Smart Phone? Why It's Time For A Kind Phone
Looking onto the screen of his smartphone, Ted Smith, sees far more than advancements in technology and design -- he sees the faces of the many people whose lives are impacted by the decisions made during the manufacturing process. Each year, millions of tons of discarded American electronics are being ship to India, China, Pakistan, and other developing countries -- where they are sold at auctio... posted on Feb 17, 13520 reads

Are We Losing Our Focus?
Daniel Goleman, renowned author and psychologist, writes that the ability to focus on one task to the exclusion of others is a lost art for many. Yet the skill of focus is connected to greater happiness, better relationships, and increased productivity. He writes that balancing inner, other, and outer focus are keys to success. Inner focus involves paying attention to our values, intuition, and wa... posted on Dec 20, 26548 reads

Lessons From 7 Years of Brain Pickings
In 2006, Maria Popova shared an idea with a few friends: to start a weekly digest featuring five stimulating things to learn about each week, it could include anything from a breakthrough in neuroscience to a timeless piece of poetry. Brain Pickings was thus born, giving rise to a digital anthology or collage of works of historical and cultural significance. Seven years later, Maria shares reflect... posted on Mar 18, 43594 reads

How Stories Change the Brain
Why are we so tuned in to stories? They can move us to tears, change our attitudes, opinions and behaviors, inspire us--and even change our brains, often for the better. Dr. Paul Zak's research shows us that we're practically hardwired to listen to emotionally engaging stories in order to transmit values and information between individuals and communities. An effective story -- one that captures a... posted on Mar 3, 49476 reads

Steve & Susie Bear: A Story of Love, Loss and Learning
"Susie Bear was with me for thirteen years. And during that time, the relationship I had with her broke boundaries of what I thought relationships were about. There is a connection you make with an animal that goes beyond words, a power, a communication like a mother has with her infant. It's the communication my mother had when we were upstairs playing, and she would yell up the steps, "Okay kids... posted on Jan 6, 53350 reads

Moin Khan: A Man, A Motorcycle & A Mission
Moin Khan was born and raised in Lahore but went to the United States to attend university. Frustrated with the way in which his home country was portrayed in the media, he decided to leave his comfort zone and embark on an epic journey back to Pakistan. For 18 month he lived on boiled rice and ketchup, held 3 jobs and worked 70 hrs a weeks to save up enough money to ride his motorcycle from San F... posted on Feb 28, 3128 reads

18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently
"Creativity works in mysterious and often paradoxical ways. Creative thinking is a stable, defining characteristic in some personalities, but it may also change based on situation and context. Inspiration and ideas often arise seemingly out of nowhere and then fail to show up when we most need them, and creative thinking requires complex cognition yet is completely distinct from the thinking proce... posted on Mar 24, 179495 reads

A School and a Future for Blind Children
Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg are co-founders of a school for blind teenagers in Tibet. Tenberken, who was born in Germany and has been blind since the age of 12, attended the University of Bonn and studied, among other things, the cultures of Central Asia. From there, she traveled around China, Nepal - where she met Kronenberg - and Tibet, where they started their school, Braille Without ... posted on Apr 28, 10439 reads

The Oldest Living Things In The World
For almost a decade, Rachel Sussman has been traveling the world to discover and document the Earth's oldest organisms - living things over 2,000 years of age. Sussman unearths Earth's "greatest stories of resilience, stories of tragedy and triumph, past and future, but above all stories that humble our human lives, which seem like the blink of a cosmic eye against the timescales of these ancient ... posted on May 29, 20139 reads

Saturday In New York With Gitanjali
Gitanjali Babbar is a curious spirit who is gently shaking the world with her selfless service. As the founder of "Kat-Katha" in Delhi, she is bringing community and love to the otherwise bleak existence of sex-trafficked women, their families, and even brothel owners. The community is growing strong and volunteers are pouring in. But, during her recent visit to Manhattan, she told writer Tracy Co... posted on Jun 30, 10400 reads

Love as a Great Transition Story
We may imagine love to be quite utopian, but consider the alternatives. In not choosing love we are left with law and the prospect of global bureaucratic stagnation. In not choosing law we are left with force and the prospect of either global devastation or global domination. If we value our freedom and vitality as a species, we are obliged to do no less than learn to love one another as a human f... posted on Aug 7, 16845 reads

Fixed vs Growth: Two Mindsets that Shape Our Lives
Years of research by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck highlights the power of our beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, in shaping almost every aspect of our lives. "One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves...has to do with how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality. A 'fixed mindset' assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative abilility are static ... posted on Oct 9, 26125 reads

Invisible Wings: A Tea Seller Who Travelled the World
65-year old tea seller Vijayan and his wife Mohana (who had never traveled outside of her home town of Ernakulam, Kerala before her marriage) have been to 16 countries and across most of India. Every three years or so, after paying off loans and saving a little money (at the rate of a few dollars a day) the couple shuts down their tea stall (their only source of income) and sets off for another de... posted on Dec 4, 4331 reads

The Art of Making the Mundane Magical
"In 5th grade I had a very difficult year. Many things happened, and they kind of happened all at once. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And my beloved 5th grade teacher had passed away unexpectedly I felt like I had lost a group of friends I was with. All these different events happened and it was the first time I felt really alone in the world. It was a really difficult time but I r... posted on Aug 18, 14128 reads

One Heart: A Mission To Save Lives in Childbirth
""When I came to Tibet I heard of so many tragic stories of women dying -- no access to care in remote areas, no history of trained birth attendants, and no knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth," Arlene Samen recalls. It is a problem that stretches well beyond Tibet's borders. According to the World Health Organization, more than 500,000 women worldwide die each year as a result of complicatio... posted on Jul 14, 2780 reads

Street Poets: The Community Cure for a Violent Culture
For twenty years, Chris Henrikson has been using the power of poetry to reach and transform at-risk youths and students in classrooms and on the streets. What started as a writing workshop in a juvenile detention camp with six kids has grown to a program serving over 600 young people a year. At its core, Street Poets offers kids a safe space to open up, tell their stories, and discover and share t... posted on Jul 29, 15940 reads

Artistic Noise: Transforming the Lives of Incarcerated Youth
For fifteen years, Artistic Noise has been giving a voice to young people who might otherwise go unheard: those who are incarcerated, on probation, or otherwise involved in the justice system. By bringing the freedom and power of artistic practice to youths both inside detention facilities and out, Artistic Noise creates safe spaces for them to express themselves and provides continuity for those ... posted on Oct 2, 0 reads

Tending the Quiet Cadence of Our Lives
"Oysters open their shells when the moon is high. The chambered nautilus forms a new chamber in its spiraled shell every lunar month" In this lovely essay, Wayne Muller entreats us to pause the hectic pace of life to tune into nature's quiet rhythms. "There is a hum the earth makes... We are blessed with ears that allow us to hear music, and birds awakening at sunrise, and, if we take the time, if... posted on Nov 20, 17706 reads

Welcome to My House
Welcome to My House, a collaboration between non-profit Voices of the Children and band Luc and the Lovingtons, features American teens and Syrian refugee youth singing a cross-cultural message of joy, love and peace. The video was filmed on site at the Zaatari Refugee Camp and Wadi Rum in Jordan as well as in the Skagit Valley of Washington State, USA. Most of the youth, participants and location... posted on Oct 31, 2273 reads

How Women-Led Movements Are Redefining Power
Across the globe, a revolution is quietly occurring. Women's groups, networks, and individuals are fighting battles fiercely and valiantly, often in the face of discouragement and discrimination. While they might not always make the front page of the news, they are not going away, and their strength is growing. Dayamani Barla is a tribal journalist from Jharkhand, India, who led a movement to stop... posted on Nov 15, 17289 reads

Inner Beauty
"Inner beauty always reflects on the outside. This is something we have all heard time and again. But then, do we spend less time in front of the mirror? Do we still pay attention to outward appearances and draw a lot of conclusions based on those? ... What if one day our inner self and physical self were turned inside out? How would that impact our looks and confidence? Would most of us be able t... posted on Jan 28, 24656 reads

Where Strangers Become Family
Bridge Meadows is a privately funded nonprofit that has established a multigenerational community in Portland, Oregon. Here, in a cluster of townhomes and apartments, low-income elders and adults have adopted or are in the process of adopting children in foster care through an organization that provides on-site services and creates a support network for all. The elders -- the oldest member of the... posted on Jan 25, 10505 reads

Protecterra's Farm
Protecterra Ecological Foundation was founded in 2011 with a vision and dream of a sustainable planet, a more sensitive people, and a global society that respects nature, and comes together in solidarity to heal and protect earth. Protecterra facilitates numerous initiatives principled on values of education, awareness, and outreach. This video documents one such initiative -- Protecterra's Farm... posted on Apr 5, 2893 reads

He Quit His Corporate Job to Help His City's Needy
How much of a difference can one person possibly make? Here's a great example. Five years ago, Goutham Kumar decided to walk away from a successful career and commit to helping others full time in his hometown of Hyderabad, India. It wasn't enough to be a passion; he wanted it to be his profession. First he started Save a Life, which aims at rescuing and rehabilitating the homeless. Then he starte... posted on Apr 16, 18729 reads

Healing Children & Communities One Breath at a Time
When he was just 6 years old, J.G. Larochette felt a deep calling to bring love and awareness to communities overwrought by racism, oppression, and inequality. While teaching in Richmond, CA, he recognized a significant gap between providing academic instruction and maintaining a sense of nurturance and compassion. "Reading is fundamental, but if we create a stressful environment, we counteract ed... posted on Sep 26, 10967 reads

Luc and the Lovingtons: Music as a Force of Love
At 6-years-old Luc Reynaud announced to his teacher that he was going to paint the moon. "And what about the Earth, Luc? What about the universe?" Luc felt an electric surge of energy through his body, as his teacher picked up a huge bolt of construction paper and unfurled it across the classroom floor. For the next few weeks, Luc -- along with his friends -- painted the universe. It was a heady f... posted on Mar 29, 10193 reads

Earth Guardians: Responding to Global Crisis
Since he was a kid, indigenous environmental activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez understood that all life is sacred and "each and every one of us is deeply connected not only to each other but to the world around us." At 6 years old, he saw Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary "The 11th Hour" and recognized that climate change is happening and that he has to do more. Now a teenager, Xiuthezcatl is the Youth ... posted on Apr 22, 2983 reads

Beyond Grit: The Science of Creativity, Purpose and Motivation
How are world-class geniuses different from other people? It may have less to do with genetics and more to do with the journey from interest to purpose to hope. Angela Duckworth is a psychologist, founder of the non-profit 'Character Lab', and bestselling author of 'Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. She examines how successful and happy people delve into their passions as a process of d... posted on Jul 14, 12888 reads

Too Much. Too Fast. Time To Slow Down.
"Journalist Elizabeth Kolbert and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard each had big books in 2015. Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History winner of the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction takes an unflinching look at the history of extinction and the different ways that human beings are negatively impacting life on the planet. Ricard's Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the ... posted on Jun 19, 16179 reads

Addressing Social Justice with Compassion
Professor Rhonda Magee is a faculty member at the University of San Francisco law school, an expert in contemplative pedagogy, the President of the Board of the Center for Contemplative Minds in Society, and a teacher of mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions for lawyers and law students. She has spent her career exploring the interrelationship between law, philosophy, and notions of jus... posted on Jun 1, 14048 reads

Life is the Network Not the Self
What if the fundamental unit of biology is not the self, but the network? What if plants, and really, all species, are made of interacting relationships and networked connections that are intertwined? A simple backyard experiment looking at the biological make-up of a maple leaf revealed to Professor David Haskell that a maple leaf is not an individual made of plant cells, but "a community of cel... posted on Jun 2, 7957 reads

War Childhood: Finding Light in the Darkness
Jasminko Halilovic grew up as a 'war child' in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Even though the war ended years ago, its effects linger in the atmosphere, the buildings, and the people. Between 2010 and 2013, Halilovic interviewed people online and in person about their experiences being children of war, and in 2013 published his book War Childhood: Sarajevo 1992-1995. From this book, Halilovi... posted on Aug 1, 7094 reads

Teri Delane: From Addiction to Academy Founder
How did a law-breaking, heroin-using, 9th-grade dropout go on to earn two Masters degrees and a Ph.D? By learning about trust and community at a critical time in her life. At the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco, Teri Delane received the support she desperately needed, and the tools to succeed. It made such an impact on her that she decided to give back. "My heart and soul has always be... posted on May 15, 9564 reads

My Year Reading a Book from Every Country in the World
Several years ago, Ann Morgan, a writer from London, looked at her bookshelf and realized it held almost no books from other countries -- an oversight she called a "massive cultural blindspot." In a nod to the Olympics, she decided to read a book from every country (196 total) and blog about it. But she quickly learned that finding books in English would be a challenge. Only about 4.5 percent of l... posted on Jun 9, 2864 reads

Sister Lucy: The Mother Teresa of Pune
Sister Lucy Kurien founded Maher in 1997, one small home in a village outside of Pune. This humble beginning has blossomed into over 30 homes in over 85 rural communities around Pune, India as well as locations in Ratnagiri, Kerala and Jharkhan and has served over 4,000 women, men and children. Maher means mother's home in Marathi. Sister Lucy has created the warmth and love of a mother's home for... posted on Jul 1, 11868 reads

Spotlight on Kids Who Are Changing the World
We live in challenging and stressful times and may wonder how our children must be feeling when we are struggling ourselves.But, even as we try to shelter and protect them, we discover that children and young adults are remarkably resilient and that the things that help us to cope in difficult situations are often the very things that make challenges more bearable for them as well. Moving from a s... posted on May 26, 9946 reads

What Makes Life Worth Living in the Face of Death?
As a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi felt he'd be prepared to face his own mortality. After all, he'd helped so many of his patients before. But after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis, he found little of it helpful in deciding what makes life worth living in the face of death. In this TED talk, Lucy Kalanithi talks about her husband's last two years and the choices they made to improve his quality o... posted on Sep 10, 50387 reads

Three Stories of Healing and Transformation
A physician's assistant and former doctor learns about the essence of serving patients not from medical school, but from a job at an arts-and-crafts store deeply listening to people and connecting with the humanity in others. A pediatric doctor in a large HMO was burned out and dejected because she was not living up to her vision of saving lives -- until motherhood and fresh eyes of seeing the va... posted on Aug 3, 11079 reads

Let Compassion Heal Us: An Intern Examines Suffering
"Being a ServiceSpace summer intern in these past months, I have been guided into a circle of genuine friends and mentors. As part of my internship I interviewed various people in the community about their relationship to pain and suffering. One of the lessons I received is that if we hold space for each other, open our hearts, listen deeply with our full presence, detach from any projections or j... posted on Aug 13, 11688 reads

Grandmother Power
Across the world, grandmothers are keepers of tradition and leaders of change. In families and communities battling discrimination, poverty, disease and death, grandmothers stand and rise as providers, healers, insurgents. They are storytellers who bridge the past and the future with wisdom and bold, creative action. This is why photojournalist Paola Gianturco has dedicated her life to documenting... posted on Oct 23, 15874 reads

The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life
In "The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life", best-selling author Mark Nepo focuses on the relationships between people who share experiences and create bonds of love. Nepo himself is a cancer survivor, and the philosophy in his book delves into some of the experiences he has shared with caregivers and doctors during his treatment and recovery, focusing on the blur in lines between th... posted on Feb 1, 14321 reads

Atul Gawande: What Matters in the End
Atul Gawande practices general and endocrine surgery in Boston, is a professor at Harvard Medical School, a writer for the New Yorker, and author of "Being Mortal." Through his work Dr. Gawande opens a new conversation about what dying has to do with living, and his role as a medical doctor in ensuring not only health and survival, but enabling his patients' well-being. In this interview, Dr. Ga... posted on Jan 11, 29031 reads

21 Lessons on Leadership and Love from an Uncommon Master
Frederic Pignon and his wife, Magali Delgado, travel the world performing and leading horsemanship and dressage clinics. Magali dazzles audiences with her ability to perform high-level dressage moves without so much as a bridle. Together the duo invite humanity into an altogether different approach to relationship. Their philosophy towards horses is actually a way of life: love, respect and unders... posted on Feb 13, 1601 reads

Jean Vanier: The Wisdom of Tenderness
Jean Vanier's life demonstrates tenderness. A philosopher, a Catholic social innovator, and the founder of The L'Arche movement, which is centered around people with mental disabilities, he has devoted his life to the practical application of Christianity's most paradoxical teachings: that there's power in humility, strength in weakness, and light in the darkness of human existence. The 147 L'Arch... posted on Feb 23, 12599 reads

Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
"As a respected educational writer, teacher and activist, Parker J. Palmer shares some powerful thoughts on the current landscape of higher education with regard to pedagogy and practice. Through his personal and professional experiences with teaching and learning...Palmer argues that, at the present time, we no longer can ignore the 'inner drivers' that connect to the very core of humanity and th... posted on May 8, 12098 reads

Innovation Means Relying on Everyone's Creativity
"You can't hate someone whose story you know". This motto highlights the work of Meg Wheatley, a well-respected writer, teacher, and speaker. In this informative piece, she reflects on the creative potential that emerges when we begin to treat organizations as living systems, rather than machines, and remain open to the possibility of adaptation and change. Drawing from 6 paradigms, Wheatley explo... posted on Feb 26, 12184 reads

Nature, Joy and Human Becoming
"The sudden passionate happiness which the natural world can occasionally trigger in us," Michael McCarthy writes, "may well be the most serious business of all." He is a naturalist and journalist, and this is his delightful and galvanizing call that we can stop relying on the immobilizing language of statistics and take up our joy in the natural world as our civilizational defense of it. With a p... posted on May 28, 6654 reads

Pearl Fryer's Unusual Legacy
Located on a short and quiet side street of the main road entering Bishopville, the garden sits on the left side of the road and a bank of pine trees lends shade and depth at the back of the property. An archway leads visitors to the left side of the property. It was through this archway that I stepped onto Fryer's garden for the first time. In life-sized letters cut into the grass and planted wit... posted on Jul 6, 10320 reads

Keewaydahn: Going Home
Indigenous people can live without American society, but American society cannot live without indigenous cultural knowledge. In her lecture to the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, Winona LaDuke compares indigenous cultures to industrial cultures, recounts the holocaust of indigenous peoples, explains indigenous sustainability, and describes the impact indigenous and industrial cultures have ... posted on Jun 27, 6937 reads

I Will Teach You: Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim
At age seven, Tae Yun Kim gazed upon her uncles practicing an ancient martial art. She was awestruck. Never before had she seen something so beautiful and exciting, their movements both natural and mystical. She decided right then and there she had to learn. There was only one problem: She was a girl in 1950s South Korea, and this was a five-thousand-year-old culture and tradition. When Kim asked ... posted on Jun 12, 8277 reads