wellness

How to be Clear: Walk the Wind with Natalie Diaz, Ada Limón, Theo Jansen

Uitwaaien is an untranslatable Dutch word for a simple, transformative practice you can do almost any time. I came to understand it more deeply through art and poetry that expands the meaning of “air”.

Listing 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…

Gordon Hempton: Silence is the Presence of Everything

This lovely immersive video follows acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton to one of the quietest places on earth. It draws our awareness to just what it is we’re hearing, or not, and the unique, extraordinarily complex sounds of silence.

Lessons in Slowing Down (Pico Iyer, Vija Celmins, W.S. Merwin…)

The past week or so, the same message arrived through a variety of sources: in an email sent by a friend, a poem stumbled on on instagram, a notice of a museum exhibition…

Slomo Followed THIS Principle To Change His Life and Transcend the Trappings of the Material World

The impetus for Dr. John Kitchen’s radical life change into the skater Slomo was the answer a very old man gave him when he asked, “What is the secret to living so long?”

Rejuvenating Staycation: Go Forest Bathing…

When I need an essential retreat to refresh and restore balance but I don’t want to travel, I go…forest bathing. Not sure it’s for you? Here’s a virtual forest bath you can take right now.

Revelations from Living with A Book Left Open

Although I’ve often left art books open around my space so I could live with an image, it only recently occurred to me to do that with a volume of tiny, powerful poems.

Brené Brown’s Life Changing Question: Do You Believe People Are Doing the Best They Can?

When Brené Brown asked herself, ‘Do you believe people are doing the best they can? ‘ she admits to answering ‘Fuck no!’ until she explored it further, which yielded pure, transformative gold.

A Modern Mantra That Helps Frame Difficulty and Change

Lately, we’ve found ourselves saying an unusual mantra when we hit difficult situations. It affords an instant, very interesting shift of view, as do the lovely flower mandalas we stumbled upon about the same time.

Henry Miller and Others on the “Finest Medicine a Person Can Give Himself”

When we came across this quote from novelist Henry Miller, we thought, yes that IS some of the most powerful medicine we know.

Refreshing Antidotes to the Heat Wave

All over town we’re seeing signs of people felled by the stunning heat wave, sleeping on benches under shady trees, lounging lethargically on the grass in parks. We’ve compiled some unexpectedly refreshing ways to cope…

Gold High Heels and Other Uniquely Personal Ways to Focus Your Mind (Mira Keras)

Former Improvised Life assistant editor-come-star-tattoo-artist Mira Keras wrote this spot-on description of a writer procrastinating. She discovered something essential in the process that unleashed her productivity.

Yoko Ono’s Instruction for Mending (Cup, Self, Family, Earth…)

Yoko Ono’s 1966 lovely “Mend Piece” is a participatory installation that, like many Ono works, comes with instructions designed to resonate personally, meaningfully, expansively…

Call of the Forest “a Way of Thinking About Trees and the Planet You Have Never Thought Before”

In “Call of the Forest, the Forgotten Wisdom of Trees”, botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger guides us into “the essentials of what a tree is all about”, something she says most people have missed, and that will change our view of the planet we inhabit.

How to Look After Yourself

We found this great, simple list on DoLectures’ twitter and find it a helpful reminder for small ways to navigate the day in balance:

Mind-Breath-Nature Mashup Helps Navigate Chaos or Difficulty

Employing wisdom from Pema Chodrun, Dr. Weil and Oliver Sacks, we devised an amazingly effective strategy for navigating upheaval and difficulty

Pamela Adlon on Aging as Content and Allen Ginsberg Just Being Content

Pamela Adlon’s riff on aging and the sudden changes of her body got us thinking about the need to turn ourselves into content to accept ourselves. Then we came upon Allen Ginsberg’s view.

Private Office Rituals That Make Work Better, Deeper, Richer

Accepted for artists, rituals are taboo in the business world even though they can enhance productivity and well-being. Peter Bregman tells how to use them in any setting (once you understand what they really are and do.)

Oliver 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.

A Few Sexy Things in Honor of a National Self Pleasure Month

We’ve just learned that May is National Masturbation Month. To celebrate, we thought we’d post a few of our favorite finds on the theme, which include everyday “niche” pleasures, phallic skywriting and a charming animated film.

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