How To Avoid Reaching A Boiling Point, by Robert Glazer
article was originally published on Friday Forward.My family used to live in a neighborhood where six different homes had backyards that abutted each other. Our yards joined together like a big open field, with no fences. Though the property boundaries had no physical markers, they were clearly understood by all. This was most apparent when people mowed their lawns. We never had any issue with these close quarters until a new family moved into a nearby house. This was not part of this group of homes with the shared backyard space; their house was adjacent, and their yard was separated from ours by a small, wooded area and a fence. We met these neighbors for the first time as they walk... posted on Apr 19 2024 (2,923 reads)

Luminous Darkness and Holding My Thumb, by Lucy Grace
was asked to share one story from my life when I could remember my heart really expanding. And as I looked over the course of my life, I couldn't find one thing that stood out. What I saw was, what many of you will know actually, which is deep suffering and how light is so intimately connected with the dark. It's luminous darkness. It's a deep light. And the way that our suffering breaks us open so that we may be able to receive that light. And it's not owned, right? It's not our light. It's not my light. It is the light of existence. And it's able to come through us I think, when we meet our suffering. And so I did -- I had a huge amount of suffering in my time, and, at the risk of soundi... posted on Apr 26 2024 (3,596 reads)

The Elephant Moves and We Begin to Understand the Whole, by Richard Brooks and Shisir Khanal
Note: Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, a legendary leader known as "the Gandhi of Sri Lanka," passed away last month on April 16, 2024. This article, originally published in 2009, offers a glimpse of the timeless values through which the movement that flowed through him has served millions.] In its 50 years of existence, the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement has been described as the largest nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Sri Lanka, with all the connotations such a label implies. It is also known, incompletely, as a Buddhist grassroots development program, a peace movement, a microfinance scheme, a social service and early childhood education network, and as a combination of bottom-up emp... posted on Jun 21 2024 (1,525 reads)

From Snow to Water, by Xue Devand
Introduction: Amazing grace might be the best way to describe our next friend. She's a loving mother, and a graduate of MIT. She studied Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Management Science. She had a successful career at Goldman Sachs. She's a two-time entrepreneur, whose company was listed as one of 50 most innovative companies in the world. A near-death experience, 8 years ago, changed the arc of her life. Showed us how soul force comes about, sometimes in the most unexpected ways, and turns into a blessing. She's now the co-founder of The Space Between, a venture capital fund guiding, mentoring and stewarding, massive wealth holders, inspiring them to shift their consci... posted on May 11 2024 (2,900 reads)

Four Steps to Help People Feel Listened To, by Julia Minson
18-year-old daughter announces she’s in love, dropping out of college and moving to Argentina. Your yoga-teaching brother refuses to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and is confident that fresh air is the best medicine. Your boss is hiring another white man for a leadership team already made up entirely of white men. At home, at work and in civic spaces, it’s not uncommon to have conversations that make you question the intelligence and benevolence of your fellow human beings. A natural reaction is to put forth the strongest argument for your own – clearly superior – perspective in the hope that logic and evidence will win the day. When that argument fails to have t... posted on Jun 26 2024 (3,804 reads)

A Look at the Rise of Nature Prescriptions, by Misty Pratt
wind is light today, taking a lazy brush over the teal surface of the lake. I step one foot into the water, then the other foot, bracing myself for impact. I put my arms over my head and dive, surfacing beyond the buoy line of the sandy beach. The waves are bigger the deeper I go, and occasionally I get a smack in the face and a mouthful of refreshing lake tang. Soon I’m in the center of the lake, alone with the water striders, which scoot away from me on their long and spindly legs as my hands cut through the surface of the water. My breathing settles and my thoughts fall away as I focus on the movement of my legs and arms, propelling me forward. The sun strains to break through... posted on Jul 12 2024 (1,941 reads)