October 2014
|
Theosophical
Order of Service
Liaison News
 |
Chrysopa by JJ Harrison; terms of use |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tweet |
||||
|
October, 2014
Warm greetings,
Halloween is just around the corner, but judging by the catalogs in my mailbox, I think it's fair to say, "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." This issue features ideas you can use to make an easy service project part of your TS holiday party. There's also a wonderful idea to help you stay sane (and even to radiate light and peace) while dealing with the inevitable holiday checkout lines.
I'd love to hear about any service projects your group has been involved in, or any causes or projects that you are working on individually. Whatever inspires you may inspire others too!
In service,
Kathy Gann
|
||||
|
TOS Scholarship Recipient |
||||
| We're delighted to announce this year's recipient of the TOS Oglala Lakota College School of Nursing scholarship. Angie Big Crow is a 39-year-old single mother of three children, ages 8-17. Angie is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and has lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation most of her life. | ||||
|
Angie Big Crow |
Angie started college in 1998, but left after one year to head home and care for her father who had become ill. That same year, she got her first taste of the medical profession when she began working at the Pine Ridge Indian Health Service hospital. I'll let Angie tell the rest of her story: "In 2012, I started to make my way back to pursuing my college degree. I resigned from my position with the Pine Ridge Indian Health Service after working for them for 15 years to attending Nursing school full time. It was a difficult choice and I told my children there would be some difficult times for us. I am ever so thankful that they are understanding and not selfish children. In August of 2014, I have started my 2nd year of Nursing school. There are obstacles that I have overcome to get where I am today. With a lot of prayers, a lot of tears, and a lot of studying, I have arrived at this very moment in my life. I am so very very thankful that you have chosen me as the recipient of your scholarship. With tears in my eyes and a big big hug, Thank you." |
|||
| Keep the education coming. It's this easy: if everyone reading this donated just $25.00 to the TOS, next year's scholarship would be half funded already. If you can help provide opportunities like nursing education to earnest students like Angie, please click here. | ||||
| 7 Easy Service Ideas for your TS Holiday Party | ||||
|
Many TS groups enjoy a holiday party in December, and it's a great opportunity to share some holiday cheer with those who are less fortunate. Here are some easy ways for your group to make a difference: |
||||
 |
1. Invite everyone to bring a new unwrapped toy, then donate the toys to the U.S. Marine Corps' project, Toys for Tots. Click here to find a donation site in your county. |
|||
 |
2. Invite everyone to bring some cat or dog food, then donate the food to your local animal shelter. Most shelters also have donation wish lists posted on the internet--email a link to the wish list to your members well in advance of the party, and suggest that members bring an item or two from the list if they wish. |
|||
 |
3. Before the party, bake birdseed cookies. Let each guest take home a cookie (with hanging ribbon) so they can feed the wild birds in their neighborhood. The recipe for birdseed cookies was featured in the November 2013 issue of this newsletter. Click here to find the recipe. |
|||
 |
4. Send Kids the World. Buy some postcards showing attractions in your area that appeal to kids. Send a cheerful message to a child suffering from a life-threatening illness. Chronically ill children are eager to receive "happy mail." Get all the details at: www.SendKidstheWorld.com |
|||
 |
5. Have a food drive--invite party guests to bring a nonperishable food item, then donate the collection to your local food bank. Click here to find a food bank in your area. |
|||
 |
6. Support family life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Oyate Teca Project is a non-profit organization promoting the well-being of children and families on Pine Ridge Reservation through programs such as early childhood development and before and after school care. Read about the project here and find a list of items your group can donate, or request that members bring items from the arts and crafts list to the party. | |||
 |
7. Donate coloring books and crayons to your local hospital's Emergency Room. Call first to confirm the need, or find your hospital's wish list posted online. Then invite members to bring coloring books and crayons so that kids waiting in emergency rooms (whether they're the patient or just waiting with the family) can stay occupied with something fun. Your local dollar store is a great place to find these items at good prices. | |||
| Light Games | ||||
| In Australian TS member Dorothy Bell's excellent 2008 article, "True Theosophical Service," she tells the story of Katie, a Reiki healing practitioner. Next time you find yourself feeling frustrated while waiting in line or in a traffic jam, you can uplift yourself and others around you by trying out Katie's idea. | ||||
|
Dorothy Bell |
"Katie was waiting in a queue at K-Mart. Two young employees at the checkout were distracted and ignoring the queue, and as it grew longer, customers became angry. Katie, too, became impatient, even glaring at the so-called offenders and then becoming angry with herself for being so angry. So she tried, unsuccessfully, to change her mood. Then she remembered a group discussion on using Light energy or healing energy to deal with negative reactions. So Katie focused her attention on the words, "I open my mind to the Light" and repeated them very slowly to herself, "I open my mind to the Light." After a little while, she began to sense something at the top of her head and recognized the gentle "healing energy" that gradually filled her, slowly bringing a feeling of release and upliftment. The anger that had been directed at two others and at herself, turned into a "spacy" feeling of warm benevolence to all. |
|||
| Overriding her emotions, Katie took positive action and shifted her consciousness from a negative state to a feeling of benevolence that embraced all—a liberating and healing moment." | ||||
|
TOS Postables Print it, post it, share it, live it . . . |
||||
|
|
||||
|
"A union of those who love in the service of all that suffers."
|
||||
