Unlikely Mechanic Gives the Needy a Lift
Take a moment to reflect on the pivotal role cars play in many of our lives. They get us to and from work, they get us to the grocery store, to our doctor's appointments and so much more. Now imagine what a car breakdown means to someone who can't quite afford to pay for the high cost of repairs. The domino effect can be devastating. And that's where the heroic story of Cathy Heying begins.... posted on Jul 12 2015, 5,837 reads

Do We See Reality As It Is?
Thomas Huxley once proclaimed that the fact that human consciousness results from something as mundane as irritating nervous tissue is as mysterious as the fact that a genie appears after Aladdin rubs his lamp. Professor of Cognitive Science, Donald Hoffman, believes that we have been unable to understand the mystery of consciousness not because we are incapable of comprehending it, but because we... posted on Jul 11 2015, 27,866 reads

Pico Iyer on Bringing Calm Into the Motion of the World
"Pico Iyer is not a spiritual teacher or even, he says, a spiritual person per se. But he has become one of our most beloved and eloquent translators of the modern rediscovery of inner life. As a journalist and novelist, he travels the globe from Ethiopia to North Korea, and he lives in Japan. But he also experiences a remote Benedictine hermitage as his second home, retreating there many times ea... posted on Jul 10 2015, 19,960 reads

Can Compassion Change the World?
In this year of his 80th birthday, the Dalai Lama has collaborated with psychologist and bestselling "Emotional Intelligence" author Daniel Goleman to issue a call to action for creating a more compassionate world. To write "A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World," Daniel Goleman synthesized cutting-edge research from places like Stanford, Emory, and the University of Wisconsin to... posted on Jul 09 2015, 20,151 reads

The Top 10 Happiest Countries
"Everyone wants to be happy, and increasingly, countries around the world are looking at happiness as an indicator of national well-being and considering happiness in policy making. As this year's World Happiness Report states, "Happiness is increasingly considered a proper measure of social progress and a goal of public policy." But what makes people happy, and which countries have the highest le... posted on Jul 08 2015, 69,826 reads

The Radical Power of Humility
"Today I'd like to surface an unpopular virtue. One that's fallen out of favor in a time of selfies and relentless status updates..." In this recent keynote that took his audience by storm, the founder of ServiceSpace makes a compelling case for -- humility. Rich with insight and studded with stories of unassuming heroes ranging from Nelson Mandela to unknown janitors, pilgrim monks and revolutio... posted on Jul 07 2015, 116,197 reads

Lunchbox Letters: A Mom's Handwritten Advice To Her Daughter
What started as a small gesture nearly 11 years ago for guilt-ridden Mom, Stephanie Gould, has quickly become a viral sensation. "I don't necessarily think any of the advice was groundbreaking" shared daughter, Skylar. "I think just because it was coming from someone so close to you, you believe it more." She is referring to the hand-penned notes her mother tucked lovingly into her school lunchbox... posted on Jul 06 2015, 25,920 reads

One Hundred Thank Yous
For a year and a half, artist Lori Portka painted her gratitude through individual pieces of art for 100 people who have made a difference in her life. In her effort to truly live a life of gratitude, Lori learned that gratitude grows, and grows, and grows. "The more that I focused on gratitude, the more I was grateful for." This beautiful film captures Lori's motivation and some of the reactions ... posted on Jul 05 2015, 5,331 reads

Jacob Needleman on Money and the Meaning of Life
How do we bridge the inner realm of spirit with the outer world of material? Writer and philosopher Jerry Needleman has been pondering this question (and many others) for years. Here in a fascinating dialogue he shares his perspectives on "Money and the Meaning of Life."... posted on Jul 04 2015, 6,463 reads

Building a Reading Revolution
As more and more people obsessively stare into their smart phones and tablets, the world seemingly grows a little more disconnected. But the folks at The Reader Organization, an award-winning charity and social enterprise, have gone about reversing that trend by offering to get people together to simply read aloud to each other. The benefits of this straightforward exercise are quite evident: impr... posted on Jul 03 2015, 9,966 reads