The random surprises we find daily make us realize that there is SO much going on all around us, if we only just look…
Read MoreChocolate as Resistance + The Spirituality of Chocolate
(Video link HERE.) This beautiful little video about the culture of chocolate in Mexico, will give you a view of the origins of the delicious sweet we love to eat, unaware how the making of it can be an act of resistance and spirituality, as is true with many endangered foods. In 4 minutes, we got a big view of culture, ecology, economic forces and memory that goes way beyond chocolate.
Read MoreRam Dass on ‘Allowing’ + Turning People Into Trees
Psychologist, yogi, spiritual teacher Ram Dass’ devised a simple method for softening judgments of the people around us.
Read MoreMarsha Linehan on Building a Life Worth Living
We got interested in psychotherapist Marsha Linehan after a reader told us that it was she who first used the Buddhist concept of Radical Acceptance as a therapeutic tool in psychotherapy. It was a groundbreaking approach, as were the treatments she pioneered for patients who were previously written off as hopeless. The story of how she developed it — as a young woman she had been one of those “impossible” patients — is a marvel of resourcefulness and creativity.
Read MoreRadical Acceptance with Biscuits (Tara Brach, Ed Brown)
When I hear the word “radical” used in the context of personal change —whether a book, a course, a workshop — I generally pass it by. It’s so overused and overblown, I’ve come to mistrust it. But in the past few months, I’d heard a number of smart, curious, level-headed people mention Tara Brach’s book, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha. Among the trove of very wise and helpful ideas, I especially love this passage about saying yes, perfection, self-comparison and….biscuits.
Read MoreThis Certificate Grants You Permission
Recently, several friends described themselves as unproductive in the saddest and most judgmental tones. How did it happen that we have learned to value only obvious tangibles and define our worth by them, to savage ourselves with opinions? I view THAT as a hyper-charged product of the Plague Years we are in. And I’m here to offer an respite.
Read MoreYour Wisdom App + Clint Eastwood on How Not to Get Old
Frequent contributor Susan Dworski threw this compelling video over my transom, accompanied by her thoughts about the apps she’s been seeing lately selling all manner of salvation. She asks a big question and points to a surprising path…
Read MoreBillboards Advocating an Alliance of Science AND Religion
One of the tragedies of our very polarized society is the idea that spiritual belief precludes believing in science, as though the two were mutually exclusive. So, we are heartened by the latest project of Class Action, a graphic design collective that creates visual messages to advocate social change and promote civic dialogue.
Read MoreEssential Principles of Nonviolence to Live: Martin Luther King Jr. and The Dalai Lama
What would Martin Luther King, Jr have done in response to the brazen murder of a black man by a white policeman? As waves of protest, some violent, sweeping our country, we found the answer in King’s Six Principles of Nonviolence* and again in The Dalai Lama’s Essential Teachings.
Read MoreThe Onion and Riz Ahmed on The Pressure to Be Productive During Lockdown
Perspective we need: The Onion’s sublimely funny, spot-on commentary on the pressure to be creative during the “free time” of quarantining + Riz Ahmed’s wise view.
Read MoreUseful Wisdom from Books about Nothing
Without realizing it, I’ve collected a few books about “doing nothing”, one for kids and a couple for adults. All have unexpected wisdom to offer.
Read More9 Answers to Krista Tippett’s Powerful Interview Question Inspire Our Own
This short video compiles some very surprising answers to On Being’s Krista Tippet’s favorite interview question. It evokes “a very fertile place in everybody’s imaginations, whatever their story is…full of questions and searching and softness.” It’s a wonderful question to ask ourselves…
Read MoreListing What You Like Yields Mighty Benefits and Poetry
At the great Artist’s Prints and Multiples, we came across these inspired fridge magnets. We realized that making lists of “likes” can provide the same benefits as counting blessings AND work curiously like poetry…
Read MoreStephen Nachmanovitch’s ‘The Art of IS’ Decodes Improvising As a Way of Life
YoYo Ma described The Art of IS as “a philosophical meditation on living, living fully, living in the present.” We find it full of surprising ideas that are also incredibly helpful.
Read MoreListen to the Magic of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah Being Hummed Around the World
Among the many joys we experienced at the extraordinary Leonard Cohen exhibition at The Jewish Museum, is a room resonating with the sound of hundreds of people around the world humming Cohen’s anthem, Hallelujah. You can experience it online as well.
Read MoreIkigai: “What Makes You Jump Out of Bed in the Morning? and Other Questions That Will Help You Find It
When a friend sent us VENN diagrams of the Japanese concept of Ikigai last week, we found we couldn’t get its big fat question out of our mind.
Read MoreOliver Sacks: Nature is a Therapy More Powerful Than Medication
An essay in a posthumously published book by the very wise Oliver Sacks gives a scientist’s view of the healing power of Nature and gardens.
Read MoreWant to Be a Digital Story Teller or Launch an App or Product? Join Me at Omega Institute’s Digital Age Conference
This coming June, I will be leading a workshop at Omega Institute’s Build Your Audience in the Digital Age Conference which will cover the how-to’s of creating digital products, from blogs to apps to online courses to newsletters, at Omega’s extraordinary, always transformative campus.
Read MoreBeth Moon’s Photographs of Ancient Trees Under Night Skies are Magic
Inspired by studies that view trees as receivers of stellar energies, photographer Beth Moon traveled to the world’s “last dark places” to photograph ancient trees at night, in color.
Read MoreWhat We Do When We’ve Done Everything We Can and Feel We Should Do More (Chris Eldredge, Pat Steir)
When we’ve worked hard taking care of something and feel there is still more we should do, leaving us restless and worried, we employ this 10-word reality check, learned from a psychotherapist friend.
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