Archive for August 2011

The Doctor Who Would Not Give Up

August 31, 2011

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how. — Friedrich Nietzsche

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
Dr. Richard Olney is racing to finish what is almost certain to be his last research paper. The 63-year-old neurologist is considered one of the country’s top clinical specialists for ALS, popularly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is also the reason Olney is in a hurry to finish his paper: He was diagnosed with it in 2004 and now has almost no muscle function left. But Olney’s most enduring contribution to the ALS field may have less to do with the details of his final study than the commitment he has shown, relentlessly attacking a disease that will soon kill him. It’s a lesson of persistence and personal bravery that clearly has impressed his own doctors. “I think about it every day,” Lomen-Hoerth said. “How he continues to work, his will to work.” This inspiring article shares more. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4722

~~~~
Be The Change:
Is there something you’ve been meaning to give the final push to? Work on it today.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4722

School Superintendent Gives Up $800k

August 30, 2011

Love is more than a noun — it is a verb; it is more than a feeling — it is caring, sharing, helping, sacrificing. — William Arthur Ward

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
Some people give back to their community. Then there’s School Superintendent Larry Powell, who’s literally giving back. As in $800,000 — his expected compensation for the next three years. Until 2015, Powell will run 325 schools and 35 school districts with 195,000 students, all for $31,000/yr. “How much do we need to keep accumulating?” asks Powell, 63. “There’s no reason for me to keep stockpiling money.” The man who started his career as a high school civics teacher, who has made anti-bullying his mission, wants to ensure that his pet projects survive, and hopes his act of generosity will help restore faith in the government. There’s even more to Powell’s story: he contracted childhood polio, leaving him with lingering post-polio syndromes. But his view? “It’s the most spectacular thing that has happened to me in all my life,” Powell said. “People stepped up to help me be successful.” http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4720

~~~~
Be The Change:
Do you have something in excess? Share some of it today.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4720

Money and Life: Ecologizing Growth

August 29, 2011

Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. — Noam Chomsky

~~~~
Inspiration of the Day:
The words economy and ecology share the same root — the Greek word meaning household. Could a change in how we view economic systems create a change in how we view ourselves? Ecologize Growth is a five-minute video based on the documentary ‘Money and Life’, and seeks to answer that question. This micro-film is a challenge to the commonly accepted infinite growth paradigm of the modern economy. It brings in the voices of several luminaries — Jean Houston, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Lynne Twist — who explore old and new perspectives and belief systems about money and how all of these can affect society’s shared well-being, co-creative potential and evolving consciousness. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4719

~~~~
Be The Change:
“Our common future depends on creating a democratically accountable money system that operates as our servant, not our master.” David Korten in this short reading called ‘The Flow of Money.’ http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4719a

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4719

Smile Newsletter: Bridges, Second Chance, PickPocket

August 28, 2011
HelpOthers.org
Aug 28, 2011
I would define “good” as the daily pursuit of making the world ever so slightly better than you found it.” –Chris Baker
Idea of the Week
140.jpg“This morning, as I got dressed for work, I chose one of my favorite necklaces. I do not wear it often because I want to hold onto it for a long time. When I got to work, I was walking though a doorway and a woman stopped me and said, ‘I love your necklace.’Â I stopped walking to talk to her for a few minutes as she admired it and told me how great it looked on me. I recalled the many mornings that she has spoken to me with a smile and then remembered something that my mom taught me. ‘You only give to others things that you would want to have.’Â As this thought ran through my mind, I unfastened the necklace from around my neck and told her she could have it. As I walked off I told her that a blessing given is a blessing received.” — hasifa

[ share your story >> ]

Stories of the Week
You can also contribute comments on each story!
The Bridge We Were Meant To Cross >>
My Second Chance To Be a Parent >>
Pickpockets Put Back a Little Cash >>
More Stories >>
Comment of the Week
“I went to the mall on my lunch hour from work, and wrapped a smile card with a five dollar bill and left it on a pole in the middle of the mall. After some time, two ladies walked by and one of them took the money rather quickly, and then I saw her and her friend read the smile card and then turn it over and read the back. Then I saw a big smile on her face and she looked up to heaven and I think she said thank you. Wow. What a wonderful feeling to see the smile on her face! I realized that there is no better way to make your day than to make someone smile, and it is even better when you do it annonomously. Thank you Helpothers.org for this website. I sure am having fun with those smile cards. God bless you.” — Happy7
What is a “smile card”? It’s a game of kindness — do something nice for someone and leave a card behind asking them to pay it forward. To date, 958,228 cards have been shipped without any charge.

The ‘Smiles’ newsletter is emailed to 83,548 subscribers with the intent of spreading more smiles in the world. You can unsubscribe anytime.

get smile cards | donate | write to us

t?c=906507&r=1395&l=35820&t=10&e=A2F402742563B09A285A72EC728354E9B4B847859706E37D

Study, Practice and Serve: Peter Senge

August 28, 2011

People with high levels of personal mastery cannot afford to choose between reason and intuition, or head and heart, any more than they would choose to walk on one leg or see with one eye. — Peter Senge

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
Peter Senge is a senior lecturer at MIT, and the author of The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. The Journal of Business Strategy named Senge one of the greatest influences on business strategy over the last 100 years. In this dialogue with Dr. Prasad Kaipa, Senge talks about how his own internal development helped him develop a perspective on systems theory: “I think the terminology I would use is ‘a continuous process of reflection’. I’ve always thought of only two questions that have mattered to me personally. One is what is really needed in the world and the second is what’s really important to me and how these two intersect. It’s always been a reflective process — spiraling around these two poles.” http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4717

~~~~
Be The Change:
Study, practice and serve.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4717

How Nature Affects the Brain

August 27, 2011

The softest, freest, most pliable and changeful living substance is the brain — the hardest and most iron-bound as well. — Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1903

~~~~
Inspiration of the Day:
“For the first time in three days in the wilderness, Todd Braver is not wearing his watch. “I forgot,” he says. It is a small thing, the kind of change many vacationers notice in themselves as they unwind and lose track of time. But for Braver and his companions, these moments lead to a question: What is happening to our brains? Braver, a psychology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, was one of five neuroscientists on an unusual journey. They spent a week in late May in this remote area of southern Utah, rafting the San Juan River, camping on the soft banks and hiking the tributary canyons. It was a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.” http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4715

~~~~
Be The Change:
Take a small retreat into nature (however you define it).

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4715

Video of the Week: One Man, One Sign, One Message

August 26, 2011
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
KarmaTube.org

Video of the Week

Aug 26, 2011
One Man, One Sign, One Message

One Man, One Sign, One Message

You are perfect. One simple message, one simple truth. A local filmmaker profiles an inspired man dedicated to sharing this message with his community.
Watch Video Now Share: Email Twitter FaceBook

Related KarmaTube Videos

Smile Big
Meditate
Live It Up
Serve All

Inspiring a Life of Immersion

Ads Worth Spreading: Antiretroviral Therapy [Selinah]

Heroes of HIV – The Activist

Scratch & Dent Dreams

About KarmaTube:
KarmaTube is a collection of inspiring videos accompanied by simple actions every viewer can take. We invite you to get involved.
Other CharityFocus Projects:

DailyGood // Conversations // iJourney // HelpOthers

MovedByLove // CF Sites // Karma Kitchen // More

Thank you for helping us spread the good. This newsletter now reaches 36,767 subscribers.

A Morning When Everything Fell Into Place

August 26, 2011

We must not cease from exploration; the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time. — T. S. Eliot

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
“I finally found a Motel 6 about twenty-five miles east. When I got there around 11pm, from the cars and people I saw — it was still warm outside, maybe 85 degrees — I got the impression I was deep in gang territory. A young couple checking in at the office counter ahead of me added to this impression. I was nervous and felt out of place, but ended up getting a good night’s sleep. In the morning, as I was carrying my bags to the car, there was a young man standing in the parking lot. I glanced at him and after a few more steps looked at him again. ‘Good morning,’ he said. ‘Good morning,’ I responded. And then, continuing to look at me with his smile, he said, ‘Have a blessed day.'” So starts an extraordinary everyday story. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4716

~~~~
Be The Change:
Explore a situation today with no assumptions, and see what opens up.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4716

The Inner Landscape of Beauty

August 25, 2011

Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there’s a seamlessness in you, and where there is a confidence and tranquility. — John O’Donohue

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
For the late Celtic mystic John O’Donohue, the visible world isn’t all there is — it’s “the first shoreline of the invisible world.” The question of what should I do, is secondary to the question of “how should I be?” In short, spirituality isn’t an esoteric notion, but an accessible, natural response to the landscapes of beauty around us, and within us. His unique perspective, captured in this rare interview, is informed by a rich life experience, including a career as a Priest, a PhD scholar of existential philosophy and ancient Celtic wisdom, a corporate business consultant on leadership and creativity, and a modern poet and visionary. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4701

~~~~
Be The Change:
Explore more of John O’Donohue’s words on beauty and wisdom. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4701a

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4701

Dalai Lama Quote from Snow Lion Publications

August 24, 2011
Snow Lion Home Page
logo_mid.jpg
logo_bottom.jpg
Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

With regard to ordinary study, except for the fact that there is a limit to our lifetime, it is not that you arrive at a point where there is no more room in your brain. No matter how much you study, even if you study a hundred thousand million words, the mind can still retain them. This indicates that the basis of these qualities, consciousness, is stable and continuous.

The other day, I made a joke to someone who was asking about the brain. I said that if, like a computer, you needed a cell for each moment of memory, then as you become more and more educated, your head would have to get bigger and bigger!

Because of these reasons–that compassion, wisdom, and so forth are qualities that depend on the mind, and the mind is stable and continuous–they can be developed to a limitless degree.

It is from this point of view that it is said that the conception of inherent existence can be extinguished. When one removes the conception of inherent existence, one thereby also ceases the afflictive emotions generated in dependence upon that ignorance. Also, since the ignorance that drives contaminated actions has ceased, this class of actions ceases. Once the motivator of the action and the actions cease, the results of those actions will cease. That is how the third noble truth–true cessation–comes to be. (p.103)

–from The Dalai Lama at Harvard: Lectures on the Buddhist Path to Peace by H.H. the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications

The Dalai Lama at Harvard • Now at 5O% off
(Good until September 2nd).