The Woolen Socks Miracle
"Our last regular paycheck was in April of this year. Through so many incredible acts of kindness and lots of hard work in every form we have made it month to month and day to day and week to week and had absolutely EVERYTHING we have needed...but not much more. It's hard as a mother to know that Christmas is coming and you don't have much extra to "fill the stockings"" Melody Ross is an internati... posted on Aug 29 2013, 28,541 reads

The Treasure At the Heart of Pain
"What do you do to escape from emotional pain? Do you drink or eat to excess to keep yourself, keep ridiculously busy, sit around hoping for a better future? It's human nature to do everything you can to avoid turning around and meeting the feelings that arise in you. But here's the problem. These temporary measures simply don't work. Addictions, compulsions, incessant mental spinning. They may d... posted on Aug 28 2013, 38,710 reads

Why Exercising Makes Our Brain Happier
"Exercise has been touted to be a cure for nearly everything in life, from depression, to memory loss, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and more. At the same time, similar to the topic of sleep, I found myself having very little specific and scientific knowledge about what exercise really does to our bodies and our brains." Piqued by his curiosity to dig deeper into the connection between exercis... posted on Aug 27 2013, 58,913 reads

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, 16,694 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, 229,813 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, 25,425 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, 9,245 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, 39,694 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, 44,273 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, 12,429 reads