The Splendid Practice of Silence
In this beautifully grounding piece, a former monk shares insights from a year of silence and contemplation. "Deep within each of us is a great well of health, abundance, knowledge, guidance. When we enter the silence and stay in the silence, we come into direct contact with that sacred well. In that place dwells our True and Higher Self: It is that part of us that exists and operates in a place w... posted on Nov 18, 38187 reads

An Incredible Story of a Young Woman's Courage
Malvika Iyer is the essence of courage and optimism. At 13, a freak accident caused her to lose both her hands and severely damaged her legs, raising serious doubts about whether she would ever walk again. But young Malvika braved the odds and emerged victorious. Today she is a dedicated social worker, a motivational speaker, a model for accessible clothing in India, and part of the "Global Shaker... posted on Dec 18, 26381 reads

Finding Those Three Magical Words
How easy is it to "love your neighbor" when your intoxicated neighbor wakes you up in the middle of the night and insults you? For people dedicated to the path of nonviolence, like Arun Dada and his wife Mira Ba, it's not only the right thing to do, it's the only thing you can do. Instead of getting angry, they chose to try and transform the relationship through compassion. And in doing so they i... posted on Nov 27, 36650 reads

Pilot Inspires Compton Kids To Fly
Robyn Petgrave is teaching kids to reach for the sky -- literally. Troubled by the large percentage of Compton children falling victim to gang violence and drugs, Robyn created Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum. The aeronautical program, designed for youth to learn flying, inspires its participants, and teaches responsibility. To participate, kids must maintain a good grade point average, stay out of... posted on May 31, 1732 reads

Riders For Health: Motorcycles That Save Lives
Solving community problems requires more than newer and better technology for the poor. It requires something more radical than that--that we rehumanize the poor. People require not only new technologies to solve some of the biggest challenges in rural health and development, they require basic technologies--like transportation for the cadres of health care workers and others. Riders for Health re... posted on Nov 19, 10673 reads

Firsts Are The Antidote To Stuck
Sometimes in life we find ourselves stuck. We live our lives by to-do lists or get caught up in making the 'right' decision and neglect our other interests and passions that help to define who we are. To rediscover happiness and our sense of self, we must be open and willing to change and to take the first step towards getting 'unstuck.' Read further for an inspirational story of one woman's journ... posted on Jan 20, 26871 reads

Poems To Color In: Beloved Poems Turned Interactive Art
Gifted artist and filmmaker Ellie Cross shares her story of an unusual "Stone Soup" gathering in Mumbai that she attended, and of the inspiration that led her to create charming, illustrated versions of poems by Rilke, Rumi, Mary Oliver and others. Titled "Poems To Color In", Ellie's series invites readers to print out and shade in the depicted verses. Her work gives people an opportunity to add ... posted on Dec 16, 104047 reads

The Beauty Of Craft
The world is filled with a vast array of wonderful art forms - from basket weaving, pottery and dance, to calligraphy, decorative ironwork and artisan bread-making, there are innumerable ways in which people across the ages have brought head, heart and hands together in service of creativity. Enjoy this glimpse into the studios of artists and craftspeople in and around the San Francisco Bay area i... posted on Feb 20, 15704 reads

The Art of Noticing ... and Creating
In this interview author, entrepreneur and internet thought leader Seth Godin discusses what he believes has become the "Connection Economy". Godin's belief is that there is a way to go about getting good at noticing things, and then being able to turn around and help others make that connection. And no matter on how small a scale, it is then that he thinks 'art' happens.... posted on Jan 26, 8352 reads

The Endangered Sounds of Silence
"Silence is a sound, many, many sounds. I've heard more than I can count. Silence is the moonlit song of the coyote signing the air, and the answer of its mate. It is the falling whisper of snow that will later melt with an astonishing reggae rhythm so crisp that you will want to dance to it. It is the sound of pollinating winged insects vibrating soft tunes as they defensively dart in and out of ... posted on Feb 16, 21993 reads

The Dinner Party: Breaking Bread, Healing Hearts
When Lennon Flowers' mom passed away from lung cancer during her senior year in college, Lennon kept herself busy to avoid dealing with the pain which eventually hit her a year later, making her feel shameful and alone. A turning point came when Lennon met Carla Fernandez who had just lost her father. The friends decided to organize a dinner party for five women who had lost a parent at a young ... posted on Feb 9, 11855 reads

Lily Yeh: Healing Our Broken Places Through Art
Art teacher Lily Yeh started an initiative that transformed an abandoned lot in inner-city north Philadelphia into an art park. It blossomed into the Village of Arts and Humanities, which has built more art parks and gardens, renovated abandoned homes, and created educational programs, art workshops, after-school programs, a youth theater, and joyful community celebrations. Now Lily's new organiza... posted on Feb 22, 25646 reads

Can Kids Teach Themselves?
"It's crazy that in a system that is meant to teach and help the youth, there is no voice for the youth at all." A highschool in Massachusets is trying a radical experiment by letting students design and lead their own learning for a semester. During the "Independence Project," students are left alone for most of the day to pursue their chosen work, meeting with teachers only once a day for guidan... posted on Apr 4, 6317 reads

Creating Welcoming Space
Marilyn Lacey, founder and executive director of Mercy Beyond Borders, invites us to consider the power of creating welcoming space for others, even those we consider strangers or enemies. Marilyn explains that hospitality "entails creating not just physical room but emotional spaciousness where the stranger can enter and be himself or herself, where the stranger can become ally instead of threat,... posted on Mar 5, 16283 reads

How To Retrain Your Brain With Three Words
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, authors of the best-selling book 'Freakonomics,' are back again in an effort to help retrain your brain when it comes to solving problems. From small issues to major crises, in fields ranging from business and philanthropy, to sports and politics, Levitt and Dubner offer up a self-help manual for how to think more productively, more creatively, and more rati... posted on Mar 25, 67253 reads

My House Is Your House
The way attorney and UCLA lecturer Tony Tolbert figures it: you don't have to have money to be generous. Tony became inspired by Kevin and Hannah Salwen, who sold their 6,500 square foot home, and donated $800,000 to charity. He decided to loan his home to Felicia Dukes, a single parent of four, for a full year. After giving birth to her fourth child, Felicia fell behind on payments, and became ho... posted on Mar 11, 4324 reads

Four Years of Compassion College
In this moving and thought-provoking talk, ServiceSpace founder Nipun Mehta considers what four years of Compassion College might look like. Through powerful stories of real-life people from South Africa, to India, and from Silicon Valley to Taiwan he illustrates our potential to cultivate generosity in every moment, no matter what our circumstances. He vividly draws comparisons between the four s... posted on Apr 6, 3980 reads

Black Madonna: A Song of Forgiveness
"In 1981, two white supremacists brutally murdered an eighteen-year-old black boy in Mobile, Alabama. During the trial, there was an astounding moment: one of the men expressed true sorrow for what he had done. Everyone took a breath. And the boy's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, forgave him." The ability of human beings to love, even those who have deeply wronged us, is a recurring source of amazement... posted on Mar 26, 18644 reads

Rev. Violet Little's Welcome Church
It all began on a cold day in 2006, when the Reverend Violet Little walked into a public restroom in Philadelphia. Inside, she found a woman washing her hair in the sink; and another, using the hand dryer to warm her clothes. They were the city's homeless; the silent voices in the night. It was within this moment that the Welcome Church was born -- a 'church without walls', and one that would soon... posted on May 6, 15658 reads

The Role of Empathy in Entrepreneurship
"What does empathy look like in action, and how can you incorporate [it] into your business model?" Ashoka, a non-profit organization that looks to entrepreneurial talent and new ideas to solve complex social problems, posed this very radical question. In response, three social enterprises from around the world shared their stories on how they build empathy and compassion. Their methods range fr... posted on May 26, 17835 reads

Wendell Berry: To Save the Future, Live in the Present
"If we take no thought for the morrow, how will we be prepared for the morrow? A steady stream of poisons is flowing from our croplands into the air and water. The land itself continues to flow or blow away, and in some places erosion is getting worse, and “no-till” technology does not prevent erosion on continuously cropped grainfields." Learn more about how poet and naturalist Wendel... posted on May 5, 11041 reads

Is Your Web Browser a Credit Card for Your Time?
Studies have shown that credit cards and other forms of non-tangible currency make it easier for people to spend more than they otherwise might (and in many ways, this is precisely what they are designed to do). The internet has developed a similar model, pushing us to spend more time than we have on advertisements and other distractions. In a day and age when time is more precious than ever, how ... posted on May 16, 4587 reads

Teach Aids: Breaking Taboos for the World for Free
Piya Sorcar is ​the founder and CEO of TeachAIDS, a social venture spun out of Stanford University that has been recognized as an innovation that could “change the world” by MIT Technology Review. At TeachAIDS, Piya leads a team of world experts in medicine, public health, and education to develop interactive software for HIV/AIDS prevention around the world. All of the material... posted on Jun 15, 8311 reads

How Our Bodies React To Seeing Goodness
"Researchers have a name for that high we get from witnessing human goodness: "moral elevation." And it has been shown to have many positive benefits. Past studies have found that moral elevation inspires optimism, and makes one want to be a better person and to act altruistically toward others." In this article, Jill Suttie,summarizes a new study which sheds some light on what happens in the bod... posted on Jun 11, 15682 reads

The Power of Landspeak
Under pressure, Oxford University Press revealed a list of the entries it no longer felt relevant to a modern-day childhood, including acorn, bluebell, buttercup, dandelion, ivy, lark, and mistletoe. The outdoor and the natural are displaced by the indoor and the virtual -- a small but significant symptom of the simulated life we increasingly live. And what is lost is the power that certain terms ... posted on Jul 2, 7887 reads

The Top 10 Happiest Countries
"Everyone wants to be happy, and increasingly, countries around the world are looking at happiness as an indicator of national well-being and considering happiness in policy making. As this year's World Happiness Report states, "Happiness is increasingly considered a proper measure of social progress and a goal of public policy." But what makes people happy, and which countries have the highest le... posted on Jul 8, 71333 reads

Saying Farewell To A Family Pet
There are many in life who walk beside us. Be they human or animal, we are touched by those beings who accompany us through the unfolding mystery of space and time. And even knowing that the spiral of life moves ever onward, from birth to death and round again, how, when the time comes, do we say goodbye to those we love? Shannon Hayes shares the story of Spriggan, and of holding sadness, joy, and... posted on Jul 23, 20745 reads

Can People Change?
"One 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?...Can the individual ch... posted on Sep 9, 15960 reads

Sixth Graders on Mindfulness
"It really calms me down 'cause I get really stressed about homework a lot and when I breathe and just take a moment it really helps me focus more and I can get a lot more done" says one student. "If you get angry, you can just breathe in and out a couple of times..." says another. Listen to the children of Meena Srinivasan's 6th grade class at Park Day School in Oakland, California, talk about w... posted on Sep 2, 4659 reads

The Science of Stress
Maria Popova explores her own experience of stress and PTSD, pointing out that long before scientists began shedding light on how our minds and bodies actually affect one another, an intuitive understanding of this dialogue between the body and the emotions, or feelings permeated our very language. Ancient Greek, Roman, and Indian Ayurvedic physicians all enlisted the theory of the four humors -- ... posted on Sep 28, 17740 reads

Leisure: The Basis of Culture
"Today, in our culture of productivity-fetishism, we have succumbed to the tyrannical notion of 'work/life balance' and have come to see the very notion of 'leisure' not as essential to the human spirit but as self-indulgent luxury reserved for the privileged or deplorable idleness reserved for the lazy." Maria Popova draws from the wisdom of classic and contemporary philosophers, scientists, and ... posted on Oct 15, 11254 reads

How I Survived the Loss of My Hands and Feet
Meet Corinne Hutton. Two years ago, she lost her hands and feet after catching a virus that turned her limbs septic. She knew she had a choice then and chose to live with zest and passion. Today, she is a busy mom who has climbed mountains, flown planes, started a charity, and enjoys getting dolled up for nights out with her friends. Read on to learn more about this woman who transforms adversity ... posted on Oct 13, 6698 reads

Stretching Identity: A Conversation with Gabriel Meyer
"The first time I met a Palestinian Sufi Sheikh, I went to his house. The person who introduced me, my friend, he said, Listen, this is the third Israeli he meets, so be careful. You know, go slowly. So I sat; we were all very formal, Salaam. We sat down, it was very serious, and all of a sudden, I just took out my drum and starting singing, Allahu, Allahu, Allahu. His son came out from the kitche... posted on Sep 25, 3532 reads

Vegetable Seller to Reputed Oncologist
Dr. Vijayalakshmi Deshmane is one of India's most reputed oncologists who dedicates her life to service through medicine. But, when she was just a child, born into a "backward caste" and a socio-economically disadvantaged family living in the slums of India, with little access to food and basic amenities, leave alone educational opportunities, it was not obvious she would have such an illustrious... posted on Oct 3, 6358 reads

How Science Helps Us Find the Good
Since the beginning of time, the battle between good and evil has always been at the forefront of human existence. But only until recently has science started to help better understand the complexities of it all. And just as good and bad are linked, science also reveals how our inner world and the external one are tied together. The overall takeaway? If you want to find and foster the good in soci... posted on Oct 24, 15273 reads

Six Pillars of the Wholehearted Life
In what has been named as one of the best commencement speeches of all time, Parker Palmer, author, educator, and founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, shares six pillars of a wholehearted life. The first, be reckless in matters of the heart: "Fall madly in love with life. Be passionate about some part of the natural and/or human worlds and take risks on its behalf, no matter how vulnerab... posted on Nov 3, 60453 reads

American Bear: An Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers
"American Bear" captures the adventures of Sarah Sellman and Greg Grano, who embark on a 60 day, 30 state trip around the United States, critically examining American culture, compassion and fear, by relying on the kindness of strangers for a bed in a different town each night. This 10 minute excerpt follows three days of the journey in South Dakota and Montana, featuring two of their hosts: a cha... posted on Nov 12, 3052 reads

Choosing Suffering Over Safety
"Can you walk, sweetheart?" I say these words to our dog Stella who is dying. Its time for breakfast and if she walks from our bed to the kitchen, maybe that will be a sign. Maybe she will be alright. So I ask her again, Can you walk? As I ask, I remember eleven years of sleeping twisted like a pretzel so the dog could get a good nights sleep. I remember mornings, how she rose at dawn and stomped ... posted on Nov 23, 15613 reads

Gratitude: Good for the Soul -- and Heart
As we launch into Thanksgiving week, consider this: Research shows that feeling grateful doesn't just make you feel good. It also helps -- literally helps -- the heart. A positive mental attitude is good for your heart. It fends off depression, stress and anxiety, which can increase the risk of heart disease, says Paul Mills, a professor of family medicine and public health at the University of Ca... posted on Nov 24, 11422 reads

A Yuletide Gift of Kindness
"The year was 1933 and Christmas was just a week away. Deep in the trough of the Great Depression, the people of Canton, Ohio, were down on their luck and hungry. Nearly half the town was out of work. Along the railroad tracks, children in patched coats scavenged for coal spilled from passing trains. The prison and orphanage swelled with the casualties of hard times. It was then that a mysterious ... posted on Dec 22, 15577 reads

The Art of Sho: A Calligraphers's Pilgrimage
Filmmaker Jerry Hsu spent four months observing Dr. Ronald Nakasone practicing the art of calligraphy, and witnessed how this art requires contemplation, perseverance and single-minded concentration. The art of "sho" or "writing", can be properly called abstract art. It is nonfigurative, nonobjective, and nonrepresentational. The process of the work is one of experimentation and distillation. All ... posted on Mar 3, 3903 reads

Waging Life in a War Zone
"From the stones of the destruction we will build plant basins to grow flowers." It started with one man's efforts to beautify his home with paint and flowers, but the initiative spread as neighbors came forward to spread the beauty. Using salvaged and recycled material, with some funding from a local and U.S. nonprofit, the densely populated neighborhood of al-Zaitoun in Gaza City, Palestine, is ... posted on Feb 7, 2762 reads

Indiana Jones Meets Florence Nightingale
"One night I was driving home from a sales conference and I went blind -- I later learned it was stress blindness. I managed to pull over to the hard shoulder of the motorway. All the while I was thinking, 'My life is over; I will never see my kids again'. I promised myself then that if my sight came back, I would find my purpose. I was very lucky, and my sight did return...And then I started to w... posted on Feb 11, 12749 reads

Rising Women Rising World
"It is an unusual occurrence when the roll call of achievements of just three women includes several nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize; training roles for UN Development Programmes, and advice-giving to NATO military officers and government officials. That the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and the Clintons, to name just a few, have sought them out for their input makes the individuals of this tri... posted on Mar 8, 15715 reads

Why Silence Is Good for Your Brain
"As our internal and external environments become louder and louder, more people are beginning to seek out silence, whether through a practice of sitting quietly for 10 minutes every morning or heading off to a 10-day silent retreat. Inspired to go find some peace and quiet? Here are four science-backed ways that silence is good for your brain -- and how making time for it can make you feel less s... posted on Mar 14, 81046 reads

Path to Freedom: A Former Prison Monk's Amazing Work
Redemption and transformation can occur in even the harshest of surroundings. During his 14-year incarceration Fleet Maull found meditation. With meditation he found a freedom that transcended prison walls. After his release he returns to prison to teach meditation, healthy survival skills and share his story of meaningful change. 1 out of every 100 Americans is currently behind bars. And 700,000 ... posted on Mar 30, 3721 reads

The Intelligence in All Kinds of Life
"Why is the world so beautiful?" This is a question Robin Wall Kimmerer pursues as a botanist and also as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She writes, "Science polishes the gift of seeing, indigenous traditions work with gifts of listening and language." An expert in moss - a bryologist - she describes mosses as the 'coral reefs of the forest.' She opens a sense of wonder and humility fo... posted on Apr 22, 14963 reads

We Are All Criminals
Emily Baxter is a public defender, turned policy maker, turned storyteller with an unusual cause. As founder of the nonprofit, "We Are All Criminals" she invites everyday people to anonymously share stories of crimes and misdemeanors that they were never caught or charged for. Through sharing personal experiences, her work seeks to inspire empathy and ignite social change. The project is gaining ... posted on May 11, 13371 reads

How to Cultivate Global Compassion
Paul Ekman, legendary psychologist and Professor Emeritus at UCSF, is an expert on emotion recognition and his work has been instrumental in helping us understand the universality of emotion and its place in our social lives. More recently, inspired by his exchanges with the Dalai Lama, Ekman's work has focused on applying his knowledge of emotion and compassion toward bettering human social inter... posted on Apr 24, 11695 reads

Slow Down to Get Ahead
Chronic rushing through a never ending to-do list feeds anxiety and heightens stress levels. Due to the epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, released in the brain during stressful periods, our brains get hooked on the stimulation of activity. Our bodies become addicted to rushing and our minds switch into autopilot with everything of high importance and needing to get accomplished quickly. We st... posted on May 1, 9765 reads