Thursday, October 31, 2013

Nov 1 Tip: Understand the significance of "All Saints Day" (November 1 each year)

Understand the significance of "All Saints Day" (November 1 each year)

(The November 1 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/All_Saints_Day.htm

All Saints Day, the day on which Catholics celebrate all the saints, known and unknown, is a surprisingly old feast. It arose out of the Christian tradition of celebrating the martyrdom of saints on the anniversary of their martyrdom. When martyrdoms increased during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire, local dioceses instituted a common feast day in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown, were properly honored.


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Oct 31 Tip: Learn the story of Halloween

From History.com: Learn the story of Halloween

http://www.history.com/topics/halloween


Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Oct 30 Tip: Savor poet David Whyte's extraordinary "Start Close In"

Savor poet David Whyte's  extraordinary "Start Close In

(The October 30 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=030YqrN4SFc

START CLOSE IN 

Start close in, 
don't take the second step 
or the third, 
start with the first 
thing 
close in, 
the step you don't want to take. 

Start with 
the ground 
you know, 
the pale ground 
beneath your feet, 
your own 
way of starting 
the conversation. 

Start with your own 
question, 
give up on other 
people's questions, 
don't let them 
smother something 
simple.

To find 
another's voice 
follow 
your own voice, 
wait until 
that voice 
becomes a 
private ear 
listening 
to another.

Start right now 
take a small step 
you can call your own 
don't follow 
someone else's 
heroics, be humble 
and focused, 
start close in, 
don't mistake 
that other 
for your own. 

Start close in, 
don't take the second step 
or the third, 
start with the first 
thing 
close in, 
the step you don't want to take. 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Oct 29 Tip: Visit (virtually) the great Scottish island of Iona

Visit (virtually) the great Scottish island of Iona

(The October 29 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.isle-of-iona.net/

The Isle of Iona

To the Gaels, Iona is I Chaluim Chille – the isle of Colm Cille, an Irish priest and prince who was to become revered as Saint Columba. A island of typically Hebridean beauty, it holds a unique place in the story of Scotland and Christianity.


Sunday, October 27, 2013

October 28 Tip: Relax with contemplative Celtic music and images

Relax with contemplative Celtic music and images

(The October 28 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls8JGSxwjZQ&list=PL74B80006B18B369F

This ancient Celtic hymn is played by the band "FireWeed" from their CD entitled "Unfailing Love." The pictures were taken by band members Ken and Kathy Case on a trip to Northwest Ireland. The melody is played on a "C" whistle.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Oct 27 Tip: Learn the spiritual significance of "Thin Places"

From the NY Times: Learn the spiritual significance of "Thin Places"

(The October 27 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/travel/thin-places-where-we-are-jolted-out-of-old-ways-of-seeing-the-world.html?pagewanted=all

Where Heaven and Earth Come Closer



TRAVEL, like life, is best understood backward but must be experienced forward, to paraphrase Kierkegaard. After decades of wandering, only now does a pattern emerge. I’m drawn to places that beguile and inspire, sedate and stir, places where, for a few blissful moments I loosen my death grip on life, and can breathe again. It turns out these destinations have a name: thin places.
It is, admittedly, an odd term. One could be forgiven for thinking that thin places describe skinny nations (see Chile) or perhaps cities populated by thin people (see Los Angeles). No, thin places are much deeper than that. They are locales where the distance between heaven and earth collapses and we’re able to catch glimpses of the divine, or the transcendent or, as I like to think of it, the Infinite Whatever.
Travel to thin places does not necessarily lead to anything as grandiose as a “spiritual breakthrough,” whatever that means, but it does disorient. It confuses. We lose our bearings, and find new ones. Or not. Either way, we are jolted out of old ways of seeing the world, and therein lies the transformative magic of travel.
It’s not clear who first uttered the term “thin places,” but they almost certainly spoke with an Irish brogue. The ancient pagan Celts, and later, Christians, used the term to describe mesmerizing places like the wind-swept isle of Iona (now part of Scotland) or the rocky peaks of Croagh Patrick. Heaven and earth, the Celtic saying goes, are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter.
So what exactly makes a place thin? It’s easier to say what a thin place is not. A thin place is not necessarily a tranquil place, or a fun one, or even a beautiful one, though it may be all of those things too. Disney World is not a thin place. Nor is CancĂșn. Thin places relax us, yes, but they also transform us — or, more accurately, unmask us. In thin places, we become our more essential selves.
Thin places are often sacred ones —St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul — but they need not be, at least not conventionally so. A park or even a city square can be a thin place. So can an airport. I love airports. I love their self-contained, hermetic quality, and the way they make me feel that I am floating, suspended between coming and going. One of my favorites is Hong Kong International, a marvel of aesthetics and efficiency. I could spend hours — days! — perched on its mezzanine deck, watching life unfold below. Kennedy Airport, on the other hand, is, for the most part, a thick place. Spread out over eight terminals,  there is no center of gravity, nothing to hold on to. (Nor is there anything the least bit transcendent about a T.S.A. security line.)
A bar can be a thin place, too. A while ago, I stumbled across a very thin bar, tucked away in the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo. Like many such establishments, this one was tiny — with only four seats and about as big as a large bathroom — but it inspired cathedral awe. The polished wood was dark and smooth; the row of single malts were illuminated in such a way that they glowed. Using a chisel, the bartender manifested — there is no other word for it — ice cubes that rose to the level of art. The place was so comfortable in its own skin, so at home with its own nature — its “suchness,” the Buddhists would put it — that I couldn’t help but feel the same way.
Mircea Eliade, the religious scholar, would understand what I experienced in that Tokyo bar. Writing in his classic work “The Sacred and the Profane,” he observed that “some parts of space are qualitatively different from others.” An Apache proverb takes that idea a step further: “Wisdom sits in places.”
The question, of course, is which places? And how do we get there? You don’t plan a trip to a thin place; you stumble upon one. But there are steps you can take to increase the odds of an encounter with thinness. For starters, have no expectations. Nothing gets in the way of a genuine experience more than expectations, which explains why so many “spiritual journeys” disappoint. And don’t count on guidebooks — or even friends — to pinpoint your thin places. To some extent, thinness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Or, to put it another way: One person’s thin place is another’s thick one.
Getting to a thin place usually requires a bit of sweat. One does not typically hop a taxi to a thin place, but sometimes you can. That’s how my 7-year-old daughter and I got to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Video camera in hand, she paused at each statue of the various saints, marveling, in a hushed voice, at their poses and headgear.
She was with me, too at the Bangla Sahib gurdwara, a Sikh temple in New Delhi. The temple owes its thinness, in part, to the contrasting thickness amassed outside its gates: the press of humanity, the freestyle traffic, the unrelenting noise and, in general, the controlled anarchy that is urban India. We stepped inside the gates of the gurdwara and into another world. The mesmerizing sound of a harmonium wafted across a reflecting pool. The white marble felt cool on my bare feet. The temple compound was not devoid of people, but this was a different sort of crowd. Everyone walked to the edge of the water, drawn by something unspoken, lost in their solitary worlds, together.
At the gurdwara, time burst its banks. I was awash in time. That’s a common reaction to a thin place. It’s not that we lose all sense of time but, rather, that our relationship with time is altered, softened. In thin places, time is not something we feel compelled to parse or hoard. There’s plenty of it to go around.
Not all sacred places, though, are thin. Freighted with history, and our outsized expectations, they collapse under the weight of their own sacredness, and possess all the divinity of a Greyhound bus station. For me, Jerusalem is one of these places. I find the air so thick with animosity, so heavy with the weight of historical grievances, that any thinness lurking beneath the surface doesn’t stand a chance. Walking through the walled Old City, with its four segregated quarters, I feel my muscles tense. (By contrast, I breathe easier in supposedly godless Tel Aviv.)
Thankfully, Rumi’s tomb, in Turkey, has not met such a fate. It is very much alive. People from around the Muslim (and non-Muslim) world visit the tomb, in the central Turkish city of Konya, to pay homage to Islam’s poet laureate. Rumi’s coffin is draped in a green carpet, with a cylindrical black hat, the kind worn by dervishes, sitting atop. His 13th-century poems brim with an ecstatic love of Allah, and his resting place reflects that. People are encouraged to linger. Some curl up in a corner, reading Rumi. Others lose themselves in silent prayer. I noticed one woman, hand over heart, walking slowly on the carpeted floor, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.
Perhaps the thinnest of places is Boudhanath, in Nepal. Despite the fact that it has been swallowed up by Katmandu, Boudha, as many call it, retains the self-contained coziness of the village that it is. Life there revolves, literally, around a giant white stupa, or Buddhist shrine. At any time of the day, hundreds of people circumambulate the stupa, chanting mantras, kneading their mala beads and twirling prayer wheels. I woke in Boudha each morning at dawn and marveled at the light, milky and soft, as well as the sounds: the clicketyclack of prayer wheels, the murmur of mantras, the clanking of store shutters yanked open, the chortle of spoken Tibetan. A few dozen monasteries have sprung up around the stupa. And then there are restaurants where you can sip a decent pinot noir while gazing into the All-Seeing Eyes of Buddha. It is a rare and wonderful confluence of the sacred and the profane.
Many thin places are wild, untamed, but cities can also be surprisingly thin. The world’s first urban centers, in Mesopotamia, were erected not as places of commerce or empire but, rather, so inhabitants could consort with the gods. What better place to marvel at the glory of God and his handiwork (via his subcontractors: us) than on the Bund in Shanghai, with the Jetsons-like skyscrapers towering above, or at Montmartre in Paris, with the city’s Gothic glory revealed below.
Bookstores are thin places, too, and, for me, none is thinner than Powell’s in Portland, Ore. Sure, there are grander bookstores, and older ones, but none quite possesses Powell’s mix of order and serendipity, especially in its used-book collection — Chekhov happily cohabitating with “Personal Finance for Dummies,” Balzac snuggling with Grisham.
Yet, ultimately, an inherent contradiction trips up any spiritual walkabout: The divine supposedly transcends time and space, yet we seek it in very specific places and at very specific times. If God (however defined) is everywhere and “everywhen,” as the Australian aboriginals put it so wonderfully, then why are some places thin and others not? Why isn’t the whole world thin?
Maybe it is but we’re too thick to recognize it. Maybe thin places offer glimpses not of heaven but of earth as it really is, unencumbered. Unmasked.
ERIC WEINER is author, most recently, of “Man Seeks God: My Flirtations With the Divine.” .

Friday, October 25, 2013

Oct 26 Tip: Jack Kornfield on Western Women talking to the Dalai Lama

Jack Kornfield on Western Women talking to the Dalai Lama

(The October 26 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.soundstrue.com/weeklywisdom/?source=tami-simon&p=1797&category=PP&version=full

When editing the new Jack Kornfield audio course Transmission: Receiving the Living Wisdom of Spiritual Teachers, Sounds True producer Randy Roark collected a number of Jack’s most insightful and illuminating talks about the benefits and perils of the student-teacher relationship. “Out of all the great stories about teachers like Ajahn Chah, Dipa Ma, and Chögyam Trungpa,” says Randy, “there was one that stood out the most to me, and that I knew would make a great selection for this week’s Producer’s Pick.” In this excerpt, Jack tells a story of a meeting where Western teachers spoke to the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. Something extraordinary happened that day when the women got up to address the Dalai Lama—and revealed that the greatest transmission can sometimes happen when the teacher becomes the student.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Oct 25 Tip: Practice 40 Acts of Compassion

Practice 40 Acts of Compassion

(The October 25 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

If some of us did these things, the world be a little bit better. Enough said.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Oct 24 Tip: Read: "Finding Hope: Cultivating God's Gift of a Hopeful Spirit

Read "Finding Hope: Cultivating God's Gift of a Hopeful Spirit" by Marcia Ford

(The October 24 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.skylightpaths.com/page/product/978-1-59473-211-9

Discover the freedom and joy that come when you open your heart to Hope
This practical guide gives you the inspiration, encouragement and practices you need to cultivate a hopeful spirit and thus live a more fulfilling and joyful life. Writing from personal experience and her broad knowledge of many faith traditions, Marcia Ford helps you recognize—or develop—your own personal images of hope and create a place where you can go to see the many evidences of hope in your life any time despair seeps in. She provides important learning tools that you can apply to everyday life experiences, inspiring personal stories of hope from the famous and not-so-famous and realistic exercises for creating the overall balance and peace you look to achieve in living your life connected to God. Drawing from Christian and Hebrew scripture and the wisdom of spiritual teachers from all traditions, Ford helps you realize that we all can receive a gift of hope and grace from the Divine—we just need to be open to accept it.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Oct 23 Tip: Learn the Story of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible

Learn the Story of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible

(The October 23 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revised_Standard_Version

(BLOGGER'S NOTE:  Today is the 50th anniversary of the day I bought my first bible. It was an RSV with red letters for the words of Jesus. Came with a faux black letter cover. On onion skin paper!)

The RSV posed the first serious challenge to the popularity of the King James Version (KJV). It was intended to be a readable and literally accurate modern English translation. The intention was not only to create a clearer version of the Bible for the English-speaking church but also to "preserve all that is best in the English Bible as it has been known and used through the centuries" and "to put the message of the Bible in simple, enduring words that are worthy to stand in the great Tyndale-King James tradition."


Monday, October 21, 2013

Oct 22 Tip: Read about "The Good Friday Accord"

Read about "The Good Friday Accord"

(The October 22 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/history/stateapart/agreement/

The Belfast Agreement has provided Northern Ireland’s divided society with a political framework to resolve its differences. A model of governance based on ‘parity of esteem’ has replaced the old divisive system of majority rule. The two political traditions of unionism and nationalism have agreed to proportional inclusion of each group in government. Legislators in the Stormont Assembly designate themselves as unionist, nationalist or other and the voting system works to ensure that unionists and nationalists cannot vote against each other’s group interest. The Agreement respects the right of each political tradition to pursue its goal to remain part of the United Kingdom or to join the Irish Republic.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Oct 21 Tip: Learn about "The Architecture of Autism"

From the NY Times: Learn about "The Architecture of Autism"

(The October 21 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/garden/the-architecture-of-autism.html?hp
Here is a truth about children with autism: they grow up to become adults with autism. Advocates estimate that over the next decade some 500,000 such individuals will come of age in the United States.
No one can say for sure what adulthood will hold for them. To start, where will everyone live and work? A 2008 Easter Seals study found that 79 percent of young adults with autism spectrum disorders continue to reside with their parents. A solid majority of them have never looked for a job.
And yet the life expectancy of people with autism is more or less average. Here is another truth, then, about children with autism: they can’t stay at home forever.
This realization — as obvious as it is worrying — has recently stirred the beginnings of a response from researchers, architects and, not least, parents. In 2009, a pair of academics, Kim Steele and Sherry Ahrentzen, collaborated on “Advancing Full Spectrum Housing,” a comprehensive design guideline for housing adults with autism. (An expanded book on the topic is scheduled to come out next year.)

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Oct 20 Tip: Watch the film "Bloody Sunday"

Watch the film "Bloody Sunday"

(The October 20 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280491/

Documentary-style drama showing the events that led up to the tragic incident on January 30, 1972 in the Northern Ireland town of Derry when a protest march led by civil rights activist Ivan Cooper was fired upon by British troops, killing 13 protesters and wounding 14 more. 

Friday, October 18, 2013

Oct 19 Tip: Learn about "The Man Who Saved the World"

 Learn about "The Man Who Saved the World" During the Cuban Missile Crisis

(The October 19 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/episodes/the-man-who-saved-the-world-watch-the-full-episode/905/

In October 1962, the world held its breath. On the edge of the Caribbean Sea, just a few miles from the Florida coast, the two great superpowers were at a stand-off. Surrounded by twelve US destroyers, which were depth-charging his submarine to drive it to the surface, Captain Vitali Grigorievitch Savitsky panicked. Unable to contact Moscow and fearing war had begun, he ordered the launch of his submarine’s nuclear torpedoes. As the two sides inched perilously close to nuclear war—far closer than we ever knew before–just one man stood between Captain Savitsky’s order and mutually assured destruction.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Oct 18 Tip: Learn about "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland

Learn about "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland

(The October 18 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/troubles

The conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century is known as the Troubles. Over 3,600 people were killed and thousands more injured.

Over the course of three decades, violence on the streets of Northern Ireland was commonplace and spilled over into mainland Britain, the Republic of Ireland and as far afield as Gibraltar.

Several attempts to find a political solution failed until the Good Friday Agreement, which restored self-government to Northern Ireland and brought an end to the Troubles.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Oct 17 Tip: Watch the film "Bloody Sunday" about The Troubles in Northern Ireland

Watch the film "Bloody Sunday" about The Troubles in Northern Ireland (Available at Wild and Woolly Video)

(The October 17 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280491/

Documentary-style drama showing the events that led up to the tragic incident on January 30, 1972 in the Northern Ireland town of Derry when a protest march led by civil rights activist Ivan Cooper was fired upon by British troops, killing 13 protesters and wounding 14 more

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Oct 16 Tip: Watch Lisa Bu's TED Talk on "How Books Can Open Your Mind"

Watch Lisa Bu's TED Talk on "How Books Can Open Your Mind"

(The October 16 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_bu_how_books_can_open_your_mind.html

What happens when a dream you've held since childhood … doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach to reading in this lovely, personal talk about the magic of books.
Lisa Bu has built a career helping people find great stories to listen to. Now she tells her own story

Monday, October 14, 2013

Oct 15 Tip: Make your reservation by 5 pm for Third Thursday Lunch



Please join us at 11:30 am on Oct. 17 for this month's Third Thursday Luncheon Program co-sponsored by Interfaith Paths to Peace and the Louisville Chapter of Interfaith Paths to Peace.
 Make your reservation by 5 pm for Third Thursday Lunch

(The October 15 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Water With Blessings 
Bringing Clean Water to God's Thirsty Children
featuring Sr. Larraine Lauter and Rev. Jim Flynn


Louisville-based Water With Blessings has brought water purification systems to communities in 14 developing countries, yielding overnight improvements in community health.  Executive Director Larraine Lauter, OSU, and Rev. Jim Flynn will discuss WWB's work and the vital role played by "Water Women" in the development and ongoing success of the organization.  Larraine will talk about her experiences in Honduras, where it all started, and Jim will share his recent efforts to deliver water filters to Nicaragua.  (An opportunity to purchase a water filter for a community will be offered.) 


Please email back now 
(Or call Cathy Ford at 458-1223


and reserve your spot for this month's ThirdThursday Lunch.

Please try to make your reservation 
by 5 pm on Tuesday, Oct 15.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Oct 14 Tip: Observe October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Observe October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month

(The October 14 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/30/presidential-proclamation-national-domestic-violence-awareness-month-201

NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH, 2013
Since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) nearly 20 years ago, our Nation's response to domestic violence has greatly improved. What was too often seen as a private matter best hidden behind closed doors is now an established issue of national concern. We have changed our laws, transformed our culture, and improved support services for survivors. We have seen a significant drop in domestic violence homicides and improved training for police, prosecutors, and advocates. Yet we must do more to provide protection and justice for survivors and to prevent violence from occurring. During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we stand with domestic abuse survivors, celebrate our Nation's progress in combatting these despicable crimes, and resolve to carry on until domestic violence is no more.
Although we have made substantial progress in reducing domestic violence, one in four women and one in seven men in the United States still suffer serious physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner at least once during their lifetimes. Every day, three women lose their lives in this country as a result of domestic violence. Millions of Americans live in daily, silent fear within their own homes.
My Administration remains devoted to halting this devastating violence. To lead by example, last year I directed Federal agencies to develop policies to assist victims of domestic violence in the Federal workforce. Earlier this year, Vice President Biden announced new grants for initiatives that aim to reduce domestic violence homicides across our country.
This past spring, I signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. The Act provides law enforcement with better resources to investigate cases of rape, gives colleges more tools to educate students about dating violence and sexual assault, and empowers tribal courts to prosecute those who commit domestic violence on tribal lands, regardless of whether the aggressor is a member of the tribe. In addition, VAWA will continue to allow relief for immigrant victims of domestic violence, and LGBT victims will receive care and assistance.
Thanks to the landmark Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and new health plans must cover domestic violence screening and counseling with no copayments or cost sharing. Millions will have the chance to sign up for affordable care through the new Health Insurance Marketplace by visiting www.HealthCare.gov beginning October 1.
Ending violence in the home is a national imperative that requires vigilance and dedication from every sector of our society. We must continue to stand alongside advocates, victim service providers, law enforcement, and our criminal justicesystem as they hold offenders accountable and provide care and support to survivors. But our efforts must extend beyond the criminal justice system to include housing and economic advocacy for survivors. We must work with young people to stop violence before it starts. We must also reach out to friends and loved ones who have suffered from domestic violence, and we must tell them they are not alone. I encourage victims, their loved ones, and concerned citizens to learn more by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE, or by visiting www.TheHotline.org.
This October, let us honor National Domestic Violence Awareness Month by promoting peace in our own families, homes, and communities. Let us renew our commitment to end domestic violence -- in every city, every town, and every corner of America.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2013 as National Domestic Violence
Awareness Month. I call on all Americans to speak out against domestic violence and support local efforts to assist victims of these crimes in finding the help and healing they need.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
Barack Obama- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
BARACK OBAMA

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Oct 13 Tip: Take part in today's AIDS walk

Take part in today's AIDS walk!

(The October 13 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Please join the AIM Team at the AIDS Walk on Sunday, Oct 13th.
Let’s put our walking shoes on!   The Walk starts on the Great Lawn at Waterfront Park at 3 pm. The festivities begin at noon. Dogs on leashes are welcome. 

The Walk provides essential support for local agencies serving those who struggle daily against the effects of HIV/AIDS. The number of people infected continues to grow throughout Kentucky.

How can I help?        Be a walker or donate to our team.

Here's the link to sign up or donate:
http://louisvilleAidswalk.kintera.org/aidsInterfaithMinistries
      On the right side of the first screen, click the button, “JOIN Team”.
      Click "I agree" on the next screen to waive any claims against the WALK organizers.
      Next you're asked to create a login for yourself. There's a final page for making an optional
            donation.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Oct 12 Tip: TONIGHT! Meet Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley and see "Mandela! Struggle and Triumph"

TONIGHT! Meet Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley and see "Mandela! Struggle and Triumph"

(The October 12 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Meet Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley and see "Mandela! Struggle and Triumph" on Saturday

Interfaith Paths to Peace 
and Paul Paletti 

present

"Mandela! Struggle and Triumph" 
A Gallery Talk and Reception 
with 
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer 
David Turnley

Saturday, Oct. 12 5-7 pm
Paul Paletti Gallery
713 E. Market Street
Louisville, KY

http://paulpalettigallery.com/exhibits/

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Oct 11 Tip: Malala wins human rights prize

From the NY Times: Malala wins human rights prize

(The October 11 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/10/10/world/asia/10reuters-eu-prize-malala.html?hp&_r=0

Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for education for girls, won the European Union's annual human rights award on Thursday.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Oct 10 Tip: Buddhist Advice on Shedding Old Habits from Pema Chodron

Buddhist Advice on Shedding Old Habits from Pema Chodron

(The October 10 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

SHEDDING OLD HABITS

At some point, if you’re fortunate, you’ll hit a wall of truth and wonder what you’ve been doing with your life. At that point you’ll feel highly motivated to find out what frees you and helps you to be kinder and more loving, less klesha driven and confused. At that point you’ll actually want to be present—present as you go through a door, present as you take a step, present as you wash your hands or wash a dish, present to being triggered, present to simmering, present to the ebb and flow of your emotions and thoughts. Day in and day out, you’ll find that you notice sooner when you’re hooked, and it will be easier to refrain. If you continue to do this, a kind of shedding happens—a shedding of old habits, a shedding of being run around by pleasure and pain, a shedding of being held hostage by worldly concerns. 



Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Oct 9 Tip: TONIGHT! Hear presentation on Thomas Merton and Pope John XXIII

TONIGHT! Hear presentation on Thomas Merton and Pope John XXIII

(The October 9 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

The Thomas Merton Center’s fall lecture series exploring some of the connections between Thomas Merton and the Second Vatican Council begins this Wednesday with Michael W. Higgins speaking on "Thomas Merton and Pope John XXIII."

Please forward this message to your mailing lists to spread the word of this wonderful, free series of lectures
.

Thomas Merton and Pope John XXIII
by Michael W. Higgins

October 9th, 2013 - 7 pm
Michael W. Higgins is vice-president for Mission and Catholic Identity at Sacred Heart University, the author of dozens of books including Genius Born of Anguish: The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen, and Heretic Blood: The Spiritual Geography of Thomas Merton. He co-edited the recently published collection Vatican II: A Universal Call to Holiness and is the official biographer of Henri Nouwen.
 
Hilary's, Horrigan Hall, Bellarmine University - 7 pm
Free and Open to the Public

For full details visit:
http://merton.org/Events/#VC

Monday, October 7, 2013

Oct 8 Tip: Read about Poet Mary Oliver and her "Dog Songs"

Read about Poet Mary Oliver and her "Dog Songs"

(The October 8 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/books/mary-olivers-dog-songs-finds-poetry-in-friends.html?_r=0

Mary Oliver has spent most of her life with a mind ripe with poems — and with at least one steadfast dog by her side. It seems fitting then that her latest collection revels in the carrying on of dogs. “Dog Songs,” out from Penguin Press on Tuesday, is a sweet golden retriever of a book that curls up with the reader, with 35 poems and one essay about the dogs who have shared Ms. Oliver’s days.


Oct 7 Tip: Malcolm Gladwell: The Unheard story of David and Goliath

Malcolm Gladwell: The Unheard story of David and Goliath

(The October 7 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_the_unheard_story_of_david_and_goliath.html?source=email#.UlH9ztV-mtk.email

It's a classic underdog tale: David, a young shepherd armed only with a sling, beats Goliath, the mighty warrior. The story has transcended its biblical origins to become a common shorthand for unlikely victory. But, asks Malcolm Gladwell, is that really what the David and Goliath story is about?
Detective of fads and emerging subcultures, chronicler of jobs-you-never-knew-existed, Malcolm Gladwell's work is toppling the popular understanding of bias, crime, food, marketing, race, consumers and intelligence

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Oct 6 Tip: Read John O'Donohue's short poem, "For Presence"

Read John O'Donohue's short poem, "For Presence"

(The October 6 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/

For Presence

by John O'Donohue
Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to
follow its path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of
soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek
no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven
around the heart of wonder.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Oct. 5 Tip: Untreated Mental Illness Can Be a Serious Threat

From 60 Minutes: Untreated Mental Illness Can Be a Serious Threat

(The Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57605146/untreated-mental-illness-an-imminent-danger/

The following script is from "Imminent Danger" which aired on Sept. 29, 2013. The correspondent is Steve Kroft. Producers Graham Messick and Coleman Cowan.
The mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard two weeks ago that resulted in the deaths of 13 people, including the gunman, was the 23rd such incident in the past seven years. It's becoming harder and harder to ignore the fact that the majority of the people pulling the triggers have turned out to be severely mentally ill -- not in control of their faculties -- and not receiving treatment.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Oct 4 Tip: This Weekend Visit the "Unfair" Artists' Fair in Louisville

This Weekend Visit the "Unfair" Artists' Fair in Louisville

(The October 4 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

https://www.facebook.com/events/419624758151857/?ref=br_tf

Friends, whether or not you visit the St. James Art Fair this weekend, take some time to stop by the "Unfair" Artists Fair featuring the work of local, independent creative folks. You can stop by today through Sunday.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Oct. 3 Tip: Read the new book "Casualties" by Kirsten Clodfelter

Read the new book "Casualties" by Kirsten Clodfelter

(The October 3 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Southern Indiana resident and adjunct professor of English Kirsten Clodfelter's first chapbook, Casualties, is forthcoming from RopeWalk Press and is now available for pre-order.  The collection highlights the far-reaching impacts of global conflict, not only on those in combat but also on their families and the communities that are left behind in the wake of international devastation. Written from the perspective that the lasting tragedies of war aren't discriminating, award-winning author Pam Houston praised Clodfelter's work: "Intelligent, idiosyncratic and humane, Casualties beautifully reveals the often canted ways human beings cope with  fear and desire, while at the same time negotiating the surrealities (and realities) of contemporary warfare.” $1 from the sale of each book benefits the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit dedicated to the advocacy of post-9/11 combat veterans. 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Oct. 2 Tip: Mark Gandhi's Birthday Today by Celebrating "National Peacemakers Day:"

Mark Gandhi's Birthday Today by Celebrating "National Peacemakers Day:"

(The October 2 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Today is Gandhi's birthday.

Interfaith Paths to Peace is pioneering the idea of celebrating this day every year as "National Peacemakers Day," a time to honor the memory of the countless individuals who have devoted--and in some cases given--their lives in the service of peace.

We encourage you to take time today to savor the memory of Gandhi, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others who have touched your soul by their life and witness.

http://www.mkgandhi.org/

Learn about Gandhi, his life, work & philosophy. 
This comprehensive site is regularly updated & maintained by non-profit Gandhian Organizations in India & has a wealth of information & material for researchers,  students,
  activists & anyone interested in Gandhi.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Oct 1 Tip: Attend this weekend's meditation retreat with Anam Thubten & Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel


Attend this weekend's meditation retreat with Anam Thubten & Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel

(The October 1 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://festivaloffaiths.org/meditation-retreat-october-4-6-2013/

OCTOBER 4-6, 2013
BROWN HOTEL
335 WEST BROADWAY, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 40202

As part of ongoing programming offered for the 2013 Festival of Faiths, Sacred Silence: Pathway to Compassion, the Center for Interfaith Relations, in partnership with the Dharmata Foundation and Mangala Shri Bhuti, is proud to host a meditation retreat with renowned meditation teachers, Anam Thubten and Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel.
This meditation retreat is for people of all faith traditions and is suited to both experienced and novice meditators. During this weekend retreat, Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel and Anam Thubten will invite everyone into the timeless Buddhist teachings, along with meditation practices to bear witness that we can all bring about change within. The “change” is a journey from our old mental patterns of hatred, fear and dissatisfaction that cause suffering, to lay the foundation for our individual and collective pathways to a natural state of compassion rooted in love, courage, insight and joy.
Join us for this exercise in Sacred Silence!