The Limitations of Positive Thinking
"Perhaps the statement that best exemplifies positive thinking is "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade." It seems so self-evident that this is a good thing that we never question the wisdom of the adage. But it does not take a whole lot of digging to unearth the flaws in this reasoning. First, did fate really hand you a lemon or was this merely your initial, unthinking response? Second, is ... posted on Oct 24 2011, 45,018 reads

Becoming a Presence Activist
"A friend of mine is visiting from out of town and staying in East Oakland, in an area that's infamous for its gang violence and unrest. This friend happens to be a monk. He shaves his head and dresses in the traditional brown robes of his monastic order -- not the kind of person who blends easily into the background. Having spent many years making compassion a conscious practice, his response to ... posted on Oct 18 2011, 22,760 reads

25 Insights on Becoming a Better Writer
Today, writing well is more important than ever. Far from being the province of a select few as it was in Hemingway's day, writing is a daily occupation for all of us -- in email, on blogs, and through social media. It is also a primary means for documenting, communicating, and refining our ideas. As essayist, programmer, and investor Paul Graham has written, "Writing doesn't just communicate idea... posted on Oct 13 2011, 34,030 reads

The Psychology of Choice: 5 Perspectives
"Why are you reading this? How did you decide to click the link, load the page and stay? How do we decide to do anything at all and, out of the myriad choices we face each day, what makes one option more preferable over another? This is one of the most fundamental questions of the social sciences, from consumer psychology to economic theory to behavioral science. Today, at the risk of meta-irony, ... posted on Oct 10 2011, 36,462 reads

The Spiritual Wisdom of Simplicity
The wisdom of simplicity is a theme with deep roots. The great value and benefits of living simply are found in all of the world's major wisdom traditions. Jesus taught by word and example that we should not make the acquisition of material possessions our primary aim. Eastern spiritual traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism have also encouraged a life of material moderation and spiritua... posted on Oct 07 2011, 24,384 reads

How to Live a Single-Tasking Life
Multi-tasking is no longer about being productive -- it's a way of living. It's not a sane way of living, however, and it's not necessarily the most effective way of working either. Imagine instead, a single-tasking life. Imagine waking and going for a run, as if running were all you do. Nothing else is on your mind but the run, and you do it to the very best of your abilities. Then you eat, enjoy... posted on Oct 05 2011, 39,493 reads

Connected: Love, Death, & Technology
"From the beginning of time, every new technological advancement has brought with it a complex mix of positive and negative repercussions as well as unintended consequences. I set out to make a film that addresses the potential of our twenty-first-century technologies and the importance of harnessing their powers. I also wanted to examine what can happen when these new technologies take over and s... posted on Oct 03 2011, 21,313 reads

To Affect the Quality of the Day
"Either way, there I am with recently-turned-eight year old Neha under the Coral Jasmine tree; I reach over and shake the trunk gently and she tilts her head up and watches the white sudden swirl of blossoms falling like stars, like snowflakes with an expression of perfectly mingled awe and delight (my day is Made in that moment). And then we both bend to the sweetly-scented task at hand. I find m... posted on Sep 28 2011, 2,914 reads

6 Tips for Raising Non-Competitive Kids
Competition, according to author and lecturer Alfie Kohn, is defined as any situation where one person can succeed only when others fail. Kohn is convinced that we've all bought into dangerous myths about the value of competition in our personal lives, workplaces, society, and economic system. He laid out his arguments in his 1986 book No Contest: The Case Against Competition, and he's been spread... posted on Sep 23 2011, 18,409 reads

How to Transform Negative Emotions
"The word emotion comes from the Latin emovere, meaning to 'move through or out.' So in its original form, there isn't any trace of clinging to, or rejecting, these movements. But instead of allowing emotions to move through and out of us, we often feed them with negative thoughts and end up giving them long-term residence. In short order, the guests take over the house, leaving us reeling and una... posted on Sep 19 2011, 68,656 reads