Leftover Women Take Over the Marriage Market
In China, a woman who is unmarried by age 25 is considered a "leftover woman." She feels like an outsider, and in a culture with great respect for parents, she may feel like a failure. A group of such women went to the Marriage Market and put up large photos of themselves, and messages like "don't give up love for suitability" or expressing the wish not to marry. Their fundamental message is "Don'... posted on Dec 19 2018, 2,902 reads

Native Women Reclaim Land Plot by Plot
In the San Francisco Bay Area, demand for land seems endless. Property values are sky-high, rents are backbreaking, and people just keep coming. Over 2 million more are expected to settle here by 2040. Today's land rush is nothing new. For more than 200 years, there has been a run on Bay Area real estate a relentless wave of colonization, then suburbanization and now gentrification that left the O... posted on Dec 18 2018, 5,547 reads

Daring to Dream: Religion and the Future of the Earth
There is a dawning realization from many quarters that the changes humans are making on the planet are comparable to the changes of a major geological era. The scientific evidence says we are damaging life systems on Earth and causing species extinction (20,000 species lost annually) at such a rate as to bring about the end of our current period, the Cenozoic era. No such mass extinction has occur... posted on Dec 17 2018, 6,746 reads

Pope Francis' Encyclical: Hearing the Cry of the Earth
The Earth needs both physical and spiritual attention and awareness, our acts and prayers, our hands and hearts. Life is a self-sustaining organic whole of which we are a part, and once we reconnect with this whole we can find a different way to live -- one that is not based upon a need for continual distraction and the illusions of material fulfillment, but rather a way to live that is sustaining... posted on Dec 16 2018, 8,086 reads

Consider Your Wake
Many of us like to consider the impact we make as a "footprint" we leave behind. But what if instead of a footprint, we imagined our actions leaving a wake? In this article, Andy Smallman explores how the metaphor of a boat in the water can be applied to our daily decisions and interpersonal exchanges. Just as a boat creates waves that affect the vessels around it, so too do our words and actions ... posted on Dec 15 2018, 7,773 reads

How to Live a More Courageous Life
When confronted with fear, the brain will seek relief in the form of old coping habits if left to its own devices. However, there are things we can do to help it change course. If we set the stage for courage, our awareness of what happens to us becomes our greatest ally. "The more you interrupt the old fear-based habits and replace fear-based responses with responses to boost courage, the more yo... posted on Dec 14 2018, 0 reads

8 World-Views and Practices by Mark Nepo
Since prehistoric hunters had to work together in order to survive, people have had to learn how to share both the workload and the harvest, and the problems and the joys. Through the centuries, traditions have formed and complexities have grown. But the health of all community depends on how we treat each other. This article explores eight worldviews and the practices they offer. Each can help us... posted on Dec 13 2018, 11,456 reads

Another World
The creators of the film "Another World" assert that it will change the way you see your world. This documentary is about "mankind's journey to discover its true force and identity...It is a quest through science and consciousness, individual and planetary, exploring our relationships with ourselves, the world around us, and the universe as a whole." The filmmakers urge us to become "active, consc... posted on Dec 12 2018, 4,776 reads

Shin Terayama: A Radical Healing
From his hospital bed one night, Terayama had a strange dream. He was looking at his body in a coffin. He was 47, and did not yet know he had cancer. That soon changed. After surgery, chemo and radiationwith his cancer now out of reach of medical curehe went home to face death." A few mornings later, I had a very strange sensation in my body. When the sun came up, the sunlight came into my heart, ... posted on Dec 11 2018, 4,265 reads

For 11 Years She Taught 250 Kids For Free
Getting access to education for children in rural communities is a problem faced by countries across the world. In India, there is a program launched by the government in 1975 focused on bringing healthcare, education, and nutrition to rural communities through an anganwadi, or 'courtyard shelter.' Anganwadis are vital to these populations, pulling children young enough to attend preschool from he... posted on Dec 10 2018, 6,383 reads