The U.S. military is known for using super secret codes to identify sensitive projects. The key word here is sensitive. Who would have thought that the US military has a softer side? Project code name: iRest, short for Integrative Restoration, a code name for yoga nidra.

Yoga is one of the newest ‘secret weapons’ in the US Armed Forces. Major Nisha Money, who currently serves as the Chief of Air Force Fitness for the Surgeon General at USAF Headquarters in Washington DC, gave me the scoop. Soldiers suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. within a specialized care program that incorporates the iRest protocol. Major Money stated that she hopes that it will not be long before there is a movement to integrate body-mind-spirit healing modalities that not only serve as treatment interventions for emotional and physical trauma but also play a role in prevention by attenuating the impact of emotional trauma experienced in the battlefield.   Read more...

Imagine that you had the chance to take part in a project that could literally change our world. Project Peace on Earth is a daring idea to raise global awareness through sacred music that empowers each of us to realize our innate divinity, and with this realization, take one small step toward making the world a better place.   Read more...

People often ask me how they can love themselves unconditionally, regardless of what they have done or how they think or feel. When we realize our spiritual nature, we have a better way of looking at what we do as human beings. By remembering who we are spiritually, we can more easily be loving and accepting towards ourselves and all that comes forward in our lives. So, I suggest that as we start out and complete with each day, we take the opportunity to engage ourselves inwardly in the Spirit first.

When we choose to realize ourselves spiritually, we find ourselves functioning according to the laws of Spirit - acceptance, cooperation, understanding, enthusiasm and empathy. There is an aligning of how we are intending ourselves spiritually, as souls who are one with God. A key is to appreciate with gratitude whatever comes your way. Everything has value. Nothing needs to be different from what it is, including you. Yet, in this world, change is constant. While living in the world and coping with change may be challenging, you can learn to align with and practice how to apply the laws of Spirit and love it all.   Read more...

There are two scientific camps on altruism. One says that altruism is a cultural tool, a distinctly human behavior, which allows social groups to function and survive by constraining our selfish impulses. Another camp says that altruism is an ancient appetite, over six million years old, pre-dating even human existence. Either way, our altruistic impulses play a significant role in the planet’s ultimate opera of life and death, good vs. evil.

As a mother and a part-time teacher I have spent a large part of the past twelve years amongst groups of children. I have witnessed both unbridled brutality and fantastic altruism. The brutality never surprises me. The altruism always does, and, gloriously, it prevails. Small children act on their impulses so readily. When they sense need, they rush like water through a canyon to fill it. They are empowered by their own goodness. Their brethren are empowered. The world around them is empowered. I have been inspired by children, and often remind myself to act like some child or another, to try to remember the goodness that is buried deep inside, and the energy that goodness liberates.   Read more...

World Oceans Day is on June 8 and coincides with the release of an extraordinary new film. The End of the Line is a documentary based on a book of the same name by award winning English environmental journalist Charles Clover. Ted Danson narrates this important feature, which earned a rare standing ovation at Sundance in January.   Read more...

In 2005, I visited Ghana as a volunteer. There I met a young man at an internet cafe who was gracious enough to show me around his hometown so I could see what life was like away from the tourist attractions. We later "adopted each other" after I left. I helped his son finish secondary school because his grandmother who raised him was behind in school fees.

He now is a successful micro businessman and started an after-school program that is using my nonprofit's name: HYBASIA After-school Program. He also adopted a boy whose father had just died and was looking for work. He wanted to help his mother feed his siblings.   Read more...

I believe this is noteworthy: Last week, in the Miami Herald there was an article which stated that in order to save the religion department of Florida International University, The Dalai Lama said he wanted to donate $100,000 to the university.

The school, hurting from the economic crisis, said it is closing the department, to save $600,000. The department has 12 full time professors and is a center for religious growth in the community and the world. The Dalai Lama has spoken there twice, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate. Nathan Katz, of the department has become a good friend of the Dalai Lama.   Read more...

Finding an eco-friendly way to manage your summer lawn mowing doesn’t have to involve a manual push mower or even an expensive electric version. For some innovative yet old-school organizations, this year's hottest new green tool is the goat. From Google to the state of Maryland, goats are eating away at overgrown lawns across the country.

At the Mountain View, California Google headquarters about 200 goats spent a week clearing a nearby field, helping to reduce the area fire-hazard and clear out brush and weeds. More information can be found about the Google goats on the official Google blog.   Read more...

The street I live on in Tokyo is so narrow a car can barely make it through. Because of this, a system for lining up everyone's bicycles on one side of the street is necessary.

As instructed when moving in, my wife, my daughter, and myself, park our bicycles across the street in front of my neighbor's house. Their house sits just 21 inches (53 cm.) back from the curb. Such a scale of living makes it obvious where the aesthetic of "bonsai" plants comes from!   Read more...

My friend Yang-May Ooi, social marketing guru, author and writer of the popular www.fusionview.co.uk blog recently commented on a plea from poetry publisher Salt to "buy just one book," to help the beleaguered mostly family-owned business to survive the current economic downturn.

See Yang-May's insightful comments and the email from Salt here: www.fusionview.co.uk/2009/05/a-sad-day-for-the-book-industry   Read more...