Cartographer of Meaning in a Digital Age
"The only way to glean knowledge is contemplation. And the road to that is time. There's nothing else. It's just time." Maria Popova's Brain Pickings started as a weekly email to seven friends in 2006. Now, it's a website read by hundreds of thousands across the globe. In this conversation with Krista Tippett, Maria shares a bit of her history, and the philosophical underpinnings of her "human-pow... posted on Jul 15 2015, 11,907 reads

Pablo Neruda's Greatest Lesson from Childhood
As a child the renowned poet Pablo Neruda discovered a hole in a fence board from which, suddenly, appeared a tiny hand of a boy about Neruda's own age. The hand just as soon disappeared, and in its place there was a marvelous white toy sheep -- a gift to Neruda. This isolated incident would spark something deep in the poet and influence his work in all the years to come. In this beautiful passag... posted on Jul 14 2015, 17,850 reads

19 Uplifting Photos That Capture The Human Spirit
There are certain images which instantly bring a smile to all who see them. They are uplifting, heart-filling reminders of goodness, of love, of hope. Like this series of images that shows everything from a young blind woman experiencing 'horse' for the first time, to the everlasting bonds of sisterhood. Take a moment to enjoy these 19 special photographs here.... posted on Jul 13 2015, 140,592 reads

Unlikely Mechanic Gives the Needy a Lift
Take a moment to reflect on the pivotal role cars play in many of our lives. They get us to and from work, they get us to the grocery store, to our doctor's appointments and so much more. Now imagine what a car breakdown means to someone who can't quite afford to pay for the high cost of repairs. The domino effect can be devastating. And that's where the heroic story of Cathy Heying begins.... posted on Jul 12 2015, 5,928 reads

Do We See Reality As It Is?
Thomas Huxley once proclaimed that the fact that human consciousness results from something as mundane as irritating nervous tissue is as mysterious as the fact that a genie appears after Aladdin rubs his lamp. Professor of Cognitive Science, Donald Hoffman, believes that we have been unable to understand the mystery of consciousness not because we are incapable of comprehending it, but because we... posted on Jul 11 2015, 29,748 reads

Pico Iyer on Bringing Calm Into the Motion of the World
"Pico Iyer is not a spiritual teacher or even, he says, a spiritual person per se. But he has become one of our most beloved and eloquent translators of the modern rediscovery of inner life. As a journalist and novelist, he travels the globe from Ethiopia to North Korea, and he lives in Japan. But he also experiences a remote Benedictine hermitage as his second home, retreating there many times ea... posted on Jul 10 2015, 20,481 reads

Can Compassion Change the World?
In this year of his 80th birthday, the Dalai Lama has collaborated with psychologist and bestselling "Emotional Intelligence" author Daniel Goleman to issue a call to action for creating a more compassionate world. To write "A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World," Daniel Goleman synthesized cutting-edge research from places like Stanford, Emory, and the University of Wisconsin to... posted on Jul 09 2015, 20,659 reads

The Top 10 Happiest Countries
"Everyone wants to be happy, and increasingly, countries around the world are looking at happiness as an indicator of national well-being and considering happiness in policy making. As this year's World Happiness Report states, "Happiness is increasingly considered a proper measure of social progress and a goal of public policy." But what makes people happy, and which countries have the highest le... posted on Jul 08 2015, 71,339 reads

The Radical Power of Humility
"Today I'd like to surface an unpopular virtue. One that's fallen out of favor in a time of selfies and relentless status updates..." In this recent keynote that took his audience by storm, the founder of ServiceSpace makes a compelling case for -- humility. Rich with insight and studded with stories of unassuming heroes ranging from Nelson Mandela to unknown janitors, pilgrim monks and revolutio... posted on Jul 07 2015, 117,361 reads

Lunchbox Letters: A Mom's Handwritten Advice To Her Daughter
What started as a small gesture nearly 11 years ago for guilt-ridden Mom, Stephanie Gould, has quickly become a viral sensation. "I don't necessarily think any of the advice was groundbreaking" shared daughter, Skylar. "I think just because it was coming from someone so close to you, you believe it more." She is referring to the hand-penned notes her mother tucked lovingly into her school lunchbox... posted on Jul 06 2015, 26,409 reads