Two Tragic Moments & One Boy's Compassion
Nearly a decade ago Eddie Canales was watching his son's football game. Chris Canales, a high school senior, had three offers to play college football, and that night, he was having the game of his life. With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, he made a touchdown-saving tackle. But something went wrong. "I could hear my teammates saying, 'Chris, come on, let's go,' " Chris, now 26, remembere... posted on Apr 05 2012, 8,201 reads

Advice as an Art Form
Advice is subjective. But, by passing on advice in a creative way, it is possible to create something that lasts, that people will want to live with and which can let the advice sink in slowly and help out later on. That's precisely the premise of "Advice to Sink in Slowly," a wonderful project enlisting design graduates in passing on advice and inspiration to first-year students through an ongoin... posted on Apr 04 2012, 7,774 reads

How to Make Life a Conscious Practice
When we learn a martial art, or ballet, or gymnastics, or soccer ... we consciously practice movements in a deliberate way, repeatedly. By conscious, repeated practice, we become good at those movements. Our entire lives are like this, but we're often less conscious of the practice. Each day, we repeat movements, thought patterns, ways of interacting with others ... What if we practiced consciousl... posted on Apr 03 2012, 32,188 reads

Seeing in the Dark
A visually stunning ode to time, music, and the stars, Timothy Ferris' film "Seeing in the Dark" celebrates the wonders of stargazing -- from kids learning the constellations to amateur astronomers doing professional-grade research in discovering planets and exploding stars. Here, Ferris reflects on the PBS film, which features never-before seen astronomical photography and special effects. "Our a... posted on Apr 02 2012, 7,364 reads

A Nobel Prize View: Thinking, Fast & Slow
In 2002, Daniel Kahneman won a Nobel Prize in economics -- but he isn't an economist. Kahneman's field is the psychology of decision-making, and that's the topic of his new book, "Thinking, Fast and Slow." Kahneman tells NPR's Robert Siegel about the two systems that make up what he calls "the machinery of the mind:" System 1 -- or fast -- and System 2 -- or slow -- thinking. "We have a very narro... posted on Apr 01 2012, 6,752 reads

The Language of Love
"Love is a funny thing. As the saying goes, we often find love when we least expect, but it might be equally true that when we do find love it's different than we expected. This beautiful short film was created to raise awareness and money for a good cause, which it did. But it has gone so much further in showing us what love looks like, and how we can connect with each other when we have the cour... posted on Mar 31 2012, 10,284 reads

13-Year Old Gymnast: Fearless ...& Legally Blind
Most athletes have the benefit of seeing what's ahead of them -- an opponent, the bars, a vault. But for 13-year-old Lola Walters, she usually has no idea what's coming until she's literally five feet away from it. Walters, a Washington resident, is legally blind, and suffers from a disease called nystagmus which causes her eyes to shift constantly, leaving her with double vision and no depth perc... posted on Mar 30 2012, 19,522 reads

The Importance of Imagination
"While growing up, I'd never really considered how important it is to be imaginative. It's a childhood profession, you could say. It comes naturally. Then we hit an age when we're presented with a scantron of bubble-in options, a template for a CV that we need to create, and Excel. At that point, our learning has to fit into certain parameters: within that little bubble, within the one page limit... posted on Mar 29 2012, 83,827 reads

Five Poverty-fighting Women to Watch
Across the globe, women are taking on the challenge of poverty in creative, smart and sustainable ways. This article highlights five dynamic women whose work collectively spans Haiti, India, Afghanistan, Kenya and beyond. Their uplifting and diverse contributions seem poised to reach new heights in the coming year. Learn more about them and how to keep up with their journeys here.... posted on Mar 28 2012, 17,045 reads

An Indomitable Healing Spirit
For the past two years, James O'Dea has synthesized his remarkable life experience into what he calls "social healing". A former Director of Amnesty International's Washington, DC office and President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, O'Dea's journey has taken him through both the depths of human suffering -- and it's transcendence. Along the way he has been wrestling with profound questions: W... posted on Mar 27 2012, 24,166 reads