are cowering on the floor. Above you is an unknown man. He is pointing a gun at your head. He has your life in his hands. What matters to you now? What do you know which is of any use? This is the situation I found myself in in September 1997, in a hotel room in Jakarta, Indonesia. I believe it was the start of my awakening.  At the time of this incident, I was working in the financial markets in Hong Kong, making significant size investments for a global bank. I had made the decision to move into a financial career after the death of my father. He had always felt that I would suit such a career, and so I finished my studies in Fine Art and decided to grow up and get ... posted on Sep 7 2018 (6,601 reads)

natural scenes, however, can restore attention and help combat mental fatigue. Interestingly, some built environments can have the same effect. Cities that incorporate water, or “blue space,” are more restorative than those without. Monasteries and countryside cottages fit the bill because, like nature, they evoke a sense of “being away.” Museums and art galleries are restorative because they provide an escape from the cacophony of urban life. These scenes all give one a sense of space—of room to explore. The more interactive we are with restorative space, the better; a weekend stay in a cozy wooded cabin will ... posted on Oct 7 2018 (10,245 reads)

patterns of belief — about who we are, about who others are, about how the world works — come to shape our behavior, which in turn shapes our reality, creating a loop that calls to mind physicist David Bohm’s enduring wisdom: “Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe… What we believe determines what we take to be true.” To keep repeating a baleful pattern without recognizing that we are caught in its loop is one of life’s greatest tragedies; to recognize it but feel helpless in breaking it is one of our greatest trials; to transcend the fear of uncertainty, which undergirds all such patterns of belief and ... posted on Nov 12 2018 (11,032 reads)

climate change — sustainability has become a vital issue. But before we can respond we need to recognize what Earth we are trying to help, what ecosystem we are working to sustain. Does sustainability refer to “sustained economic growth,” and an environment that is able to sustain our present human civilization, with its energy intensive, consumer driven needs, and image of economic progress? Or does sustainability refer to the whole ecosystem, an interconnected web of life with its vast and amazing diversity of species? Which world are we trying to sustain: a resource to fulfill our desires of material prosperity, or an Earth of wonder, beauty and sacred meaning? T... posted on Nov 22 2018 (6,144 reads)

in your skin. You have over 200 bones. And of course there are many critical organs like your liver and kidney which keep you alive each day. All this, and much more, are inside a body that you think of as “you.” All hidden inside the skin. There’s a Japanese word, okagesama, which is often used conversationally to express thanks. The root of this word, kage, means “shadow.” It acknowledges that there are unseen forces in this world which make our life possible. Okagesama is grounded in an awareness of what’s inside the walls of our home and what’s under the skin of our body. Of course, it goes much further than that, because virtua... posted on Dec 23 2018 (7,366 reads)

apps, their websites, their devices. They’ve found incentives for us to keep using the technology, shiny new things every second, powerful recommendation engines, tapping into our desire not to miss out, to be entertained, to run to comfort. But you know all that. The problem comes when we try to figure out how to get a grip on it all, to tame technology to do what we need and then let it go so we can be more present, go outside more, move more, be connected to each other in real life more. Wrangling the chaos into something that we use consciously isn’t always easy. I propose simplicity. And the method I propose is limits. This is nothing new — I’ve be... posted on Jan 12 2019 (7,215 reads)

Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity and Improve Everyone's Wel-Being by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett  "As this groundbreaking study demonstrates, the answer to all these hinges on inequality. In The Spirit Level Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett put inequality at the centre of public debate by showing conclusively that less-equal societies fare worse than more equal ones across everything from education to life expectancy. The Inner Level now explains how inequality affects us individually, how it alters how we think, feel and behave. It sets out the overwhelming evidence that material inequalities have... posted on Mar 1 2019 (9,705 reads)

does the sun shine? A random result of coalescing gases igniting nuclear fusion? Or is it in order to give its light and warmth to Life? Why does the rain fall? Is it the senseless product of blind chemical processes of evaporation and condensation? Or is it to water life? Why do you seek to pour forth your song? Is it to show off your genetic fitness to attract a mate, or is it to contribute to a more beautiful world? We may fear those first answers but it is the second that carries the ring of truth. Every culture, as far as I know, has something that I call a Story of the World. That story is a weave of myths, meanings, narratives, words, symbols, rituals, and agreements that toget... posted on Feb 6 2019 (8,973 reads)

credit Kim Morrow             A few years ago, I was invited to visit a bison ranch in eastern Wyoming. I was dating this new guy named Mark, and as we got to know each other he kept talking about this place that had been in his family for three generations. He talked often about how much he loved visiting the ranch: going for hikes; sitting out in front of his cabin and watching the symphony of nature; looking for wildlife, and even catching a mountain lion or a bear cub on his motion-sensor camera that was tied to a tree; setting out even in the dead of winter when his snowy hikes were sheathed in silence. He told me h... posted on Mar 7 2019 (8,113 reads)

Lipsky is the founding director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of the best-selling Trauma Stewardship. A pioneer in the field of trauma exposure and an activist for social and economic justice, she has worked with communities around the world for more than three decades. Her TED Talk was one of the first to be delivered inside a women’s correctional facility. When our beloved dog had cancer, we did all we could to help him be comfortable toward the end of his life. Because Rottweilers are so strong, they require a lot of pain medication, so we y had to give him what seemed like horse tranquilizers. While we were all caring for him, my daughters were in cha... posted on Apr 2 2019 (7,396 reads)

including the disabled, the chronically ill and the aged, informal (non-paid) caregivers are at the center of this nascent social revolution. But these innovations - born from love and connection - are largely overlooked. Here are just some of the ways in which caregivers are the nexus of a growing ecosystem of care that includes government services, medical providers, neighborhoods, families, and non-profit organizations. Caregivers are modeling how to integrate health care into daily life at home. The convergence of love and necessity in caregivers’ lives makes them ideally suited to the role of innovator. “As a caregiver to a son with complex medical needs, I po... posted on Apr 11 2019 (6,359 reads)

Webb, an English writer of the early 20th century was an acute observer of nature and its multi-dimensional splendor. Diagnosed with Graves’ disease at the age of 20, Webb soon discovered that nature played a powerful role in her periods of recovery. The Spring of Joy compiles a series of essays on nature, penned by Webb with the aim of bringing comfort to ‘the weary and wounded in the battle of life.’ They are a testament to Webb's capacity to bear witness to the record of nature and to draw nourishment from it in a way that continues to benefit readers far beyond her lifetime. The following is an excerpt from The Spring of Joy: A Little Book of Hea... posted on Apr 10 2019 (5,782 reads)

will be forever grateful to Coleman Barks for many things, but there is no doubt that his greatest gift to me was introducing me to his friend, my hero, the poet Mary Oliver. As the first raw days since her death have stretched into two months, I am learning that it is nearly impossible to name my love for her, nor my awe for how she lived her life and what she accomplished with it. So since I can’t quite name the grief nor the wonder, nor my sadness for the honey locust tree, the grasshopper, the red fox and the sun in the morning, now that she is no longer here to celebrate their beauty—what I’ll do is tell you a little about the Mary Oliver who was my friend. Mary w... posted on May 26 2019 (31,456 reads)

Tippett, host: I’ve had hundreds of big conversations, and my conversation partners share wisdom I carry with me wherever I go. I’ve never thought about happiness the same way since I spoke with the French-born Tibetan Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard. I like his language of human flourishing as the real aspiration — that happiness is not a sensation or a feeling; it’s a state of being that can encompass all of the things that happen in life. This is Becoming Wise. I’m Krista Tippett. Ms. Tippett: You’re worldly, wise, and rational. And we also live in this culture where the word happiness gets completely watered down. So I want ... posted on Jun 19 2019 (8,841 reads)

Center for Integrative Oncology, I would say that upwards of 90% of the folks I’ve seen over the years would make some form of this claim and take comfort in it-- “It could be worse.”   “I’m just so glad they caught the cancer early.”   “I’m just glad it hasn’t metastasized.”  ”At least I don’t have to have radiation.”  “At least I’m 55 years old and have had a life… look at these kids who get cancer.”  “I’m glad it’s me and not my children.” Like I say, it’s an effective tool. I had a breast cancer pati... posted on Aug 20 2019 (9,881 reads)

the final years of his long life, which encompassed world wars and assassinations and numerous terrors, the great cellist and human rights advocate Pablo Casals urged humanity to “make this world worthy of its children.” Today, as we face a world that treats its children as worthless, we are challenged like we have never been challenged to consider the deepest existential calculus of bringing new life into a troubled world — what is the worth of children, what are our responsibilities to them (when we do choose to have them, for it is also an act of courage and responsibility to choose not to), and what does it mean to raise a child with the dignity o... posted on Oct 21 2019 (12,480 reads)

other organ, perhaps no other object in human life, is as imbued with metaphor and meaning as the human heart. Over the course of history, the heart has been a symbol of our emotional lives. It was considered by many to be the seat of the soul, the repository of the emotions. The very word "emotion" stems in part from the French verb "émouvoir," meaning "to stir up." And perhaps it's only logical that emotions would be linked to an organ characterized by its agitated movement.  But what is this link? Is it real or purely metaphorical? As a heart specialist, I am here today... posted on Nov 11 2019 (18,602 reads)

but society at large. Recently, I spoke with the authors about their book and what we can learn from it. Below is an edited version of our interview. Jill Suttie: Why did you want to write about the power of the negativity bias? Roy Baumeister: To me, it was fascinating, because it’s one of the most basic psychological principles and seems to be true everywhere. It’s a key fact about how the mind works. But there are also plenty of practical applications in everyday life that people need to understand—how it works in their relationships, in their reactions to political and religious speakers, and so on. A mind is prone to overreact to negative things relati... posted on Jan 17 2020 (15,308 reads)

Network for Grateful Living we often refer to gratefulness as an orientation to life with an unconditional and expansive embrace. One that isn’t reserved for that which is pleasant, desired, or going our way, rather an embrace that accepts and includes the great fullness of life — the entirety of our experience. Such an embrace opens us to the teachings and opportunities within every moment. It offers us what we need not merely to survive difficult times but to appreciate their gifts, even when the gifts take time to reveal themselves. When life feels too small or too big to handle, too predictable or too uncertain, this is when we need gratefulness ... posted on Mar 15 2020 (53,965 reads)

it. He has to find principles of action and decision making which replace the principles of instinct. He has to have a frame of orientation that permits him to organize a consistent picture of the world as a condition for consistent actions. He has to fight not only against the dangers of dying, starving, and being hurt, but also against another danger that is specifically human: that of becoming insane. In other words, he has to protect himself not only against the danger of losing his life but also against the danger of losing his mind. The human being, born under the conditions described here, would indeed go mad if he did not find a frame of reference which permitted him to feel ... posted on Mar 30 2020 (14,663 reads)