For One Day of Freedom
""Even if life stops, love goes on." This quote of Bishop Steven Charleston's has never been more real to me than this year, which has seen the posthumous publication by ANTIBOOKCLUB of my husband Blyden B. Jackson Jr's final novel, 'For One Day of Freedom,' completed before his death in April of 2012. The publication of this novel, which was passed over by mainstream publishers when we tried unsu... posted on May 31 2022, 2,766 reads

Anna Breytenbach: The Animal Communicator
Anna Breytenbach is a professional interspecies communicator and the subject of a documentary titled, 'The Animal Communicator.' Breytenbach's lifework is dedicated to interspecies communication. Over the last couple of decades she has worked with baboons, great white sharks, big cats, and other creatures across multiple continents, astounding people with her capacity to connect with animals in al... posted on May 30 2022, 3,052 reads

They Still Draw Pictures
""They still draw pictures!" So wrote the editors of an influential collection of childrens art that was compiled in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War. Eighty years later, war continues to upend children's lives in Ukraine, Yemen and elsewhere. In January, UNICEF projected that 177 million children worldwide would require assistance due to war and political instability in 2022. This included 12 mi... posted on May 28 2022, 3,731 reads

Buddha of Oakland
When Dan Stevenson placed a stone Buddha across the street from his house in Oaklands Eastlake neighborhood, it was out of desperation.The corner had become an impromptu dump. City signs warning of punishment did nothing to change things. Dan asked himself if there might be another approach; something simple. He never imagined the positive energy chain that would ensue.... posted on May 27 2022, 3,567 reads

Painting with Mom
"My mother requires such presence, slowing down and attentiveness. Due to a very rare blood disorder, as we move her, we cannot let any part of her body bump into anything as it will create huge internal bruises that often do not stop bleeding. Additionally, due to a traumatic brain injury and subsequent mini strokes, her left side is now paralyzed and the right side is also very limited in streng... posted on May 26 2022, 3,491 reads

Talking with Kids About What's Going On in the World
""Mom, I'm feeling nervous, my 12-year-old daughter shared one night as I tucked her into bed. "Are you just having nervous feelings or are you thinking about something?" I asked. "Ukraine," she replied. I asked if she wanted to talk about it. She didn't."I just want you to tell me a story--a happy story--to help me fall asleep." In that moment, I found myself going through the eternal parenting s... posted on May 25 2022, 4,414 reads

Surrendering and Opening to Hope in Times of Crisis
When Anna-Zoe Herr's father passed four years ago, she grappled with almost unbearable pain and grief and was finding it difficult to find hope. One night, she had a dream in which her father appeared, sitting opposite her. "I came back because you have a question for me," he said. Zoe was taken aback and then said quickly, "Yes, I do. How do I overcome your death?" "You don't overcome my death," ... posted on May 24 2022, 3,125 reads

On the Creative and Spiritual Rewards of Gardening
"Something happens when you are in a garden, when you garden something beyond the tactile reminder that, in the history of life on Earth, without flowers, there would be no us. Kneeling between the scale of seeds and the scale of stars, touching evolutionary time and the cycle of seasons at once, you find yourself rooted more deeply into your own existence transient and transcendent, fragile and... posted on May 23 2022, 2,135 reads

Meet the Four Characters of Your Brain
"I am a brain enthusiast. (I'm sure you have picked up on that by now.) But, beyond the beauty of this amazing organ we all have inside our heads, it is our remarkable brain cells that manifest our choices and abilities. When we understand which cells manifest which of our abilities, the more power we have to choose who and how we want to be in any moment. I consider my new book, Whole Brain Livin... posted on May 22 2022, 4,652 reads

Prophets Without Robes or Staffs
"Today and always, the prophet confronts a dark object, a menacing, enigmatic, obdurate reality affecting the entire community. How to grasp that dark object? Where are the handholds? What approach would permit one to slow the dark object, to interrogate it, to bring it to light, to dispel and transform its menace?"... posted on May 21 2022, 2,168 reads