How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds
"Last fall Alan Jacobs published a slim book with a bold title: How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds. Jacobs is a professor of English literature, but in this book he joins a growing chorus of social psychologists who warn that enlightenment anthropology -- what Jamie Smith memorably calls the "brains-on-a-stick" model of human persons -- falls woefully short of reality. Rather, as ... posted on May 21 2018, 1,626 reads

The Importance of Quiet Time
By not giving ourselves the minutes -- or hours -- free of devices and distractions, we risk losing our ability to know who we are and what's important to us, says physicist and writer Alan Lightman. In this piece he outlines the direness of the problem and offers ideas for how it can be addressed.... posted on May 20 2018, 135,531 reads

Restoration: A Conversation with Daniel McCormick & Mary O'Brien
"There's still a bit of misunderstanding about what we do," says Mary O'Brien, "When we meet with site stewards, conservation managers and scientists they're often like, "We're going to meet with an artist? Whats that all about?" The work of environmental restoration artists Daniel McCormick and Mary O'Brien is nearly always an uphill struggle, but they're passionate. They've acquired knowledge ac... posted on May 19 2018, 1,905 reads

Designed by Masters, Woven with Dignity
Witness the beautiful fabric woven by traditional weavers in Toraja, Indonesia, and learn how their collective is working to bring economic independence to the weavers while preserving weaving as part of their cultural heritage. The social enterprise, Torajamelo, transforms the lives of these weavers, offering scholarships for their children and grandchildren and health insurance for themselves an... posted on May 18 2018, 2,179 reads

Warriors for the Human Spirit
Margaret Wheatley is a writer and management consultant who draws upon systems analysis, chaos theory, and other diverse fields of study to inform her work. In this interview from Sounds True, she writes talks about how we are in a time of destructive change that will bring a new way of life along with it. Our best path forward is to be warriors for the human spirit as we create "islands of sanity... posted on May 17 2018, 16,409 reads

If This Was Your Mom, What Would You Do?
In this moving piece, gastroenterologist Venu Julapalli shares what it is like for a doctor when a life-threatening condition touches one of their own family members. He shares the devastation of his own family after his mother suffered from a ruptured brain aneurysm and how a doctor simply holding space for them helped them pull through.... posted on May 16 2018, 6,901 reads

How Urban Agriculture is Transforming Detroit
There's something amazing growing in the city of Detroit: healthy, accessible, delicious, fresh food. In a spirited talk, fearless farmer Devita Davison explains how features of Detroit's decay actually make it an ideal spot for urban agriculture. Join Davison for a walk through neighborhoods in transformation as she shares stories of opportunity and hope. "These aren't plots of land where we're j... posted on May 15 2018, 10,786 reads

Etty Hillesum: A Celebrant of Life
While you may know the story of Anne Frank, you may not be aware of the life of Etty Hillesum. She lived in Amsterdam and wrote a diary in which she documented her inner shift from a bourgeois woman plagued by neuroses and self-doubt to someone who, in the midst of the filth and deprivation of a concentration camp, could gaze towards the sky crying "tears of deep emotion and gratitude". More in t... posted on May 14 2018, 15,871 reads

Uncolonizing the Imagination
Listening to a storyteller discuss the art of storytelling is to take a trip into the land of the right brain where imagination, myth, past and present coalesce. The spoken language is exquisitely used in this interview by Charlotte Du Cann with Martin Shaw. He refers to storytelling as opening up to our uncolonized imagination, listening to the thoughts of the world, of our ancestors, of "the riv... posted on May 13 2018, 7,659 reads

5 Questions for Lynne Twist
Lynne Twist is the founder of The Soul of Money Institute. She has talked to more than 100,000 people across the world about creating a healthy relationship with money. Here she answers the questions: What common obstacles do we all share? How can we align our values with finances? What does changing our relationship with money have to do with spirituality? What are the myths around money that kee... posted on May 12 2018, 6,934 reads