Elisabet Sahtouris on Ecosophy
In this interview Elizabet Sahtouris shares how society must unite to work toward the common goal of creating a better future for our planet. In order to overcome our tendency toward destruction, we must put aside our competitive nature to work in global harmony. Ecosophy, or "the household which is wise", she describes, is one that does not separate ecology from economy. "The old and the new worl... posted on Aug 11, 11764 reads

Nightshift at the Marriott
An emergency search for a room in a town where all hotels were full brought the author and his jet-lagged wife at midnight to a new Marriot-in-construction, as yet seemingly manned by only one or two staffers. A whole line of room-seekers vied for their attention with customers with unmade beds. In a tense, strained situation, the author begins to admire the young staffers doing their best, and a ... posted on Aug 22, 9686 reads

10 Young Leaders Building Peace
When the news is flooded with stories of conflict happening around the world, it can be easy to forget the efforts being made to create peaceful communities, relationships, classrooms, and businesses. Here's an invitation to take a different view, and focus on the good being done by 10 young peacemakers, from Afghanistan to Australia. You'll likely recognize a few!... posted on Nov 5, 11670 reads

Overcoming Stress By Seeing Other People's Joy
Often, empathetic people build up emotional barriers to prevent stress and burnout from their interactions from others. However, Kelly McGonigal believes in the opposite. In the article, Kelly discusses the reasons to double down on positive empathy and provides ways for you to foster joy to combat stress.
... posted on Nov 21, 25253 reads

Enrique Martinez Celaya: Self and Beyond Self
The work of artist Enrique Martnez Celaya speaks for the dignity of interiority in a world absorbed by the external. Having essentially earned a PhD in quantum electronics, widely read in philosophy, a poet and writer, few are more qualified. He observes, "I don't think the last century will be remembered as the age of computing or nuclear power, but the age when entertainment finally took over ou... posted on Aug 16, 6546 reads

The Wisdom of the Animals
Animals hold a special place in every child's life, but for Steve Karlin, his childhood experiences with animals later formed his resolve to help animals and people in the process of healing. In 1980, he founded Wildlife Associates in northern California. Wildlife Associates still operates today to provide a safe haven for injured animals and to teach children in the San Francisco Bay Area, many o... posted on Oct 24, 11038 reads

The Life of Death
Marsha Onderstijn is a Dutch animator who studied at St. Joost Kunstacademie, a fine arts university in the Netherlands, specializing in 2D animation. In her hand-drawn piece, "Life of Death," Marsha follows a day with Death, who paradoxically learns to fall in love with life. This moving short animation paints Death as a warm character, interested in the goings on of the living, and even feeling ... posted on Jan 14, 8198 reads

Fly by Light Music Video
In the shadow of our nation's capital, high school students face more than just the challenges of schoolwork. They have to deal with inner-city gangs, drug dealers, drive-by shootings, a lack of role models, and little parental support. It can be a struggle just to stay alive -- which is why many D.C. teenagers never graduate. The Fly By Light program seeks to break this cycle with a series of aft... posted on Dec 14, 2582 reads

To Keep Company With Oneself
Philosophy student Jennifer Stitt writes a thoughtful essay asking whether we would become lonely in solitude or find new depths? Philosophers have long distinguished between solitude and loneliness. Emerson celebrated the former, in which "nature may speak to the imagination, as she never does in company." Socrates celebrated the soundless dialogue "which the soul holds with herself." And in the ... posted on Sep 9, 9320 reads

Looking Past Limits: The Remarkable Story of Caroline Casey
Activist Caroline Casey tells the story of her extraordinary life, starting with a jaw-dropping revelation (no spoilers). In a talk that challenges perceptions, Casey asks us all to move beyond the limits we may think we have. At age 34 she realized the three dreams she held as a teenager: to become an elephant handler, to work for herself, and to drive a race car at 185 km/h. She went on to start... posted on Aug 10, 13272 reads

Pass It Along: A Luthier Shares a Song
The saying "we are all connected as one" is a seeming platitude we have all heard, yet this piece shares fascinating evidence to confirm the truth that we are indeed connected on an atomic level. "Long story short, it turns out that no matter where you go in the world -- Antarctica, North Pole, Africa, you name it -- every meter sphere of air around you contains 50 carbon atoms from each one of yo... posted on Nov 14, 12353 reads

Two Words That Change Lives
Cheryl Lee Rice will never forget the warm feelings she had when she was handed a business-sized card two years ago that had two simple words printed on them. Its message made her feel seen, deeply seen. "We're living in a world filled with selfies, professional branding, Facebook likes. We believe that by seeking validation we receive it.Actually the opposite is true: We receive validation when w... posted on Sep 12, 0 reads

Brother David Steindl Rast: A Deep Bow
What exactly is gratitude and what does it mean to be grateful? Does gratitude require an exchange between people or can one be grateful to something more amorphous like nature? Can an anonymous gift be received with the same gratitude as one where the giver is known and acknowledged? While many of us believe we understand gratitude, Brother David Steindl Rast challenges us to consider its complex... posted on Nov 23, 17688 reads

The Art of Cleaning
Cleaning and doing chores aren't activities that our culture appreciates much these days, yet Sufi mystic Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee understands housework as being essential for a healthy spiritual life. "As within, so without. As above, so below," he seems to be saying in this article about 'The Art of Cleaning'. Sweeping becomes a metaphor for clearing away the debris that is blocking our progress. D... posted on Nov 25, 25778 reads

Frank Ostaseski; Lessons to the Living from the Dying
Frank Ostaseski is a teacher, international lecturer and a leading voice in contemplative end-of-life care. He is also author of "The Five Invitations: What the Living Can Learn From the Dying". What follows is an-depth interview with him on the five invitations and more.... posted on Jan 26, 32139 reads

How Our Social Interactions Shape Our Experience of Time
Maria Popova tells us that our experience of time has a central social component -- an internal clock inheres in our capacity for inter-subjectivity, intuitively governing our social interactions and the interpersonal mirroring that undergirds the human capacity for empathy. This social-synchronistic function of time is what New Yorker staff writer Alan Burdick examines in Why Time Flies: A Mostly... posted on Feb 9, 6784 reads

Julian Treasure on 5 Ways to Listen Better
In our louder and louder world, says sound expert Julian Treasure, "We are losing our listening." In this short, fascinating talk, Treasure shares five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening -- to other people and the world around you.... posted on Dec 15, 36117 reads

The Sound of the Genuine
"Cultivate the discipline of listening" for your genuine self. This is the advice that Howard Thurman gave in 1980 during his commencement address at Spelman College. How many of us ever take the time to do that? We spend our days in many pointless pursuits that distract us from our essential truth. Thurman says the world is waiting for this truth to pour out of us, it is of our own creation and c... posted on Nov 30, 107778 reads

How I Became an Entrepreneur at 66
When Paul Tasner was laid off at 64, he was not in a position to remain unemployed. For several years after, the engineer pursued a career in consulting but realized he had no passion for it. So, at the age of 66, he took a leap and started his own start-up. In his TED Talk, he tells of this journey, his experiences, and how more seniors are becoming successful entrepreneurs. ... posted on Mar 11, 56251 reads

The Science of Mindlessness & Mindfulness
"Her unconventional studies have long suggested what neuroscience is now revealing: Our experiences are formed by the words and ideas we attach to them. Naming something play rather than work or exercise rather than labor can mean the difference between delight and drudgery, fatigue or weight loss. What makes a vacation a vacation is not only a change of scenery, but the fact that we let go of the... posted on Apr 2, 17730 reads

Joan Halifax: Buoyancy Rather than Burnout
It's easy to despair at all the bad news and horrific pictures that come at us daily. But Zen teacher and medical anthropologist Roshi Joan Halifax says this is a form of empathy that works against us. There's such a thing as pathological altruism. She offers nourishing wisdom to help all of us overwhelmed by the suffering in the world. ... posted on Jan 23, 16640 reads

How Gratitude Contributes to World Peace
If you look the sales person in the eye and express genuine gratitude for the service you have just received, where will that ripple of gratitude go? Can the words we use towards and about others in our small day-to-day interactions really matter on the planetary scale of world peace? Read this article from gratefulness.org to learn just how far your next "thank you" might travel.... posted on Jan 9, 15014 reads

Ninety-Six Words for Love
Imagine if we had a richer vocabulary to describe a feeling we readily express, but fail to articulate: love. Sanskrit has 96 words for this emotion, the meaning of which varies with each giver and recipient. The English language lacks a deep vocabulary for feelings, at the expense of our rapid advances in thinking, science, and technology, suggests Robert Johnson. Are we depriving ourselves of a ... posted on Feb 4, 27512 reads

How Urban Agriculture is Transforming Detroit
There's something amazing growing in the city of Detroit: healthy, accessible, delicious, fresh food. In a spirited talk, fearless farmer Devita Davison explains how features of Detroit's decay actually make it an ideal spot for urban agriculture. Join Davison for a walk through neighborhoods in transformation as she shares stories of opportunity and hope. "These aren't plots of land where we're j... posted on May 15, 11005 reads

The Heartbeat of a Drum
"One time, I was walking along Main Street with my son, Adam, who at that time was about 12 or 13 years old. He was just beginning to get interested in drums. He said, 'Dad, I want to show you one of my drum teachers.' I said, 'Sure.' So he takes me under the bridge, where Ken is. And he said, 'I'm learning drumming from Ken.' I said, 'What?! You're learning drumming from this homeless guy who liv... posted on Jan 30, 12613 reads

Fear Not the Narcotraficantes
Ann Sieben, better known as the Winter Pilgrim, has journeyed on foot across 44 countries over 40,000 kilometers along paths walked by seekers from years ago, and she doesn't carry any money, camera, or phone during her journeys. This particular moving account shares Sieben's pilgrimage in 2010 from Denver, USA to Our Lady of Guadalupe's church in Mexico City, via the treacherous Chihuahua Desert,... posted on Jun 3, 14524 reads

The Politics of the Brokenhearted
In this interview, Michael Lerner talks with Dr. Parker Palmer about education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. Palmer describes the tension needed today for grappling with the problems around us. He describes it as standing in the tragic gap the necessity of holding the space between that which is and that which we see as what could or should be. We are not to fall into eit... posted on Sep 3, 5966 reads

Top 10 Insights from the Science of a Meaningful Life
Greater Good shared its top 10 insights from their "Science of a Meaningful Life" report. The team created the list from the most provocative and influential findings over the last year. Themes include emotional experience, mindfulness, sense of purpose, and more. ... posted on Jun 21, 19211 reads

The Soul of a Naturalist: An Interview with Sy Montgomery
Sy Montgomery is a bestselling author who has written 21 books for adults and children. Here she discusses her writing, her experiences, her book ‘The Soul of an Octopus,” and more. ... posted on Jun 20, 2503 reads

The Town that Fought Big Ag and Won
When the advancing threat of Big Apple, a monoculture heavily sprayed with pesticides, came to Mals, Italy the women took action. In a display of direct democracy, this tiny village in the south Tyrol province of northern Italy has inspired a movement now coursing its way through Europe, the United States, and beyond.... posted on Mar 2, 13883 reads

Muhammad Yunus: A World of Three Zeroes
According to Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, a world without poverty or environmental devastation does not have to be just a utopian dream. Yunus believes that building a kindler, gentler planet "starts with recognizing what he describes as the inherent cruelty of capitalism, the need to value the abilities of every human being, and understanding that saving the environment must be a coll... posted on May 5, 10429 reads

Peace Pilgrim's Last Interview
How far would you go to "live" on a daily basis something you believed in? Would you go over 25,000 miles? Would you spend over twenty-five years on the journey? And what would you need to be able to show for it in order to consider your effort a success? Read this remarkable interview with the woman who zig-zagged across the United States more than six times on foot as a way to embody peace and i... posted on Mar 6, 0 reads

How to Help Teens Find Their Purpose
"Research shows that teens and young adults that seek purpose report higher life satisfaction and levels of happiness. New research even suggests that a feeling of purpose in young people is associated with better physical health." In this piece Patrick Cook-Deegan explores the power of transformative experiences in helping teenagers find their purpose.... posted on Feb 16, 268641 reads

A Mind Seeking Permanency Soon Stagnates
J. Krishnamurti, one of the 20th century's most remarkable spiritual leaders, reminds us that life is impermanent, that we are driven by impermanent relationships, ambitions and achievements, and suffer because there is death at the end. He suggests we need not suffer from impermanency because it is a simple fact. Yet we do suffer, because we don't want to accept the truth of it. Nevertheless, he ... posted on Aug 13, 13203 reads

The Physics of Vulnerability
"We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can't have both. Not at the same time. Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage." Find out more about the physics of falling down and rising up strong from Brene Brown.
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3 Ways You Can Find More Happiness at Work
"Too many of us fall in the trap of believing that "work is work" and isn't supposed to be a source of happiness, or that work goals will suffer if we focus on what makes us happy. But research suggests the opposite: Happier employees are more productive, benefitting their companies as much as themselves." Annie McKee, an international business advisor and a senior fellow at the University of Penn... posted on Apr 28, 59882 reads

Scale in the Story of Interbeing
In contemporary society, bigger is better: bigger homes, bigger salaries, bigger acts, bigger influences. But what about all the small acts carried out each day by those who remain invisible to the masses? Are their intentions deemed less worthy, their outcomes less significant? In this inspiring essay, author Charles Eisenstein challenges the belief that in order to leave an imprint, our actions ... posted on Apr 7, 24011 reads

Human Scale Revisited
There was a time when buildings were scaled to the human figure, democracies were scaled to the societies they served, and enterprises were scaled to communities. Against that backdrop, author Kirkpatrick Sale revisits his classic book Human Scale against recent global developments and offers compelling new insights on how to turn toward a scale that allows humanity to not only survive, but thrive... posted on May 4, 8110 reads

Elucidating Human Consciousness Through Art
The brain is a work of art beyond our understanding and, in many way, is a miracle of organization out of chaos. Greg Dunn has made it his life's work to share that miracle with us in the art he creates from micro etchings of the brain. With a PhD in neuroscience that might have led to a career in research or a professorship, Greg has turned his talents in science to the world of art. His art is e... posted on May 7, 11895 reads

My Song to Nature
Can you remember being a child, lost in the wonders of the natural world around you? Revisit that wonder and joy. Lang Elliot provides the biography to his on-going work celebrating nature. Then, he treats you to a recording of his spoken-word and soundscape creation.... posted on Jun 6, 8189 reads

The Focus of the Storm
Joanna Macy reflects on Rilke's Book of Hours, which has served as spiritual nourishment for almost fifty years of soul-searching and activism. "Its images lent some pattern, even meaning, to a life I thought had failed in its spiritual vocation... Now those same lines...shed new light on the patchwork my life had become -- marriage, motherhood, abandoned government career, assortment of jobs, stu... posted on Jun 25, 11021 reads

Surprise is a Seed
Every day we are met with wonders beyond our imagination and simple acts that inspire a deep sense of awe. Yet often these occurrences go unnoticed as we've come to see them as ordinary. If we tuned into what was happening around us with deeper awareness, we might be surprised at what unfolds: the key turning in the ignition to start our car's engine or the bodily processes that operate tirelessly... posted on Sep 15, 9337 reads

The Wisdom of South Korea's Garden Hacking Grandparents
Whether we wake up each morning under eaves beneath trees, or on the top floors of towers among a forest of more towers; whether we walk our children to school through a park, or drive our car down the traffic-clogged streets to the market; whether we spend our mornings closed in meeting rooms, or tending urban gardens, each of us are the potential builders of a new culture, and each of our action... posted on Jun 28, 6483 reads

Be Still, Life
'Be Still, Life' is a book written for the child in all of us -- the child in you who stares out the window when you should be working and wishes you had the day off. Author Ohara Hale has captured the childlike dreams we all have in whimsical illustrations and thoughts to embrace the moments that are before us. Hale reminds us of the wonder of nature through a child's eyes in such simple images a... posted on Jun 16, 7199 reads

Avoiding Volunteer Burnout With Mindful Self Care
Being a person who makes a difference in the world is a hope that most of us have, but being able to do so for any sustained period of time is the challenge. For many of us, making a difference takes the form of volunteering in challenging situations while working full time jobs. In the article "Avoiding Volunteer Burnout With Mindful Self Care," author Jennifer Jean shares a five step plan that s... posted on Jun 30, 12893 reads

Moshe Feldenkrais: Learn to Learn
Rarely does a teacher take the time to explain to a student how to learn. They will explain the topic and sometimes how to learn that topic, but how to learn in general so you can learn anything is rarely approached. In this short essay on Awareness Through Movement, Moshe Feldenkrais, the founder of the Feldenkrais Method (a form of somatic education) does just that. His intent is to enable us to... posted on Jul 27, 13857 reads

Paolo Soleri: Architecture as Salvation
Paolo Soleri was a visionary. Over decades, he influenced thousands of young architects. He called his vision arcology (architecture + ecology). The city as city occupied his thought. How could it help us reach our potential as human beings? Decades ago, he realized that we are drowning in a sea of data -- information-- and we don't seem to be able to find the time to transform it into knowledge. ... posted on Jun 23, 2381 reads

Quincy Troupe: A Poet's Journey
Troupe, stationed in France and a terrifically gifted basketball player, suffered a knee injury. While recuperating, he began to write an awesomely bad novel. Seeking advice, a friend sent him to a little French guy with glasses. Troupe didn't know it at the time, but the little guy with glasses was Jean Paul Sartre. His advice, "Why don't you get a little notebook and write in it every day? Just ... posted on Jul 10, 2579 reads

The World I Want to Live In
"Even though I am now almost completely blind due to the late embers of the naked sky of Hiroshima, when I first saw with the 'vision of the heart,' I finally understood that I am at last, truly able to see. When I had an epiphany two decades ago, I was convinced that forgiveness is the first step toward peace...My life story demonstrates how a heart twisted by hatred and revenge can be transforme... posted on Aug 6, 3359 reads

Welcome to Our Shared Humanity
In moments of difficulty, we can feel utterly and completely alone in our pain and suffering. Actually, in this very moment, everyone is carrying some burden. It might be physical, like a load of heavy bricks. It might be emotional, like a regret from the past. It might be a burden of basic survival, like finding enough food or a safe place to sleep for the night. We are, in this very moment, part... posted on Sep 6, 10110 reads