WELCOME
Best wishes for less Suffering, more Happiness with Good Health and Time to Enjoy it. Welcome to
Nanakshahi calendar 551.
Forgive the intrusion, this month's Grabs for personal consideration.
Let’s begin by sharing an insight:
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight with you.
Then you win.” Mahatma Ghandi (CE 1869-1948)
Discuss with sincerity. Deny untruth. Dismiss unuseful. Accept useful. Adapt to change. Adopt least effort most benefit. Adept with sharing. Enjoy throughout. As each case may be. Round. And again. Or not.
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TOPICS
-- Media Words
-- TED Talks
-- Guest Sings
-- Street Jives
-- Wisdom Reconciles
-- Challenge Reflects
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MEDIA WORDS
Approx 5 min reads
Intro
Alice Pung explores being a child of a hard working migrant family, looking different, fitting in and the search for belonging, recalling lessons from “
The summer that changed my life” via The Age
Naomi Steer, founding national director, Australia for UNHCR traverses the world, sharing “
The five things travel taught me” via Traveller.com.au
Tom Cowrie explores an example of a failed direction finding new life enhancing purpose as “
Dumped in Melbourne, oBikes find fresh purpose on streets of Myanmar” via The Age
Intra
Megan Backhouse explores the role urban dwellers with backyards can play in sustainability as “
Backyard conservation the new frontier for biodiversity” via The Age
Roy Masters explores sport as a debating platform for merit, skill, recognition, and leadership, comparatively speaking “
As AFL apologies to Adam Goodes, the NRL works quietly on Indigenous excellence” via The Age
Max Bearak explores ongoing legal efforts to decriminilse love between consenting adults in a post-Colonialist world as “
Botswana legalises gay sex in landmark high court decision” via The Brisbane Times
Inter
Kerrie O’Brien explores the value of open-hearted living, understanding family history, self-absorption fueled racism, discussing over lunch how “
We don't say 'the white actor Cate Blanchett’: Tony Briggs on racism” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Emma Koehn explores small businesses growing sustainably and contributing to more livable urban environments “
Walls that breathe: the startups adding colour to concrete city towers” via The Brisbane Times
Nick Miller explores ongoing journey for former asylum-seeker, now “
Aziz spread his wings and escaped Manus Island, he wants more to follow” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Multi
Kevin Nguyen explores fleeing from war, asylum seeking, remembering and forgetting, reviewing reasons why “
Ocean Vuong makes waves in prose and poetry” via The Brisbane Times
Kate Jones explores self-employment, civic-minded businesses and philanthropy tied into growing success, reporting “
'It's not about ourselves': Companies giving back this tax time” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Sarah Maslin Nir explores a region reclaiming the art of growing food sustainably, learn reasons to “
‘Make farming sexy’: How Millennials are reinventing African agriculture” via The Age
All
Henrietta Cook explores how being in environment, mindful weather proofing and having fun enriches life experience, as “
Back to nature: Children reap benefits of braving the cold” via The Age
Kerrie O’Brien explores identity, migration, adapting to change and making artful impressions on the new neighbours, reviewing reasons why “
Thai-Australian artists find their voice in Melbourne exhibition Un-Thaid at Grau Projekt” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Elli Jacob explores overcoming loss, absence and trespass, reasoning why “
Finding it in your heart to forgive can be healing – for you” via The Age
Togather
Larissa Dubecki explores a growing example of balancing work, life and living, revealing “
How chefs are beating burnout by growing food and practising yoga” via goodfood.com.au
Henrietta Cook explores growing success of diverse collaborations to overcome obstacles to equitise access, showcasing different ways “
How Australia's rural schools are bucking the trend and boosting their results” via The Age
Melissa Cunningham explores the efficacy of clear identification and widespread inoculations as “
Cancer-causing infections tumble thanks to mass vaccination of girls” via WA Today
Nobly
Megan Backhouse explores value in cultivating community spirit, incubating longevity and measuring transformation of a blighted landscape - planting, growing and picking “
Flowers in the coalmine” via The Age
Henrietta Cook explores a grass roots solution connecting two different geographies having a common aspiration for improving higher educational outcomes, revealing “
'I was shocked': the free tutoring service closing the achievement gap” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Sameer Rahim explores ongoing need for positive role-modeling, global citizenry and noble benefit, meet “
Elif Shafak: The consequences of telling untold stories” via The Brisbane Times
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TED TALKS
10-20min presentations
Erik Vyhmeister: Building Identity as a Third Culture Kid (16 mins)
Brittany Barron: What Beyonce Taught Me About Race (9 mins)
James O’Keefe: Homosexuality: It's about survival - not sex (17 mins)
Hannah Gadsby: Three ideas. Three contradictions. Or not (18 mins)
Baratunde Rafik Thurston: How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time (13 mins)
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GUEST SINGS
Approx 5 min presentation
Dustin Tebbutt - Atlas In Your Eye
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STREET JIVES
Approx 2 min presentation
Sesame Street with Alessia Cara: We Are So Much Alike
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WISDOM RECONCILES
Approx 20 min presentation
Ethics Matters: Episode 10 Creating Borders (12 mins)
Dan Halliday interviewees Jiewuh Song, Serene Khader, Christian Barry, John Thrasher and Tony Coady. Explore the nature of borders and how we view migration.
Psyche2Go: 7 Signs You Are Ready for a Relationship (4 mins)
The School of Life: Six Ideas From Eastern Philosophy (9 mins)
An introduction to six of the most fascinating concepts of Eastern philosophy. Eastern philosophy has all the same goals as Western philosophy: seeking to make us wiser and more serene. However, the way it goes about its task shows a great deal more variety and imagination: in the East, there are lessons to be learnt in tea ceremonies, in flower arranging, in the repair of vases and in the ritual contemplation of rivers.
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CHALLENGE REFLECTS
Approx 30 min presentation + reflection times
If desired, a short selection of publicly available material on a chosen theme for personal reflection.
For best results, sit comfortably with a straight back, have headphones in a shared space, after each clicked link, allow a little reflection with your personally-held view before clicking on the next link.
Get ready to Reflect!
Choose your playing level:
Be introduced at 1.
Be soothed at 2-4.
Be shocked at 5.
Be inspired at 6.
Fuller illumination 1-6.
And yes, its a repeat of an oldie and a goodie. Or not. You be the judge.
Cryptic Clue:
What’s the best way to overcome problems?
1.
Inspire
2.
Perspire
3.
Collaborate
4.
Engage: Test for personal circumstances, if useful keep, if unuseful discard, if exceeds needs, share mindfully
5.
Endure: Adapt for present times without sacrificing intent
6.
Endear: (Inspiring Others To Tend the Flame) live/ demonstrate/ inspire/ teach experience with others
progress
[pro’gress]
Late Middle English, from Latin
progressus = an advance, from the verb
progredi, from
pro- = forward +
gradi = to walk.
1. forward or onward movement towards a destination. Ie, the darkness did not stop my progress. Ie, they failed to make any progress up the estuary.
2. development towards an improved or more advanced condition. Ie, we are making progress towards equal rights.
3. movement forward or onward in space or time. Ie, as the century progressed, the quality of telescopes improved.
4. state of development towards an improved or more advanced condition. Ie, work on the pond is progressing.
5. action to cause (a task or undertaking) to make progress. Ie, It is difficult to predict how quickly we can progress the matter.
regress
[re’gress]
Late Middle English (as a noun): from Latin
regressus, from
regredi = go back, return; from
re- back, concentrate, focus +
gradi = to walk.
1. return to a former or less developed state. Ie, they would not regress to pre-technological tribalism.
2. return mentally to a former stage of life or a supposed previous life, especially through hypnosis. Ie, she claims to be able to regress to the Roman era. Ie, the hypnotherapist regressed Sylvia to early childhood.
3. Statistics: calculate the coefficient or coefficients of regression of (a variable) against or on another variable. Ie, a model in which C and Y are regressed on the same variables.
4. Astronomy: move in a retrograde direction. Ie, a planet regularly regresses.
5. the action of returning to a former or less developed state. Ie, the regress is a return to Puritan values. Ie, a regress to the nursery.
6. Philosophy: a series of statements in which a logical procedure is continually reapplied to its own result without approaching a useful conclusion (e.g. defining something in terms of itself).
congress
[con'gress]
Late Middle English (denoting an encounter during battle): from Latin
congressus, from
congredi = meet, from
con- = together +
gradi = to walk.
1. a formal meeting or series of meetings for discussion between delegates, especially those from a political party, trade union, or from within a particular sphere of activity. Ie, an international congress of mathematicians.
2. a national legislative body, especially that of the US: The US Congress. Ie, changes in taxation required the approval of Congress.
3. an association, a political society or organization.
4. the action of coming together. Ie, sexual congress.
[
Practice]
Optional
-- Chant
Mantrastyle
One strategy to
progress is to minimise
regress and maximise
congress with all, some or sum of the above meanings. Or not. As the case may be.
This is universal basis of
re:lig:ion (again:uniting:energy). Here in this email, we'll hear it as countless sounds: of thoughts, words and actions wishing, causing and receiving less Suffering and more Happiness. For benefit initially of the individual increasing in beneficiaries until it includes all across all times and directions.
It is not personal, it just the way things are.
