Sangha of Auspicious Companions

August 4, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Kind Kids

Every parent wants to raise a kind, helpful child. But how? A recent study in Germany suggests that it might be easier than we think. According to the study’s authors, humans have a strong predisposition toward altruism, evident from the time they’re toddlers. The researchers found that it was surprisingly simple to motivate young kids to act on their altruistic instincts. When toddlers were subtly exposed to a simple background image of dolls facing each other, they became three times more likely to help someone in need. This article from Greater Good magazine explains further, offering grounds for optimism to anyone encouraging kids to be kind. { read more }

Submitted by: Greater Good

Be The Change

Model kindness and connection around kids — and see how subtle cues can make a big impact.

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August 3, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Ways to Connect More Deeply

“Make Crows Feet. Use the Right Words. Perfect Your Handshake. Dress for a Tie. Get Close. Don’t Impose Your Values. Accept Others. Pursue and Project Your Passions. Find Shared Passions. Default to Yes.” In this compelling infographic, former chief evangelist of Apple, Guy Kawasaki, further details his advice for increasing likability. Or put another way, simply connecting more deeply. { read more }

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Share your own tips for connecting more deeply with other readers here. { more }

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August 2, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

7 Practices to Cultivate Compassion

Scientific studies suggest that there are physical benefits to practicing compassion — people who practice it produce 100 percent more DHEA, which is a hormone that counteracts the aging process, and 23 percent less cortisol — the “stress hormone.” According to this guide, the key to developing compassion is to make it a daily practice, and it offers 7 different ways to incorporate it into everyday life. It also supports the practice of compassion not only to ease the suffering of those we love and meet, but even those who mistreat us. { read more }

Be The Change

Try out one of the seven compassion practices today.

DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers “good news” to 107,132 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here.

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August 1, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

The Power of Feedback Loops

The premise of a feedback loop is simple: provide people with information about their actions in real time, then give them a chance to change those actions, pushing them toward better behaviors. Why does putting our own data in front of us somehow compel us to act? In part, it’s that feedback taps into something core to the human experience, even to our biological origins. Like any organism, humans are self-regulating creatures, and feedback loops are how we learn, whether we call it trial and error or course correction. In so many areas of life, we succeed when we have some sense of where we stand and some evaluation of our progress. As Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura puts it, “People are proactive, aspiring organisms,” and feedback taps into those aspirations. This Wired Magazine article explores emerging tools that harness the power of feedback loops. { read more }

Be The Change

In this short passage, Alan Watts reflects on our internal feedback system — “the self-awareness that makes human experience resonant.” { more }

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July 31, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Sidewalks: The Way They See It

Every Tuesday volunteers serve more than 100 Chicago homeless people with food from fine dining restuarants — all with dignity and grace. Here they are not faceless and referred to as “Guests,” and sometimes even as “Artists:” for the last eight years, some of them have received inexpensive disposable cameras and have gone about the adventure of capturing their lives. This work culminates with a one-night-only exhibition, “After Supper: Visions of My Life.” The photos sell for $100, with $75 of that going to the photographers, some of whom have used the money to buy their own cameras. And perhaps most importantly, as the founders of this project say, “They are proud of their work. They share their joy.” { read more }

Be The Change

Share a compassionate moment with the next homeless person you come across.

DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers “good news” to 107,092 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here.

Other CharityFocus projects include:

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July 30, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Lighting the Way in Slums

Plastic bottles jut from the roofs in a Manila slum neighborhood. But these bottles have an important purpose: they contain bleach and water and are placed snugly into a purpose-built hole in the roof. Designed by students at MIT, they reflect sunlight, spreading 360 degrees of 55-watt-light through the room beneath. Using the simplest of technologies, these bottles brighten dim and dreary shanties, emitting clear light for about five years. The invention is part of a project called “Isang Litrong Liwanag,” which means A Litre of Light, and helps some of the poorest Philippines residents save money and live better — in a renewable way. { read more }

Submitted by: j

Be The Change

Check out the website for the project, which aims to bring these Solar Bottle Bulbs to communities around the Phillipines. { more }

DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers “good news” to 107,091 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here.

Other CharityFocus projects include:

HelpOthers // CF Sites // KarmaTube // Conversations // More