Fleeing the mouth of a shark | Bill Dienst on the refugee crisis, by The MOON Magazine
Dienst, MD, is a rural family and emergency room physician from north central Washington who has been volunteering for humanitarian medical missions since 1982, when he was a young man in medical school. His first experience profoundly changed his life and he was “hooked,” he says, volunteering repeatedly for medical exchange programs in Veracruz, Mexico, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Most recently he served as the medical coordinator for Salaam Cultural Museum (SCM), a Seattle-based nonprofit conducting humanitarian and medical relief work with refugee populations in Jordan, Lebanon and Greece. After volunteering among Syrian refugees in Greece, Dienst and his fell... posted on Jan 6 2018 (9,448 reads)

Tending to Your Inner Weeds, by Alanda Greene
GREENE shares her experiences of weeding her garden and her inner garden of tendencies and character traits, and makes peace with herself in the process. It’s late spring – the time of year when garden growth is prolific, determined, persistent.  Sometimes overwhelming. Especially the weeds. They require attention that is also determined and persistent, but in spite of my efforts there are always weeds that escape my notice and grow too big, too much. Removing them now causes disturbance or harm to the other plants. The behavior of weeds is no different from that of humans and other creatures. The weeds want to survive and have evolved ways to ... posted on Sep 20 2017 (20,961 reads)

Training Our Trains of Thought, by Kristi Nelson
mental and emotional patterns can teach us a lot about developing positive patterns, if we approach our tendencies mindfully, compassionately, and with gratefulness. I used to be a person who, though unusually optimistic and resilient in many ways, could often be prone to a negative train of thought I now playfully refer to as “awful-izing.” I have also heard this propensity called “catastrophizing.” Regardless, once aboard this train, it can take you a long way down some dark tracks before you realize you are not at all where you hoped or intended to be. The distinguishing qualities of a negative train of thought would be somewhat as follows: Somet... posted on Nov 24 2017 (19,390 reads)

Frank Ostaseski: Lessons to the Living from the Dying, by Awakin Call Editors
is much more than a medical event. It is a time for important psychological, emotional and spiritual work – a time for transition. To a large extent, the way we meet death is shaped by our habitual response to suffering, and our relationship to ourselves, to those we love, and to whatever image of ultimate kindness we hold.” - Frank Ostaseski Frank Ostaseski is a Buddhist teacher, international lecturer and a leading voice in contemplative end-of-life care.  He is the Guiding Teacher and visionary Founding Director of Zen Hospice Project, the first Buddhist hospice in America, in San Francisco, and also author of  The Five In... posted on Jan 26 2018 (31,899 reads)

What Future Does Man Have?, by David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti
Krishnamurti: J. Krishnamurti in dialogue First Conversation With David Bohm at Brockwood Park, 11 June 1983 J.Krishnamurti: I thought we were going to talk about the future of man. Dr .David Bohm: Yes. JK: I mean, really, when we talk about man, we're talking about humanity. DB: The whole of mankind. JK: Whole of mankind, not the British or the French or the Russian or the American, but the whole of human beings. DB: The future is all inter linked anyway. JK: As things are, apart from what one observes the world has become tremendously dangerous. DB: Yes. JK: Te... posted on Dec 29 2017 (15,578 reads)

Awakening Through Writing, by Tami Simon
listening to Insights at the Edge. Today my guest is Albert Flynn DeSilver. Albert is an internationally published poet, memoirist, novelist, speaker, and workshop leader. He served as Marin County's first Poet Laureate from 2008 to 2010. His work has appeared in more than a hundred literary journals worldwide. He's the author of the books Beamish Boy: A Memoir, Letters to Early Street, and Walking Tooth and Cloud. With Sounds True, Albert Flynn DeSilver has written a new book called Writing as a Path to Awakening: A Year to Becoming an Excellent Writer and Living an Awakened Life, where he invites the reader on a year-long journey of growth and... posted on Sep 20 2018 (10,942 reads)

Who Do You Choose to Be? An Invitation to the Nobility of Leadership, by Margaret Wheatley
Do You Choose to Be? An Invitation to the Nobility of Leadership Margaret Wheatley  in Leader to Leader Magazine © June 2017 Several years ago, in the face of irreversible global problems and the devolution of leadership, I began to challenge every leader I met with these questions: Who do you choose to be for this time? Are you willing to use whatever power and influence you have to create islands of sanity that evoke and rely on our best human qualities to create, relate, and persevere? Will you consciously and bravely choose to reclaim leadership as a noble profession, one that creates possibility and humaneness in the midst of increasing fear and turmoil? We live i... posted on Dec 8 2017 (23,998 reads)

In the Beginning Was Love, by Richard Whittaker
Robert Lax—A Conversation with Steve Georgiou May 11, 2017   My introduction to S. T. Georgiou came via his most recent book: In the Beginning Was Love—Contemplative Words of Robert Lax. The name rang a bell. It was buried in memory, but wrapped in an aura and connected with Thomas Merton. I'd never followed up on Lax and had forgotten about him long ago. So it was surprising to find myself suddenly alert in front of that name.      The book had arrived with Georgiou's handwritten note. Perhaps I'd take an interest. It happened that I was headed for a getaway. Perfect. In addition to the beauty of the northern Oregon coast, ... posted on Nov 17 2017 (14,447 reads)

Five Habits of the Heart, by Parker Palmer
of the heart” (a phrase coined by Alexis de Tocqueville) are deeply ingrained ways of seeing, being, and responding to life that involve our minds, our emotions, our self-images, our concepts of meaning and purpose. I believe that these five interlocked habits are critical to sustaining a society. 1. An understanding that we are all in this together. Biologists, ecologists, economists, ethicists and leaders of the great wisdom traditions have all given voice to this theme. Despite our illusions of individualism and national superiority, we humans are a profoundly interconnected species—entwined with one another and with all forms of life, as the global econo... posted on Jan 2 2018 (23,225 reads)

Godfrey Reggio: A Call for Another Way of Living, by Richard Whittaker
Friday morning I happened to tune in to KQED’s morning program Forum where an interview with Phillip Glass and Godfrey Reggio was underway. They were in town for a weekend showing at Davies Symphony Hall of Reggio’s Qatsi Trilogy: Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi. Phillip Glass, along with his ensemble, would be performing the music he had composed for the films.  Koyaanisqatsi left a deep impression on me when I’d first seen it in 1983, as did Powaqqatsi, which came out five years later. This full-length, commercial film consists entirely of a stream of images accompanied by music and was revolutionary at the... posted on Oct 25 2017 (11,566 reads)

The Powerful Stories that Shaped Africa, by Gus Casely-Hayford
the vast sweep of history, even an empire can be forgotten. In this wide-ranging talk, Gus Casely-Hayford shares origin stories of Africa that are too often unwritten, lost, unshared. Travel to Great Zimbabwe, the ancient city whose mysterious origins and advanced architecture continue to confound archeologists. Or to the age of Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire whose vast wealth built the legendary libraries of Timbuktu. And consider which other history lessons we might unwittingly overlook. Now, Hegel -- he very famously said that Africa was a place without history, without past, without narrative.Yet, I'd argue that no other continent has nurtured, has fough... posted on Jan 28 2018 (10,091 reads)

The Empty Promise of Productivity and the Art of Slowing Down, by Emily Rose Barr
is more to life than increasing its speed. – Mahatma Gandhi It’s the status symbol no one talks about, woven into our work, play, homes, and family lives. It takes up space on our calendars, to-do lists, and endless roster of appointments and meetings. It can leave us exhausted or invigorated, constantly tugging at our drive to do more, give back, and leave our mark. It can be a source of increased stress and frequent complaints one minute, and unbridled joy the next. Busyness is the new currency by which we measure our success, our fulfillment, and ultimately, the richness of our lives. “In certain cultures, spending your time relaxing, spending your ti... posted on Dec 26 2017 (21,197 reads)

Literature's Legacy of Honorable Failure, by Zadie Smith
makes a good writer? Is writing an expression of self, or, as TS Eliot argued, 'an escape from personality'? Do novelists have a duty? Do readers? Why are there so few truly great novels? Zadie Smith on literature's legacy of honourable failure January 13, 2007: 1. The tale of Clive I want you to think of a young man called Clive. Clive is on a familiar literary mission: he wants to write the perfect novel. Clive has a lot going for him: he's intelligent and well read; he's made a study of contemporary fiction and can see clearly where his peers have gone wrong; he has read a good deal of rigorous literary theory - those elegant bluepri... posted on Mar 14 2018 (12,184 reads)

Paul Hawken: Solutions Man, by Livia Albeck-Ripka
Albeck-Ripka on Paul Hawken On May 3, 2009, Paul Hawken stood before the graduating class of the University of Portland. He’d been asked to deliver a commencement address that was “direct, naked, taut, honest, passionate, lean, shivering, startling and graceful.” No pressure, he joked to his audience. Rousing the spirits of a few hundred young people embarking on a century of climate change, terrorism and extinction was, he knew, no small feat. “You are graduating to the most amazing and stupefying challenge ever bequested to any generation,” he told them. When Paul was a young man, the world had other problems, many of which persist today: the w... posted on Apr 13 2018 (13,791 reads)

Taking an Empowered and Creative View Towards Technology, by Tami Simon
Simon: This program is brought to you by SoundsTrue.com. At SoundsTrue.com, you can find hundreds of downloadable audio learning programs, plus books, music, videos, and online courses and events. At SoundsTrue.com, we think of ourselves as a trusted partner on the spiritual journey, offering diverse, in-depth, and life-changing wisdom. SoundsTrue.com: many voices, one journey. You're listening to Insights at the Edge. Today, my guest is Tiffany Shlain. Tiffany is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, author, and public speaker. Regarded as an internet pioneer, Tiffany is the founder of the Webby Awards, and co-founder of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Scienc... posted on Aug 11 2018 (6,208 reads)

Nature is Medicine -- Even in a Prison Cell, by Nalini Nadkarni
“Moss-in-Prison” project helped me bring my love for trees and forest to men and women in the deepest windowless reaches of the prison system. “We learned that the inmates who viewed nature videos committed twenty-six percent fewer violent infractions than those who did not view them, a convincing result for the prison officers and administrators—and for ourselves.” Photo by Samuel Zeller/Unsplash When one is in love—especially with something as huge and beautiful and complex as trees—there is an urge to share this emotion with everyone, especially to those who have no opportunity to experience s... posted on Jul 2 2018 (11,348 reads)

Myron Eshowky: A Deeper Listening, by Awakin Call Editors
I was 6 years old, I began to go for an hour every day, before school had started, to work with a speech therapist who taught me to put my hand on her throat, and my throat, and then focus on matching her vibration as she would make a sound, because I had to learn how to talk. One of the things I noted right away was that when we matched vibration, I became really connected with her. It was a feeling of connection in my heart, a feeling of love that I would feel for her in those moments." Myron Eshowsky is a shamanic healer, mediator, consultant and author who was born with congenital severe hearing loss that he learnt to adapt into a skill for deep listening. He serves curre... posted on Oct 8 2018 (9,871 reads)

In the Business of Change , by Elisa Birnbaum
from: In the Business of Change: How Social Entrepreneurs are Disrupting Business as Usual (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2018, and is reprinted with permission from the publishers) Disruptive. Innovative. Creative. An increasing number of social entrepreneurs have come to realize that moving from ideation to success often requires going beyond the usual, the traditional, the expected. They need to shake   things up, turn ideas upside down and infuse their solutions to challenges with a creative twist, new technology and/or a bold rethink. Of course, innovation is not an approach unique to social entrepreneurs. It’s a popular tool for any entrepreneurs who... posted on Aug 10 2018 (7,899 reads)

How Seeing the Good in People Can Help Bridge our Differences, by Jill Suttie
USA Today poll revealed that many voters consider their political opponents to be hateful, stupid, or racist. What are the solutions? There are many, no doubt, but here’s one to consider: moral elevation. That’s the “warm, uplifting feeling that people experience when they see unexpected acts of human goodness, kindness, courage, or compassion,” according to psychologist Jonathan Haidt, now the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the NYU-Stern School of Business. Take, for example, the undocumented immigrant in Paris who saved a child dangling from a balcony. Or the boy who raised over a million d... posted on Aug 28 2018 (10,348 reads)

Sacred Imperfection, by Bonnie Rose
is the transcript of a talk that Rev. Bonnie Rose delivered at an Awakin Circle in the summer of 2018.] I think I am going to speak about 'Sacred Imperfection' today. I was sitting here meditating, thinking why did I pick something so hard?  It occurred to me that my whole life, particularly as a minister, there's been a lot of pressure to be a certain way my whole life. I've been trying to get it right and finally be perfect enough to be a really good minister. And what I've discovered in the last couple of years as I've grown more and meditated more deeply -- also through a lot of the values that I've practiced because of ... posted on Sep 4 2018 (8,819 reads)