How To Be More Than A Mindful Consumer
"Today we're so steeped in consumer culture that we head to the mall even when our houses and garages are full. We suffer angst over the adequacy of our belongings and amass crushing credit card debt to, as the author Dave Ramsey says, buy things we don't need with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like..." Annie Leonard, the creator of Story of Stuff drives home an idea with true r... posted on Sep 28 2013, 31,216 reads

Seth Godin: On the Art of Noticing & Creating
Seth Godin is an internet thought leader, entrepreneur and founder of several internet companies. In this candid interview, he discusses the advantages of failure and how the internet revolution has flipped the art of business on its head: "You will never have better ratings than the Jersey Shore. That's not what the point is. It's not why we do our work. What works is does it matter? And is it po... posted on Sep 27 2013, 28,907 reads

5 Ways to Develop Ecoliteracy
A growing number of educators emphasize the need to foster learning that prepares youth for the ecological challenges facing our planet. While social and emotional intelligence extend students' abilities to see from another's perspective, empathize, and show concern, "ecoliteracy" applies these abilities to an understanding of natural systems and an empathy for all of life. This thoughtful article... posted on Sep 26 2013, 30,545 reads

Unlocking the Mysteries of Time
"We construct the experience of time in our minds, so it follows that we are able to change the elements we find troubling -- whether it's trying to stop the years racing past, or speeding up time when we're stuck in a queue, trying to live more in the present, or working out how long ago we last saw our old friends. Time can be a friend, but it can also be an enemy. The trick is to harness it, wh... posted on Sep 25 2013, 0 reads

Confessions of a Late Bloomer
In this important article, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman asks us to reconsider how we evaluate an individual's potential. We tend to "conceptualize ability as a static property, something hard-wired into the brain by genes that are prepackaged and already activated at birth." And if someone does not display that hard-wired ability early on, we dismiss him or her as un-gifted and less likely to ... posted on Sep 24 2013, 36,502 reads

A Delicious Revolution
"Until we see how we feed ourselves as just as important--and maybe more important than--all the other activities of mankind, there is going to be a huge hole in our consciousness. If we don't care about food, then the environment will always be something outside of ourselves. And yet the environment can be something that actually affects you in the most intimate -- and literally visceral -- way. ... posted on Sep 23 2013, 25,365 reads

The Idea of A Local Economy
In a total economy everything has a price and is for sale. Sometimes critical choices that once belonged to individuals or communities become the property of corporations. This can lead to the disintegration of communities, households, landscapes, and ecosystems. Aware of this, nation leaders developed the means of limiting and restraining such concentrations. But now all of these means are arguab... posted on Sep 22 2013, 7,387 reads

A Final and Lovely Collaboration
Beloved children's author Ruth Krauss penned more than thirty books for little ones over the course of her forty-year career, but remains best-known as half of one of the most celebrated author-illustrator duos of all time, the other half being none other than Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are. Here are some of their choicest bits of childlike wit and helpful advice for adults o... posted on Sep 21 2013, 35,548 reads

Relationships Are More Important than Ambition
Are you an ambitious person? How would you say you measure success in your life? In a society that so often defines worth in terms of material possessions, prestige and money, it can be easy to lose sight of the value that resides in our interpersonal connections and community. Click here to read a variety of studies and stories that illustrate how strong community connections correlate more close... posted on Sep 20 2013, 26,140 reads

Inside the Mind of the Octopus
Recent research indicates that the octopus, while "only" an invertebrate, is remarkably intelligent. This author ventures to visit with and study one. He quotes Philosopher Godfrey-Smith, "It's remarkable how little we know (about octopuses) ... but we may have to change how we think about the nature of the mind itself to take into account minds with less of a centralized self." Learn more about t... posted on Sep 19 2013, 8,747 reads