The Empathy Library, by Roman Krznaric
all read books and watched films that have transported us and changed us, that have catapulted our imaginations into lives vastly different from our own. Think of a movie like City of God, which reveals the violent world of two boys growing up in the shantytowns of Rio. Or the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, with its classic line, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." But where can we find the very best examples from among the overflow of online information, book reviews, and movie guides? That's why I've just founded the world's first online Empat... posted on Apr 17 2014 (25,342 reads)

How To Practice Self-Compassion, by Emma Seppala
secret to empowered action is learning not to beat yourself up.  Strive for more, work even harder, aim to be the best! We live in a society that regularly sends us such messages. Meanwhile, most of us don’t stop to consider whether our goals are possible, or whether they would even bring us lasting happiness. Even if we were to win a gold medal at the Olympics, our status as reigning champion would only last a few years and would most likely be accompanied by anxiety about losing in the future. On my first day at Yale, one of the deans proclaimed, “You are not only the elite; you are the elite of the elite,” and I still remember the wave of naus... posted on Oct 28 2014 (111,258 reads)

No Regrets: Living with Dying, by Kitty Edwards
Kitty Edwards, left, and Patti Pansa, right] In May 2013, Patti Pansa, a professional engineer and life coach, contacted me to assist her in her journey towards death. She had taken care of all the literal preparations for death: she had spoken to her family members about her wishes for end-of-life care; her last will and testament, advanced health care directives, and medical durable power of attorney were all signed and delivered to the appropriate people; a list of her important accounts with passwords sat in a folder next to her computer. But Patti wanted more. She wanted to leave a legacy for her family and friends. Perhaps most of all, she wanted to discover way... posted on Mar 4 2015 (49,343 reads)

What Makes a Great Workplace?, by Jill Suttie
new book applies science to figuring out how to build a place where people actually look forward to work. Many of my friends really dread their jobs. They complain about employers who treat them like machinery—there to churn out whatever is required of them, regardless of the cost to their motivation, creativity or personal health. Their bosses seem to expect that they work long hours and stay glued to cell phones at night, but then show little appreciation or, worse, micromanage them. No one likes it; but what alternatives are there when employers have deadlines to meet or products to develop? Perigree, 2014, 352 pages Plenty, according to psychologist Ron... posted on Apr 21 2015 (193,008 reads)

How to Avoid Abusing Power, by Dacher Keltner
an adaptation from his new book, Dacher Keltner explains the secret to gaining and keeping power: focus on the good of others. For the past twenty years, I have been carrying out experiments to find out how power is distributed in groups. I have infiltrated college dorms and children's summer camps to document who rises in power. I have brought entire sororities and fraternities into the lab, capturing the substance and spread of individual's reputations within their social networks. I have surreptitiously identified which members of groups are gossiped about, and who receive gossip. To chart the experience of power, I have studied what it fee... posted on May 17 2016 (15,108 reads)

Why We Feel Awe, by Dacher Keltner
stories and social media posts inundate us every day with tips for greater happiness, health, and general well-being. But who has time to fit them into our already packed schedules? Recently, though, my research has led me to believe that one simple prescription can have transformative effects: look for more daily experiences of awe. This doesn’t require a trek to the mountains. What the science of awe suggests is that opportunities for awe surround us, and their benefits are profound. Explore awe in depth at The Art & Science of Awe, an inspiring day-long event on June 4 at UC Berkeley or via webcast. Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast... posted on Jun 2 2016 (17,076 reads)

How You Can Find the Good in a Nasty Election Cycle, by Kelly McGonigal
you believe that people are basically good? For many of us, this election is making that a tougher question than it used to be. I teach and study compassion. I see the good in others for a living. In fact, you could say that both my professional niche and my greatest personal refuge is “finding the good.” And yet, this election is testing my capacity to trust in basic goodness. I’m not alone in this struggle. It seems as though everyone I talk to has a story about a low point in this election cycle. Many of them are feeling moral distress—that potent combination of moral outrage, worrying about harm that may be done, and feeling powerless to do anything ab... posted on Nov 6 2016 (38,448 reads)

How To Let Your Life Speak, Discern Your Purpose, and Define Your Own Success, by Maria Popova
has a great fire in his soul and nobody ever comes to warm themselves at it, and passers-by see nothing but a little smoke at the top of the chimney,” young Vincent van Gogh wrote in a letter as he floundered to find his purpose. For the century and a half since, and undoubtedly the many centuries before, the question of how to kindle that soul-warming fire by finding one’s purpose and making a living out of meaningful work has continued to frustrate not only the young, not only aspiring artists, but people of all ages, abilities, and walks of life. How to navigate that existential maze with grace is what Parker J. Palmer &md... posted on Dec 2 2016 (23,607 reads)

Three Ways to Keep Technology From Hurting Your Relationships, by Christine Carter
of Experience, George Vaillant writes that “there are two pillars of happiness revealed by the seventy-five-year-old Grant Study. One is love. The other is finding a way of coping with life that does not push love away.” We all do things — perhaps daily — that push the people we love away from us. We sneak “harmless” glances at our smartphones while playing games with our children. We forget to take thirty seconds to greet our spouse warmly when we haven’t seen her or him all day. We decline a call from our friend or grandmother because we don’t feel like mustering the energy to truly listen. This modern world we live i... posted on Jan 8 2017 (19,968 reads)

Kindful Kids: Top 10 of 2016, by Kindful Kids Editors
beginning of another new year is the perfect time to reflect, as a family, on memorable moments of togetherness and inspiration from the year gone by and to express gratitude for all that it offered. It is also an opportunity to plant seeds for the intentions you want to cultivate at both a personal level with your families and, more broadly, to plant seeds of goodness for the change you wish to see in the world in 2017. Our team of volunteer editors hopes you enjoy our personal selection of the Top 10 Kindful Kids of 2016 here below! We are grateful to this entire community for nourishing children's journeys in the beautiful ways that you do and we look forward to seeing all of the ... posted on Jan 10 2017 (10,641 reads)

The Boy in the Magic Shop, by Immanual Joseph
recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. James Doty who is the founder and the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at the Stanford University School of Medicine of which the Dalai Lama is the founding benefactor. He also happens to be a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford and the New York Times bestselling author of “Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart” that has been translated into 22 languages. Dr. Doty also is an inventor with multiple patents and is a well-known entrepreneur who at one-time was the CEO of Accuray, a company... posted on Feb 1 2017 (12,118 reads)

Reimagining the Cosmos, by On Being
follows is the transcript of an On Being interview with Krista Tippett in conversation with Brian Greene. June 1, 2017 Mr. Brian Greene: To me, the question of whether there are three dimensions or 10 dimensions is so captivating that it does impact my desire to live. And again, I don’t mean that in some melodramatic sense. If tomorrow we established that there are three dimensions of space, I’m not going to sort of jump off the Empire State Building. But what I mean is that these questions about the rock bottom structure of reality do inform my life. They are not esoteric scientific issues that I leave in the office when I go home at night. Krista Tippett, ho... posted on Dec 3 2018 (5,931 reads)

Humanity's Most Urgent Challenge, by Duane Elgin
sun in the Andes, Chile | photography ©Yuri Beletsky For at least 50,000 years, humanity has been on a journey of separation—pulling back from nature and becoming ever more differentiated, individuated, and empowered. In recent decades, we have become so dominant as a species that we are producing Earth-changing trends—global warming, species extinction, unsustainable population, massive famines, waves of migration, and more—that threaten humanity’s future. Now, with stunning abruptness, humanity is being challenged to turn from the familiar path of progressive separation to an unfamiliar path of global caring and cooperation. The transition from self-... posted on Apr 30 2018 (15,467 reads)

How Gratitude Can Transform Your Workplace, by Kira M. Newman
consultant Stephanie Pollack was brought in to work with the state chapter of a national nonprofit, morale was low. The organization was in the middle of a transformation that brought in new leadership, a new culture, new rules—and lots of tension and uncertainty. Her task? To teach appreciation and gratitude. Over the course of a three-day retreat, she taught a small group of reluctant employees about the benefits of recognizing the good things in their lives and saying thank you. And something shifted. After one person wrote a genuine note of thanks on an “appreciation wall,” soon everyone was participating. But what really surprised Pollack was th... posted on Jul 4 2018 (10,387 reads)

Embracing JOMO: The Joy of Missing Out, by Emily Rose Barr
Friday night, and after a long week, you can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief that the weekend has at last arrived. While many of your friends may celebrate by going to the movies or checking out a restaurant that’s just opened, you’ve decided to honor this highly cherished night of the week with a solo evening in. Whether it means popping open a bottle of wine, going for a neighborhood stroll, cooking yourself a nice meal, or ordering in, the night is yours to savor. If you think this sounds relaxing, you’re not alone. At least for a little while, until you start wondering if you made the right choice after all. A creeping doubt begins sinking in as ... posted on Aug 30 2018 (33,066 reads)

John Lewis: Love in Action, by On Being
Being Studios · John Lewis — Love In Action What follows is the transcript of an On Being interview, between Krista Tippett and John Lewis. Tippett:I’m Krista Tippett. This is On Being. [music: “Precious Lord/Oh Freedom” by Betty Mae Fikes and the Congressional Delegation] Tippett:I spoke with congressman John Lewis in Montgomery, Alabama in 2013. Tippett:I’d like to start by talking about faith, which is a bedrock of your life. It’s one of the bedrocks that you name prominently in your most recent book. And I’d like to just hear a little bit about how you would describe the foundation of faith, the spiritual bac... posted on Feb 1 2021 (6,097 reads)

Conversation with Reverend Heng Sure, by Bela Shah and Audrey Lin
interview was first published on September 16, 2014.] Beginning in the summer of 1977, two American monks in the Chinese Mahayana Buddhist tradition committed to taking three steps and one bow for 800 miles along California’s Highway 1. A pilgrimage to bring peace within and without, their journey took them through some of the most beautiful and also some of the most dangerous parts of California. Two and a half years later, they completed their pilgrimage at the steps of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, in Ukiah, California. One of these monks was bestowed the name Rev. Heng Sure, or “Constantly Real.” Born into a Christian family in the midwestern city of Toledo,... posted on Jul 5 2024 (2,111 reads)

Emotional Lives of Animals, by Marc Bekoff
research shows that many animals are very intelligent and have sensory and motor abilities that dwarf ours. Dogs are able to detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes and warn humans of impending heart attacks and strokes. Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and alligators use low-frequency sounds to communicate over long distances, often miles; and bats, dolphins, whales, frogs, and various rodents use high-frequency sounds to find food, communicate with others, and navigate. Many animals also display wide-ranging emotions, including joy, happiness, empathy, compassion, grief, and even resentment and embarrassment. It&rsquo... posted on May 17 2011 (34,757 reads)

The Limitations of Positive Thinking, by Prof. Srikumar Rao
thinking is so firmly enshrined in our culture that knocking it is a little like attacking motherhood or apple pie. Many persons swear by positive thinking and quite a few have been helped by it. Nevertheless, it is not a very effective tool and can be downright harmful in some cases. There are much better ways to get the benefits that positive thinking allegedly provides.   Perhaps the statement that best exemplifies positive thinking is "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade." It seems so self-evident that this is a good thing that we never question the wisdom of the adage. But it does not take a whole lot of digging to unearth the flaws in this reasoning. &... posted on Oct 24 2011 (45,022 reads)

Reflections from a Five Day Walk, by Nachya
I young enough to believe in revolution Am I strong enough to get on my knees and pray Am I high enough on the chain of evolution To respect myself and my brothers and my sisters And perfect myself in my own peculiar way. ~Kris Kristoferson, from Pilgrim’s Progress       I recently walked about 60 miles over 5 days, from Oakland to Santa Clara. This certainly isn’t anything unique. In a way, I was imitating many inspirations that came before, and probably many iterations will come after. Still, “we love to make music of this puzzle” of our artful work of lives. :) For me, the wa... posted on Oct 28 2011 (8,779 reads)