The Sounds of Silence
"When I was a sixteen-year-old naturalist in training, we were instructed to sit in the forest and wait for the return of something called the baseline symphony. The baseline symphony was the music of a landscape at ease--the confluence of insect, bird, and animal song, underscored by wind and water. The dynamics of that symphony shifted as day progressed into night. There were brief caesuras, but... posted on Mar 17, 1882 reads

2000 Years of Kindness
"'Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you're already in heaven now,' Jack Kerouac wrote in a beautiful 1957 letter to his first wife turned lifelong friend. 'Kindness, kindness, kindness,' Susan Sontag resolved in her diary on New Year's Day in 1972. Half a century later, the Dalai Lama placed a single exhortation at the center of his ethical and ecological philosophy: 'Be ... posted on Mar 18, 4725 reads

Caring for the Vulnerable: A Gateway to Our Deepest Brain States
"Humans often fancy themselves quite extraordinary specimens in the animal kingdom. But while most recent research undermines our centuries-long claims of human exceptionalism, there are some ways in which we are quite unique -- especially when it comes to childhood and childcare. Indeed, even when compared with our closest primate relatives, humans spend a truly inordinate amount of time -- rough... posted on Mar 26, 2944 reads

A Thousand Words for Weather
"In June 2022, ArtAngel's installation, A Thousand Words for Weather opened at London's Senate House Library. Created by author Jessica J. Lee and sound artist Claudia Molitor, the piece invites listeners to consider the ways in which our experiences of weatherand climate change--are at once intimate, shared, yet untranslatable. Lee began by working with a group of UKbased poets and translators in... posted on Mar 28, 1474 reads

I Am Not Afraid
Barbara van Lodensteijn is a business psychologist and the founder of Vision Align. Her passion is working with leaders across the world who are making a positive difference. With a background in social studies and business psychology Barbara has worked in diverse settings including with vulnerable kids in crisis, inmates in maximum security prisons, with social enterprises, corporations and more.... posted on Apr 9, 3516 reads

Instructions on Not Giving Up
"I think, as poets, we are in the odd position of constantly defending our art form. Which is funny and also sort of invigorating, too. No one really says, "Oh you're a lawyer? I've never understood the law. In fact, I kind of hate it." Or, "Oh you wait tables? I didn't know that was something people did." I say it can be invigorating because, on some level, we have to evaluate what we do and why ... posted on Apr 8, 4288 reads

Mighty in Contradiction: Love Powerfully
"I used to think the opposite of love was hate. But life experience tells me that's not true. Hate is so tinged with other emotions, including love! No. In my understanding the opposite of love is power. Love accepts and embraces. Power refuses and crushes opposition. Love is kind and knows how to forgive. Power is competitive and takes others into account only when it stands in the Winner's Circl... posted on Apr 13, 2275 reads

The Red Dress
The Red Dress is a multi-year, award-winning, global, collaborative embroidery project. It was conceived by British textile artist Kirstie Macleod, who began the Red Dress in 2009. Initially exhibiting the dress as an installation, Macleod sat in a clear cube wearing the dress and working on its embroidery. Over the next 14 years pieces of the dress traveled across the globe, and were continuously... posted on Apr 15, 11190 reads

Mumbai's Improbably Famous Hijab-Wearing Teen Rapper
""I go in an auto even to the fanciest of places," she says. Saniya needs to be in the venue at least an hour in advance to do sound and music checks. "If my father has a customer in his auto already, he has to drop them off wherever they say first," she says, checking the time on her plastic wristwatch. On this spring Sunday, the auditorium is teeming with people from the posh neighborhoods of ce... posted on Apr 17, 1636 reads

Granddaughter's Eyes: 21-Day Climate Action Challenge
"Granddaughter's Eyes" is a music video that invites us to pay close attention to the Earth, to love her deeply and take action to heal her wounds. The song reminds us that every act of attention is an act of reciprocity, generating wonder and joy, perpetuating the gift. When we fall in love with the living world, a profound intention emerges from our attention, a longing to protect and honor her.... posted on Apr 19, 4261 reads

The Future of Intelligence
"Tech and thought leaders en masse signed an open letter in March, authored by the Future of Life Institute, calling for a six-month pause or a moratorium, if required, on developing large language models past GPT-4.0. The letter describes how this tech is simply too dangerous to proceed headfirst without first thinking through, collectively, what it is we are doing. What follows is a trialogue lo... posted on May 1, 1952 reads

Letting Flowers Lead: The Way of Ikebana
To Mayuka Yamazaki, a high-level business executive, ikebana -- the ancient Japanese art of floral creations -- is not just about arranging flowers. It is about attuning to the wisdom and beauty of nature and enriching our experience of being human. As a master of the art, she explains that ikebana is a word derived from the verb ikeru (to bring alive) and hana (flowers), or combined, "letting flo... posted on May 3, 2498 reads

Attention as an Instrument of Love
"How the brain metes out attention and what that means for our intimacy with reality is what the philosophy-lensed British psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist takes up in his immense, in both senses of the word, book The Matter With Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World (public library) -- an investigation of how "the very brain mechanisms which succeed in simplifying the world... posted on May 23, 3528 reads

Leah Penniman: Farming While Black
"Through Soul Fire, Leah Penniman has become a leader in the movement to reverse the effects of historical, systematic exclusion of black and brown communities from the means of production and consumption of wholesome food, and to reconnect those communities with a long, oft-forgotten history of land stewardship. Her book, Farming While Black, available now from Chelsea Green Publishing, is a how-... posted on May 13, 1854 reads

Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic
Dr Paul Conti is the author of 'Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic: How Trauma Works and How We Can Heal From It' In the following interview he speaks with Tami Simon "about healing the unresolved trauma we hold inside both individually and collectively. They also discuss how trauma operates differently in different people, overcoming "reflexive shame," self-inquiry and the embrace of a "true life nar... posted on May 17, 8896 reads

Diana Carr: Shepherds of the Dawn
Diana Carr's song, Shepherds of the Dawn, sung by Bird Tribe, is an uplifting and motivational call to each and every one of us to let the light inside of us reach out to our families and beyond. We are called to join in unison to be peaceful warriors that break barriers and the more the merrier, because each person's voice is needed and valued. Reminiscent of the words from a June Jordan poem, "W... posted on May 19, 1825 reads

The Quid for Which There is No Quo
"When one considers the facts, it appears undeniable that the human capacity to earn affects the human capacity to yearn. Purchasing power renders us prey to the sales pitch. And sales pitches befuddle the soul's longing. Animals have no purchasing power. They cannot easily be manipulated into yearning for things that are not aligned with their essence. This is why advertisers leave them alone. A... posted on Jun 3, 3744 reads

Richard Jefferies: On Nature as a Portal to Self-Transcendence
In his 1884 masterpiece 'The Life of the Fields,' Richard Jefferies extols the poetic prowess of nature, emphasizing that by paying attention to the beauty of nature, we can dissolve the boundaries between ourselves and the world. Such an immersive experience in nature is perceived as momentous and transformative. "These are the only hours that are not wasted - these hours that absorb the soul and... posted on Mar 22, 1743 reads

A Dialogue on Consciousness
Bernardo Kastrup is a scientist and philosopher, Swami Sarvapriyananda is a Hindu monk. In this wide-ranging conversation they dialog on Eastern and Western concepts of self and mind, a conversation, "worth watching simply for the extraordinary clarity with which both men articulate a deeply complex concept. But perhaps the most profound point is made by their evident mutual respect for one anothe... posted on Jun 14, 2000 reads

David Whyte: On Seeking Language Large Enough
"It has ever and always been true, David Whyte reminds us, that so much of human experience is a conversation between loss and celebration. This conversational nature of reality -- indeed, this drama of vitality -- is something we have all been shown, willing or unwilling, in these years. Many have turned to David Whyte for his gorgeous, life-giving poetry and his wisdom at the interplay of theolo... posted on Jun 18, 4373 reads

Pilgrimage Up Longs Peak
"For as long as I can remember, I begged my father to take me back to Colorado to climb a mountain. Growing up in Tennessee, this dream was delayed many times, until only last year when my father (Jane's youngest son, Rarc) and I made the journey. Just before the trip, I came across this particular story printed on its own by type-writer. The story was both an inspiration and grounding force for m... posted on Jun 19, 2991 reads

On the Edge of Life & Death
The hospice community of Joseph's House in Washington, D.C. believes that no one should live or die alone. Perched on the very edge of life and death, it is a place of belonging where people are lovingly companioned all the way to the threshold of death. Grace and mystery abound in encounters between people across racial and socioeconomic differences where they meet and love each other. People are... posted on Jun 23, 2290 reads

7 Guidelines for Healthy Social Connection
"While everybody's vulnerability to loneliness and social isolation differs, we all need social connection. Yet, people generally underestimate the benefits of connecting with others and overestimate the costs, which include the emotional labour and mental energy needed to manage relationships and your self-presentation. Regardless of levels of introversion or extroversion, insufficient social con... posted on Jun 29, 4839 reads

Educating for the End of the World (As We Know It)
"As we consider the field of education for sustainability, and move into an ever-more-uncertain future, questions arise: What are we sustaining? Why? Just what do we mean by "sustainability" anyway? Perhaps instead of asking 'What is worth sustaining?' we might begin with the question, 'What do we need to let go of?' Most prescriptions for sustainable culture and education for sustainability presu... posted on Nov 11, 1781 reads

Mark Nepo: The Half Life of Angels
"How do we know our own authenticity? How can we return to our hearts when we find we've left them? As we evolve and change along our journey, how do we relate to the 'former selves' in our past? Tami Simon and poet-philosopher Mark Nepo address these questions and more, as they discuss his creative process; his new book, The Half-Life of Angels; and how we can each touch the ever-present and whol... posted on Jul 16, 3995 reads

The Radical Act of Letting Things Hurt
"When psychotherapist Megan Devine -- creator of the excellent resource Refuge in Grief and author of its portable counterpart, It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand (public library) -- watched her young, healthy partner drown, the sudden and senseless loss suspended her world. As it slowly regained the motive force of life, she set out to redirect... posted on Aug 13, 6949 reads

Cup of Karma
In the fall of 1987, Polly Simpkins met a man on the midnight train from Copenhagen to Amsterdam who shared with her his philosophy of life which focused on appreciating the people we love in this world. Cup of Karma was born to spread this message by bringing together Polly's love of people and her love of tea. Tea brings people together and Cup of Karma hosts events at which storytellers share t... posted on Aug 11, 1844 reads

The Life Cycle of a Feather
"All creatures spirit me away from my thoughts into the real and present world. Because birds fly, they don't need to be unnoticeable and hide like mice do, so I, like most birders, notice them. The first time I really observed feathers was when I was twelve years old entranced by the flamingos at the Seattle Zoo. When I saw them shed orange/pink feathers on the ground and floating in their pond, ... posted on Aug 29, 1744 reads

A Zen Life: DT Suzuki
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (1870~1966) was a prolific Japanese-American philosopher, writer and translator. He is considered by many to be Zen's unofficial "apostle to the West." He traveled and lectured extensively, interacting with diverse audiences and some of the most brilliant and creative minds of the age, among them Carl Jung, Martin Heidegger, Alan Watts, Thomas Merton, John Cage, and Gary Sn... posted on Sep 14, 3655 reads

FOLI: There is No Movement Without Rhythm
"Life has a rhythm, it's constantly moving.
The word for rhythm ( used by the Malinke tribes ) is FOLI. It is a word that encompasses so much more than drumming, dancing or sound. It's found in every part of daily life. In this film you not only hear and feel rhythm but you see it. It's an extraordinary blend of image and sound that feeds the senses and reminds us all how essential it is." ... posted on Oct 12, 3285 reads

Way Finders & Wild Women
"Tiya, your remarkable new book 'Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation' invites readers on a journey of insight and humanity to remind us how each life--whether enslaved or dispossessed, marginalized or privileged--takes place on this Earth. Could you tell us why you wrote Wild Girls? Also, who are the Wild Girls and how did you select the books title?" In this conv... posted on Oct 4, 1463 reads

Everyday Icons: Rose B. Simpson
Rose Simpson's sculpture work stems from moments of observation and connections to the past, emphasizing the processes of making and becoming in which we discover new ways of being and of healing. Each of her clay sculptures is embedded with fingerprints and other evidence of the artist's hand, leaving traces of the act of making that produced the work. "I'm trying to reveal our deep truth," says ... posted on Oct 6, 1254 reads

Grief as Deep Activism
No one escapes suffering in this life. Yet we live in a collective denial, deprived of meaningful ways to speak of sorrows and collective practices of releasing grief. Francis Weller walks us to the shore of sorrows and shows us how this ocean ripples through our individual lives, through community, and into the Earth herself. He invites us to see the illusion of private pain that imprisons us. He... posted on Oct 22, 50900 reads

17 Life Learnings from 17 Years of the Marginalian
"The Marginalian was born on October 23, 2006, under an outgrown name, to an outgrown self that feels to me now almost like a different species of consciousness. (It can only be so -- if we don't continually outgrow ourselves, if we don't wince a little at our former ideas, ideals, and beliefs, we ossify and perish.) Seven years into this labor of love, which had by then become my life and livelih... posted on Oct 24, 2409 reads

The Practice Before the Practice
"From the moment we open our eyes, we are meaning-seeking creatures, looking for what matters though we carry what matters deep within us. And more than the hard-earned understandings we arrive at, more than the principles or beliefs we stitch together out of our experience, how we stay in relationship to the mysterious Whole of Life is what brings us alive and keeps us alive. Everyone knows first... posted on Nov 6, 1959 reads

Koolulam: Harnessing the Power of Harmony
Koolulam is a social musical initiative aimed at empowering communities and strengthening the fabric of society. Through collaborative creative experiences, they bring together people of different backgrounds, cultures, faiths and geographies to stop everything for a few hours and sing. This iteration of Matisyahu's song, One Day, sung in English, Arabic and Hebrew, brought together 3,000 people i... posted on Nov 17, 1462 reads

Peace, Love and Good Food
Ruqxana Vasanwala's life exemplifies how cooking a good meal for someone can be an expression of love. Her cooking love is shared with friends and family and extends to her beloved cats as well. As much as Ruqxana enjoys making magic with her cooking, what brings her the most joy is serving her food and watching others relish it in a circle of shared love and enjoyment. It is not just about the fo... posted on Nov 30, 1632 reads

A Father, a Son, a Run, and Little Friend.
It was a bright Sunday morning in late September. Thomas Lake was waiting for his 11-year-old son at the finish line of a 5K race they both were running. Panic began to set in, as Lake knew his son could run the 5K in 30 minutes, and the clock was ticking towards 40 minutes. An hour earlier, father-and-son were driving when the 11-year-old noticed a fingernail-long neon green tree cricket on the h... posted on Dec 20, 1810 reads

Why I Learned to Knit Christmas Stockings
Embarking on a heartwarming journey of love and connection, Madeline Holcombe decided the best way to feel closer to her late grandmother was to pick up her knitting needles. Using her grandmother's pattern, Madeline set out to craft the same personalized Christmas stockings that Grandma Mimi began diligently knitting for her family in the 1960s. Through this repetitive labor of love, Madeline fou... posted on Dec 25, 1548 reads

The Geometry Of Other People
"On the surface, the language we use to describe landscapes and buildings has little in common with the ways we think about our social worlds. A mountain range has little in common with a family; the design of a city is nothing like a colleague or so it seems. But if that is true, then why do we use spatial and architectural metaphors to describe so many of our human relationships?" asks postdoct... posted on Jan 15, 2244 reads

How to Prepare Your Nervous System for New Goals
As January begins to sunset into February, it's not uncommon for New Year resolutions to lose their luster. About 80% of people who make such resolutions feel like they've failed in the first few months. Could this year be different? UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center highlights research-backed tips to help propel our 2024 intentions into sustained practice. It turns out a deeper awareness ... posted on Jan 26, 2432 reads

Widower Transforms Grief by Offering Home Repairs for Free
Meet Danny Chauvin, a 76-year-old US military veteran from Waveland, Mississippi who's battling grief and PTSD in an unparalleled way. After losing his wife and struggling with the stark quiet of his home, Chauvin knew he needed to find something to keep busy. One of the favorite parts of his marriage was the small, mostly repair tasks that his wife would ask him to do around the house. He realize... posted on Feb 6, 1699 reads

Mycelial Landscapes
Mycologist Merlin Sheldrake, creative director Barney Steel and filmmaker Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee embark on a compelling conversation on the role of mycelial webs in holding our landscapes together, and how our human systems can learn from that. The nature of fungi may just force us to rethink our traditional conceptions of individuality, intelligence, and life itself. "One of the things we might lea... posted on Feb 16, 2210 reads

Significance of the Seemingly Ordinary
In the 1995 film, Smoke, Auggie Wren takes a picture of the store across the street every morning at exactly eight o'clock. "He has four thousand consecutive daily photographs of his corner all labeled by date and mounted in albums. He calls this project his "life's work." One day Auggie shows the photos to Paul, a blocked writer who is mourning the death of his wife ... Flipping page aft... posted on Mar 12, 3421 reads

In a Bomb Shelter Under Kyiv, a Professor Taught Peace
When the war in Ukraine started, like many people, Professor David Dowling felt helpless. "I couldn't shake off the idea that I wanted to do something more," Dowling told ABC News. Last fall, he travelled from Pepperdine University in California to war-torn Kyiv to teach a course in conflict and dispute resolution at Taras Shevchenko National University. "Being with these students, with these amaz... posted on Mar 20, 1311 reads

What Emotions Can Teach Us
Susan David and Adam Grant dialogue on pitfalls against toxic positivity, and instead give tips on how to reconnect with all emotions to stay true to ourselves while growing from them. It is a fine line between running away from emotions and fusing with them. But there is a path, accessible to anyone. Being avoidant of difficult emotions disconnects us from ourselves and from others affecting our ... posted on Mar 28, 685 reads

How Sisterly Love Transformed a Brothel in Delhi
Fresh out of her university studies, Gitanjali Babbar embarked on a two-year fellowship that had her conducting health surveys with women in Delhi's red light district. Struck by the raw humanity she encountered in the brothel workers, Gitanjali began visiting the women in her free time, sharing meals and listening to stories from their harrowing life journeys, where they were often trafficked at ... posted on Apr 1, 2948 reads

How to Reboot After Disappointment at Work
"You might experience disappointment at work in many ways: a long-term project does not come to fruition, a new position opens up and you don’t get it, or your hard work does not pay off. Faced with a sense of loss and disappointment, we have no choice but to respond." Greater Good Magazine outlines three practices with relevant research that can personally alchemize a setback into possibili... posted on Apr 3, 4399 reads

The 'Bad Weather' Friend
In an era dominated by individualism and self-interest, one retiree emerges as a beacon of community-centric spirit in Fort Worth, Texas. When Apryl Goodwin, 46, was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she found herself in a tight predicament: "I had no transportation and I didn't know what to do." In parallel, retiree Lyn Story, 64, had free time on her hands. When she read about Goodwin's situation o... posted on Apr 22, 1627 reads

How Patience Can Help You Find Your Purpose
A two-year study on the search for life's purpose revealed some interesting observations around the search itself. It can "be a source of stress and anxiety, especially when it feels like everyone else has it all figured out. (Rest assured, others are likely still working it out, too!)" Their study suggests that "practicing patience may be a critical and often overlooked element of a productive an... posted on May 1, 4347 reads