Lessons From 7 Years of Brain Pickings
In 2006, Maria Popova shared an idea with a few friends: to start a weekly digest featuring five stimulating things to learn about each week, it could include anything from a breakthrough in neuroscience to a timeless piece of poetry. Brain Pickings was thus born, giving rise to a digital anthology or collage of works of historical and cultural significance. Seven years later, Maria shares reflect... posted on Mar 18 2014, 43,832 reads

A Place For Generosity Based Publishing
The Concord Free Press operates under a tradition-smashing publishing model: It thrives on generosity rather than a profit margin. The authors that approach the Concord Free Press give them the rights to publish an initial run of 3,000 books, which the CFP then distributes for free to readers, along with a request to make a donation of their choice. Since 2008, when the CFP began this ground-break... posted on Mar 17 2014, 14,914 reads

I'm Just Like You
Videographer Ellie Walton flew to Liberia to film a documentary highlighting the beauty and strengths of the children of the Hope for the Deaf School -- children who face immense discrimination and are often abandoned by their families. Coincidentally, she arrived in Monrovia on the same day as Hip Hop artist Chad Harper (aka Famus), whom she had met the month before in India. Chad had come to exp... posted on Mar 16 2014, 3,653 reads

The Ancient Heart of Forgiveness
"On the train from Washington to Philadelphia, while on my way to my father's memorial funeral service, I sat down next to an interesting fellow who worked with young boys, particularly those in jail and prison, as part of an inner-city project in Washington, DC. He told me this story..." So begins this piece by Jack Kornfield a renowned psychologist and teacher of Buddhist psychology, in which he... posted on Mar 15 2014, 63,245 reads

The History of Simple Living
When Pope Francis took office, he shocked the world by abandoning the luxuries of office for a simple guesthouse out back. His goal was to experiment with a new living arrangement, one that allowed him to live amongst the community he was serving. And as the recession forces more and more families to 'tighten their belts', it seems that the art of simple living is making quite a comeback. In his n... posted on Mar 14 2014, 43,673 reads

The Nature of the Self: How We Know Who We Are
Our emotions, beliefs, and ideals are constantly changing, and most cells in our bodies are completely renewed every seven years. How, then, do we know who "we" are? Over the past ten years, the emerging field of experimental philosophy has examined this paradox, along with its many related questions about morality, happiness, love, and how to live. In this fascinating video, Yale University profe... posted on Mar 13 2014, 28,896 reads

Life Lessons From An Ice-Cream Excursion
Join writer John Landretti on a ride with his two little boys as they make their weekly bicycle trek through a series of natural wonders for some ice cream. And in line with the old saying, he discovers it is the journey - and not the destination - that brings out the wonders of life and awakens insight.... posted on Mar 12 2014, 6,992 reads

Green Bridge Growers: Finding Hope in the Ground
"Food is so much a part of the fabric of our lives, reflecting our health, lifestyle, time, and values." But with so much of the food in our markets and on our plates coming from afar, what does our food have to say about us? How can our food be a reflection of our values, and perhaps play a role in helping address other problems found in our society? Green Bridge Growers aims to answer this quest... posted on Mar 11 2014, 13,847 reads

The 3-Year-Old Who Decided To Donate Her Hair
Emily James is a typical three-year-old princess. She loves nail polish, frilly dresses, and her Rapunzel doll, Dolly. When her hair got too long for a busy little girl, her parents suggested that she cut her hair off and donate it for wigs for cancer patients. Emily was excited to "share her hair"... on the condition that Uncle "Maffew" cut Dolly's hair too. "I don't want any kids to be sad that... posted on Mar 10 2014, 4,926 reads

How To Increase Your Compassion Bandwidth
Compassion moves us to care for the suffering of others and enables us to live cooperatively with each other. Yet, in this world of information overload and constant connection, we risk being overwhelmed by our emotional response to the suffering of others. Fearing exhaustion, we turn off our compassion. However, although many of us assume that we only have so much compassion to spare, the develop... posted on Mar 09 2014, 20,665 reads