we miss the good things that are outside of the spotlight. Something else happens as well: When we focus on bad things, we’re triggering the stress response, often below conscious awareness. If you think of the Stanford Prison experiment as a kind of model of real life—if you conceive of yourself as living in the equivalent of that basement—then you’re going to be stressed. What is stress? As another Stanford professor, Robert Sapolsky, likes to say, stress is a tool nature gave us to survive lion attacks. Of course, you’re not a primate on the African savannah menaced by lions. You’re a modern human who, for example, might be caught in a traf... posted on May 24 2015 (15,137 reads)

There is almost no path a human being can follow that does not lead to heartbreak. Illustration by Roger Duvoisin from 'Petunia, I Love You.' Stripped of the unnecessary negative judgments we impose upon it, heartbreak is simply a fathometer for the depth of our desire - for a person, for an accomplishment, for belonging to the world and its various strata of satisfaction. Whyte captures this elegantly: Realizing its inescapable nature, we can see heartbreak not as the end of the road or the cessation of hope but as the close embrace of the essence of what we have wanted or are about to lose. […] Heartbreak ask... posted on May 12 2015 (30,469 reads)

a lot of energy on a big project is to simply get started. The Zeigarnik Effect (mentioned above) is a construct that psychologists have observed in numerous studies on “suspense.” One such study gave participants brain-buster puzzles to complete, but not enough time to complete them. The surprising thing was, even when participants were asked to stop, over 90% of them went on to complete the puzzles anyway. According to the lead researcher: “It seems to be human nature to finish what we start and, if it is not finished, we experience dissonance.” It’s the same thing that happens when we become engaged in a story in a book, movie or TV show: we ... posted on Jun 8 2015 (19,465 reads)

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, "You have something that many people have not seen. You sit in this stunning nature." And it really does look like this, and they really do look like this. This is the real thing. And you know why they're proud? You know why they look like this, and why I broke my bac... posted on Jun 28 2015 (23,893 reads)

of all those famous and powerful people. I thought, I’d love to be able to do that, but it was so far outside of my thinking it wasn’t as if I was just going to go out and try it. But I did get his book. It still sits in the house here, and I look through it a good bit. I was always drawn to the f/64 crowd and their legacy here in Monterey of Ansel Adams, Ed Weston, Imogen Cunningham and all of that. RW: Wynn Bullock. Morley Baer. A lot of those people were focusing on nature, weren’t they? Bob: Some of them were using nude models, but they were nude models as form. So it was almost like they were creating still life in the environment. The nudes are part o... posted on Jun 13 2015 (15,847 reads)

Mellon “Storytelling is our effort as human beings to find greater truths.” On a warm June morning, I am seated with a circle of dear friends in the garden of Betty Peck and Anna Rainville, mother and daughter who for over 30 years have welcomed children, friends, families, early childhood educators to play, sing, and share gifts at their home in Saratoga. Longtime friend, Mary Roscoe of the Children in Nature Collaborative brings fresh strawberries and bread from a local farmers market; family friend Stefan and his finance Lauren are in town visiting, and decide to stay on for the conversation. We are speaking with Nancy Mellon, an elder in the global... posted on Jun 27 2015 (17,484 reads)

finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.” In contemplating the shortness of life, Seneca considered what it takes to live wide rather than long. Over the two millennia between his age and ours — one in which, caught in the cult of productivity, we continually forget that “how we spend our days is … how we spend our lives” — we’ve continued to tussle with the eternal question of how to fill life with more aliveness. And in a world awash with information but increasingly vacant of wisdom, navigating the maze of the human experience in the h... posted on Aug 3 2015 (1,574 reads)

role: "First, remove fear in student. Second, impart knowledge. Third, don't give up until they learn." Ward similarly elaborated on using "curiosity is a gateway to empathy", inspired by Dacher Keltner's recent work on awe:  When you look up into these trees, and their peeling bark and surrounding nimbus of greyish green light, goosebumps may ripple down your neck, a sure sign of awe. So in the spirit of Emerson and Muir – who found awe in nature and changed our understanding of the sublime – Paul Piff staged a minor accident near that grove to see if awe would prompt greater kindness. Participants first either looked up into the ... posted on Aug 14 2015 (20,202 reads)

but that it’s very hard to reach. It goes against natural mechanisms that make us favor our own group—our family, our company, our ethnic group, etc. So, the first step is to overcome that tendency and to become more accepting of and caring toward a wider circle of people. Caring for everyone is the final step, and I don’t think many people can get there. But we can all take a step closer. JS: It sounds like many of the Dalai Lama’s suggestions are aspirational in nature. DG: The Dalai Lama often talks to people with great aspirations, and, after he’s gotten them all roused up, he says, “Don’t just talk about it, do something.” That&r... posted on Jul 9 2015 (20,439 reads)

finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.” In contemplating the shortness of life, Seneca considered what it takes to live wide rather than long. Over the two millennia between his age and ours — one in which, caught in the cult of productivity, we continually forget that “how we spend our days is … how we spend our lives” — we’ve continued to tussle with the eternal question of how to fill life with more aliveness. And in a world awash with information but increasingly vacant of wisdom, navigating the maze of the human experience in the hope of ar... posted on Aug 3 2015 (12,425 reads)

and different. 12:41    Here's what we really need: connection and love, fourth need. We all want it; most settle for connection, love's too scary. Who here has been hurt in an intimate relationship? If you don't raise your hand, you've had other shit, too. And you're going to get hurt again. Aren't you glad you came to this positive visit? Here's what's true: we need it. We can do it through intimacy, friendship, prayer, through walking in nature. If nothing else works for you, don't get a cat, get a dog, because if you leave for two minutes, it's like you've been gone six months, when you come back 5 minutes later. 13:12... posted on Aug 4 2015 (17,631 reads)

each mobility solution will be an instance: It is created for this particular user’s specific context, and the next solution that is generated will likely be different. Similarly, solutions for a meal, a training course, a medical treatment, or the design of a 3D-printed personalized chair or shoe can be generated once, and not necessarily be repeated. Already, the economy is a world of constant and rapid change, and the trend towards contextual solutions will reinforce the fluid nature of services and designs. As customers we will expect much greater flexibility in the solutions that we are offered. Conversely, as companies and as suppliers, we will meet a greater demand for ... posted on Sep 1 2015 (12,717 reads)

monk whose efforts in peace and reconciliation inspired Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. In addition to his experiential insight, science continues to confirm the extensive influence of mindfulness to reduce rumination, anxiety, and stress. Mindfulness inspires us to be compassionate and altruistic “It is in giving that we receive.” Saint Francis of Assisi as well as other wisdom teachings across the ages have described nature’s abundance in giving. Today, a growing body of research agrees: we are hardwired to be kind. Cultivating a mindfulness practice helps quiet various voices of the mind, enabling us to dro... posted on Aug 18 2015 (26,691 reads)

of working in a wi-fi enabled tree, TreeXOffice is designed to give back to the tree and the surrounding green space. “The profits from the tree are spent in the interest of the tree," artist, engineer, and New York University professor Natalie Jeremijenko, who designed TreeXOffice told Fast Company. "By making it specifically about the tree, and the kind of revenue that the tree can generate, we're really exploring a larger political discussion of what are the rights of nature.” Trees have important jobs such as improving air quality and sequestering carbon, but there is not much value placed on them, or returned to them. With TreeXOffice, Jeremijenko can ch... posted on Aug 29 2015 (10,714 reads)

but that it’s very hard to reach. It goes against natural mechanisms that make us favor our own group—our family, our company, our ethnic group, etc. So, the first step is to overcome that tendency and to become more accepting of and caring toward a wider circle of people. Caring for everyone is the final step, and I don’t think many people can get there. But we can all take a step closer. JS: It sounds like many of the Dalai Lama’s suggestions are aspirational in nature. DG: The Dalai Lama often talks to people with great aspirations, and, after he’s gotten them all roused up, he says, “Don’t just talk about it, do something.” That&r... posted on Sep 4 2015 (16,073 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 (15,857 reads)

of nature is a yearning for service: The cloud serves, and the wind, and the furrow. Where there is a tree to plant, you be the one. Where there is a mistake to undo, let it be you. You be the one to remove the rock from the field, The hate from human hearts, And the difficulties from the problem. There is joy in being wise and just, But above all there is the beautiful, The immense happiness of serving. How sad the world would be if all was already done. If there was no rosebush to plant, No enterprise to undertake. Do not limit yourself to easy tasks. It's so beautiful to do what others dodge. But don't fall prey to the error that only Great tasks done... posted on Aug 31 2015 (14,992 reads)

and safety, and often gaining a sense of empowerment and purpose. Researchers who study forgiveness have found that it provides many health benefits to those who practice it, alleviating “everything from high blood pressure and heart problems to pain and mood disorders.” And while one may think that forgiveness is something only the very highly evolved can accomplish, experts have found that “forgiveness may be just as inherent, just as evolutionarily hardwired into human nature, as aggression and revenge.” In other words, anyone can forgive, if given the right encouragement, though Bettencourt emphasizes that nobody should be pushed into forgiveness, either, ... posted on Sep 16 2015 (14,125 reads)

the piece I’m creating.” It is this relationship among fear, individual, and artist that drives the project forward, making fear acceptable and tangible. The Fear of the Unknown Elman isn’t sure what makes fear so compelling. On a personal level, she says she wants to avoid dwelling in the negative and believes that fear’s universality, in contrast to the lengths we go to conceal it from others, dictates many of our choices. Ironically, still a worrier by nature, Elman understands that finding ways to push through beats the bleak alternative: “Sitting at home, curled up in a ball, avoiding that very thing that scares us most.” Fear, she ... posted on Sep 17 2015 (9,811 reads)

most acute manifestation of how memory modulates stress is post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. For striking evidence of how memory encodes past experience into triggers, which then catalyze present experience, Sternberg points to research by psychologist Rachel Yehuda, who found both Holocaust survivors and their first-degree relatives — that is, children and siblings — exhibited a similar hormonal stress response. This, Sternberg points out, could be a combination of nature and nurture — the survivors, as young parents for whom the trauma was still fresh, may well have subconsciously taught their children a common style of stress-responsiveness; but it&rsquo... posted on Sep 28 2015 (17,624 reads)