Welcome
Best wishes for less Suffering, more Happiness with Good Health and Time to Enjoy it. Welcome to Assyrian calendar 6769 as we farewell the year that was and proceed into Gregorian New Year 2020.
Let’s begin by sharing a timely aspiration:
"The four contentments: mind at peace, body at rest, family in harmony,
all enterprise at ease." Chan Master Sheng Yen
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.
Let’s begin by sharing a timely aspiration:
"The four contentments: mind at peace, body at rest, family in harmony,
all enterprise at ease." Chan Master Sheng Yen
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.
Topics
- Media Words
- TED Talks
- Guest Sings
- Street Jives
- Wisdom Reconciles
- Challenge Reflects
Media Words
Approx 5 min reads
Intro
Maureen Matthews explores techniques for overcoming discontent fueled inertia, when “About Last Night: My life is fine but I'm stuck in a rut” via The Age
Brook Turner explores personal identity, belonging and inspiring leadership in public domain, the back story of “Aboriginal artist and provocateur Brook Andrew on shaking up the Sydney Biennale” via The Age
Julie Perrin explores origin stories, misappropriation and restoring of Faith, in “A new start: Finding Christ's message at the margins” via WA Today
Intra
Jim Bright explores interpersonal relationships, employees and workplaces, reasoning why “Sometimes we aspire to stand on the shoulders of giants” via The Brisbane Times
Jewel Topsfield explores a civic-minded social enterprise putting best foot forward, reporting “How Melbourne's Sneakerheads are helping the homeless this Christmas” via The Age
Julietta Jameson explores the value of curiosity, opportunity and seeking out life-enriching activity, meet Carolyn Fraser and “What travel has taught me” via Traveller.com.au
Inter
Elspeth Callender explores a land less ravaged by time, sharing culture and Songlines in “Arnhem Land, Northern Territory travel guide and things to do: Australia's unique last frontier” via Traveller.com.au
Rachel Wells explores answering the call when “Jehovah’s Witnesses hit town for global convention” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Tim Boreham explores attractiveness of destination Australia for foreign students as “Australia's student accommodation tops global ranking” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Multi
Matty Silver explores in his book marriage, infidelity, shifting attitudes and interconnected causes and effects, asking “Can an affair save a marriage? As a sex therapist, I believe so” via WA Today
Anna Funder explores competing ideologies, oppositional governing structures and dangers of shredding the pages of history, recounting “Thirty years after the Berlin Wall came down, who really won?” via WA Today
Kerrie O'Brien explores Victoria’s history, through this very modern exhibition of pages, images, recounts and collections, reasons why in “The aisles of serendipity: libraries make unexpected connections” via The Age
All
Maureen Matthews explores marriage, commitment, uniting as a team, societal and official registration and inheritance in “About Last Night: Isn't it time to overhaul the concept of marriage?” via The Age
Jacinta Tynan explores dealing with inequitible relationships, overcoming obstacles and managing sustainable change, tips for “Keeping it together when it all seems to be falling apart” via WA Today
Simone Mitchell explores precious nature of existence, cherishing those loved in real time, reasoning “Before you die: the words we shouldn't wait to say” via The Age
Togather
Tony Wright explores a tale of oral traditions celebrating diversity when uniting “Voices on the desert air praise the unchaining of Australia’s heart” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Kerrie O'Brien explores collaborative approach to overcoming gendered inequity, revealing how “Queen Victoria Women's Centre harnesses the power of art” via The Age
Bridget McManus explores bringing origin stories and past nutritional secrets to a modern audience, reviewing “On Country Kitchen” via The Age
Nobly
Jewel Topsfield explores the time-tested transformative value of learning to play music while building links between newly arrived and local community, when and why ”Every music lover and their dog welcome at classic bar” via The Sydney Morning Herald
Cat Woods describes a spiritually based community driven sustainable social enterprise “Food for Good: there's a place at the Open Table for everyone” via Goodfood.com.au
Hannah Francis explores illuminating visibility, sharing experience and uniting voices when “Tapping young voices for future echoes” via The Brisbane Times
TED Talks
10-20min presentations- Donald Hoffman: Do we see reality as it is? (21 mins)
- Chetan Bhatt: Dare to refuse the origin myths that claim who you are (19 mins)
- Samy Nour Younes: A short history of trans people's long fight for equality (6 mins)
Guest Sings
Approx 5 min presentationBroome Primary School - I am, you are, we are Australian
Street Jives
Approx 2 min presentationSesame Street: Absorb
Wisdom Reconciles
Challenge Reflects
Approx 30 min presentation + reflection timesIf 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.
You be the judge. Or not.
Cryptic Clue:
What is an Australian way of saying the totality is better than the sum of individual parts?
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
Extreme
[ex'treem]
From late Middle English; via Old French from Latin extremus = outermost, utmost; superlative of exterus = outer.
1. reaching a high or the highest degree; very great. Ie, extreme cold. Ie, take an extreme course of action. Ie, do something to an extreme degree
2. not usual; exceptional. Ie, in extreme cases the soldier may be discharged.
3. very severe or serious. Ie, expulsion is an extreme sanction. Ie, the extreme of applying for drought relief
4. (of a person or their opinions) far from moderate, especially politically. Ie, groups of more extreme supporters rioted in front of parliament.
5. denoting or relating to a sport performed in a hazardous environment and involving great personal risk. Ie, extreme sports like rock climbing.
6. [attributive] furthest from the centre or a given point. Ie, the extreme north-west of Scotland. Ie, the reasoning was convoluted in the extreme
7. either of two abstract things that are as different from each other as possible. Ie, we represented opposite extremes of college society - she a member of the Old Guard, I one of the radicals.
Supreme
[sue’preem]
From late 15th century (in the sense = highest): from Latin supremus, superlative of superus = that is above, from super = above.
1. highest in rank or authority. Ie, a unified force with a supreme commander. Ie, the Supreme Being (a name for God).
2. most important or powerful. Ie, on the race track the horse reigned supreme.
3. very great or the greatest. Ie, the tradies were nerving themselves for a supreme effort.
4. very good at or well known for a specified activity. Ie, people expected the famous marathon runner to have a supreme win.
5. (of a penalty or sacrifice) involving death. Ie, comrades dying in battle made the supreme sacrifice.
6. French cooking: a rich cream sauce. A dish served in a supreme sauce. Ie, chicken supreme. [from French suprême.]
Most
[moast]
From Old English māst, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch meest and German meist = greatest in amount or degree
1. quantifier of adjectives and adverbs. Ie, the most important event of my life. Ie, she was the most ambitious of all.
2. to the greatest extent. Ie, the things she most enjoyed. Ie, what he wanted most of all.
3. extremely; very. Ie, it was most kind of you. Ie, that is most probably correct.
4. almost; the majority of; nearly all of; in most cases; usually. Ie, most everyone understood. Ie, the older members, for the most part, shun newcomers. Ie, the two-pin sockets found in most European countries
5. not more than. Ie, the walk took four minutes at the most.
6. use to the best advantage. Ie, the manager was eager to make the most of the site visit.
7. represent at its best. Ie, how to make the most of your features.
[Practice]
Optional
-- Chant Mantrastyle
Between extreme and supreme positions, is a middle way of wisdom, compassion and generosity. Get the most out of arising opportunities. Starting with the individual, grow surpluses and increase beneficiaries to a greater number until including all. And if at first success does not arrive, maybe there is time to reflect, adapt, adopt, evolve or change direction.
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.