The Importance of Mindfulness In Children
While meditation practices are usually associated with adults, there is a growing movement focused on implementing mindfulness practices to optimize the health, well-being and happiness of children. From helping kids thrive in school, to being an effective intervention with autism, to even serving kids suffering from cancer and other serious health conditions, meditation is showing that it can hav... posted on Sep 21 2014, 46,653 reads

Margaret Wheatley: On Working With Human Goodness
"There is nothing equal to human creativity, caring and will. We can be incredibly generous, imaginative and open-hearted. We can do the impossible, learn and change quickly, and extend instant compassion to those in distress. And these are not behaviors we keep hidden. We exhibit them daily." When faced with everyday struggles, and more broadly, the weight of wars and human suffering, Margaret Wh... posted on Sep 20 2014, 29,874 reads

How We Think: John Dewey on the Art of Reflection
More than one hundred years ago, psychologist John Dewey wrote "How We Think," a book examining "what separates thinking, a basic human faculty we take for granted, from thinking well..." This article summarizes Dewey's findings, more salient than ever in our age of "snap judgments and instant opinions." ... posted on Sep 19 2014, 9,589 reads

Tom Carter's Epic Journey Through China
Tom Carter's wanderlust had taken him through the entire length of Mexico, Cuba, and Central America. To continue seeing the world, he decided to teach English in China. Working in this role for a few years non-stop allowed him to save up just enough to traverse the country. Equipped with a digital camera, listening ear, and no agenda, Carter unwittingly ended up creating the most comprehensive bo... posted on Sep 18 2014, 13,419 reads

35 Images of Kindness Within Conflict
This collection of photos showing everyday individuals standing for love in times of terrible violence will shake your spirit and open your heart. These acts of love suggest that "during times of conflict and political or religious civil unrest, the power of the human spirit's capacity for non-violent protest and kindness still shines through."... posted on Sep 17 2014, 98,371 reads

Elizabeth Gilbert On Big Magic
"Have you ever felt shivers on the back of your neck and goose bumps on your arms when you hear an idea that makes you want to follow it? Or felt as though something is laying a path for you? The sense that I have is that we live in a world that's constantly being swirled and encircled with ideas. Ideas are these non-embodied spirits that want nothing more than to be made manifest. And the only wa... posted on Sep 16 2014, 23,800 reads

Marina Keegan & The Opposite of Loneliness
Marina Keegan's posthumous writings are moving, sensible and funny. Her parents, with the help of her college professor, put them together to honor Keegan's loving, compassionate spirit after her tragic death. By doing so, they transformed their anger, sadness and grief into a force for positivity and forgiveness that will inspire you. ... posted on Sep 15 2014, 0 reads

Discipline With Dignity
Nelson Mandela's adage, "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends," captures the profoundly inclusive nature of restorative justice (RJ). The hallmark of RJ is intentionally bringing together people with seemingly diametrically opposed viewpoints -- particularly people who have harmed with people who have been harmed -- in a carefully prepared face-to-face encounter where everyone listens ... posted on Sep 14 2014, 28,271 reads

Rethinking the Placebo Effect
Maria Popova of BrainPickings draws on the latest research in health and social science for this powerful piece on "the startling psychological effects of loneliness, optimism, and meditation." Read on to learn about the powerful new findings on the placebo effect, and why the secret of happiness is to "find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it."... posted on Sep 13 2014, 27,057 reads

Creative Compulsive Disorder: Remembering Zina Nicole Lahr
With goggles resting on her head and peacock feathers folded into hair, Zina Lahr viewed herself as a canvas. Self-diagnosed with "creative compulsive disorder", Zina filmed a video to share her passion for mechanics and animatronics. She reveals some of her jaw-dropping artwork: a giant puppet spider she helped create for a movie, and a wired paper crane for stop-motion animation. Zina's artwork ... posted on Sep 12 2014, 4,917 reads