The Dinner Party: Breaking Bread, Healing Hearts
When Lennon Flowers' mom passed away from lung cancer during her senior year in college, Lennon kept herself busy to avoid dealing with the pain which eventually hit her a year later, making her feel shameful and alone. A turning point came when Lennon met Carla Fernandez who had just lost her father. The friends decided to organize a dinner party for five women who had lost a parent at a young ... posted on Feb 09 2015, 11,738 reads

Awakening The Wisdom Of The Heart
What does it mean to live from the heart? According to Dena Merriam, founding member of the Contemplative Alliance, it means living with a fuller appreciation of what it means to be a human being on this earth. The wisdom of the heart shows us our connection to the whole. If we move from a consciousness of just thinking about ourselves first, to one of the well-being of the whole, things will evol... posted on Feb 08 2015, 5,469 reads

The New Farmers
With an environment in crisis, a new generation of young farmers is taking their action from the streets back to the soil. In this article from Orion Magazine, writer Lauren Markham explores the motivations that have driven this newest generation of farmers to relinquish the comforts of urban life, and to take the reins of a new farming movement.... posted on Feb 07 2015, 8,247 reads

The Gifts of Hibernation
"So hibernation is a threefold time. It is a time for retreat and replenishment... a time for our wordless philosophy to finally be born...a time for our hidden destiny to whisper in our heart, You're not forgotten. I'm still here. We're in this together." For all of us who feel swept up in the buzz of achieving rather than being, Andreana A. Lefton's sincere reflection on rest and integration is ... posted on Feb 06 2015, 26,377 reads

Why Happiness Is The Wrong Pursuit
"On some abstract level, we know that money and other outward signs of success won't ultimately make us happy -- perhaps because we know wealthy or famous or powerful people who are deeply unhappy -- but on another level, we don't really believe it ... or at least we don't believe it applies to us. Why do we experience such a disconnect between what we know to be true in the abstract and what we b... posted on Feb 05 2015, 36,640 reads

Using Brain Science To Transform Schools
After Sept 11th 2001, child trauma psychiatrist Pamela Cantor was hired to assess the emotional impact of the attacks on New York school children. What she discovered surprised her. "From lower Manhattan to the Bronx, most of the children I met were traumatized less by what they had witnessed that terrifying morning than by the experience of growing up in poverty," says Pamela. She found that "one... posted on Feb 04 2015, 38,346 reads

Lee Hoinacki: Conscience & Courage
Lee Hoinacki, author of four books, ex-Dominican priest, scholar and deeply connected with Ivan Illich, was a remarkable man. One example: having left academia to become a subsistence farmer he found he needed money to help his daughter. He began looking for a job, "Then it hit me, why am I trying to get one of these respectable jobs? That's the worst thing I could do! That's what I left years ago... posted on Feb 03 2015, 17,104 reads

34 Affirmations For Healthy Living
"When day-to-day life seems to revolve around providing for others, we can forget to nourish our own bodies and spirits. And yet, self-care is what empowers us to give back to the world, fully and joyfully. Start your practice by taking just a few moments each day to affirm your commitment to eat well and live a healthful life." Read on for a selection of inspiring everyday affirmations.... posted on Feb 02 2015, 69,137 reads

Wendell Berry on Solitude And Creativity's Enemies
Wendell Berry's remarkable work, What Are Humans For?, is filled with philosophical insights for the would be artist in us all. Here, Maria Popova of Brainpickings extracts some of the most poignant and moving moments from his piece, interweaving them with thoughts from Thoreau and psychoanalyst Adam Phillips.... posted on Feb 01 2015, 27,479 reads

Photographing Horses To Save Their Lives
They are the symbol of the American West -- strong, resolute, assured. And yet, nearly 150,000 wild horses are sent to slaughter each year in the U.S. Though, The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 was intended to protect them, an increase in cattle interests has caused their allocated territory to diminish. Until recently, their plight has gone largely unnoticed. But, thanks to t... posted on Jan 31 2015, 8,051 reads