. My daughter spent the morning with some friends and neighbors raising money for a very famous charity in our town and also helped one of her friend’s dad raise money for a sponsored climb of a mountain in Morocco. And what did I do? Well, I bought some cakes for my daughter and her friend and gave a smile card to the gentleman that was selling the cakes, plus a card that said, "May all your days be filled with Love." I went to the library and left the cards inside the magazines and books and on the shelves so people could find them. I went to one of the charity shops in town and I saw a lady that is always there, I guess one could say that she is a professional volunteer and she is always smiling. I heard her mention the lottery for some reason so, I went out and bought her a thank you card and a cake and inside of the card I put a lottery ticket. I wish I could have seen her face. I went to my favorite coffee shop and I left more cards in the magazines. They had some organic vegetables for sale on a small table outside with an "honesty" cup for payment so I overpaid for my lettuce and carrots and left some cards inside the cup. The I came back and picked up the girls and gave some cash to my neighbor to sponsor his mountain climb and took the girls out for lunch. And now I am home feeling the bliss of a well-spent Saturday. Add/View Comment >> About Newsletter Kindness Daily is an email that delivers today’s featured story from HelpOthers.org. If you’d rather not receive this email, you can also unsubscribe. Similar Stories No similar stories found. Helpful Links Smile Cards: do an act of kindness and leave a card behind to keep the chain going. Smile Decks: 52 cards with a kindness idea on each! Smile Groups: share your own stories, make friends, spread the good. Smile Ideas: loads of ideas that can support your drive of kindness. Unsubscribe If you’d rather not receive these stories by email, you can remove yourself with two easy clicks. Community

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Lessons from a 7-yr-old’s Heartwarming Letter

Moral imagination is the capacity to empathize with others, i.e., not just to feel for oneself, but to feel with and for others. — Thomas McCollough

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Good News of the Day:
Sometimes the greatest lessons come unexpectedly, and from the smallest moments. 7-year-old Owen Shure’s heart-warming letter to a football player is a perfect example. The Twittersphere buzzed with reactions to the San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Williams fumbling the ball in a tight moment in the playoffs. Some responses were downright vitriolic. But hopefully Kyle also saw this touching story from Ben Mankiewicz: ‘He was crying, saying of Kyle Williams, with the distinct sobs of a seven-year-old between each word, “But… why… did he… have to… fumble?” […] Trying to get his son to stop crying, Michael asked him, “If you feel this way, how sad do you think Kyle Williams is?” Owen paused a second, then asked his dad, “Can I write him a letter to make him feel better?”‘ Nisha Srinivasan shares her reflections on Kyle’s letter.
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Be The Change:
The next time you’re upset with someone, flip the frame and let them know how you would feel in their shoes.

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