Tools Of Our Tools: The Role Of Technology In Our Lives
These days, we function in many ways as the "tools of our tools" -- beings bound to our devices and technology. "But even as our ancestors developed tools over time to leverage their muscles, senses and brains, they also developed tools to leverage their soul, or psyche, so as to be composed within themselves, and thus try to establish just and civil societies." Here Tom Mahon shares his thoughts ... posted on Aug 04 2014, 24,438 reads

Dreaming of a Peaceful World
Although much of the world continues to view nonviolence as a passive and largely ineffectual tactic, peacefulness has indeed been used as a tool for change since before the time of Christ all the way up until the present. In his latest book, “The Nonviolence Handbook”, author Michael Nagler explains how to use the practice of nonviolence for the sake of progress and challenging injust... posted on Aug 03 2014, 211,923 reads

The Courage to Master Fundamentals
What began as a simple training day at the gym, soon became an observation for a courageous new way of living. Mastering the fundamentals may be difficult, but, it allows us the opportunity to engage whole-hardheartedly in the real work at hand -- without getting too lost in the details. "When you eliminate everything that is unnecessary," offers writer, James Clear, "there are no details to hide ... posted on Aug 02 2014, 26,192 reads

A Safe Haven In Nepal
2010 CNN Hero of the Year, Anuradha Koirala, started Maiti Nepal (roughly translated to "mother's home") to protect Nepali women and girls from crimes such as domestic violence, trafficking, prostitution, child labor, and other forms of exploitation and torture. Since 1993, Maiti Nepal has helped rescue and rehabilitate more than 12,000 women and girls, providing a safe place for them to recover a... posted on Aug 01 2014, 2,668 reads

The 6 Essential Conditions of Creativity
“Surprise is not easily defined. It is the unexpected that strikes one with wonder or astonishment. What is curious about effective surprise is that it need not be rare or infrequent or bizarre and is often none of these things. Effective surprises … seem rather to have the quality of obviousness about them when they occur, producing a shock of recognition following which there is no l... posted on Jul 31 2014, 21,200 reads

Power of Place: Photos From Around the World
Steve Mccury captures the beauty and uniqueness of different places that the human family calls home from around the planet. His photos bring to light that our environments play a role in shaping our perceptions about what it means to be human--from our relationship to the weather to our relationship to the soul. ... posted on Jul 30 2014, 21,153 reads

Look With Your Heart: Lessons From My Grandmother
Mia Tagano visits her 94 year old grandmother -- who now has dementia -- and discovers a whole new, less verbal, way of communicating her love through heart, hands and hugs. To her surprise, when she brings this approach to her grandmother's roommate who has suffered a stroke, it radically transforms their communication and opens up both women profoundly. This heart-warming story shares more...... posted on Jul 29 2014, 0 reads

The Lost Voice of A Generation
None of us can know the span of our life. Some of us will live a long life and die in old age; others leave much sooner. No, the meaning of life is not how long we live, it's about the fact that we lived at all, and that we touch the lives of others by living. Poet Marina Keegan may have died young, and tragically, but she had found her voice, and expressed it through poetry that touched the lives... posted on Jul 28 2014, 25,450 reads

Calling Out The Delusions Of A Techno-Industrial Society
Stories about the human colonization of other worlds were popular in the 1950s, with a promise of material abundance, and much of the population of the Western world excited about the possibilities offered by new technologies and a beneficial, authoritative science. That humans could extend their reach to other worlds seemed inevitable progress. Today, the popular faith in science and technology h... posted on Jul 27 2014, 14,090 reads

Letters To A Young Artist
As artists and change makers, how can character be cultivated in such a way as to foster that prized form of personal dignity, along with its sibling qualities of confidence and self-esteem? Maria Popova gives us a quick overview of Letters to a Young Artist, a book by celebrated artist, actor, playwright, and educator Anna Deavere Smith, which aims to answer these questions and more.... posted on Jul 26 2014, 11,715 reads