The Quest to Understand Consciousness
"Every morning we wake up and regain consciousness -- that is a marvelous fact -- but what exactly is it that we regain? Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio uses this simple question to give us a glimpse into how our brains create our sense of self."... posted on Aug 15 2021, 8,513 reads

Catching Sight of Yourself
"How things seem is not how things are. For most of us, most of the time, it seems as though the self is an enduring and unified entity, an essence, a unique identity: the recipient of wave-upon-wave of perceptions, and decision-maker-in-chief about what to do next. We sense, we think, we act. This is how things seem. How things are is very different. The story emerging from a rich blend of philos... posted on Aug 14 2021, 5,097 reads

Remothering the Land
Soil and water are the beginnings of all things that sustain life. The indigenous women of Sogorea Te' Land Trust know this from their ancestors long ago and from the call of the children yet to be born in the future. There is a sacred bond to Mother Earth that invites each of us to respect nature wherever we live. It is for this reason that the sustainable gardens at Sogorea Te' are being maintai... posted on Aug 13 2021, 1,702 reads

A Morning When Everything Fell Into Place
"As I sat at the booth waiting for my Fast Start to arrive, I was beginning to believe there was something mysterious going on. No, that's not quite accurate. Actually, that moment in the parking lot when I opened myself to looking at the stranger when in that moment, smiling, he blessed me in that moment, something inside was brought vividly to life like a small songbird. In that moment, I knew... posted on Aug 12 2021, 3,207 reads

The Art of Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes
"'How we spend our days,'' Annie Dillard wrote in her timelessly beautiful meditation on presence over productivity, 'is, of course, how we spend our lives.' And nowhere do we fail at the art of presence most miserably and most tragically than in urban life -- in the city, high on the cult of productivity, where we float past each other, past the buildings and trees and the little boy in the purpl... posted on Aug 11 2021, 6,199 reads

Rising from the Fire
"How can we reconcile the immensely destructive force of fire with its equally limitless creative potential? Forest managers light intentional blazes to clear overgrowth and begin anew the cycle of life. A fireplace becomes a hearth, offering heat, light, and survival for the homes residents. And fiery volcanic activity can obliterate what stands in its path all the while creating new land in a ma... posted on Aug 10 2021, 2,896 reads

The Keys to Aging Well
"As a neuroscientist, professor emeritus of psychology, musician and best-selling author, Daniel Levitin has extensively studied the brain and its impact on aging. His latest book, "Successful Aging," explores the questions: what happens in the brain as we age and what are the keys to aging well?" This interview with Levitin delves into these questions.... posted on Aug 09 2021, 19,643 reads

The Leadership Imperative
"Oren Lyons, seventy-six, is a wisdom carrier, one of the bearers of a variety of human tradition that cant easily be reduced to a couple of sentences. One reason he and the tradition for which he is a spokesperson isn't more widely known is that he doesn't actively seek forums from which to speak. If someone asks him, however, about the principles behind the particular Native American tradition... posted on Aug 08 2021, 4,638 reads

On the Road with Thomas Merton
"In May 1968, Christian mystic Thomas Merton undertook a pilgrimage to the American West. Fifty years later, filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and writer Fred Bahnson set out to follow Mertons path, retracing the monks journey across the landscape. Amid stunning backdrops of ocean, redwood, and canyon, the film features the faces and voices of people Merton encountered. The essay offers a more intimate med... posted on Aug 07 2021, 9,387 reads

I Created the Repair Cafe
Throwing our broken appliances and other items away seems to be the only thing to do if they have become unusable, but Martine Postman in Amsterdam wasn't satisfied with this symptom of wasteful over-consumption. She was determined to find a way to do more then watch dumpsters overflowing and created the concept of Repair Cafes. Once a month her coffee shop provides space for repair experts to wor... posted on Aug 06 2021, 2,254 reads