VIDEO: Localization for People and the Earth, by Kosmos Journal
movement for localization is growing rapidly, worldwide. These international voices from ISEC’s 2014 Economics of Happiness conference in Bangalore, India, succinctly tell us why globalization is so damaging, why localization is the most strategic antidote, and what we can do to help make the shift from global to local. Watch this 7 minute, eye-opening video: Localization for People and the Earth     ... posted on Aug 8 2017 (2,296 reads)

The Beautiful Story Of An Artist With Down Syndrome Who Never Spoke A Word, by Priscilla Frank
Scott’s sculptures look like oversized cocoons or nests. They begin with regular objects -- a chair, a wire hanger, an umbrella, or even a shopping cart -- which are swallowed up whole by thread, yarn, cloth and twine, swathed as frenetically as a spider mummifies its prey. The resulting pieces are tightly wound bundles of texture, color and shape -- abstract and yet so intensely corporeal in their presence and power. They suggest an alternate way of seeing the world, not based on knowing but on touching, taking, loving, nurturing and eating whole. Like a wildly wrapped package, the sculptures seem to possess some secret or meaning that can’t be ac... posted on Sep 21 2017 (11,616 reads)

The Three Sacred Tasks: A Climate Scientist & Father Reflects, by Peter Kalmus
following is an excerpt from Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution Our ecological predicament challenges us for many reasons, not least of which is that it calls us to examine how we live. It calls us to recognize that we are part of the miraculous biosphere, not outside of it or above it; to accept, deeply, that we will die, and that death is also part of this miracle. Our bodies arise from this spinning, burning biosphere, and we mix back into it when we die. There is nothing to hold on to, and nothing to be afraid of. In my darkest moments, when faced with the uncompromising reality of global warming in all of its surreal truth, I come back to my body. I fee... posted on Aug 19 2017 (9,430 reads)

The Science of Stress and How Our Emotions Affect Our Susceptibility to Burnout and Disease, by Maria Popova
your memories impact your immune system, why moving is one of the most stressful life-events, and what your parents have to do with your predisposition to PTSD. I had lived thirty good years before enduring my first food poisoning — odds quite fortunate in the grand scheme of things, but miserably unfortunate in the immediate experience of it. I found myself completely incapacitated to erect the pillars of my daily life — too cognitively foggy to read and write, too physically weak to work out or even meditate. The temporary disability soon elevated the assault on my mind and body to a new height of anguish: an intense experience of stress. Even as I consoled myself wi... posted on Oct 8 2017 (30,299 reads)

Empathy Is a Clock That Ticks in the Consciousness of Another: The Science of How Our Social Interactions Shape Our Experience of Time, by Maria Popova
may be born alone, but childhood ends with a synchrony of clocks, as we lend ourselves fully to the contagion of time.” When I was growing up, my father — a kind man of quick intellect and encyclopedic knowledge about esoteric subjects — had, and still has, one habit that never failed to make other people uneasy and to infuriate my mother: In conversation, the interval of time that elapses between the other person’s sentiment or question and my father’s response greatly exceeds the average, a lapse swelling with Kierkegaard’s assertion that “the moment is not properly an atom of time but an atom of eternity.” At first, one ... posted on Feb 9 2018 (6,695 reads)

Re-inventing Work: An Interview with Matthew Fox, by Leslee Goodman
Episcopalian priest and theologian, Matthew Fox began his career as a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church but was expelled in 1993 by Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Among Fox’s teachings the Catholic hierarchy found most objectionable was his belief in “original blessing,” which became the title of one of his most popular books. The concept was in direct contravention of the Roman Catholic doctrine that people are born into “original sin.” Fox was also criticized for his embrace of the divine feminine and his acceptance of homosexuality. An early and influential proponent of “Creation Spirituality,” whi... posted on Nov 12 2020 (28,853 reads)

For 11 Years She Taught 250 Kids For Free, by Sanket Jain
Koli, a resident of Laximinagar basti in Lat, a village in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra, has become a symbol of hope in the village thanks to her exemplary efforts in the field of education. A passionate believer in the importance of the education, Sushila noticed that there was no Anganwadi in the vicinity, and because of this, young children, who would have otherwise attended pre-school, had to abandon the hopes of receiving an education and would instead go to help in the fields. Sushila decided to do something about this and opened an Anganwadi in the basti. However, no one was willing to help her, and there was very little government support as well. So, she s... posted on Dec 10 2018 (6,337 reads)

David Whyte on Welcoming Humiliation , by Lindy Alexander
ALEXANDER: I have to say, I find starting conversations the hardest part. What about you? What’s the hardest part about conversations for you? DAVID WHYTE: I think the hardest part of any conversation is paying attention to something other than yourself, creating a real-life frontier. The hardest part is giving up the name you are going under, the story you’re a part of—giving up your idea of where the conversation is going. That’s the crux of it: the listening ear. I certainly went through this giving up early on in my twenties when I worked as a naturalist in the Galapagos Islands. I got to those islands in freshly-minted scientific arrogance where ... posted on May 23 2018 (22,087 reads)

Servant Leadership in Business: An Interview with Jose Juan Martinez, by Joserra G.
note: I met José Juan in 2013. I had just returned to Spain from India and was participating in a 21-Day Kindness Challenge. During a 21 day period 5000 people from all over the world performed an act of kindness every day, totalling almost 11,000 transformative actions! The first day of the challenge I decided to buy a cake and gift it to someone random on the street. I wanted it to be anonymous so I needed to enlist a partner in kindness. The first person I met was José Juan! He gave away the cake and since then we have been connected in many adventures of service and generosity, including community experiments like Awakin Circles (which we started in his ... posted on Sep 2 2018 (15,299 reads)

Ten True Things About Gratefulness, by Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
not only changes your life, but also extends beyond your intimate sphere. It gives rise to compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and empathy, and thus informs how we treat others and how we act in the larger world. ~ Kristi Nelson The benefits of gratitude range from deeper sleep and better health to higher self-esteem and enhanced stress resilience. Gratitude has also been shown to enhance our relationships. And, if that’s not enough, gratitude makes us happier. As Brother David Steindl-Rast writes, “The root of joy is gratefulness … For it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” Kripalu p... posted on Oct 17 2018 (22,778 reads)

How to Create a More Caring World, by Tsering Gellek
following excerpt by Tsering Gellek is from Tarthang Tulku's new book 'Caring' (Dharma Publishing, 2018).  To care is to really understand that we are in a very concerning situation. As the individual in modern society moves through various spheres of life, from home, to school, to work, to perhaps hospitals and eventually death, she often has less and less support from the people around her. When I imagine earlier times, I think there was a deeper sense of care from family, friends and neighbors, from our religious or sacred communities, from the towns and villages we lived in. This atmosphere of care, of embeddedness, of being inter woven ... posted on Nov 1 2018 (9,551 reads)

A Small Dark Light: Le Guin on the Legacy of the Tao Te Ching, by Maria Popova
and a half millennia ago, the Chinese sage Lao Tzu wrote a poetic and profound short text known as the Tao Te Ching. With uncommon elegance, it crystallized the teachings of Taoist philosophy on such perennial matters as power, happiness, and the source of meaning in human life. As its wisdom radiated West over the centuries, it went on to influence minds as varied as John Cage (who wove it into his pioneering musical aesthetic), Franz Kafka (who considered it the clearest view of reality), Bruce Lee (who anchored his famous metaphor for resilience in it), Alan Watts (who placed it at the center of his philosophy), and Leo Tolstoy (who leaned on it in his pr... posted on Mar 10 2019 (7,057 reads)

George's Best Friend: A Christmas Story, by DotMatrix
mother was a single mom, and I was her only child. We lived in the ’60s in the city in a tiny apartment. My Aunt Rose and cousins lived next-door. Every December my mom spread the word to anyone alone on Christmas Eve that she would be having an open house. My mom believed that no one should be alone during the holidays. If she could, she probably would have put an ad in the paper inviting the world. As it was, our tiny apartment was stuffed, every room but my bedroom filled with partying adults on Christmas Eve. Sleep was impossible, but I tried to fall asleep anyway because Santa would not leave gifts for little girls who were awake (so I was told). As I lay in bed, I wondered ... posted on Dec 25 2022 (19,190 reads)

Guarding the Tongue: The Importance of Right Speech, by MIrka Knaster
few years ago, I went through an estrangement with a close friend because of the words I used to refer to her partner's behavior. Although he did not hear what she and I said in our phone conversation, by "chance" he saw my e-mail that followed it. I meant no harm. I thought I was being supportive of my friend. But it was careless speech on my part, and it has cost me dearly. The painful repercussions of my experience awoke me to a simple fact. While I had been careful in watching the movement of breath in meditation, I had not been as attentive in watching the words coming out of my mouth. I'd neglected an essential aspect of spiritual practice--"guarding the tongu... posted on Mar 16 2020 (9,127 reads)

The Age of Overwhelm, by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
van Dernoot Lipsky is the founding director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of the best-selling Trauma Stewardship. A pioneer in the field of trauma exposure and an activist for social and economic justice, she has worked with communities around the world for more than three decades. Her TED Talk was one of the first to be delivered inside a women’s correctional facility. When our beloved dog had cancer, we did all we could to help him be comfortable toward the end of his life. Because Rottweilers are so strong, they require a lot of pain medication, so we y had to give him what seemed like horse tranquilizers. While we were all caring for him, my daug... posted on Apr 2 2019 (7,622 reads)

The Joy of Motion, by Mary Webb
Webb, an English writer of the early 20th century was an acute observer of nature and its multi-dimensional splendor. Diagnosed with Graves’ disease at the age of 20, Webb soon discovered that nature played a powerful role in her periods of recovery. The Spring of Joy compiles a series of essays on nature, penned by Webb with the aim of bringing comfort to ‘the weary and wounded in the battle of life.’ They are a testament to Webb's capacity to bear witness to the record of nature and to draw nourishment from it in a way that continues to benefit readers far beyond her lifetime. The following is an excerpt from The Spring of Joy: A Little Book of Hea... posted on Apr 10 2019 (6,030 reads)

Green Renaissance, by The Gratefulness Team
in our feature “Grateful Changemakers,” we celebrate programs and projects that serve as beacons of gratefulness. These efforts elevate the values of grateful living and illuminate their potential to transform both individuals and communities. Join us in appreciating the inspiring and catalyzing contribution these Changemakers offer to shaping a more grateful world. Green Renaissance Justine of Green Renaissance. The creative project of a couple from South Africa, Green Renaissance works to spread positive stories that reflect the wonder of the world. With the goal of sharing ideas and inspiring change, Green Renaissance produces gorgeous short films that are po... posted on Sep 17 2019 (11,833 reads)

The Challenge of Relationships, by John J. Prendergast
tend to be the most challenging arena for spiritually-oriented people. We may be fine reading our spiritual books and being on retreat but what happens when we deal with a friend, partner, or family member with whom we are in conflict? Inner peace can fly out the window in the blink of an eye followed by days of inner turmoil. As a result, we may want to avoid the messy business of relationships and hole up in a monastery for awhile. We can approach human relationships as a catalyst rather than an obstacle to spiritual growth. Relationships are where the rubber hits the road, where residues of the separate-inside-self, large or small, get exposed and worked through. It is th... posted on Jul 4 2020 (6,517 reads)

Dial Up the Magic of This Moment, by Maria Popova
people have stood at the gates of hope — through world wars and environmental crises and personal loss — with more dignity, wisdom, and optimism than Joanna Macy during her six decades as a Buddhist scholar, environmental activist, and pioneering philosopher of ecology. Macy is also the world’s greatest translator-enchantress of Rainer Maria Rilke, in whose poetry she found refuge upon the sudden and devastating death of the love of her life after fifty-six years of marriage. Indeed, our mortality, as well as our quintessential resistance to it, is a subject Rilke unravels frequently and with deeply comforting insight in Macy’s&nbs... posted on Sep 1 2020 (6,458 reads)

Brian Conroy: The Art of Storytelling, by Brian Conroy
Stones: Buddhist Parables is the culmination of nearly twenty-five years of reading, writing and telling Buddhist stories. The initial impetus for collecting these stories came in the autumn of 1997 when longtime Buddhist monk, Reverend Heng Sure, asked me to teach a storytelling class at the newly opened Berkeley Buddhist Monastery. An outstanding storyteller himself, Reverend Sure has for decades utilized stories to enliven his Dharma lectures. Knowing that I was a professional storyteller, he urged me to dig deep into the trove of Buddhist tales and restore them to a living, oral tradition where they belong.  Two months later, I began teaching a weekly clas... posted on Sep 3 2020 (4,938 reads)