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Archive for April 2012
Living Skillfully with the Difficult
April 16, 2012
Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications
April 16, 2012 |
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Dharma Quote of the WeekWhat is very important for us to recognise is our own falsity. This is not a judgement that sometimes we are authentic and sometimes we are false. It means that everything about us in our ordinary sense of self is false because it is grounded on a misapprehension of the nature of reality…. It is like somebody in University who is having their final examinations. They go into the wrong examination room and not reading the questions very clearly they write very long answers on their own subject that is unfortunately not the one they are being examined on. It does not matter how good the answer is they will fail, for they are not addressing the question. The basic question is always: “Who are you?”, “Who am I?” but we do not understand it and so we answer with a ceaseless narrative of self definition. This covers over the freshness of the question, the possibility of looking and seeing, and so all our answers are stale, the reworking of self-protective versions constructed out of unexamined elements. We have many, many, many answers and all of them are false. That’s why it is very important when you do meditations, to put your full energy one-pointedly into the practice, to try to repair the initial basic fault that has torn subject and object apart. It is very important to stop being ashamed of being false. For we have to see how falsity arises, how obscuration develops. We want to look directly at our falsity and learn its tricks so that we will not be caught by them. This helps to open the space in which we can recognise our own nature. “When you understand the falsity of your confusion remain unartificially, effortlessly in the natural mode (dharmakaya).”(p.90) –from Being Right Here: A Dzogchen Treasure Text of Nuden Dorje entitled ‘The Mirror of Clear Meaning’ with commentary by James Low, published by Snow Lion Publications Being Right Here • Now at 5O% off! |
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Are You Fixing, Helping or Serving?
April 16, 2012Fixing and helping create a distance between people, but we cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected. — Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen
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Good News of the Day:
Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen author of the best-selling Kitchen Table Wisdom is a beloved storyteller and a profound voice in the field of health and healing. In the following article she teases out crucial differences between the various modes in which we humans tend to reach out to the world: by fixing, helping or serving. Interwoven in the piece are two unforgettable stories of service; the first about an emergency room physician and a newborn child, and the second, a searing personal story of Remen’s own experience with suffering, and the gift she received from a young woman who will probably never know just how much her compassionate actions meant.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16ABDD1:C3009629A010612C9BA9C8954A32B871B4B847859706E37D&
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Be The Change:
The next time you catch yourself in “fixing” or “helping” mode, try moving into a mindset of service instead.
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Journey to the End of the Earth
April 15, 2012Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change. — Barbara Mikulski.
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Good News of the Day:
“I realized quickly, after just having traveled to various villages in rural India, that distance is relative. Hailing from a city like San Francisco, going even a few hours outside of town is far – but twelve hours outside of a major city? I half expected to run into another country. The remote place in mention is Achham, a tiny hillside region in far west Nepal. Sitting like a giant amongst its lush green terraced mountains is a hospital named Bayalpata revived by Nyaya Health, a committed non-profit with a vision to provide free quality medical services for the residents of one of the poorest districts in Nepal.” In this article an international development volunteer describes the simultaneously heart-breaking and inspiring realities that exist side by side in this hidden corner of our world.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16ABD28:C3009629A010612C3843107FFA09DB14B4B847859706E37D&
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Be The Change:
Make time to learn more about the everyday realities of ordinary people in a part of the planet other than where you live.
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10 Keys To Happier Living
April 14, 2012Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. — Charles M. Schulz
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Good News of the Day:
Based on the latest scientific research on happiness a group based out of the United Kingdom has identified ten “keys” that tend to have a consistently positive impact on people’s overall happiness and well-being. The first five keys relate to how people interact with the world outside, while the latter half are concerned more with the inner life. This piece shares the ten keys (that together form the acronym GREAT DREAM), and also includes thoughtful questions under each key to prompt self-reflection.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16ABC7E:C3009629A010612C1C3963CA8031D627B4B847859706E37D&
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Be The Change:
Experiment with using the 10 keys above more consciously this week.
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Video of the Week: Caine’s Cardboard Arcade
April 13, 2012
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Caine’s Cardboard Arcade
April 13, 2012Each of us represents a star in heaven. Sometimes we shine with the rest. Sometimes we twinkle alone. And sometimes when we least expect it, we make someone’s dreams come true — Author Unknown
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Good News of the Day:
Caine Monroy spent his summer vacation building an elaborate cardboard arcade in his dad’s used auto parts store. The adorable 9-year old worked for months to perfect the game designs, making displays for the prizes, and creating elaborate security systems. Unfortunately, his dad’s store is in an industrial part of East L.A. that gets almost no foot traffic. So Caine had exactly zero customers … until a filmmaker, Nirvan Mullick, randomly stopped by for a used door handle and bought a “Fun Pass.” The short film Mullick went on to create about Caine was released early this week — and has already been viewed millions of times, reportedly bringing thousands to tears. It serves as a touching celebration at the intersection of a little boy’s dream and the kindness of a stranger.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16AB9CD:C3009629A010612C56CA683077C3705EB4B847859706E37D&
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Be The Change:
The next time you stumble across someone who is bravely following their dream, make time to acknowledge and foster their gift — with something as small as a smile or as big as a flashmob!
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Kindness Daily: A Big Gesture to Help a Friend in Need
April 12, 2012
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The Memory Project: Portraits of Compassion
April 12, 2012For so many centuries, the exchange of gifts has held us together. It has made it possible to bridge the abyss where language struggles. — Barry Lopez
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Good News of the Day:
At the base of a volcano in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, there’s an orphanage. Although developing world orphanages aren’t normally festive places, on this day, at this time, there was reason to celebrate: the arrival of a young man named Ben Schumaker. Schumaker comes from faraway Wisconsin, and he comes bearing gifts. He carries a suitcase with 62 pounds of portraits — portraits of the kids, a painting for just about each and every one of them. This is all part of the Memory Project, a unique initiative in which art students draw and deliver portraits for disadvantaged children all over the world.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16AB7D7:C3009629A010612C350C466EE3CBFF25B4B847859706E37D&
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Be The Change:
Learn more about the Memory Project and see examples of its inspiring art work here.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16AB7D8:C3009629A010612C350C466EE3CBFF25B4B847859706E37D&
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The Pursuit of Silence in A World of Noise
April 11, 2012A day of silence can be a pilgrimage in itself. — Hafiz
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Good News of the Day:
Writer George Prochnik says he’s had a passion for silence as long as he can remember. “I can’t sit in my house without hearing air conditioners. I worry about this layer of noise that’s placed on top of infrastructure noise.” In his new book, In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise, Prochnik leaves the noisy confines of New York City and goes on a global quest to find those who still value silence. He examines the never-ending series of sounds that pervade his thoughts on a daily basis — the traffic helicopters, the leaky iPods, the neighbors who hold loud parties — and researches the scientific effects of noise on our bodies. This NPR article shares insights and an excerpt from his book.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16AB5F8:C3009629A010612C818EE6E3F8B71B3EB4B847859706E37D&
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Be The Change:
What is your own favorite refuge from the noisy world? This week try making some extra time for silence and stillness.
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Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal 