flow of compassion.” Perhaps one of the most universal, yet most ignored teachings in religion is to “love thy enemy.” Obviously, Jesus Christ exemplifies this when he said, “God forgive them for they know not what they do” on the cross. The Tibetan Buddhist practices of compassion for “difficult others” echoes Jesus along these lines. I’ve found it very difficult to see my enemies as human, much less love them, so every day I work hard to remind myself that we are all the divine at different levels of understanding. I want my sons to have easier access to loving their enemies, so I’m starting their training in this t... posted on Mar 14 2015 (19,065 reads)

they had very good cell phone service, these people in the towns were on Facebook all the time, they're surfing the web on their phones, and this sort of got me thinking that in fact it would be possible to use the sounds of the forest, pick up the sounds of chainsaws programmatically, because people can't hear them, and send an alert. But you have to have a device to go up in the trees. So if we can use some device to listen to the sounds of the forest, connect to the cell phone network that's there, and send an alert to people on the ground, perhaps we could have a solution to this issue for them. 3:37     But let's take a moment to talk abou... posted on Jun 19 2015 (11,560 reads)

nerve applies this heart-rate brake in a dynamic cyclic manner, slowing things down while we exhale, allowing it to beat faster when we inhale. The strength of a person’s overall Vagal activity can be indexed as the difference in heart rate during inhalation (faster; less Vagal brake) and exhalation (slower; more Vagal brake)—this measure is called respiratory sinus arrythmia, and is the most common way to measure overall Vagal tone. The two new studies extend Porges’s work by suggesting that the Vagus may be key to the emergence of compassionate behavior during development as well as day-to-day experiences of compassion. Zoe Taylor’s Purdue team invited fa... posted on May 19 2015 (13,650 reads)

and left. Little was stunned. Where were they supposed to go? In that moment, she realized their vulnerability and marginalization, and felt a passionate calling to provide them with a community that would feel like a home. “My life,” Little says, “was forever changed.” It was then she left behind her congregation of 14 years to create a refuge for the homeless that would become the “church without walls” called the Welcome Church. Years of experience working in pastoral care and psychological counseling bolstered her belief that she could. “It was like a tapestry,” says Little, 61. “It was a combination of everything in my life l... posted on May 6 2015 (15,714 reads)

and hygiene officer. And then the final introduction, which came from a seemingly shy 15-year-old girl at one end. “My name is Natalia. I’m the President.” Ahem. I don’t know what your reaction to that was just now, but I had to pick my jaw up off the ground. I’ve visited more than 25 communities with charity: water, and never had I met a 15-year-old water committee president before. What it came down to was Natalia’s education, leadership, and work ethic. Having access to clean water gives her more time to spend in school, and as a result, she’s become better educated than many of the adults in her community. Now she’s a leader.... posted on Apr 7 2015 (19,325 reads)

what is really important . . . true love is really the same as awareness. They are identical”. If we can learn the lesson that love will further our evolution and that the greater our love the greater our awareness, then we are aligned for success in our journey home. With love—or a maturing awareness—as a foundation, the hallmark of the emerging era could be the healing of our many fragmented relationships. If that were to occur, it truly is possible to imagine a future that works for everyone. A compassionate or loving consciousness has ancient roots, but it is taking on a new importance as our world becomes integrated ecologically, economically, and culturally. Becau... posted on Aug 7 2015 (17,012 reads)

of generosity have sparked many others to join the gift economy movement and gained international attention. His story resonates deeply with many people because he shows that not only can you live your values, but life might be so much happier, healthier, and more rich, even under adverse circumstances (i.e. the worst case scenario everyone worries about). These kinds of stories can create such a dramatic psychological shift that some people (three I know personally) have changed careers to work on the new economy after hearing such stories. While not everyone can be just like Brice, he can help us take a little leap of faith that gets us all closer to an economy and culture we actually ... posted on May 25 2015 (23,471 reads)

rates successfully while achieving better outcomes, saving money, and protecting public safety. These programs have already demonstrated a reduction of recidivism to eight per cent, compared to national averages of 65 per cent to 70 per cent. Fania Davis and the Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth program is a good example, with a proven track record of diverting young people from detention and the likelihood of entering the ‘school to prison pipeline.’ Gregory Ruprecht’swork in Colorado is another, showing how police officers with conventional views of justice—‘lock them up and throw away the key’—can change over time as a result of direct exp... posted on May 18 2015 (12,688 reads)

of language and names. Among the many examples of linguistic imperialism, perhaps none is more pernicious than the replacement of the language of nature as subject with the language of nature as object. We can see the consequences all around us as we enter an age of extinction precipitated by how we think and how we live. Let me make here a modest proposal for the transformation of the English language, a kind of reverse linguistic imperialism, a shift in worldview through the humble work of the pronoun. Might the path to sustainability be marked by grammar? Language has always been changeable and adaptive. We lose words we don’t need anymore and invent the ones we need. ... posted on Jun 6 2015 (18,133 reads)

now, but it would have been so much easier (and cheaper) if someone had understood and intervened when I was young. In order to explore this issue further, I embarked on a project of my own and asked some of my friends to finish this sentence: “I wish my teacher had known…” Here are some of their responses, which have been lightly edited: “I wish my teacher had known how much it hurt me emotionally and intellectually when they would teach other subjects and work on projects, which I missed while I was in my special class for dyslexia.” Janelle has the common learning disability dyslexia, which affects about10 percent of the human population. Bec... posted on May 28 2015 (27,654 reads)

by his realisations, Pete landed back in Perth. He was fired up about starting similar projects in his home city. The reaction? Settle down mate. He felt he owed it to the people who never had a chance to follow their passions to spread his own kind of magic. A trip through India cemented Pete’s belief in following his passion to spark connection through public acts. A movement is born “Everyone was like, that’s not going to work, don’t do it dude, Perth is a completely different vibe, just don’t do it, just settle down,” Pete recalls. But Pete wanted to test himself regardless. He’d come up with t... posted on Jun 3 2015 (24,342 reads)

the two elevation scenarios were a bit different - one involved coming to the aid of a physically injured person and one didn’t. In this case, the scenario involving physical injury is what caused the prefrontal cortex to light up, suggesting that the cortex may only selectively play a role in elevation. “Previous research has shown that when you see someone in pain, that part of the brain lights up - so that may explain it,” says Saturn. “There needs to be more work to see when the prefrontal cortex goes off and online in moral elevation.” What does this all mean? It appears that moral elevation inspires altruism because of a mixture of arousal a... posted on Jun 11 2015 (15,740 reads)

this guest blog, Felicity McLean from Ashoka introduces The Reader Organisation and how they're working to create a reading revolution, instilling and encouraging empathy and community cohesion in companies (and other groups) through reading aloud... Reading aloud is more than words on a page. Shared Reading interactive groups delivered by The Reader Organisation in health, care, criminal justice, education, corporate and community settings for wellbeing, personal development and community-building, can also be an invigorating team building exercise. It's a slow, almost meditative activity. Don't choose the obvious, says Jane Davis, Founder of The Reader Organi... posted on Jul 3 2015 (10,181 reads)

down the track at 200 MPH is just an icon of your desktop, why don't you step in front of it? And after you're gone, and your theory with you, we'll know that there's more to that train than just an icon. Well, I wouldn't step in front of that train for the same reason that I wouldn't carelessly drag that icon to the trash can: not because I take the icon literally -- the file is not literally blue or rectangular -- but I do take it seriously. I could lose weeks of work. Similarly, evolution has shaped us with perceptual symbols that are designed to keep us alive. We'd better take them seriously. If you see a snake, don't pick it up. If you see a cliff, ... posted on Jul 11 2015 (30,754 reads)

had dropped back down to where they were before the visit. This finding reminds us that no single activity is a panacea that can permanently alter happiness levels after just one attempt. Instead, gratitude practices and other happiness-inducing activities need to be practiced regularly over time, ideally with some variety to avoid hedonic adaptation. And because not every practice will feel right for everyone, it’s worth trying out as many practices as you can to find the ones that work best for you. The gratitude practices you’ll find on Greater Good in Action are as reliable a place to start as any. ... posted on Jul 27 2015 (49,928 reads)

induce? One poem can offer an outlet for healing. A distinct lyric can allow connection to occur. One poem can lead to the most unlikely friendship. A single stanza can change the fate of a forest. 2. I’m Jacqueline Suskin. The past four years I’ve performed Poem Store: a public project that consists of exchanging on-demand poetry about any subject, composed on a manual typewriter, in trade for any donation. I’ve done most of my work in Arcata at the Saturday Farmers Market. I’ve lived in and around this northern California coastal town for three years. The community embraced me and treated me as their unoffici... posted on Sep 8 2015 (16,189 reads)

native to their region. He argues this disconnect threatens our planet and the very future of humanity. “If sustainability depends on transforming the human relationship with nature,” he writes, “the present-day gap between kids and nature emerges as one of the greatest and most overlooked crises of our time.” Throughout his childhood, this forest became a playground and fantasy world, a stomping ground for him and his dog, a refuge where he and his best friend could work through their teenage angst, a challenge course as they burned off their testosterone-laden energy. Sampson’s career took him, like many Americans, through multiple long-distance moves, but... posted on Sep 3 2015 (17,612 reads)

to person, company to company, around the penthouse floor, these gifts are effectively removed from circulation. The circle of our world, the larger human community, is bereft of so many of these precious and necessary gifts. Because the gifts have stopped moving - blessing, healing and nourishing the entire circle of life - death, says the Urdu proverb, will surely come. At the same time, Roger had developed a parallel interest in the visual arts, and became an acclaimed painter whose works are collected in the Southwest and major cities around the world. Over decades, Roger would approach BFJ, each time inspired by some fresh, new passion or idea. Something beautiful, exciting and... posted on Sep 19 2015 (11,018 reads)

as the art of holding up a mirror to each other’s souls. Two millennia later, Emerson contemplated its two pillars of truth and tenderness. Another century later, C.S. Lewis wrote: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” But nowhere do the beauty, mystery, and soul-sustenance of friendship come more vibrantly alive than in the 1997 masterwork Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (public library) by the late, great Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue (January 1, 1956–January 4, 2008), titled after the Gaelic for “... posted on Oct 21 2015 (21,473 reads)

did the study’s staff discover that the allegedly “normal” Godfrey was an intractable and unhappy hypochondriac. On the 10th anniversary of his joining the study, each man was given an A through E rating anticipating future personality stability. When it was Godfrey’s turn, he was assigned an “E.” But if Godfrey Camille was a disaster as a young man, by the time he was an old one he had become a star. His occupational success; measurable enjoyment of work, love, and play; his health; the depth and breadth of his social supports; the quality of his marriage and relationship to his children—all that and more combined to make him one of the mos... posted on Oct 25 2015 (30,559 reads)