are discovering how music affects the brain, helping us to make sense of its real emotional and social power. I still remember when I first heard the song by Peter Gabriel, “Solsbury Hill.” Something about that song—the lyrics, the melody, the unusual 7/4 time signature—gave me chills. Even now, years later, it still can make me cry. Who among us doesn’t have a similar story about a song that touched us? Whether attending a concert, listening to the radio, or singing in the shower, there’s something about music that can fill us with emotion, from joy to sadness. Music impacts us in ways that other sounds don’t, and for year... posted on Mar 6 2015 (30,816 reads)

best way to win the drug war might not be police or prisons, argues Johann Hari. Instead, we should strive to reduce feelings of isolation. It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned - and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction by our teachers and by our governments. This story is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we take it for granted: There are strong chemical hooks in these drugs, so if we stopped on day twenty-one, our bodies would need the chemical. We would have a ferocious craving. We would be addicted. That’s what addiction means. This theory was first established, in part, ... posted on Mar 24 2015 (28,139 reads)

can parents help kids have a healthy relationship to money? It starts with overcoming shyness and discomfort about financial issues. All parents want their kids to have the skills they need to thrive in the world. But, while most parents feel comfortable talking about the importance of safety, health, schoolwork, and relationships, when it comes to the importance of money, many fall silent. In fact, most parents feel more comfortable talking about sex with their kids than about how much money they make. Tearsa Joy Hammock, San Francisco Public Press Perhaps that’s because money can bring up extremely strong emotions. How much we have or don’t have, an... posted on Mar 19 2015 (22,274 reads)

is one of the most mysterious human qualities. Seemingly effortless for a rare few, it can be elusive for the majority. While the most extensive training in the world can’t turn an average Joe into Paul McCartney, these simple techniques can help edge the creative muse closer. 1. Limit your options.Studies show that restricting one’s choices can more effectively trigger creative thought. That’s because leaving every door open makes it difficult to focus on which way to go, while having a more specific target helps you channel your thought process. And the target doesn’t even have to be logical. Recently I was having trouble finishing a chapter of a novel... posted on Mar 23 2015 (62,615 reads)

mentoring carries many benefits, but it's becoming more and more rare. Here are some tips for renewing an age-old practice. When I was in high school, I had a lot of big questions. I wanted to know if it was possible to devote your life to your work without compromising your integrity. I wanted to know how to be a powerful man without being a jerk. And I could not understand why so many adults seemed to be okay with the systematic injustices that plagued my hometown. I read dozens of biographies as a teenager, in search of some answers. But for many years, I did not feel safe talking to an adult about any of this, for fear of being told I was crazy. I crave... posted on May 22 2015 (27,989 reads)

an 18-year-old coming to cook in the kitchen or work in the garden, because he or she didn't know what to do next. One of the great gifts it brought to me in the middle of struggle was an understanding that the value of a person has absolutely nothing to do with status, power, income, leverage. The point is, we're constantly shaping reality and the world, and shaping ourselves in a simultaneous act. And I — these are the things that have lead me to rebel against, um, the standard images of why people are or are not valuable, uh, how it is we're called to live together, rather than apart, um, what it means to change the world, which is something that can be done on a moment... posted on May 8 2015 (16,820 reads)

But what I did find were people that belonged themselves, and they inspired me, some extraordinary people, and I'd like to introduce you to some heroes of mine. They're the Huli. 8:20      Now, the Huli are some of the most extraordinarily beautiful people on the planet. They're proud. They live in the Papua New Guinean highlands. There's not many of them left, and they're called the Huli wigmen. And images like this, I mean, this is what it's all about for me. And you've spent weeks and months there talking with them, getting there, and I want to put them on a pedestal, and I said, "... posted on Jun 28 2015 (24,181 reads)

right then? Bob: I’m a management consultant. It was more messaging and shaping brand and story. RW: So you have a professional life apart from your photography? Bob: Yes. I’m still working full-time. But at any rate, from Daniel I really got to know the work of Dorothea Lange. What the pictures were. How she got them. Why she got them. What I loved about that was, unlike Karsh, she was dealing with the other extreme—people who had the lowest status, and she shot images that really brought out their nobility. Nobility is kind of the common thread in all of her shots. RW: That’s so interesting. Bob: And as much as I like Karsh’s lighting, I al... posted on Jun 13 2015 (16,092 reads)

Goleman talks with Greater Good about his new book, A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World. The Dalai Lama has a long history of meeting and collaborating with social scientists—psychologists, neuroscientists, economists, and others looking to understand the science of human emotions and behavior. Through these collaborations, he has learned about the research in this area and has encouraged scientists to pursue fields of inquiry more directly aimed at serving the public good. Now that he will be turning 80 this year, the Dalai Lama asked psychologist and bestselling author Daniel Goleman to write a book outlining his vision for a better world... posted on Jul 9 2015 (20,690 reads)

Goleman talks with Greater Good about his new book, A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World. The Dalai Lama has a long history of meeting and collaborating with social scientists—psychologists, neuroscientists, economists, and others looking to understand the science of human emotions and behavior. Through these collaborations, he has learned about the research in this area and has encouraged scientists to pursue fields of inquiry more directly aimed at serving the public good. Now that he will be turning 80 this year, the Dalai Lama asked psychologist and bestselling author Daniel Goleman to write a book outlining his vision for a better world and the ... posted on Sep 4 2015 (16,281 reads)

day, after a talk I had given on altruism, a person in the audience got up and said in an irritated tone: “What are you hoping for by encouraging us to cultivate altruism? Look at the history of humanity! It’s always the same thing! An uninterrupted succession of wars and suffering. That’s human nature, you can’t change anything about that!” But is this truly the case? We have seen that cultures can evolve. For example, we have gone from regarding torture as an entirely acceptable public spectacle and war as noble and glorious, to tolerating violence less and less, and increasingly regarding war as immoral and barbaric. But can the individual change? ... posted on Sep 9 2015 (15,978 reads)

I hear stories of people who’ve forgiven those who’ve harmed them—people like Nelson Mandela, who forgave his South African jailers, or Scarlett Lewis, who forgave Adam Lanza for killing her son at Sandy Hook Elementary School—I can’t help but be moved by the nobility of their actions. They seem superhuman in their ability to rise above their own loss and heartache in order to forgive what others consider “unforgivable.” Many of us under the same circumstances would be unable to make that emotional shift. Even when faced with minor slights—like a husband forgetting our birthday or a friend not inviting us to a party—we hold onto g... posted on Sep 16 2015 (14,427 reads)

Keep a Gratitude Journal. Establish a daily practice in which you remind yourself of the gifts, grace, benefits, and good things you enjoy. Setting aside time on a daily basis to recall moments of gratitude associated with ordinary events, your personal attributes, or valued people in your life gives you the potential to interweave a sustainable life theme of gratefulness. 2. Remember the Bad. To be grateful in your current state, it is helpful to remember the hard times that you once experienced. When you remember how difficult life used to be and how far you have come, you set up an explicit contrast in your mind, and this contrast is fertile ground for gratefulness. 3. Ask Yourse... posted on Nov 17 2015 (49,129 reads)

On the small balcony outside my window, bright red cardinals flitted from the railing to a bird feeder a neighbor had hung. Ingenious squirrels had figured out how to leap from the balcony railing onto the feeder, make withdrawals and time their dismounts from the swinging platform so as to land safely back on the railing. I had positioned a comfortable chair facing the window where I could work at any time of day or night. Birds, light, privacy. A lifetime making photographic images has engrained in me the habit of squinting at the world. It is my way of answering the question: Is this scene worth a picture? Squinting allows me to see the most contrasting components of the... posted on Dec 16 2015 (10,869 reads)

still remember the shame of getting back my very first draft for a Greater Good article from the editor and seeing it filled with red ink. Immediately, my mind went to the worst-case scenarios: My editor thinks I’m stupid; I’ll never be a writer; I’m not good enough. I was almost ready to quit on the spot. Fortunately for me, I swallowed my pride, talked to my editor about my fears, and got a compassionate response in return—as well as some helpful criticism. Still, the internal concern of not being good enough haunts me, sometimes making me fearful of being found out or causing me to lash out at those who try to help. It’s a lifelong struggle. Accor... posted on Dec 26 2015 (17,996 reads)

the motives of others — we get very complicated when we walk into this territory of gratitude — and to withhold gratitude from others. You speak about having the courage to let ourselves down into the depth which gratitude opens up. And I wonder if you would just say a little bit more about that, and maybe how that has come to you, how you have experienced letting yourself down into that depth. BR. STEINDL-RAST: Yes. When I speak of depth and so forth, those are all only images, the poetic images that one must not... MS. TIPPETT: But it’s very magnetic language, I think. BR. STEINDL-RAST: Yeah. Well, poetic language has more power than most other language.... posted on Feb 9 2016 (20,985 reads)

from Salt, what follows is one of the Salt Ideas Essays: 15 pieces of expert thought leadership on the innovations and ideas that will change the world for the better. The golden rule of compassion is the key to a better, safer world for all, writes Karen Armstrong, OBE, inventor of the Charter for Compassion. How can we respond creatively and realistically to the pain that we see everywhere in our world? We have been deluged with images of suffering from Paris, Pakistan, Nigeria, New York, and Palestine. We have witnessed thousands of migrants literally dying in their desperation to get into Europe. It is difficult not to feel helpless as we witness the widespread cru... posted on Feb 16 2016 (15,841 reads)

the sustainability of the project? Or using it as a template for other poor areas of the world that might benefit from a similar project? Yes! We would love to continue the project and travel to other countries. We realize that giving a photo is not like building a school or a hospital or feeding the hungry. But, I think a photo is something that feeds the soul. So many people we gave photos to said that they would have them framed and put on their wall. It’s hard to know how these images will impact people’s lives but I think we’ve brought some small amount of happiness. How are you measuring the success of the project? Personally I think about the sheer joy... posted on Feb 27 2016 (11,588 reads)

do we feel shame and how does shame change us? According to Brené Brown, a researcher at the University of Houston, shame is an “intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging.” It’s an emotion that affects all of us and profoundly shapes the way we interact in the world. But, depending on how we deal with it, shame can either shut us down or lead us to a new sense of bravery and authenticity. Brown’s research involved interviewing thousands of people about difficult, sensitive experiences in their lives, in order to uncover common themes around shameful experiences. Almost single-h... posted on Feb 25 2016 (21,096 reads)

began with an email. Someone had discovered the magazine and had been touched, Irene Sullivan. It opened an exchange. I learned that Sullivan had lived in remote regions of Alaska providing health care as a nurse practitioner to theInupiat speaking peoples there, that she was an avid photographer, that her experiences with indigenous people awakened an interest in the role of women in shamanic practices among arctic peoples, and that later she found herself doing independent research as a Fulbright Scholar in Denmark at the Institute of Eskimologi. When Sullivan left her career as a nurse practitioner she went on to become an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. Her ministr... posted on Mar 17 2016 (13,626 reads)