Rituals for Wastelands
"We shut ourselves away from wounded places, psychologically, emotionally, and communally, but there is a better way to heal ourselves and our world." As earth-bound beings, when we witness the destruction of the natural environment, we find the darker parts of our humanity staring back at us. How do we heal our relationship with the land and with ourselves when such destruction can be so difficul... posted on Aug 26 2013, 16,489 reads

6 Habits of Highly Empathic People
"If you think you're hearing the word 'empathy' everywhere, you're right. It's now on the lips of scientists and business leaders, education experts and political activists. But there is a vital question that few people ask: How can I expand my own empathic potential? Empathy is not just a way to extend the boundaries of your moral universe. According to new research, it's a habit we can cultivate... posted on Aug 25 2013, 229,289 reads

Building A Regret Free Life
Through her work, Bronnie Ware, author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, has found a powerful way to use gentleness, loving kindness and humor to help celebrate both the strength and vulnerability of life and living. In this delightful interview, Bronnie shares what she has learned while working in palliative care and how her meditation practice saved her life.... posted on Aug 24 2013, 25,418 reads

Rethinking the Bucket List
How would you live every day as if it were your last? Go skydiving? Attempt to ride a bull for 2.7 seconds? Kathleen Taylor has spent over 20 years as a counselor and community engagement facilitator for the dying and has found that in the last chapter of their lives, most people become their authentic selves. They become courageous - they change their minds, apologize, forgive... they find joy i... posted on Aug 23 2013, 9,239 reads

Teens Deliver 33,000 Burritos to the Homeless
In a world where the younger generation is pulled toward the newest gadgets and accumulating more of them, a father responded to his son's ambitious Christmas wish list with a simple act of service. In an attempt to have his son realize how much they already have and to feel gratitude for it, they made breakfast burritos and drove out to share them with the local homeless people on the street. T... posted on Aug 22 2013, 39,322 reads

Balancing the Brain Toward Joy
You might call her an "evangelist for a balanced brain": Twelve years ago, at the age of 37, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist and spokeswoman for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, had a stroke that traumatized her left hemisphere. After eight years of recovery, she recounts her experience of losing a former life and opening up to another of deep presence and laughter... posted on Aug 21 2013, 44,183 reads

The Poetry of Childhood
Richard Lewis shares the poetry of children to illustrate how their imagination creates an incandescent moment. Children are at ease with both the visible and invisible, what we know and don't know -- the pure sense of expectation and delight in the mystery of what is happening and about to happen, and they sometimes express it in poetry. Read some of their poems and join in their delight.... posted on Aug 20 2013, 12,422 reads

The Power of Enough
A beautiful reflection unfolds when this writer explores a simple Balinese tradition that points to the power of enough. With wisdom and eloquence she invites us to "to keep our desires and aspirations in proper proportion with our gratitude and good intentions" so that you "can experience a sense of ease between your wishes for what might be and your gratitude for the beauty of what is."... posted on Aug 19 2013, 34,284 reads

How 365 Thank You Notes Changed My Life
At just 52 years old, and after having lost nearly everything, John Kralik found himself in a desperate search --a search for just one thing for which he might feel thankful. His search led him to a walk along a mountain road, where his mind sifted through the details of all of his most recent troubles. It was then that John realized, that he should find gratitude for all that he had, instead of f... posted on Aug 18 2013, 99,278 reads

7 Billion Others
We share this planet with seven billion others. What is our relationship with them? Are we a single unity? Do we belong to one of many tribal divisions? Are we individuals in a planet full of individuality? There is, of course, no single answer to these fundamental questions. Our sense of identity and diversity depends on context. But the way we conceive of our place among the people of the world ... posted on Aug 17 2013, 3,555 reads