the disappeared under Pinochet’s regime in Chile, and diapers and headscarves made by Argentina’s Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. Even the legendary abolitionist Sojourner Truth engaged in knitting and needlework as a form of resistance. Greer comes from a military family, so the war in Afghanistan affected her personally, with a cousin and a friend who served there. In the mid-2000s, she began a needlework series based on anti-war graffiti from around the world. Taking anonymous images—a bomb as a head on a human body, the Statue of Liberty holding a missile instead of a torch—and working them in cross-stitch, she illustrated the effects and toll of war: “Ho... posted on Jan 10 2019 (11,449 reads)

of his belt seemed as long to him as a monkey’s tail. His belly was concave under his shirt. Here in Iburayaeveryone’s clothes looked better than his. He started walking. Looking around for a sign with a luggage symbol on it, he came to a corridor with a glassed-in wall. He glanced out, then stopped and stared. There were green fields out there in the distance, and on those fields cows were grazing. From this far away, they might have been his family’s herd. His last images of cows were of murdered and suffering animals – decapitated cows and cows with their front legs chopped off, still alive and bellowing by the sides of the road to Bujumbura and even in B... posted on Oct 8 2020 (4,602 reads)

or perspective for the “correct” answers. Their experiences, thoughts and feelings are valid. Hear their anger and hurt. You can encourage respectful disagreement while also maintaining a safe space for vulnerable populations. Put strong discussion guidelines in place and stick to them. Don’t be shocked by student responses, learn to question and talk them through their feelings instead. 2. ANALYZE POWERFUL MEDIA IMAGES & LANGUAGE TOGETHER. Take time to analyze images and language that are in the news, with students. Ask what kind of images they’re seeing, labels they’ve heard. This helps to draw out their questions, fears and misconceptions. Are... posted on Jan 13 2021 (6,446 reads)

and photograph by Kripa Singan Each dawn, millions of Tamil women create intricate, geometric, ritual-art designs called 'kolam,' at the thresholds of their homes, as a tribute to Mother Earth and an offering to Goddess Lakshmi. A Tamil word that means beauty, form, play, disguise or ritual design-- a kolam is anchored in the Hindu belief that householders have a karmic obligation to "feed a thousand souls." By creating the kolam with rice flour, a woman provides food for birds, rodents, ants and other tiny life forms -- greeting each day with 'a ritual of generosity', that blesses both the household, and the greater community. Kolams are a deliberately tra... posted on May 20 2021 (18,040 reads)

a 1995 trip to Peru, Jolanda van den Berg's heart was captured by the street children of Cusco. Roughly six months later she left her home in Amsterdam and moved to Cusco for good. Jolanda is the founder of the Ninos Unidos Peruanos Foundation and the Ninos Hotel in Peru. Over the last 25 years, her work has reached thousands of vulnerable children in and around Cusco through a network of community centers, funded by her three highly acclaimed hotels in Cusco. Six years ago, in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, Jolanda experienced a profound sense of dissolution of identity. Outwardly the shape of her life and work stayed mu... posted on Oct 15 2021 (4,890 reads)

many years, I wondered what it really meant to ‘follow one’s heart’. I was very curious to know what it felt like. I was certain it would be extraordinary, with an air of mystery. Something lofty and noble, a higher purpose. It would be a dramatic turning point after which all the pieces of the puzzle would fall neatly in place. I would no longer feel torn, there would be no guilt or self-doubt, no more bad decisions, and no future-anxiety. I was convinced it would bring clarity and peace, joy, fulfillment and perhaps, success. All the good stuff. I finally found my calling around my forty-second birthday, but it wasn’t quite what I had imagined. Just when... posted on Jul 13 2022 (4,099 reads)

something an irate wizard might inflict on you but are in reality simply hotspots of collagen fibers. The dark spots that look like tiny black holes in a small galaxy are Nevi and the product of a localized increase in pigment production. And no I am not making any of this up. Cross my heart, hope to fly. A Google search might tell you that iris recognition is “an automated method of biometric identification that uses mathematical pattern-recognition techniques on video images of one or both of the irises of an individual’s eyes, whose complex patterns are unique, stable and can be seen from some distance.” You may also learn that there are now sever... posted on Apr 24 2023 (3,268 reads)

Sue Cochrane's website is a button that says "Click Here for Unconditional Love"- it leads to a selection of writings that offer exactly that. It isn't just the words of Sue's stories that touch the reader, but the wordless energy behind them. Sue Cochrane survived a traumatic childhood to become a pioneering family court judge. Throughout her career she strived to put the heart back into the body of the law. Her first stark cancer diagnosis came when her three adopted sons were little more than babies. In the eighteen years that followed, Sue lived and loved through a series of profoundly serious diagnoses, including Stage IV breast cancer, and a brain tumor that wa... posted on Oct 31 2023 (55,046 reads)

me may work, may not work. And then it may be the statement, the reminder, “Oh, yes, I have an anchor in ventral. I can reach for that anchor.” And you can’t see me, but I usually reach. I extend my arm reaching for my anchor. So lots of different ways. What would you do? What would be a way that you would? TS: Well, in reading your book Anchored and in trying to become more knowledgeable about returning to ventral, what came up for me were a couple of images of everyday real experiences I have in my life when I definitely feel anchored in connection. So I was like, this is a for-sure one. So one of them is petting the belly of one of our two dog... posted on Nov 12 2023 (5,563 reads)

my therapist would say, “Well, what do you want to do today?” I'm like, “Oh, I don't know, watercolors. I'm doing good today.” I’d start painting and five minutes later, the tears were rolling. It was like it – it bypassed that part of my brain that wanted it to be all logical and explain it all. I'm sure you can explain that much better, but it was just so powerful.  She, the art therapist, taught me how to do art journaling. With the images, it really helped me connect in with my intuition and with my writing. I work a lot with images, with dreams. So it all just flowed together.    Pat: Did you find that you got som... posted on Nov 20 2023 (3,030 reads)

Good‘s latest video features our executive editor, Dacher Keltner, on the science of touch. Here, he elaborates on cutting-edge research into the ways everyday forms of touch can bring us emotional balance and better health. A pat on the back, a caress of the arm—these are everyday, incidental gestures that we usually take for granted, thanks to our amazingly dexterous hands. Brian Jackson But after years spent immersed in the science of touch, I can tell you that they are far more profound than we usually realize: They are our primary language of compassion, and a primary means for spreading compassion. In recent years, a wave of studies has documented some... posted on Feb 24 2011 (43,996 reads)

to live a longer, healthier life? Stephen G. Post explains how to reap the benefits of practicing altruism.   In 2008, I lost my job of 20 years and uprooted my family to pursue a new position. The move strained my marriage, my relationship with my son, my sense of well-being. Like many Americans in their 50s who thought they were more or less past any financial worries, I found myself anxious for the first time in years.  I know my story is not unusual. These are hard times. Much of our nation, and our planet, is confronted with environmental and economic upheaval. It can be difficult to believe that things are going to get any better anytime soon. mangostock ... posted on Sep 26 2011 (12,657 reads)

lawyers? It's no joke. Charles Halpern has been leading a movement to promote empathy and mindfulness in the practice of law. When I tell people that I teach a class in law and meditation at UC Berkeley’s law school, I often hear snorts of disbelief. “It’s easier to imagine a kindergarten class sitting in silence for half an hour,” a friend said to me, “than two lawyers sitting together in silence for five minutes.” Charles Halpern (left, foreground) leads a Qigong exercise at a retreat for 75 lawyers at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California.  But the class is no joke. In fact, it’s part of a ground-breakin... posted on Mar 31 2011 (13,120 reads)

parent wants to raise a kind, helpful child. But how? A recent study suggests it might be easier than we think. In fact, according to the study’s authors, humans have a strong predisposition toward altruism, evident from the time they’re infants. All adults need to do is give kids some subtle, gentle encouragement, and they’ll be on their way. In the study, conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, an experimenter showed 60 18-month-old infants one of four different sets of photos (see below). In the foreground of all the photos was a familiar household object, like a red tea kettle. But the background ... posted on Aug 4 2011 (13,145 reads)

all know gift giving is an essential, ritualized part of the holidays. But what about the rest of the year? There’s good reason to practice generosity even after you’ve greeted the New Year. As we’ve reported in the past, giving activates parts of the brain associated with pleasure and social connection; releases endorphins in the brain, producing a “helper’s high”; and provides many long-term health benefits. But we aren’t always as giving as we could be. Fortunately, Greater Good has published dozens of articles on how to foster generosity in children, institutions, society—and within ourselves. Here are seven top tips, culled from ... posted on Dec 25 2011 (12,579 reads)

Gandhi were alive today, would he use social media?  He was never anti-technology, or even anti-changing with the times.  Quite the opposite, actually.  If Internet technologies and social networks were around, he would certainly have embraced them -- but with a conscious mindfulness of their strengths and weaknesses. Any social-change hero succeeds in doing three fundamental things -- raising awareness, creating impact, and transforming the heart. For awareness, the Internet has been absolutely remarkable.  We have trillions of online new friendships; FaceBook releases daily numbers of how people create those friendships across conflicting religions and r... posted on Feb 21 2012 (55,738 reads)

Naomi Remen, MD, is co-founder and medical director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program and founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness (ISHI) at Commonweal. ISHI is a training institute for health professionals who wish to serve people with life threatening illness and take a more relationship-centered approach to the practice and teaching of medicine. The institute's approach is based upon experience with over 600 people with cancer who have participated in Commonweal's programs and on Dr. Remen's 20-year experience counselling people with cancer and those who love them. In addition to being a physician for 30 years, Dr Remen h... posted on Mar 23 2012 (52,097 reads)

limit, and within a tiny digital graph.  So, what happens to our imagination? It seems to fade.   Being Asian (as I am) doesn’t help.  The assumption that you’re more apt for engineering or medicine is like a nagging tail.   We have a so-called fondness for numbers apparently.  If you’re Asian, you must be good at math – of course.   Well, then I turned out to be an oddball.  I developed an affinity for words and images instead.  At the age of 12, my dream was to be a professional doodler, which could turn into a career as a cartoonist, if it went well.  And my parents indulged me in that dream. &nbs... posted on Mar 29 2012 (85,716 reads)

group of Nepali women leaving the hospital. I realized quickly, after just having traveled to various villages in rural India, that distance is relative. Hailing from a city like San Francisco, going even a few hours outside of town is far – but twelve hours outside of a major city? I half expected to run into another country. This remote place in mention is Achham, a tiny hillside region in Far West Nepal. Sitting like a giant amongst the lush green terraced mountains of Achham, is a hospital named Bayalpata. Once an abandoned building, it has been revived by the committed NGO Nyaya Health. I had the opportun... posted on Apr 15 2012 (11,093 reads)

only way to get to the island village of Sothikuppam is by boat. The current in these parts is treacherously strong and the sun beats down in sheets of heat. About 2000 people live in this village. 125 died in the recent tsunami. Twenty-six of them were children. There is no bridge connecting the village to the mainland, only a jetty that wanders partway into the water and stops. When some of the children saw the water rushing in they'd run to the far end of the island towards the backwaters and onto the wooden jetty in terror, hoping perhaps to make it to the safety of the other shore. When the second wave struck it took them all with it. Almost all. Most homes in Sothik... posted on Jun 6 2012 (12,895 reads)