Four Ways to Cool Down Your Defensiveness, by Daryl R. Van Tongeren
ago, when I had my first media interview about my research on humility, the interviewer was curious whether studying humility actually made me any humbler. She asked me to poll my wife, to see how humble she perceived me to be. When I solicited my ranking from one to 10, my wife gave me a four.  My embarrassment gave way to defensiveness. I was genuinely perplexed—why wasn’t I humble? I tried, counterproductively, to make a case for my humility by listing my humble attributes and actions (the irony is thick), but that initial defensiveness temporarily kept me from being able to use this feedback as a way to grow. I couldn’t see my own lack of humility. Even... posted on Sep 14 2022 (6,195 reads)

This Hunger for Holiness, by On Being
follows is the syndicated transcript of an On Being interview between Krista Tippett and Barbara Brown Taylor. You can listen to the audio version of the interview here. From Krista, about this week’s show: It’s fascinating to trace the arc of spiritual searching and religious belonging in my lifetime. The Episcopal priest and public theologian Barbara Brown Taylor was one of the people I started learning about when I left diplomacy to study theology in the early 1990s. At that time, she was leading a small church in Georgia. And she preached the most extraordinary sermons, and turned them into books read far and wide. Then in 2006, she wrote Leaving Church &... posted on Aug 26 2023 (4,350 reads)

Rebecca Solnit on How Disasters Can Move Us From a Sense of Self-Interest to a Sense of Community, by Mark Karlin
a post-literate age, Rebecca Solnit is a masterful essayist and author who writes with a style that is seductively brilliant. She can create a compelling commentary or book out of a wisp of an idea that others would summarily dismiss. Solnit, however, takes that sometimes contrarian thought and weaves together seemingly disparate evidence to make a persuasive, often lyrical, argument on its behalf. Except it is not really an argument - her writing is the opposite of shrill. Solnit is not a naïve optimist by any stretch of the imagination; she understands the dark side of the human species. But to be passive in the face of adversity is to hinder positive change. As Solnit wrote in ... posted on Jun 24 2013 (15,030 reads)

Growing Up the Internet, by On Being
follows is the audio and transcript of an interview between Krista Tippett and Tiffany Shlain, syndicated from www.onbeing.org MS. KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: Tiffany Shlain thinks of the internet when she thinks of her favorite quote of the naturalist John Muir, that “when you tug at a single thing in the universe, you find it’s attached to everything else.” She is an internet pioneer and a filmmaker committed to reframing technology as an expression of the best of what humanity is capable, with all the complexity that entails. She founded the Webby Awards — the “Oscars of the Internet” — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary thi... posted on Apr 11 2016 (10,380 reads)

James Doty: The Magic Shop of the Brain, by On Being
following is the audio and transcript of an onbeing.org interview between Krista Tippett and Dr. James Doty. DR. JAMES DOTY: Every time I’m in the position to open a person’s skull, it’s extraordinary in the sense that this is where we live. And what you see is these hills and valleys that are sort of pinkish, and you see blood vessels coursing over the surface. And there’s a membrane where fluid is, and it’s pulsating. And that pulsating is matching the rhythm of your heart. And to think that within that is who each of us is. MS. KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: Stanford brain surgeon James Doty is also a leading convener of research on compassion and altr... posted on Apr 17 2016 (31,910 reads)

Belonging Creates and Undoes Us Both, by On Being
TIPPETT, HOST: “Belonging creates and undoes us both.” This is the wisdom of Pádraig Ó Tuama, an extraordinary healer in our world of fracture. He leads the Corrymeela community of Northern Ireland, a place that has offered literal refuge and seeds of new life in and since the violent fracture that defined that country until the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. But Pádraig and Corrymeela extend a quiet, generative force far beyond their northern coast. They’ve learned what they know the hard way, yet they carry it with an infectious, calming joy. “Over cups of tea, and over the experience of bringing people together,” as Padraig d... posted on May 6 2017 (10,033 reads)

Innovation Means Relying on Everyone's Creativity, by Margaret Wheatley
Means Relying on Everyone's Creativity Leader to Leader, Spring 2001 Innovation has always been a primary challenge of leadership. Today we live in an era of such rapid change and evolution that leaders must work constantly to develop the capacity for continuous change and frequent adaptation, while ensuring that identity and values remain constant. They must recognize people's innate capacity to adapt and create-to innovate. In my own work I am always constantly and happily surprised by how impossible it is to extinguish the human spirit. People who had been given up for dead in their organizations, once conditions change and they ... posted on Feb 26 2018 (12,273 reads)

How Trauma & Resilience Cross Generations, by On Being
Being Studios · Rachel Yehuda — How Trauma and Resilience Cross Generations What follows is the syndicated transcript of an On Being interview between Krista Tippett and Rachel Yehuda. Krista Tippett: Genetics describes DNA sequencing, but the new field of epigenetics sees that genes can be turned on and off and expressed differently, through changes in environment and behavior. And Rachel Yehuda is a pioneer in understanding how the effects of stress and trauma can transmit biologically, beyond cataclysmic events, to the next generation. She’s studied the children of Holocaust survivors and the children of pregnant women who survived the 9/11 attacks. But her s... posted on Jul 25 2020 (6,903 reads)

Claire Dunn: Nature's Apprentice, by Sarah Rowley
Dunn leads the way, barefoot, down a winding track behind her house to the banks of Birrurung, or the Yarra river. As we sit on the dry grass in the late afternoon of a 40-degree day, the cicadas chirp and there’s a sense of ease despite the intense heat. The only giveaway that we are in Australia’s second largest city is the distant hum of traffic. As I talk with Claire in this little patch of nature, I start to sense how, as humans, we can also find our way back to the wilder parts within ourselves. The chatter of my domesticated mind begins to fade to a distant hum. Claire is a guide to the wilds inside and out, and her passion is nature-based human development. Sinc... posted on Mar 1 2021 (4,698 reads)

Speaking River, Speaking Rain, by M Yuvan
languages then just a collection of words, syntax, and semantics? I'd like to sometimes see them as seeds and sometimes as fields -- alive as the minds, tongues, throats, bodies and air they pass through; germinating, growing roots, bearing fruit, evolving like beings. But also holding space, expanding out like a unique land of perception. A non-physical geography hosting human and non-human drama. A living medium, a speech-scape." In this evocative piece, writer and teacher M. Yuvan layers anecdotes that shine a small, bright light on India's linguistic diversity and weaves in similar stories from around the world. What does it mean for the future of the human sp... posted on Mar 7 2021 (5,853 reads)

Finding the Mother Tree, by Emergence Magazine
so much knowledge there that we’ve ignored." In this in-depth interview, Dr. Suzanne Simard—the renowned scientist who discovered the “wood-wide web”—speaks about mother trees, kin recognition, and how to heal our separation from the living world. Transcript Emergence Magazine You’ve described your work as an exploration of how we can regain our respect ... posted on Aug 16 2021 (7,382 reads)

Aura Glaser: A Moment of Beauty, by Richard Whittaker
was thanks to Pavi Mehta that the three of us got together for the conversation that follows. The morning of the interview, and before we began recording, somehow - I think Pavi prompted me - I found myself telling Aura a little about meeting Tibetan Buddhist and research psychologist Lobsang Rapgay. There was a story there that Aura might find interesting and could help frame how we began our own conversation. So I was telling Aura that I'd heard a talk by him almost thirty years earlier. He'd used the term “aesthetic thought.” I didn’t understand what he meant. But because of other things he’d said about it, I’d never forgotten it and finally, ... posted on Oct 14 2021 (3,522 reads)

This Fantastic Argument of Being Alive, by On Being
follows is the syndicated transcript of an On Being interview between Krista Tippett and Padraig O Tuama. You can listen to the audio recording of the interview here. Transcription by Heather Wang  Krista Tippett, host:Pádraig Ó Tuama is a friend, teacher, and colleague, to me and the work of On Being. But before that was true, we took a revelatory trip to meet him at his home in Northern Ireland, a place that has known violent sectarianism and has evolved — not to perfection, and yet to new life and once unimaginable repair and relationship. Our whole world screams of fracture, more now than when I sat with Pádraig. Yet this conversation is... posted on May 18 2022 (3,351 reads)

Learning the Language of Plants, by Jessica J. Lee and Zoë Schlanger
celebration of their new plantcentric books, Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging and The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth, authors Jessica J. Lee and Zoë Schlanger sat down for ranging conversation about emerging science, plant intelligence, culture, memory, botanical belonging, and how our houseplants may influence our thinking. --------------------- Jessica J. Lee: Both of our books center on plants, but come at the topic from a specific angle. Why did plant intelligence capture your attention?  Zoë Schlanger: Plant intelligence is not an intuitive proposition. As humans we’re te... posted on May 22 2024 (1,784 reads)

Why Age Diversity Is a Strength at Work, by Marci Alboher
much of the news about the five-generational workplace focuses on conflict and misunderstanding—different expectations around work styles and feedback, power struggles between newer and more experienced colleagues, ageist stereotypes that limit opportunities for both young and old. All that is real, but there’s another side to the story. On the professional side, age-diverse workforces can lead to smarter teams, better work products, and two-way mentoring that increases learning all around. On the personal side, relationships with older and younger people can make us feel happier, more socially connected, and more satisfied with our jobs. They can, as I can attest to from my ... posted on Jun 18 2024 (2,318 reads)

Givers vs. Takers: The Surprising Truth about Who Gets Ahead, by Knowledge@Wharton
colleague asks you for feedback on a report. A LinkedIn connection requests an introduction to one of your key contacts. A recent graduate would like an informational interview. New research from Wharton management professor Adam Grant reveals that how you respond to these requests may be a decisive indicator of where you will end up on the ladder of professional success. Grant recently spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about his findings, which are explored in his new book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. In this interview, he delineates the differences between givers, takers and matchers; explores who gets ahead -- and who falls behind, and reveals how we ca... posted on Apr 24 2013 (46,869 reads)

A Shift to Humility: Resilience & Change, by Andrew Zolli
Tippett, host: Most of us were born into a twentieth century which aspired to solve every problem. That never succeeded, in part because it's just not the way life works, for individuals or societies, even at the best of times. You solve one problem and new ones emerge. Even sustainability implies a confidence that balance can finally be achieved. Andrew Zolli is thought leader and curator of a new idea, "resilience thinking," which is galvanizing scientists, governments, and social innovators. Resilience asks how to support people and create systems that know how to recover, persist, and even to thrive in the face of change. In our age, disruption is around ... posted on Dec 5 2013 (23,044 reads)

Reframing Our Relationship to That We Don't Control, by On Being
follows is the audio and transcript of an onbeing.org interview between Krista Tippett and Dr. B.J. Miller:   MS. KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: “Let death be what takes us,” Dr. B.J. Miller has written, “not a lack of imagination.” As a palliative care physician, he brings a design sensibility to the matter of living until we die. And he’s largely redesigned his own physical presence after an accident at college left him without both of his legs and part of one arm. B.J. Miller’s wisdom extends to how we can all reframe our relationship to our imperfect bodies and all that we don’t control. DR. BRUCE (B.J.) MILLER: There’s a big di... posted on Apr 4 2016 (26,142 reads)

The Mystery & Art of Living, by On Being
follows is the transcript of an interview between Pico Iyer and On Being's Krista Tippett MR. PICO IYER, GUEST HOST: This is On Being and I’m not Krista Tippett. I’m Mr. Pico Iyer. I’m a writer and a traveler and a former guest on this show and today I’m seeing if I can turn the tables a little by asking some questions of Krista Tippett. Krista is the author of Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. I spoke with her recently about her New York Times bestselling book at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Our conversation was so fun and so illuminating, we thought we might share it with a... posted on Jul 10 2016 (14,343 reads)

Choosing Curiosity Over Fear, by On Being
TIPPETT, HOST: Elizabeth Gilbert’s name is synonymous with her fantastically best-selling memoir Eat, Pray, Love. But she started out writing for publications by men and for men. Eat Pray Love was borne of a moment of total collapse in her life. And you can call it “chick lit” — but it’s inspired millions to move forward with their lives differently. Through the disorienting process of becoming a global celebrity, Elizabeth Gilbert has reflected deeply on the gift and challenge of creativity. She defines creativity — in life as in art — as choosing the path of curiosity over the path of fear. This has resonance for our co... posted on Sep 5 2016 (17,083 reads)