Sangha of Auspicious Companions

December 9, 2023

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Light & Danger Through the Crack in the Door

“Multiplicity of viewpoints, described, prayed over, celebrated, sung, danced, and debated by practitioners of many spiritual practices drove the five-day convening of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, held August 14-18 at Chicagos McCormick Place Lakeside Center. There are those who think of religion as a lofty preoccupation, divorced from the sorrows and suffering of the real world. But from its beginnings, the dominant message and fervent plea of the Parliament has been just the opposite: to bring together people of diverse faiths, that they may face and resolve some of the worlds most grievous problems.” From Trebbe Johnson comes this lively report from the 2023 Parliament of World Religions. { read more }

Be The Change

For more inspiration, read the text of Swami Vivekananda’s speech at the first Parliament of World Religions in 1893. { more }

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The Radical Act of Savoring Pleasant Moments

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December 7, 2023

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The Unlikely Success of Wingspan

“We begin by angling a lamp toward the wall, allowing just the perfect amount of warm light to fall on the table. Windows are flung open, inviting the night air inside. Then, the careful act of removing each bag, box, and card. We fill clear, shallow bowls with small pastel eggseasily mistaken for Cadburys at first glance. Other bowls brim with cardboard tokens. And as I neatly unfold each players board, the kitchen table fills with forests, fields, and streams. The night dissolves into swirls of pastel feathers spread across the tabletop as we deal the first round of cards. After more than a year of playing Wingspan, this bird-themed board game is still as enchanting as ever. The objective is for players to create their own wildlife preserves…” { read more }

Be The Change

Take time to learn about conservation efforts in your corner of our whirling blue planet.

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December 6, 2023

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Nick Cave: Loss, Yearning, Transcendence

“Here are some experiences to which Nick Cave gives voice and song: the “universal condition” of yearning, and of loss; a “spirituality of rigor”; and the transcendent and moral dimensions of what music is about. This Australian musician, writer, and actor first made a name in the wild world of ’80s post-punk and later with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He also underwent public struggles with addiction and rehab. Since the accidental death of his 15-year-old son Arthur in 2015, and a few years later, the death of his eldest child Jethro, he has entered yet another transfigured era, co-created an exquisite book called Faith, Hope and Carnage, and become a frank and eloquent interlocutor on grief. As a human and a songwriter, Nick Cave is an embodiment of a life examined and evolved…” More in this interview with Krista Tippett. { read more }

Be The Change

For more inspiration check out, “How to Grow Up: Nick Cave’s Life-Advice to a 13-Year-Old.” { more }

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December 5, 2023

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How Language Shapes the Way We Think

There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world — and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language — from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words for blue in Russian — that suggest the answer is a resounding yes. “The beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is,” Boroditsky says. “Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000.” { read more }

Be The Change

For more inspiration, check out this talk by Michael Corballis, “Evolution’s Great Mystery: Language.” { more }

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December 4, 2023

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The Man Who Made Lonesome George Less Lonely

“In the middle of the Pacific the black, volcanic ruins of Pinta Island were once dotted by thousands of “living rocks,” Galpagos tortoises chomping prickly cacti, hatching their babies, slowly chasing the equatorial sun. But the island was stripped bare over the 19th century, as hungry whalers discovered that they could be stored as fresh meat for a year without food or water in their ships’ holds. By 1906 the last three documented Pinta tortoises were captured and preserved in arsenic by Stanford’s California Academy of Sciences. However, one particularly shy tortoise had escaped their survey and would go on to survive, unnoticed, for the next seventy yearsa young age for a creature who might grow for nearly two centuries. It wasnt until 1971 that he first encountered a human, an unsuspecting snail scientist, who soon realized what hed stumbled upon. This was an endling, the very last of his species.They named him El Solitario Jorge: Lonesome George…” More about Lonesome George and the caretaker with whom he shared a special friendship here. { read more }

Be The Change

For more, check out this article, “An End to Endlings.” { more }

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December 3, 2023

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Pico Iyer on the Wisdom of Travelers

Pico Iyer’s latest book, The Half Known Life, looks at the ways in which we seek paradise on earth, sometimes in places that are fraught with risk. In this podcast episode, he and fellow writer Katherine May talk about the similarities in their work, particularly the ways in which they explore secular understandings of big spiritual questions, and they touch on the differences, too.” { read more }

Be The Change

Read an excerpt from Iyer’s book, “The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise,” here. { more }

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December 2, 2023

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The Vital Role of Beauty Even in War Time

“Art philosopher Arthur Danto wrote that beauty, while optional for art, is not an option for life. Neuroscientists have shown that our brains are biologically wired for beauty: The neural mechanisms that influence attention and perception have adapted to notice color, form, proportion and pattern. We’ve found that refugees worldwide, often with limited or no legal rights, still invest considerable effort in beautifying their surroundings. Whether they’re staying in shelters or makeshift apartments, they paint walls, hang pictures, add wallpaper and carpet the floors. They transform plain and seemingly temporary accommodations into personalized spaces — into semblances of home. Refugees rearrange spaces to share meals, celebrate holidays and host parties — to greet friends, hold dances and say goodbyes. They burn incense, serve tea in decorative porcelain and recite prayers on ornate mats. These simple acts carry profound significance, even amid challenges…” More in this article about the vital role beauty plays in wartime Gaza. { read more }

Be The Change

For more inspiration, check out Ari Honorvar’s piece, “The Radical Act of Savoring Pleasant Moments.” { more }

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December 1, 2023

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Duct Tape and Dreams

Become a kid again! Imagine building a soapbox car; anything you could dream up and build. And then getting to ride it downhill being cheered all the way down. Produced in collaboration with Stink Studios, “Duct Tape and Dreams: Reviving the Soapbox Derby at McLaren Park” captures the creativity, collaboration, and exuberance of everyone who participated and, of course, all that exciting downhill action! { read more }

Be The Change

Go ahead…build your own crazy soapbox car and ride it down a hill.

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