Marie Howe: The Power of Words to Save Us
In this edition of On Being, poet Marie Howe shares how poetry allows us to connect with others, through the words we find and the spaces between them. A former Poet Laureate of New York, Howe did not begin writing poetry until she was a young adult, as she transitioned from her career as a teacher. Influenced by her Catholic upbringing in a large family of 9, Howe reflects on the meaning of ordin... posted on Jul 23 2017, 9,091 reads

Gardens & the Art of Delayed Gratification
Alanda Greene grew up having spent time nurturing a deep connection with nature through gardening -- planting seeds and watching them grow. She remarks that even now, "no matter how many times I plant seeds, these small, hard beads of potential, I am thrilled when the signs of growth emerge. It is as if I never really believed it would happen this time. Seems just too improbable that those tiny ... posted on Jul 22 2017, 10,531 reads

Joserra Gonzalez: A Re-Love-Ution Blooms in Spain
"We are at the verge of many changes, and if we stay together in this journey, we can really face this big current which is taking us in a direction we don't know" Joserra's first question was "How can I serve?" He soon found the answers to why humans suffer and how to lessen our own suffering and that of those around us. From spending two years working in the slums of Ahmedabad, India to becoming... posted on Jul 21 2017, 8,766 reads

One Sapling at a Time
In Bikaner, Rajasthan, northern India the landscape is mostly desert, making it a challenge to grow fruit bearing trees and other plants. In 2003, Professor Shyam Sundar Jyani and his students began working on some local neem trees, which were struggling. From this work, Shyam went on to found Familial Forestry in 2006, an organization that donates saplings of fruit bearing trees to villagers with... posted on Jul 20 2017, 7,500 reads

Neema Village: A Place of Hope
In Tanzania, East Africa, a baby rescue center called Neema Village has saved over 100 abandoned, orphaned, and at-risk infants in just 5 years. The list is long of places the infants have been found -- by the roadside, in a yard, a gravel pit, a hotel, a latrine... Mostly they are the babies of mothers who have died or were unable to care for them. Doris Fortson, co-founder of Neema Village says,... posted on Jul 19 2017, 2,739 reads

Turning Waste Streams Into Value Streams
The vision of Sustainability 3.0 is a circular economy that mimics our natural ecosystem: the "waste" from products that have outlived their usefulness becomes "nutrients" for further production. This foundational shift away from the linear business model of "take, make, and dispose" could be a huge boon for the sustainability movement and could provide great opportunities for businesses. However,... posted on Jul 18 2017, 7,039 reads

Brother David Steindl-Rast on Matters of Heart
When Brother David reached out to his readers of Integral Yoga Magazine in the 1970s to write him on any matter on life and the spirit, one reader responded with an inspired request on matters of the heart. What do we mean when we talk of the heart space? Is it courage? Faithfulness? In his response, Brother David illuminates his view on what it truly means to life from love - in a heart-centred e... posted on Jul 17 2017, 11,195 reads

The Sacred Art of Pausing
When in the middle of things we can't control, our first impulse is often frantic activity; anxiously cluttering our days, our minds and our bodies. "We fill our days with continual movement: mental planning and worrying, habitual talking, fixing, scratching, adjusting, phoning, snacking, discarding, buying, looking in the mirror." In this passage, Tara Brach asks us to consider what might happen ... posted on Jul 16 2017, 26,178 reads

Awakening Compassion at Work
In their new book, 'Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power that Elevates People and Organizations,' Drs. Jane Dutton and Monica Worline discuss the theme of compassion, how employees and organizations can utilize it, and why it's valuable. It is important to recognize that western society often encourages a fear of compassion, particularly fear of being seen as weak or being taken advantage... posted on Jul 15 2017, 11,812 reads

Beyond Grit: The Science of Creativity, Purpose and Motivation
How are world-class geniuses different from other people? It may have less to do with genetics and more to do with the journey from interest to purpose to hope. Angela Duckworth is a psychologist, founder of the non-profit 'Character Lab', and bestselling author of 'Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. She examines how successful and happy people delve into their passions as a process of d... posted on Jul 14 2017, 13,015 reads