Lisa Napoli's Blog, page 21

Thinking Fast and Slow with #DanielKahneman @livetalksla

Can't wait to see him this week at Live Talks Business Forums here in LA. Kahneman's one of the pioneers of happiness economics and he's got a new book out about decision-making…..the fast, gut kind, and the more deliberate, non-Twitter kind…..

http://business.livetalksla.org/2011/08/18/daniel-kahneman-nobel-laureate-in-economic-sciences-thinking-fast-and-slow/

[image error] [image error] [image error]

spotted in the parking lot at work

[image error] [image error] [image error]

The other royal wedding by little augury

the Other Royal Wedding

Posted: 15 Oct 2011 08:07 PM PDT

.

"This is love:

to fly toward a secret sky,

to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.

First to let go of life.

Finally, to take a step without feet." RUMI

Bhutan's fifth Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) ,just got married. With a degree in political science and economics from Oxford, the now thirty one year old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, ascended the throne in 2006. A big Boston Celtics fan, Jigme married Jetsun Pena, age twenty one, this week after vowing to marry her when he was 17 and she was 7 at a family picnic. According to the King, then-prince , he got down on his knees and said "when you grow up, if I am single and not married and if you are single and not married, I would like you to be my wife, provided we still feel the same."

King Jigme's father abdicated in 2006 to allow for parliamentary elections. Today, the country's monarchy acts as a stabilizing force for its fledgling democracy.

The wedding took place at the Himalayan monastic fortress, Punakha Dzong Palace in Bhutan's ancient capital Punakha with celebrations continuing through the county for three days.

& THAT CROWN!

The brocade-embroidered crown Her Majesty Jetsun Pema Wangchuck donned on Thursday at the wedding ceremony in Punakha depicts two Ja Tsherings (phoenix) or the mythical longevity birds. The male and female birds symbolise the blissful relationship between the King and the Queen.

"It's also a symbol of inseparability in method and wisdom," Dasho Sangay Wangchug of the Privy Council, explained. The crown also has a khorlo or the wheel of dharma between the male and the female bird.

The wheel signifies the power that the King and the Queen is bestowed with to rule in a way that launches the country into a new era of continued peace and prosperity. The lotus beneath the khorlo is for purity of love and devotion for both the King and the Queen.

Lhadrip (scroll painter) Lopon Ugyen, who designed the crown and had it embroidered in Hong Kong, said the frame of the crown was carved in such a way that they accommodated all the strokes of different colours (bjadri).

The embroidery of the tshebum on the crown's rear is also a symbol Amitayu or the Buddha of long life.

The overall dark blue borders is in keeping with the colour of the sky that is representative of the power she wields which is limitless like the open sky. By Rinzin Wangchuck, (links with in this text)

The king and queen, wore heavily embroidered traditional attire in silks and woven textiles. Designer Manav Gangwani of Delhi designed some of the wedding clothes -tasked with maintaining Bhutanese heritage with added Indian and Mughal influences. Ritu Kumar, the grande dame of Indian fashion, has also designed wedding clothes for the bride, including the national outfit, Kira, made up of a wrap-around skirt worn over a crossover silk blouse and a jacket.

Jetsun is known for her sartorial choices already and according to Vogue IT, the couple combine their country's traditional looks with fabrics and patterns of British heritage, not to mention shoes like Church's, which the king will never give up. (vogue IT)

[image error]

Jigme and Jetsun

When the couple's engagement was announced by the King in May he said of Jetsun "As my queen, I have found such a person, and her name is Jetsun Pema, While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart and character. These qualities together with the wisdom that will come with age and experience will make her a great servant to the nation."

[image error]

The King is one of 10 siblings born to the former king and his four wives, who are all sisters. Jetsun will be this King's only wife.

[image error]

Read from all about the nuptials ,Kuensel, Bhutan's Daily News site here

& the Hindustan Times here

& Vogue IT here




[image error] [image error] [image error]

Authentic #Bhutanese @Buddhist temple to be built on #UTEP campus in #Texas

It's from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2008, and we've been waiting for this happy news although this story doesn't have a specific date:

And this structure is the one and the same in my newly published short story, Temple on the Mall:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UOZCJU

Electric butter lamps: if you have to ask, you're probably not #buddhist

Media Inquiries:

Fred Mertz – 510.542.9976

mylight [at] offeringlight.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Offering Light, the electric butter lamps for butter lamp offerings, founded by Kirk Grissom, announces the opening of its store and new video at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/OfferingLight

Offering Light Designs and Creates the Innovative Electric Butter Lamps Specifically for Butter Lamp Offerings, Buddhist Lamp Offerings & Tibetan Light Offerings.

OAKLAND – Kirk Grissom, founder of Offering Light, dedicated to providing earth-friendly, super low-energy electric butter lamps, announced today the opening of its shop on Etsy, the premier e-commerce website focused on unique handmade items from around the world.

"This is what I look for in a beautiful, safe & clean, economical butter lamp offering," said Kirk Grissom, "and the electric butter lamps are a lot safer, cleaner and save money compared to using oil or candles. It's not easy keeping those butter lamps going! Offering Light was created specifically to help people have an alternative way to perform this ancient and effective Tibetan Buddhist ritual. Just plug it into any standard home electrical outlet.

"Hopefully, Tibetan Buddhists around the world will see how ideal they are when it's unsafe to use a lighted flame, such as near fabrics and in small alcoves. Or those hard-to-reach places on their altar or shrine, or anywhere there is a need to brighten up the darkness. Now they can learn how to offer light continuously without interruption while reducing costs and sparing the air!"

Offering light, the innovative, safe & clean, economical butter lamp offering is now in stock and available at Offering Light on Etsy:http://www.etsy.com/shop/OfferingLight. When you illuminate the Offering Light you are dispelling the darkness of ignorance and creating harmony, good intentions and merit in our world! Preview the Offering Light Video Here: http://www.youtube.com/OfferingLight

About Offering Light

Offering Light designs and creates the innovative electric butter lamps for butter lamp offerings, Buddhist lamp offerings & Tibetan light offerings. Offering Light is based in Oakland, Ca and handmade at a state of the art wood shop using the best materials and craftsmanship. Visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/OfferingLight.

[image error]

#MeetPlanGo : Richard Bangs and 100 people who are doing what most people only dream of doing

Adventurer and travel expert Richard Bangs has made a career of going to places people only dream about. Last night at the Meet Plan Go LA event, he showed me an interesting (if troubling) souvenir:

[image error]

Most everyone else in the room was scheming and planning how they will drop out of the rat race and explore our great big beautiful planet. I felt like an imposter, since, when I dropped out, it was all an accident.

[image error] [image error]

Rev Kusala at Against the Stream: Why I Became a #Buddhist

The genetics of happiness: Transporter of delight @economist

http://www.economist.com/node/21532247?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Far%2Ftransporterofdelight

(Thanks, Amy!)

[image error] [image error]

Buddhist King=Hindu Wedding Ceremony

After his spectacular sacred Buddhist wedding ceremony last week, King Jigme and his new beautiful Queen (in a nod to their Hindu countrymen) tied the knot (if you can use that vernacular in this particular instance) Hindu-style. This from the BBS.

Very curious what the repatriated Bhutanese-Nepalese think about this latest development……

[image error]

Words for the day:

(Thanks, Cyd!)

[image error] [image error] [image error]