CATEGORIES

Roots of Empathy

MARY GORDON was interviewed by JUDITH NELSON at the Spirit of Humanity Forum in Iceland in 2019. In this excerpt, she shares her worldview on the importance of empathy in human relationships and how it forms the foundation for the program she runs in schools on developing empathy in schoolchildren, called Roots of Empathy.

Raspberries AS AGENTS OF CHANGE

ALANDA GREENE explores the topic of perception, through her experience of picking raspberries in the garden, and understanding the importance of looking at life and situations from different angles.

RAISING CONSCIOUSNESS

In April 2020, BRUCE LIPTON spoke with UDAY KUMAR about the transition our planet is going through right now, and what we need to do to raise our consciousness to the next level. In this excerpt from the interview, he goes into more detail about epigenetics, consciousness, and how we remain pre-programmed until we evolve our consciousness through meditation. It is our programs more than anything external that hack our attention.

Living Heart Centered

DR JOE DISPENZA shares some thoughts on heart-brain coherence and moving from thinking to knowing through the instrument of perception we know as the heart.

Interconnectedness

In 2017, DR. VANDANA SHIVA spoke with KIM HUGHES about the sacredness of the Earth, the work she has been doing to bring awareness and change in the field of sustainable agriculture, and the importance of understanding our interconnectedness with Nature, and how we can change the way we eat.

HOW TO KNOW THE NATURE OF YOUR BEING

Author of The Untethered Soul – The Journey Beyond Yourself, MICHAEL SINGER, shares his thoughts on the nature of the mind and the heart. He also describes how we let impressions from the past and our thoughts affect our worldview and our potential, and how to handle the human heart – how to be at peace with the tremendous range of the heart.

BETWEEN Stimulus & Response

In this excerpt from an interview done in August 2016, DR. JAMES DOTY is interviewed by JOHN MALKIN about the science of meditation, the evolutionary advantage of compassion, aspects of human behavior that relate to compassion and collective social issues, and his cherished memories of the remarkable woman who gave him a helping hand up when he was a boy.

The Christmas Clock

It was December 2012, a week before Christmas. I was sitting alone at my kitchen table in Missouri, watching the hands of my Christmas clock tick toward the hour. I was waiting to hear it play “Silent Night,” which it did every night at 11 o’clock. The tune always lifted my spirits. But the second hand passed the hour mark without a peep. My heart sank. The music mechanism must have broken. You couldn’t have picked a better metaphor for my life—I kept on ticking, but the joy was missing.

14 Steps To Heal Yourself

“All through my life, any time I needed healing, my father would encourage me to create an energy ball between my hands,” says Diana. “He directed me to work on it for some time, to spin it around and feel it, just as if it were something visible. This is the foundational practice to for healing he taught me. You create a spinning vortex of energy that becomes increasingly dense. As I’ve used this technique over time, I have added to it in ways that seem to amplify the healing energy. I encourage you to read through the entire process once before beginning to use it. Then return to Step 1 and begin your healing session to bring this vital energy to your body for healing.”

Q&A: William Peters

A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE HEALING POWER OF SHARED DEATH EXPERIENCES

Family Vacation

We were only 48 hours into our family’s three-week road trip when the car broke down. White smoke billowed from the engine. The dashboard warning lights went on.

Papi's Sign

“I saw a butterfly,” my mother said with a shy smile. It was the first time I’d seen her smile since my father’s death the week before. After a seven-year period of steadily declining health, he’d passed away in his bed at home, surrounded by his wife and three daughters. It was a peaceful end to his suffering, but saying goodbye was still difficult. We all missed him terribly. Especially Mami.

Wings and a Prayer

I heard the front door to our apartment open and walked over to see my mom returning home from the laundromat. She had tears in her eyes.

Luca

It was a sunny October day. My husband, Anthony, and I sat with our three kids—Ella, seven; Luca, five; and Zoe, two—as they drew with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. The whole family was enjoying the last bit of nice weather before the winter. Everything felt warm and peaceful.

Secrets of the Labyrinth

I WAS AT THE ENTRY OF Battery Park’s Labyrinth of Contemplation in New York City. A winding pathway of rocks and grass stretched out before me. After studying labyrinths for weeks, I wanted to try one. I’d learned that these fantastical, circuitous pathways can act as prayer tools, helping calm the mind and soul. I sure needed that. Beyond this quiet park, the city had been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Though cases were down and things seemed to be improving, I still felt overwhelmed and uncertain about the future. Will I find the spiritual comfort I’m looking for? I wondered. Adjusting my face mask, I took a deep breath and began….

An Unexpected Visitor

I couldn’t even sort through the first box of our dog Bama’s toys without bursting into tears. My husband, Alan, found me sitting on the floor in our utility room, clutching our late boxer’s favorite squeaky. He gently pulled me to my feet. “It’s okay, Lisa,” he said.

The Transfiguration

Whenever I think about the Transfiguration, my mind travels back to the fifth- and sixth-grade Sunday school class I once coached to act it out for the congregation. The task seemed nearly impossible.

Breaking Free

I stepped out of the federal prison in South Dakota after a decade behind bars and breathed a sigh of relief. I’d served my time. But I wasn’t just free. I was a new man. Honestly, I doubted anyone who knew me before would recognize me. I hardly recognized me.

Creating Communities for Health – Part 2

In Part 2 of this exclusive interview, BARBARA BUSH speaks with MAMATA VENKAT about how to nurture mental well-being during the current pandemic, gratitude practices, the styles of leadership needed in today’s world, authenticity, what she learned travelling the world as the daughter of a US President, the importance of racial justice, and what is next for her.

IRA CHAUDHURI - A life in the day

IRA CHAUDHURI is a studio potter and ceramic artist who now lives in Delhi. She grew up in Tagore’s Visva Bharati, Santiniketan in West Bengal, where she studied art. She moved to Vadodara, then known as Baroda, in 1951 with her husband, the world-renowned sculptor Sankho Chaudhuri. At the newly founded Faculty of Fine Arts, she spent her time learning pottery in a tiny annex of the Sculpture Department. Thus began a prolific career marked by numerous exhibitions and a transformative impact on Indian pottery, as well as a stint heading the pottery courses at the very same Sculpture Department where she began. Even today, at 93, her zest for life is unmatched. Here she speaks with ANANYA PATEL.

Kindness Is Key to Resilience PART 2

In June 2020, AUDREY LIN from ServiceSpace spoke with PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN about the qualities needed to live a life of kindness, and the relationship between kindness and resilience. In part 2, Audrey continues by focusing on the Compassion Quotient, the concept of leading with inner transformation, and how easy it is to integrate simple acts of kindness into everyday life.

THE EVERYTHING OPTION

MICHAEL RICHARDSON celebrates the miraculous nature of our everyday existence and explores the reasons why we are not attuned to the miracles all around us in every moment. He encourages us to open our eyes to the miracle-nature of all things.

THE ART OF JOURNAL WRITING

MICHAEL LEWIN shares his own experience of the value of writing a journal, including embracing imagination, feeling, expansive thinking, creativity, spiritual growth, self-development and much more.

The Beauty of MARTIAL ARTS

ADITI SAXENA holds a black belt in Taekwondo. She explains the beauty of this art form, and how it has given her the discipline, refinement of consciousness and moral fiber to live a life of purpose, with the balance of the spiritual and worldly aspects of existence.

Gratitude

As a young mother in Sydney, Australia, KARISHMA DESAI was diagnosed with a serious illness and went through life-saving surgery. Here she shares how this changed her attitude toward life and her appreciation of the simple daily things she previously took for granted.

ACTIVISM

MARYAM and NIVAAL REHMAN became activists when they were eight years old, inspiring girls in their village in Pakistan to continue their education. The now 19-year-old twins have since worked for such causes as girls’ education, climate justice, gender equality and inclusivity. They have their own non-profit, The World With MNR, that uses advocacy, storytelling and development to take action and inspire others to do the same. They have used their social media and YouTube channels to cover several events, including the Social Good Summit in New York City, the Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington D.C., and interviews with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and Madame Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. They have received several awards, including the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. Recently they released a documentary on the status of girls’ education in Pakistan and held global screenings to spark further conversation and inspire action.

A User's Guide to Living - Part 11

BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF

thanks for the Chicken Soup

Nothing about Auntie Esther was traditional

Room at the Inn?

My four-year-old had one line, and he blew it

One Thankful Grandma

I found brand-new ways to show my family I loved them