Quiet Justice: Teaching Mindfulness to Lawyers
"When I tell people that I teach a class in law and meditation at UC Berkeley's law school, I often hear snorts of disbelief," Charles Halpern laughs. But the class is no joke. It's part of a groundbreaking movement that has quietly been taking hold in the legal profession over the past two decades: a movement to bring mindfulness into the practice of law and legal education. To a career that tops... posted on Mar 31 2011, 12,779 reads

Japan's Unlikely Hero
They can be seen all over Japan. Springing up in shelters and cities. Molded in the hands of dedicated volunteers. Nourishing tired faces, the recipients both young and old biting into them with smiles on their face. One of the quiet heroes to emerge in this time of grave crisis in Japan is the humble little white ball of rice called onigiri or omusubi. Portable, substantial, and lasting surprisin... posted on Mar 30 2011, 3,595 reads

Students Debut Life-Saving Infant Warmer
A baby's small hands and dainty fingers have turned blue. Her body is shaking and she lets out a barely audible cry. Moved by stories like this, Jane Chen and her MBA classmates designed an innovative, low-cost baby wrap to prevent infant deaths caused by hypothermia, a common occurrence in developing countries. With the potential to reach millions of infants across the globe, Chen describes, "Whe... posted on Mar 29 2011, 3,283 reads

Thank You for Doing the Most Important Job
While sitting on the bus one day, I took a book out and was about to read. But I was distracted by a young woman behind me who was speaking on her cell phone. She was talking to her brother. She wanted to know where he was, why he wasn't where he was supposed to be, why he had lied to their mother again and did he know that their mum had broken down in tears that morning because of him. I never lo... posted on Mar 28 2011, 4,401 reads

A Couple's Weekly Gift
At the start of 2011, a couple resolved to pledge $52 to a different charity every week this year. Inspired by a website that challenges people to make public resolutions to do good, the anonymous duo made their first gift after receiving a fortuitous letter from a homeless shelter asking donors to consider providing 26 meals by giving $52.52. A teacher and a coach with three kids, the couple says... posted on Mar 27 2011, 1,811 reads

Go Easy on Yourself, New Research Says
Do you treat yourself as well as you treat your friends and family? That simple question is the basis for a burgeoning new area of psychological research that looks at how kindly people view themselves. New research suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step towards better health. Those who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depressio... posted on Mar 26 2011, 6,242 reads

The Untapped Power of Smiling
We're born to do it. A smile is one of the most basic, biologically uniform expressions of all humans. Paul Ekman, the world's leading expert on facial expressions, discovered that smiles are cross-cultural and have the same meaning in different societies. 3-D ultrasound technology shows that developing babies appear to smile even in the womb. The mood-boosting power of a smile is unfathomable. St... posted on Mar 25 2011, 19,850 reads

There's a Farm in the Front Yard
"I'm 57," Michael says. "Started at 26. And we're just barreling along! If I have to work 7 days a week, I'll do it." Back when Michael and Bob started 30 years ago, there wasn't much about urban agriculture around. Soon, City Farmer had hundreds of pages of original urban agriculture research online, before anyone else did. Today, City Farmer is now Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture, and their... posted on Mar 24 2011, 3,067 reads

The Technology of Compassion
The term "compassion" -- typically reserved for the saintly or the sappy -- has fallen out of touch with reality. Journalist Krista Tippett deconstructs the meaning of compassion as she traces the word through secular and spiritual icons like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Einstein, as well as everyday heroes like Matthew, a paraplegic yoga teacher. Through her stories, Tippett proposes a new, more a... posted on Mar 23 2011, 4,688 reads

Recycled Cell Phones Save Lives
"It's your trash, but it turns into value, it turns into lives saved really quickly." Josh Nesbit says excitedly. Four years ago, Nesbit noticed that health workers in Malawi often lost important information during their strenuous trips to patients in isolated villages. Instead of walking for hours on end, doctors and patients could instantly text each other if they just had the right technology, ... posted on Mar 22 2011, 2,872 reads