starts to speak, softly and in beautiful Tamil. Now and again he joins in, with a sly sentence here, a funny line there. They are sharing the story of their lives with a roomful of strangers. Before they started no one in the audience knew who they were. By the close of the evening- no one would be able to forget. Manohar is a scientist-writer-artist, an innovator with a restless intelligence and vivid imagination. He grew up in the Madurai of the 1940s, a schoolboy at large, roaming the city under the great gopurams (temple towers) of Goddess Meenakshi. Couple on Wedding Day Mahema, his wife, is an engaging person, lively and articulate. She was ... posted on Sep 10 2016 (21,226 reads)

colleagues who know about Pet Grief said “Get a paw print from Stella before she dies.”  Determined to honor her passing exactly right, I vowed “I will get that footprint.”  Stella and Bartie's feet. Photo by Bonnie Rose. So in the midst of inconclusive vet visits and internet searches for horrifying dog illnesses, I staggered over to a craft store to survey their Pet Memorial Products.  There I found The Pet Memorial Stepping Stone.  The picture on the box indicated you could cement a pristine footprint from your dog and decorate it with mosaic tiles.  Perfect.  I got two.  I came home and mixed the ce... posted on Sep 19 2016 (15,380 reads)

the past decade, I have had the chance to ask thousands of teenagers what they think about school. I’ve found that the vast majority of them generally feel one of two ways: disengaged or incredibly pressured. One thing nearly all teens agree on is that most of what high school teaches them is irrelevant to their lives outside of school or their future careers. One study found that the most common feelings among high school students are fatigue and boredom. Another study concluded that 65 percent of the jobs that today’s high school graduates will have in their lifetime do not even exist yet. But we are still teaching them in the same way that we t... posted on Feb 1 2016 (11,813 reads)

joy be cultivated? And, if so, can we teach our kids how to be more joyful in their lives? In our experience, the answer to both of these questions is yes. But it takes knowing what kinds of practices bring true happiness—and not just momentary pleasure—to your life. Once you’ve mastered that, it’s not too hard to introduce those practices to kids in a way that they can understand and appreciate. This essay is dapted from Awakening Joy for Kids by James Baraz and Michele Lilyanna ©2016. Reprinted with permission of Parallax Press. Our new book, Awakening Joy for Kids, is a resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers who want to give... posted on Oct 22 2016 (21,531 reads)

functioning.” The study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, finds that sleep loss dulls our ability to read facial expressions, which is an important component component of emotional intelligence. But on the bright side, dreaming actually boosts this ability, the researchers found. How sleep loss impairs the emotional brain For the study, researchers conducted brain scans and monitored the heart rates of 18 young adults while they viewed 70 images of faces with expressions ranging from friendly to neutral to threatening. The participants viewed the faces two separate times — once after a full night’s sleep and once after pull... posted on Nov 11 2016 (18,603 reads)

a conversation this morning, a dear soul sister, pointed out to me a deep transition that is happening on my healing journey. Sensing how I seem to be less aversive to allopathic treatment than I was a year ago, she shared a beautiful quote about the difference between “taking a stance” and holding sacred ground. Taking a stance involves an other with whom we are in opposition or conflict, while holding sacred ground is more inclusive. Everyone can hold their sacred ground without stepping on anyone else’s toes. This really resonated with me because I have been sensing a sea change in how I show up in the world. For three quarters of my life, I have been l... posted on Dec 21 2016 (10,433 reads)

you for inviting me here. I will probably be sharing less from the perspective of a teacher, but more from the experience of a mother. Very early on, even before my child was born, I had the privilege to be located in a place where Gandhi-ji has spent so much of his life. Lot of the experiments in education and lifestyle, values had begun and thrived over there. I think the seeds were starting to be sown right in those moments. When I was to become a mother I had such beautiful welcome messages for the baby and how this baby is going to be shaped into this world. What are the values that the baby is going to learn and what kind of a person that he or she is going to grow up into... posted on Jan 6 2017 (19,051 reads)

a woman's work is never done, just what that work is has changed dramatically in recent years. From financiers to social activists, inventors to world leaders, women are shaping the present and helping to build a stronger future. Together they are easing the burdens of poverty and fighting for social justice. Today marks International Women's Day. In celebration, this Daily Good Spotlight on Women takes a look at a few determined women who have done transformative work around the world and shattered stereotypes while they were at it. GRANDMOTHERS Born into a different time, the grandmothers of today grew up when women did not enjoy&... posted on Mar 8 2017 (14,905 reads)

did gratitude evolve? Researchers are starting to trace this common human emotion all the way back to primate behavior. “Thank you.” Two simple words, among the most repeated on a daily basis. When I travel to a foreign country, it is one of the first phrases I learn, just after “hello.” When children start making verbal requests, their parents quickly teach them to say “please” and “thank you.” Plenty of research shows the benefit of saying thank you, as well as of other expressions of gratitude. Gratitude is one of the fundamentally important parts of human life, and comparative psychologists like myself are always interested in whe... posted on Mar 24 2017 (11,319 reads)

fruits are ripe, there is always the tendency to rush the harvesting. ALANDA GREENE shares her experience of having an attitude of poise and being present in the moment instead of rushing to finish the task. LESSONS FROM THE GARDEN More than with any other berry in the garden, picking blueberries invokes a sense of urgency. I feel it as I see the clusters of deep blue-black orbs, and then see another cluster and another. The feeling is: hurry, there are so many, there is so much to be done, and there’s more there, and there behind you, and over in that bush. Another feeling is also evoked: that there is suddenly so much to do, not enough time. I’ve got to get them pick... posted on Apr 2 2017 (11,925 reads)

it tell us that even brief nature videos are a powerful way to feel awe, wonder, gratitude, and reverence—all positive emotions known to lead to increased well-being and physical health. Positive emotions have beneficial effects upon social processes, too—like increasing trust, cooperation, and closeness with others. Since viewing nature appears to trigger positive emotions, it follows that nature likely has favorable effects on our social well-being. Viewing nature in images and videos seems to shift our sense of self, diminishing the boundaries between self and others. This has been robustly confirmed in research on the benefits of living near green spaces. Mos... posted on Dec 7 2017 (16,571 reads)

following is an article based on an Awakin Call interview with Slobodan Dan Paich. You can listen to the full recording here. Slobodan Dan Paich is a man with a big heart, really connected to the inspiration behind life.  So much so that one of this summer’s Service Space interns remembers comparing Slobodan to Santa Claus as a young boy.  We had a chance to engage with Slobodan on last Saturday’s Awakin Call, where seemingly disparate aspects of his remarkable life softly emerged.  His voice trailed off at times, as he searched for words that could capture the wordless essence of his transcendent views. Slobodan is an artist, and harnesses his gif... posted on May 11 2017 (8,807 reads)

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 kids 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 sense of helplessness toward action, using our failures and struggles to reach out to others, and pushing ourselves against our limitations all make us stronger, more compassionate people. The same is true for our children-- often in remarkable ways. In this Daily Good Spotlight on Remarkable Kids, w... posted on May 26 2017 (10,074 reads)

was at the compost edge with two freshly picked red onions, washing dirt from their skins. At the time, my mind was wrangling with unpleasant thoughts, feeling wronged in a particular situation, reviewing how I was wronged. Not sure to whom I was stating my case. Not the red onions. As I peeled back the outer layer of one, the sun caught its redness, lit it up like a ruby, and I gasped at the startling beauty of it. Thoughts stilled, and the red glow absorbed my being in gratitude and awe. Suddenly I felt silly for what now seemed a petty absorption. Here I was surrounded in beauty, yet not receptive to it, letting myself be mired in thoughts not about now, not helpful, and an obstac... posted on May 29 2017 (13,469 reads)

run high. Sides are polarized. Even attempts at neutral, innocuous conversations seem stymied and fraught. How can we reestablish connection in our fractured communities? How can we reengage in conversation? How can we move forward together into our shared future? In this Daily Good Spotlight on Finding Common Ground, we take a look back into past features offering advice on how to come together and consider some stunning examples of people who have been able to overcome seemingly insurmountable differences to find common ground. Key to establishing connections among people and within communities are improving communication, focusing on common passions, and forgiving each other. ... posted on Jul 2 2017 (9,568 reads)

instructor of the world’s most popular MOOC explores how to change your life through the power of learning—and why you have more potential than you think. People around the world are hungry to learn. Instructor Barbara Oakley discovered this when her online course “Learning How to Learn”—filmed in her basement in front of a green screen—attracted more than 1.5 million students. Part of the goal of her course—and her new book, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential—is to debunk some of the myths that get in the way of learning, like the belief that we’re bad at math or too old to change ... posted on Jul 4 2017 (16,138 reads)

distinguished in a Western sense that differs from an Eastern sensibility. The pictograph of Chinese origin that best expresses mindfulness is this: It consists of two parts, the top part meaning now; the bottom part meaning heart. In Japanese [the bottom part of the pictograph] is the word Kokoro, which includes feeling, emotion, mind, and spirit—the whole person. The word heartfulness may be closer to this meaning than the word mindfulness, which for some people may evoke images of the brain as detached from the heart. Though they mean different things for some people, to me they are similar, and I will use both words in this book. Biologist Jon Kabat-Zinn, perhaps the... posted on Aug 24 2017 (14,438 reads)

a teen, there were many days where I hovered across the kitchen counter, watching my mom make fresh roti (Indian bread), ready to grab one as soon as it fluffed on the open flame. Of course, she would snatch it right back to spread a little butter on top before giving it back. Like a half-starved child, I would plunge right into the soft bread like no one had fed me for days. There's nothing like your mom’s cooking. And my favorite was the round hot rotis with sabji (curried veggies), and thick Punjabi dal (lentils). Within minutes of me stepping in the door, there would be the inevitable question of “roti banawa?” Should I make roti? The sabji and the dal wer... posted on Nov 19 2017 (16,578 reads)

scientific — or pseudoscientific. And when I came to art, I came to art without apologies. And that gave me a great deal of freedom. Ms. Tippett: There’s even a way that you’ve described painting that evokes that for me, the craft of it, or even the way you understand what’s going on. You talked about — though, as an observer, we’d see painting as something that is happening on a surface with materials — you said, “in an interesting painting, images fight back, and their meanings play hide-and-go-seek with materials.” That is such an interesting — I mean that image is going to change the way I look at any painting from here ... posted on Nov 12 2017 (9,516 reads)

cardinals flitted from the railing to a bird feeder a neighbor had hung. Ingenious squirrels had figured out how to leap from the balcony railing onto the feeder, make withdrawals and time their dismounts from the swinging platform so as to land safely back on the railing.      I had positioned a comfortable chair facing the window where I could work at any time of day or night.      Birds, light, privacy.      A lifetime making photographic images has engrained in me the habit of squinting at the world. It is my way of answering the question: Is this scene worth a picture? Squinting allows me to see the most contrasting components of the... posted on May 19 2018 (1,216 reads)