you know, and to share with other people on the telephone and all that. So to not do it and to say, Wait a minute — apropos of you said before, “wise effort” — to say to yourself, Wait a minute, this is not the right road. Literally, this is not the right road. There’s a fork in the road here. I could become indignant, I could flame up this flame of negativity, or I could say: Recalculating. I’ll just go back here. Tippett:Well, this is an example of technology instilling us with spiritual discipline. [laughs] We find so much to criticize. Boorstein:[laughs] And no matter how many times I don’t make that turn, it will continue to say, Rec... posted on May 8 2022 (4,323 reads)

in these massive cycles and phases, and there are always agents of change who ideate and practice and push and grow those shifts. She reminded us that there are changes available to us that are distinct to this time, and she urged us to be present to the opportunities that are current. She knew that we are not individuals simply living these solitary lives in a vacuum; we are the cells of our time-body, the collective physical body of this moment, interacting with each other and the earth and technology in ways that will create an age. Grace also said, “We must transform ourselves to transform the world,” which is taking me years to understand and embody. The way I think of ... posted on Jun 30 2022 (3,411 reads)

poetry” and “verse.” Serious poetry was studied; it was officially sanctioned, used to teach literary elements like iambic pentameter, rhymed couplets, metaphor and alliteration. Verse, on the other hand, was unsanctioned – playful, irreverent and sometimes offensive. It was embraced by children for the sake of pleasure and delight. By the late 20th century, classrooms and curricula began to value the sciences over literary expression and information and technology over art. The study of any poetry – serious or not – became marginalized, seldom occurring except in AP courses preparing students for college literature study. Poetry in... posted on Jul 12 2022 (2,813 reads)

modern world is surprisingly different. Somehow we have accepted the idea that survival is no longer dependent on how we relate to our natural environment. Instead we have been made to believe that a few clever or powerful people can and should make those decisions for us. And over the past very few centuries these powerful people have created enormously complicated systems based on supposedly scientific theories of government. And this took place at the same time that science and technology made it possible to make and use ever more energy to drive a civilization that allows a few of us to live lives of luxury and ease unknown in the entire history of humankind. The great majo... posted on Aug 17 2022 (3,595 reads)

Age began with the invention of the printing press. The Post-Modern Age, I think, with electronic media and all that. But so many churches are stuck in the Modern Age when we’re now living in a Post-Modern Age. And so bringing in VJ’s and DJ’s and rap and even B-Boys to lead us, is integral to the spiritual experience. It’s not that different from the 12th-century revolution of stained glass in Europe. The invention of stained glass was absolutely stunning. It was a technology and a craft, but above all it was a reinvention of architecture. The Gothic architecture allowed so much more glass, for so much more sunlight and so much more color. And these geniuses who... posted on Sep 8 2022 (3,065 reads)

do I support children’s journeys? Who do I need to be?” He’s always reflecting that. Pavi:   You’re in India and he’s here in California, What’s your process of connecting with him? SACHI:    John and I have a monthly call. Usually, whenever I'm facing some issues, I write to him and share what’s going on. He’ll immediately respond or call back. PAVI:    Yeah. There’s one of the gifts of technology. And you know John, right? Each email he sends is like a little poem. And it’s often non-linear, too. Not like, “This is your problem. Here’s the solution.” I think ... posted on Jan 9 2023 (2,432 reads)

hard to talk about individual well-being these days without talking about what’s going on in the world, whether that’s the mental health fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, political polarization, or global crises like climate change. All of us are affected by these problems, and that’s reflected in Greater Good’s 2022 selection of top scientific insights. But this research doesn’t just suggest how we might cope with bad situations. These studies also show us the power of connecting, working together, and being open to other perspectives—and the hope for a less gloomy future. The top insights also give us practical ideas of ways to grow, b... posted on Feb 4 2023 (7,844 reads)

into the brain, so small you typically don't feel it, but it has a measurable impact. Now if you apply this stimulation during sleep in young, healthy adults, as if you're sort of singing in time with those deep-sleep brainwaves, not only can you amplify the size of those deep-sleep brainwaves, but in doing so, we can almost double the amount of memory benefit that you get from sleep. The question now is whether we can translate this same affordable, potentially portable piece of technology into older adults and those with dementia. Can we restore back some healthy quality of deep sleep, and in doing so, can we salvage aspects of their learning and memory function? That is my ... posted on Feb 15 2023 (10,901 reads)

to limit our physical interactions to a bare minimum for the foreseeable future. Levine invites us to call this practice physical distancing rather than social distancing. “The sense of helplessness and social disconnection affects the immune system. You don’t want to break that social fabric,” Levine says. Families can play together, dance, and sing with each other, but we cannot forget those who live alone or are grieving. We must continue to socially connect through technology, or forego the Internet and, as Levine suggests, bang pots and pans like the Italians to show that we are all in this together.  Expansive thoughts, emotions, and actions tend to tr... posted on Apr 18 2023 (25,759 reads)

by Austrian artist Tom Seidmann-Freud — Freud’s niece — from David the Dreamer, 1922 But while lying fallow is the antipode of productivity, it is also, paradoxically, the antipode of leisure. In a passage of extraordinary prescience given our present epoch of endless social media streams supplanting every moment of stillness with a reflexive hit of on-demand entertainment, Khan writes: It is a strange and uncanny result of urban civilization and the impact of technology on human experience that leisure has become a pursuit and an end in itself. It has gradually become an industry, a profession and an imperative social need of the individuals in modern soci... posted on Apr 20 2023 (4,854 reads)

to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work,” Kierkegaard admonished in 1843 as he contemplated our greatest source of unhappiness. It’s a sobering sentiment against the backdrop of modern life, where the cult of busyness and productivity plays out as the chief drama of our existence — a drama we persistently lament as singular to our time. We reflexively blame on the Internet our corrosive compulsion for doing at the cost of being, forgetting that every technology is a symptom and not, or at least not at first, a cause of our desires and pathologies. Our intentions are the basic infrastructure of our lives, out of which all of our inventions and acti... posted on Jul 2 2023 (5,810 reads)

it as a gash or a crack in the road that forbids continuity, right? Like a fissure, a rift, a metabolic rift that is not a place of inadequacy but is a place of generative spillage and excessiveness in which Wendell Berry would often say that the impeded stream is the one that sings. So this idea of an obstacle and impediment that proliferates errancy, a strain away from the familiar. That is the monstrous. We often think of the monster, which is a cultural tool, a pervasive, multicultural technology. We use it, we use the monster in our stories to mark boundaries. “Don’t go here. This is where you stay.” But there comes a time when we are invited to those edges, to th... posted on Jul 3 2023 (2,088 reads)

of motorized transport, along with the attendant speed and freedom it offers, which has become such an integral part of our contemporary lifestyle. It likewise speaks volumes about us and about the nature of the choices we make daily. Gone perhaps are the days of poetic musings over the merits of walking versus riding. Yet one can’t help but wonder if we have lost something essential along the way—a connection with the world that only a leisurely walk can provide. So, while technology continues to shape our lives, perhaps it is worth revisiting the inner struggle once posed by Davies by embracing the joy of walking seen through the eyes of the renowned author C.S. Lewis.... posted on Nov 22 2023 (2,382 reads)

enjoy the sound of the organ, but on special occasions they call in long-time cave organist Otto Pebworth. After years playing the organ—which, like any instrument, has its own unique quirks—he has seen how this incredible feat of engineering, music, and nature continues to inspire generations of listeners. If you have a little extra time I highly recommend you take a few minutes to watch this video from musical YouTuber Rob Scallon. He not only dives deeper into the history and technology of the organ, but gets to play the Great Stalacpipe Organ and brings his own guitar to play alongside Otto in what can only be described as one of the most beautiful and unique concerts on ... posted on Apr 25 2024 (3,968 reads)