startling physiological effects of loneliness, optimism, and meditation. In 2013, Neil deGrasse Tyson hosted a mind-bending debate on the nature of “nothing” — an inquiry that has occupied thinkers since the dawn of recorded thought and permeates everything from Hamlet’s iconic question to the boldest frontiers of quantum physics. That’s precisely what New Scientist editor-in-chief Jeremy Webb explores with a kaleidoscopic lens in Nothing: Surprising Insights Everywhere from Zero to Oblivion(public library) — a terrific collection of essays and articles exploring everything from vacuum to the birth and death of the universe to how the concept of zer... posted on Sep 13 2014 (27,291 reads)

are certain people, working on solutions for homelessness that inspire me, like one person I met who runs a bread truck and drives food into homeless areas, but this is what I can do. I can create an awareness and start a conversation,” Willie said. When Willie returns to Dallas, he’s orchestrating an art exhibit with the signs he’s purchased from his trip. “These signs – and this practice – have become a catalyst for conversations about the nature of home, homelessness, compassion, and how we see and treat each other as humans,” Willie wrote in his crowd-funding campaign. It’s profoundly changed the way he interacts with the ... posted on Aug 25 2014 (31,648 reads)

to those in distress. And these are not behaviors we keep hidden. We exhibit them daily. How often during a day do you figure out an answer to a problem, invent a slightly better way of doing something, or extend yourself to someone in need? Then look around at your colleagues and neighbors, and you’ll see others acting just like you—people trying to make a contribution and help others. In these times of turmoil, we have forgotten who we can be and we have let our worst natures prevail. Some of these bad behaviors we create because we treat people in non-human ways. We’ve organized work around destructive motivations—greed, self-interest and competition&m... posted on Sep 20 2014 (30,098 reads)

something in common within their hearts; love, care, emotion, altruism, affection and consciousness. We are talking about living, breathing, feeling beings that are extremely intelligent. The only difference is that they take a different form than us, and use different communication techniques. Animals Teach Us So Much! We have so much to learn from animals. In the meantime, we have completely destroyed their world to support our greed. We’ve become completely disconnected with nature, and we will not be able to advance as a species if we continue down the same road we’ve been traveling. I can understand why many of them fear us, and are very hesitant to come into c... posted on Sep 22 2014 (63,143 reads)

to new information that might be meaningful.” Outside of urban areas, air traffic is the biggest threat to natural quiet. Federal Aviation Administration regulations don’t restrict flight patterns over wilderness areas, and with air traffic increasing, the problem will only get worse. “It pretty much spells the extinction of natural quiet here in the U.S., unless we set places aside,” Hempton says. So without quiet places, is plugging in to a recorded album of nature sounds our only recourse? Hempton says real change will start when we pull out the ear buds and become aware of the sounds around us. “I ask people, ‘Don’t ignore noise pol... posted on Oct 17 2014 (19,456 reads)

hope it gives you some comfort. I hope cancer never returns so that your life is long, fulfilled and happy. School Everyone will say it’s vital to work hard at school. Hopefully you’ll always do your best. I did well at school but did it do me much good in life? Not really. School work IS important, but make sure you have fun too. Boys At the moment you don’t make much distinction between girls and boys and see all children as friends. That’s typical of your sweet nature. But Kel, that will change as you get older. You might see them as stinky, pesky classmates in a few years’ time. But, probably at secondary school, you’ll realise they can be quite... posted on Nov 12 2014 (64,619 reads)

marine trash and creates an environmental problem called “ghost fishing,” which occurs when fish and other sea life get caught and killed in abandoned nets drifting below the surface. In an effort to put an end to ghost fishing and clean up the Chilean coastline, the guys behind Bureo created Net Positiva, Chile’s first collection and recycling program for commercial netting. Through Net Positiva, Bureo Skateboards harvests the litter and melts it down into their signature cruiser boards. You can learn more about Bureo or buy a fishnet skateboard of your very own on their website. 3. Trendy sneakers and jeans Pharelle Williams is pop music&rsqu... posted on Oct 29 2014 (19,836 reads)

when our clever brain and our human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our true potential.” The question of what sets us apart from other animals has occupied humanity for millennia, but only in the last few decades have animals gone from objects to be observed to fellow beings to be understood, with their own complex psychoemotional constitution. Hardly anyone has contributed more to this landmark shift in attitudes — or, rather, this homecoming to the true nature of things — thanJane Goodall (b. April 3, 1934), who has spent the past half-century fusing together the scientific rigor of a pioneering primatologist with the spiritual wisdom of a phil... posted on Oct 26 2014 (21,417 reads)

going wrong. Patrise: One of our Daily Bread volunteers moved to New York and she very excitedly wrote me an email right after she moved. She said, “Guess what! I found something here that’s just like Daily Bread and now I’m delivering food in my neighborhood here.” Prakash: How has your perspective shifted through this journey? How do you look at even a small morsel of food? Carolyn: Well, all one has to do is witness hunger once to recognize the sacred nature of food. I think we, who don’t have a problem, can take it totally for granted that the meals show up on time. All you have to do is be hungry for a couple of days and it takes on an e... posted on Oct 30 2014 (16,467 reads)

in the neighborhood and participated in the development of the Play House performance space. Now, the Hinterlands is responsible for its programming. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership: the artistic community grows with the presence of the theatre arts, which is beyond the scope of Reichert and Cope’s practice, and the Hinterlands team becomes a responsible member of the community: shoveling the snow, unlocking the Play House door for other tenants. The essentially social nature of these projects is echoed in how other place-based artistic projects engage residents in their very making. The Alley Project facilitates youth/adult partnerships in Southwest Detroit, collab... posted on Nov 21 2014 (13,564 reads)

Shree Krishna.' Then, as he left home in the morning, 'Jai Shree Krishna' he would call out. And Arun Dada would call back, "Jai Shree Krishna". And one day the customary call didn't come, prompting Arun Dada to inquire, "What's wrong?" "Oh, I saw that you were reading so I didn't want to disturb you," came the response. "Not a disturbance at all! Like the birds chirping, the water flowing, the wind blowing, your words are part of nature's symphony." So they started again. And the practice continues to this day, nine years later. While concluding this story, he reminded us of Vinoba's maxim of searching for t... posted on Nov 27 2014 (36,230 reads)

articles and blogs about this practice. Each offers its own patented plan, proving that by doing exactly what this person did, or becoming just like that successful celebrity entrepreneur, we will have everything we need to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. But people don’t ever change by becoming someone else. People change by seeking, finding, and nourishing the best of who they are. They persist through the dark, heart-shredding times. They reach deeper into their true nature, the source of their best wisdom, courage, and passion. We all carry in us an inner knowing that can lift us up, if only we will first learn to stand our ground. When we demand our best, we ... posted on Nov 10 2014 (22,779 reads)

the form of a newly born infant. Once we arrive, we enter into the inheritance of everything that has preceded us; we become heirs to the world. To be born is to be chosen. To be created and come to birth is to be blessed. Some primal kindness chose us and brought us through the forest of dreaming until we could emerge into the clearance of individuality, with a path of life opening before us through the world. "The beginning often holds the clue to everything that follows. Given the nature of our beginning, it is no wonder that our hearts are imbued with longing for beauty, meaning, order, creativity, compassion, and love. We approach the world with this roster of longings and ex... posted on Nov 28 2014 (47,890 reads)

to appreciate the value of all of the community's members. As I visit schools associated with our Leadership Academy, I am heartened to observe that educators are creating experiences for children that promote both a mastery of the world of media and technology and recognition of their interdependence with one another and with all living beings. Spiritual Qualities of Leadership In education for sustainability, we are engaged in a process of creating receptivity to the profound nature of our interrelated existence within the web of life, which brings me to the third dimension of leadership. In the process of putting together my thoughts for today, I had a vivid dream. In ... posted on Nov 17 2014 (17,063 reads)

change. And if you look through history, there are some extraordinary figures who have harnessed this power by engaging in what I think of as “experiential empathy.” This is where you don’t just imagine someone else’s life (a practice technically known as “cognitive empathy”) but try to live it yourself, doing the things they do, living in the places where they live, and knowing the people they know. You might also call an experience of this nature an “empathy immersion.” It’s like empathy as an extreme sport—one far more exciting and adventurous than ice climbing or sky diving. So here is my top-five list of pe... posted on Jan 15 2015 (29,473 reads)

time (to work, to check tasks off your list) is downtime, sans stimulation. As a society, we don’t just need to learn to tolerate stillness, we actually need to cultivate it. Fortunately, it’s not complicated. Try driving in silence, with your radio and phone off. (Encourage your children to look out the window while you drive them, instead of down at their devices.) Eat meals out of the sight and sound of your phones and televisions. Take a walk outside every day, preferably in nature, without a phone or music player. If it’s hard, just try a few minutes at a time, adding a few minutes each day. Just practice; it’ll get easier, and the benefits will become more a... posted on Jan 19 2015 (36,411 reads)

Now I am no stranger to going out and doing things, but this is the first time I have ever been focused and paid attention to 'Kindness Acts' to the degree that was required in coming up with what I was going to do each day, preparing for it when I needed to, and then writing about it for 60 days. Here is what I want to share. In my experience, there is no such thing as a 'kindness act' There is no separate 'act' that can be called Kindness. I believe our true nature IS kindness and that when we are not acting out of fear( which is what manifests as self interest, greed, material competition, and not- enoughness) we act out of love. In that act of love, we ... posted on Feb 13 2015 (36,281 reads)

other species and future generations as well as, for example, between those with great differences of wealth and opportunity. A compassionate simplicity is a path of cooperation and fairness that seeks a future of mutually assured development for all. 3. Ecological Simplicity: Simplicity means to choose ways of living that touch the Earth more lightly and that reduce our ecological impact. This life-path remembers our deep roots in the natural world. It encourages us to connect with nature, the seasons, and the cosmos. A natural simplicity feels a deep reverence for the community of life on Earth and accepts that the non-human realms of plants and animals have their dignity and r... posted on Jan 5 2015 (72,094 reads)

each day. Now I am no stranger to going out and doing things, but this is the first time I have ever been focused and paid attention to 'Kindness Acts' to the degree that was required in coming up with what I was going to do each day, preparing for it when I needed to, and then writing about it for 60 days. Here is what I want to share. In my experience, there is no such thing as a 'kindness act' There is no separate 'act' that can be called Kindness. I believe our true nature IS kindness and that when we are not acting out of fear( which is what manifests as self interest, greed, material competition, and not- enoughness) we act out of love. In that act of love, we ... posted on Jan 3 2015 (68,097 reads)

reflected his unwavering belief in the need to empathise with one’s enemies – who were not really enemies but simply other human beings whose lives and values were of equal worth to one’s own. The half a million deaths that occurred during partition in violence between Hindus and Muslims showed that the moral challenge of doing so was too great in that turbulent moment of history. Perhaps Gandhi was excessively idealistic, and should have admitted the darker sides of human nature that prevented the empathetic understanding he valued so highly.Yet I believe he was right to stress the importance of empathy for those on opposite sides of social and political divides. Empat... posted on Mar 2 2015 (24,474 reads)