Spiritual Practices for Times of Crisis
We live in stressful times. Even when things are going our way, the smallest speed bumps can wreak havoc on our inner and outer worlds, causing us to freeze or panic. In those moments, our greatest intentions of acting with love and kindness can go out the window. Gently preparing ourselves for setbacks and stress can be the best thing not just for ourselves but for others. "The greatest gift we c... posted on Jan 29, 48718 reads

Awakening Through Writing
Albert Flynn DeSilver's latest book is out, Writing as a Path to Awakening: A Year to Becoming an Excellent Writer and Living an Awakened Life. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon interviews the author, poet, and leader of writing workshops about the difference between writing as a creative endeavor and writing as a gateway to spiritual inquiry. They also discuss how to explore dif... posted on Sep 20, 10959 reads

The Great Mystery: An Interview with Kent Nerburn
Kent Nerbern is a writer and editor of over a dozen books, and is currently working on the third in a series about the Lakota Indians. With a double PhD He has a long history of interest in Native American tribes and culture, having previously worked with the Ojibwe and written a book on the Nez Perce. In particular, Kent appreciates Native American spirituality, which tends to focus more on the... posted on Aug 18, 12266 reads

Wislawa Szymborska: The Poet and the World
Poets are Fortune's darlings according to Wislawa Szymborska. Despite the trials and tribulations, the frustration of not feeling comfortable calling oneself a poet and the real threat of claiming the title "poet" without official certification in some countries, poets are charged with answering the inner impulse of inspiration with "I don't know." The search for knowing leads poets inevitably to ... posted on Dec 1, 8649 reads

The Impermanence of Broccoli
In this piece, Alanda Greene explores our connectedness to the world around us through the simplicity of gardening and practicing yoga. In our daily lives, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, to feel overwhelmed and isolated, but nothing could be further from the truth. The lines that divide us from each other, from animals, and from nature are largely of our own making. In realit... posted on Dec 18, 10401 reads

Dan Pink on the Science of Staying Motivated
"One of the world's foremost thinkers on business and social science, Daniel Pink is the author of several bestselling books on business, work, and behavior. He joined Ryan Hawk, the creator and host of The Learning Leader Show, to talk about the critical components of sustaining excellence, what it was like writing speeches for Al Gore, and how Dan left his comfort zone to bring his side hustle f... posted on Dec 19, 10892 reads

Waking Up from Our Addiction to Technology
Nancy Colier is a psychotherapist, interfaith minister, author, and veteran meditator. In this interview she delves into the importance of human connection, and the detrimental effects of our large-scale modern addiction to cell phones, email, and social media. She offers insights on how to recognize and break out of addictive behavior, and touches on the realities of parenting in the digital age ... posted on Feb 8, 18508 reads

Open Source Seeds
At a time when the monopolization of genetic resources by corporations is reducing diversity and limiting the variety of seeds available to farmers and gardeners, OpenSourceSeeds is licensing seeds to make them available to the commons in perpetuity. Working within German laws, they developed a licensing agreement with the express purpose of creating a new repository of genetic material for farmer... posted on Dec 3, 6817 reads

Skateboard Parks and the Power of Relationship
Eight years ago, Ulrike Reinhard flew to India for on a business trip. Instead of flying back home, however, she "got stuck" and decided to make India her home. In this interview, Ulrike describes how she was driven to build a skateboard park in the middle of a poverty-ridden village in Madhya Pradesh. Many projects are built with fences and "Do Not Enter" signs surrounding it; in contrast, this s... posted on May 18, 3653 reads

We are All the Other: A Conversation with Denise Zabalaga
With a superb gift for languages, Zabalaga taught herself Farsi and traveled as a single woman in Afghanistan, Syria, Damascus, Iran and Tajikistan. She got into many tight situations, but with her faith that meeting a stranger is, "first of all, an opportunity rather than a danger," and with her uncanny openness and ability to connect with others, she always found her way out of difficulties. Wha... posted on Dec 21, 2625 reads

Re-inventing Work: An Interview with Matthew Fox
An early and influential proponent of "Creation Spirituality," which recognizes the Divine in all creation and all creation in the Divine, embracing Buddhism, Judaism, Sufism, and Native American spirituality as well, Episcopalian priest Matthew Fox draws inspiration from the Catholic mystics such as Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Aquinas, Saint Francis of Assisi, and especially Meister Eckhart. In t... posted on Apr 18, 0 reads

Grateful Parenting
A parent who lives gratefully will role model gratefulness and infuse the home with grateful practices. Beyond this, grateful parenting also suggests being grateful for one's particular child, being aware and appreciative of the gifts and qualities that child has. It suggests respecting one's child as a person, and all that ensues from such an open positive attitude. Gratitude for your child, incl... posted on Jul 1, 17403 reads

Dan Millman: No Ordinary Moments in the School of Life
What if everything that happened to you in life was for your highest good and learning? In this riveting talk, Dan Millman, author of The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, shares his insights into the school of life, and how we can approach each of our experiences as opportunities for growth, wisdom, and self-knowledge. "I often use the term 'spiritual weight-training' -- the difficulties and challenge... posted on Jul 13, 13903 reads

The Gift of Threshold Moments
Like moments of joy, awe, or bliss, threshold moments are experiences to notice, appreciate, and treasure ". . . where sound trails off into silence, time disappears into timelessness, and the known world is engulfed by the great mystery." It is not the full moments sometimes but the empty ones that can touch us deeply and profoundly. The gaps rather than the events that give us a glimpse of great... posted on Nov 8, 7866 reads

Can Love Be A Force for Social Justice?
Anne Firth Murray, a professor at Stanford University, teaches courses on international women's health and one called, "Love as a Force of Social Justice." In this interview, she describes introducing students to the different concepts of love, empowering them to be conscious of the power of love and the possibility of practicing it in every day life, and highlighting the idea of love as a force f... posted on Apr 4, 13344 reads

Health 3.0: Where Medicine Needs to Go
Health 1.0 is run as a cottage industry without evidence-based guidelines, quality measures, or standardization. Volume trumps value. This model bankrupted and shortchanged the quality of healthcare. It is over. Health 2.0 is evidence-based medicine. It is online. Electronic health records are central to its cause. The patient becomes an e-patient who Silicon Valley diagnoses using data-mining and... posted on Aug 25, 9623 reads

When Gratitude Holds Hands with Grief
Whether we acknowledge it or not, every day we stand at the door of death and life. They walk hand in hand. We can't have one without the other, and this is perhaps why Elaine Mansfield could feel both grief and gratitude on the day of her husband's crossing over. She was able to hold in one hand the mystery of loving another human being deeply and being full of gratitude for having shared all tha... posted on Apr 25, 22583 reads

Lessons in Resilience: The Stories We Tell and Why They Matter
"Resilience has taken on many meanings throughout its long history, but scientists who study stress and resilience say it's helpful to think of it as an emotional muscle that can be strengthened at any time. The American Psychological Association defines resilience as, "the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress - such as family... posted on Mar 1, 39840 reads

Bryan Stevenson Beats the Drum for Justice
The great-grandson of slaves, Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, author, activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Having been shaped by his experiences as a young African-American growing up during the civil rights movement, Stevenson is no stranger to bias and injustice. However, he turned those experiences into something positive by representing those on death row ... posted on Mar 27, 7813 reads

Humanity's Most Urgent Challenge
We are discovering that, instead of struggling for meaning and a miracle of survival in a dead Universe, we are being invited to learn and grow forever in the deep ecologies of a living Universe. To step into the invitation of learning to live in a living Universe represents a journey so extraordinary that it invites us to transcend the wounds of history and begin a process of healing and reconcil... posted on Apr 30, 15571 reads

Seeing the Whole
Our world is much richer, more beautiful, and more complex than we think--and it's all happening right now, in this very moment. By widening our awareness to include the entire planet, encompassing both what we can and can't see, we move toward a vision of earth where we are not merely on it, but a vital part in its processes. Consider the superhuman abilities of animals to see, hear, and smell be... posted on Aug 5, 10726 reads

Taking an Empowered and Creative View Towards Technology
Social change pioneer Tiffany Shlain is changing the conversation around how we relate to technology. Instead of thinking of our devices as separate from us, we should think of them as an extension of who we are, she argues. "We're now living in a culture that's so 24/7, and there's no moments of reflection. We don't have that embedded into our lives anymore." A filmmaker, activist, and public spe... posted on Aug 11, 6211 reads

Ann Medlock: Sticking Her Neck Out for Our Common Humanity
"There is a fundamentalist mindset that is manifesting all over the world, and the fundamental mind says, "There are no questions. There are only answers, and they are in the book" (whatever book they believe in and are referring to). So, anybody who has questions is a mystery to them... I've never been one of those people...I got called to my son's junior high school, and his teacher said, "You h... posted on May 10, 11960 reads

Alabama's Four-Year-Old Superhero
"Terance Perine, Austins father, said his son decided to help the homeless on a weekly basis after watching a show on Animal Planet in which a panda left her cubs alone. "And I said, 'Well, I guess it's going to be homeless for a while,'" Perine told local station WPMI. "And he said, 'Are people homeless?' and I said, 'Yeah, some of them.' And he asked me to take him to see a homeless person." Fat... posted on May 24, 9262 reads

Myron Eshowky: A Deeper Listening
"When I was 6 years old, I began to go for an hour every day, before school had started, to work with a speech therapist who taught me to put my hand on her throat, and my throat, and then focus on matching her vibration as she would make a sound, because I had to learn how to talk. One of the things I noted right away was that when we matched vibration, I became really connected with her. It was ... posted on Oct 8, 9879 reads

The Practice of Walking
When was the last time you connected with nature, paused to take note of your surroundings, or admired a simple sunrise? The hurried way by which we often live our lives can distract us from the beauty of the natural world that surrounds us. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee and Hilary Hart suggest that the simple practice of walking can help reconnect us to the web of life, and the soul-awakening moments it ... posted on Jul 5, 19561 reads

Getting Proximate to Pain and Holding the Power of Love
In this interview, On Being's Krista Tippett speaks with Lucas Johnson and Rami Nashashibi about the impact of growing up in minority communities, the influence of social change leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, the ideas of justice, love, and more. Lucas Johnson is an ordained minster, writer, and social activist in Amsterdam, who serves as the coordinator for the Internation... posted on Aug 19, 5497 reads

Repairing the Fabric of the World
"I met Jonathan F.P. Rose in Manhattan, the week a snow storm knocked out power in much of the Northeast. Heating by woodstove and carrying water home from the local fire station for five long, cold days left me feeling a bit rough and smoky, not to mention unprepared, to be sitting in the comfortable offices of his company in a historic old building near Grand Central Station. Yet the moment I me... posted on Jul 14, 9424 reads

You Are Me and I Am You
The idea that we are one unified whole on this planet is a growing awareness across the globe. This awareness is made palpable and even aided by one of the positive aspects of the internet; that is, the ability to share events, feelings and consciousness at the same time on a worldwide level. Pierre Pradervand is a writer and social justice activist who is dedicated to helping others live in this ... posted on Sep 10, 11039 reads

War No More: David Swanson
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is the director of WorldBeyondWar.org, a campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org, a prolific writer, and the most recent recipient of the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation's 2018 Peace Prize. The values he lives by are "be courageous but generous; try to make the world a better place; pack up and start over as needed -- physically ... posted on Jan 28, 6252 reads

The Man Who Moved a Mountain
Dashrath Manjhi lived in a remote town in northern India that lacked water supply, electricity, a school, and a medical center. "He was an outcast, a landless labourer who had to trek across an entire mountain every day, just to reach the farm that he worked on." The treacherous journey took hours and was filled with danger from falling rocks and steep paths. When his wife fell and injured herself... posted on Oct 9, 19923 reads

9/11 Brought Them Together. They've Been Spreading Love Since
On a day when division and hate became tangible on a large scale in America, three minsters from different religions were moved by their faith to make peace. 9/11 marked a violent awakening of hate for some, but for Rabbi Ted Falcon of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, Reverend Don Mackenzie, a minister and head of staff at the University Congregational United Church of Christ, and Jamal Rahman, a M... posted on Oct 13, 6028 reads

Jewels in the Dirt: In Conversation with Lobsang Phuntsok
Lobsang Phuntsok is a former Tibetan monk who trained with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and spent years teaching Buddhism and meditation in the West. In 2006, he disrobed and moved back to his native India, establishing a community in the Himalayan foothills for orphans and impoverished children. The community originally started with 34 children, and over the last decade has grown to house 85 child... posted on Oct 18, 123342 reads

The Boy Who Wanted to Go to School
With hard work, determination, a little serendipity, and a lot of heart, Wubetu Shimelash made it all the way from a remote region of Ethiopia to a prominent U.S. university. This man who once fashioned sandals out of tires now dons a fedora and impresses everyone with his positive attitude, joyous spirit, and infectious smile. It is a story of true success--both for him personally, and for the co... posted on Nov 13, 19821 reads

The Japanese Words for "Space"
"Thinking about spaces in a more ‘Japanese’ way can open up new ways of organizing our lives and focusing on the relationships that matter to us. Building spaces that deepen relationships (wa), generate new knowledge (ba), connect to the world around us (tokoro), and allow moments of quiet and integration (ma) can enrich our experience of the world and that of those around us." Instea... posted on Nov 23, 6049 reads

Gardening and the Secret of Happiness
"By a shower of gifts and a heavy rain of lessons," a good mother loves her children. This is how author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer came to the awakening of true happiness as she realized that the time spent and lost in her garden were the happiest moments of her days. Like her children lost in the wonder of digging in the soil, Kimmerer saw what was most important in her life as she was pic... posted on Nov 18, 8035 reads

K9s for Warriors: Together We Stand
Sometimes it's not the human who rescues the dog, but the dog who rescues the human. K9s for Warriors, a program based out of Ponte Verda, Florida, was established in 2011 to help soldiers experiencing PTSD and other war trauma disabilities. The dogs are trained to be service dogs and address symptoms in their owners such as anxiety, isolation, depression, and nightmares, often serving in conjunct... posted on Nov 15, 10553 reads

She Won an Ultramarathon Wearing a Skirt and Rubber Sandals
Competing against 500 runners from 12 countries, 22-year-old Mara Lorena Ramrez won first place among women in a 50k (31 mile) race in Puebla, Mexico, wearing a traditional skirt and hand-fashioned sandals and carrying little more than a water bottle. Ramrez had no formal training and spends much of her time herding goats and cattle in Guachochi, Mexico. She comes from the indigenous community of ... posted on Nov 25, 12102 reads

Unity and the Power of Love
"Unity holds the essential vision that we are one living, interconnected ecosystem -- a living Earth that supports and nourishes all of its inhabitants. If we acknowledge and honor this simple reality, we can begin to participate in the vital work of healing our fractured and divisive world and embrace a consciousness of oneness that is our human heritage. This is the opportunity that is being off... posted on Nov 7, 9117 reads

Proust On Memory and Madeleines
"But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring, more immaterial, more persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unflinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their ... posted on Nov 9, 37350 reads

The Gift of Presence and the Perils of Advice
Parker Palmer is the founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage and Renewal. His work teaches us to connect with others through our authentic self. His courses help to develop courageous leadership and collectively evolve our spirits for social change. With humor and heart, Parker shares his perspectives on advice giving vs the gift of our presence. Leading us into presence with uncondit... posted on Jan 1, 15345 reads

The Extra-Ordinarily Committed Life of Lynne Twist
"We get to meet a lot of amazing, powerful leaders in our work here at Conscious Company and yet some people stand out even more from that rarified group. Lynne Twist is one of those standouts. She's a rare combination of driven and playful; flexible, yet clear. She brings a laser-sharp focus to living her values. She's relentless in her pursuit of changing the dream of modern society, and it's no... posted on Dec 7, 10779 reads

Consider Your Wake
Many of us like to consider the impact we make as a "footprint" we leave behind. But what if instead of a footprint, we imagined our actions leaving a wake? In this article, Andy Smallman explores how the metaphor of a boat in the water can be applied to our daily decisions and interpersonal exchanges. Just as a boat creates waves that affect the vessels around it, so too do our words and actions ... posted on Dec 15, 7769 reads

My Word of the Year
"My word of the year is listen. Its one of those words whose meaning is in its music. Listen is a quiet word, that half swallowed L and diffident I and softly hissing S. It defies the clamorous words it absorbs, the words that have defined this year, the shouts and roars, the bray and bluster. Listening is hard when the sounds around us grow mean and ugly. And listening takes particular courage in... posted on Jan 6, 8886 reads

A Moment with Mr. Rogers
"I interviewed Fred Rogers, creator and host of television's Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, by telephone a few years before he died. The occasion was the publication of his new book. Mister Rogers arrived on television after I grew up but I'd watched his show with our young daughter. She and I both preferred the often frantic Sesame Street, finding the Neighborhood a bit slow, sometimes a bit boring... posted on Mar 17, 9481 reads

The Geography of Sorrow
In this interview, psychotherapist Francis Weller, author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief, invites us to view grief as a visitor to be welcomed, not shunned. He reminds us that, in addition to feeling pain over the loss of loved ones, we harbor sorrows stemming from the state of the world, the cultural maladies we inherit, and the misunderstood parts of ... posted on Feb 26, 62105 reads

Welcome to Fearless Dialogues. Are You Ready for Change?
Gregory Ellison II founded the non-profit organization Fearless Dialogues in 2013. In just 6 years they have worked with over 50,000 people worldwide. Fearless Dialogues provides safe space for seeing and hearing those who have been overlooked, forming unlikely alliances and engaging in hard conversations about difficult subjects like racism, classism, and community violence. Ellison is an associa... posted on May 20, 6333 reads

Thoughts in Passing
Artist Claudia Bicen spent two years meeting with, interviewing and drawing nine individuals approaching the ends of their lives. Through interviews, portraits and ultimately videos of their conversations, she sought to answer the question, "How should I live?" Her intent was also to "shine a light onto the darkness that covers death and dying in our culture and in doing so take away some of the f... posted on Apr 9, 13290 reads

The Naked Voice: Transforming Life through the Power of Sound
"Your voice is as unique as your twelve-stranded DNA. However, many don't know how to access it. Our schools and social conditioning don't offer many clues. Yet the human voice is everyone's birthright. It is a universal given, a bridge between the worlds, the soul's messenger, a gift of spirit capable of inspiring evolutionary shifts in consciousness. Your authentic singing voice is the muscle an... posted on Mar 18, 8186 reads

Students on Immigration and Unjust Assumptions
The treatment of immigrants and immigration policies in America are hot button topics. These policies, often seen as unlawful and dehumanizing, are catalyzing people across the nation to speak up for change. Prompted by YES! Magazine's winter 2019 student writing competition and Lornet Turnbull's article "Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the "Constitution-Free Zone", eight powerful young voices joi... posted on Mar 26, 0 reads