Measures to stop global warming risk being as harmful to tribal peoples as climate change itself, according to a new report from tribal rights organization Survival International.

The report, "The most inconvenient truth of all: Climate change and indigenous people," sets out four key "mitigation measures" that threaten tribal people. They are as follows:   Read more...

An unprecedented number of neighbors in communities around New England are working together to create the communities they envision!

Hundreds of local energy committees are helping to reduce their town's carbon footprint; thousands of community gardens and local food hubs are developing robust local food systems; smart growth policies are being implemented across the region; and water in the public trust is fast becoming a topic at the local level.   Read more...

In May 2009 my six-figure real estate job came to end, and I knew I had to embrace the change like so many others. My husband and I had been sitting on a trademark intellectual property for several years. We wondered, "if not now, then when?"

I believe that all changes happens for the greater good of the soul.   Read more...

Have you ever noticed how the work week tends to build up a dust of separation and isolation between you and your significant other? You’re doing your thing. Your partner is doing their thing. You’re both busy, doing your best to juggle the demands of work, home, family, kids, money, carpools, workouts, homework, meals, cleaning…basically managing the constant demands of modern living. You already know from experience that it’s so easy to fall into the trap of living together and “missing” each other at the same time. If you’re not careful, this dust of separation and isolation can build up over time into lasting soot that discolors your relationship. The result is a loss of intimacy, love and connection.

Happy couples make a commitment to regularly wash away the dust and renew their closeness, affection and bond. How do they do it? One way is a weekly ritual practiced by couples across the land: Date Night. Dinner and a movie. A walk in the park. Drinks at the club. A romantic night in. You name it. Couples engage in dates of all kinds as a way to spend time together, reconnect and hopefully enjoy each other’s company. But let’s be honest…some dates are better than others.   Read more...

Investing In Women (IIW) has awarded a $500 “stimulus package” to a female-owned business, The Underground Railroad To Success (URS). URS was started by Tanisha Cunningham in 2009 and helps foster care children prepare for adult life. Growing up in foster care herself, Cunningham saw the need for additional support, especially when children are no longer eligible for state run services. Soon after her foster care ended she began a career in child welfare, “I wanted to stay there because my passion had always been to give back, because I knew the struggles of living in foster care, and the fear of leaving unprepared, not having a place to go or having the skills to obtain a job.”   Read more...

Meditation is a process of listening and purification. In quietude, we connect to deep moments of calmness, stillness and openess. We come in contact with a soft power that can be used for self healing and realization that can transform pain into progress.

There are many ways to meditate. I regularly practice sitting, walking and writing meditation. Often times, my writing practice will begin with an exercise in detailing. I simply list what sits in front of me which becomes a process of listening with my eyes. Then, I pick an item off the list and conduct a ten minute timed writing practice. I let the pen flow without crossing out. I allow raw thoughts to surface and don't worry about editing. This form of writing practice separates the editor from the creator.   Read more...

How does one begin to understand the notion of impermanence? Perhaps the fall leaves, the death of a loved one, the sun rise in the morning…or words of wise spiritual teachers?

In the last weeks, the word "impermanence" has been used by three very different people. Rabbi Steinlauf used the word ‘impermanence’ when he welcomed everyone into the Sukkha tent built to represent the temporary nature of life and still being willing to live life fully. A week later in the very same spot stood the Dalai Lama who wished to learn how the Jewish community thrived in exile despite hardships and atrocities. Then an art gallery opening presented Eleanor Kotlarik Wang, whose collection of paintings titled “Impermanence” captured the faded cave paintings of Buddhists images in western China, the very end of the Silk Road.   Read more...

It’s the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall.

I was eleven years old on November 9, 1989 and was living in an egg colored split-level home with burgundy trimmed windows out in rural Georgia.   Read more...

An advertisement for Malaysian palm oil has been banned in the UK, dealing a major blow to the credibility of Malaysia’s palm oil industry. Members of the hunter-gatherer Penan tribe in Borneo have welcomed the ban, saying, "Oil palm plantations have not benefited us at all; they have only robbed us of our resources and land."

The Penan live in Sarawak, in the Malaysian part of Borneo, and are fighting to stop the forests they rely on being cut down to make way for oil palm plantations. Survival International is calling on the Malaysian government to halt plantations and logging on their land without their consent.   Read more...

Our national nonprofit organization iLoveSchools.com matches America’s donors of new, used and in-kind resources with school teachers sorely in need.

In a nutshell teachers visit our site, go shopping in our store and create WishLists of anything they need. We then find donors including individuals, parents, alumni, local and national businesses to donate the resources. 97% of every dollar goes to the teacher of the donor’s choosing. That is, we keep 3% for payment processing fees and have a guilt-free ask for 10%. Donors decide if we get any contribution vs. our taxing them for our service.   Read more...

“The litmus test for self-realization is a constant state of gratitude. This gratitude is not something you can look for or find. It comes from another direction, and it takes you over completely. It’s so vast that it can’t be dimmed, or overlaid. The short version would be ‘mind in love with itself.’ It’s the total acceptance and consumption of itself reflected back at the same moment in the central place that is like fusion. When you live your life from that place of gratitude, you’ve come home.”

- Byron Katie, A Thousand Names For Joy   Read more...

May 16, 2009: Doomsday. With a degree in public relations and an economic environment of fear and hiring freezes, I found it hard to have faith in finding a decent job in public relations and even less faith in a job that shared my vision for progressive change. Then along came a job at Soap Hope: a company with a deeply integrated social mission to end global poverty.

The first thing we learn as an introduction to PR at school is "Don't Lie." As a PR practitioner, I am well aware of the traps and narrow roads that challenge our paths as communicators. But at Soap Hope I have never once felt the need to lie or twist the truth. *Sigh of relief* It's nice to work for a social responsible company.   Read more...

Join the People 4 Earth webinar on the 4th of November for an exclusive discussion with bestselling author, Daniel Goleman, on how a new wave of information on the sustainability impacts of products is shifting the balance from seller to buyer. The experts discuss how 'radical transparency' promises to mobilize sustainable consumption among consumers, reward sustainability leaders in business with competitive advantage, and help drive a higher standard of business innovation. The briefing will take us from the farmer's market to the capital markets to the corporate boardroom.

How to attend?
To attend, please register here. The Moving Markets Webinar Series is complimentary.   Read more...

Imagine you’re a participant on a new game show called “Your Life”. The host of the show presents you with two locked doors and two keys. The door on the left is labeled “External Substance.” The door on the right is labeled “Internal Substance.” The rules of the game are simple. You can choose only one door. Behind each door is an unlimited substance of its type.

External substance is all the material stuff of the universe. Whatever your heart desires; gold, riches, houses, cars, the new MacBook Air, food, wine, travel, chocolate, books, art, planes, boats…essentially any and every external, physical thing you can consume or experience.   Read more...

Humanitarian Dr Lyly Rojas is teaching the culture of peace to business students at the University of Applied Sciences and Technology in Vienna, Austria. Her challenge to future business leaders is to make waves in the corporate world and drive a culture change.

In the current economic climate, her message to the business world is particularly poignant. “I don’t think of the financial recession as a financial crisis, but as a human crisis,” she states. Rojas explains “The current economic situation is a consequence of the way the business world has conducted itself; economic greed has eroded the quality of human life and unraveled many of society’s structures. Now is a transformational moment”.   Read more...

Back in June 2007 I was 29 years old, living a balanced life as a business management consultant, yoga practitioner, artist, and philanthropist in Austin, Texas. I had nothing to complain about; life was good. I could not foresee the ways that my life would change as I was simply waiting to get on the highway. My car was suddenly rear-ended, and it was while I was being treated for a concussion that I learned of my benign brain tumor.

The head injury from the accident led to frequent partial complex seizures caused by microscopic level bleeding from the newfound tumor. These episodes manifested at various levels of intensity in the forms of false visualization, altering emotion and speech and movement impairment. Fortunately, my mind, strengthened by over 10 years of daily mediation, was able to control the seizures’ activity of the brain. I learned much about this mind-brain relationship during a five-day video electroencephalograph (EEG) study. My life changed dramatically as I became dependent on friends and family to help me with basic life functions. Yet, the situation didn't stop me from living my life with energy and enthusiasm. I believe that life’s moments are often placed in a rightful way, and we only need to choose to see them for what they are.   Read more...

A husband and wife recently celebrated 21 years of marriage. Still deeply in love, the wife has been battling episodes of depression and it hasn’t been easy. For several months now, she hasn’t felt like her old self. Desperately searching for ways to feel clear, happy and healthy again, she’s tried all of the standard medical remedies.

To celebrate their anniversary, the couple met for drinks at their favorite restaurant. The conversation and the date started poorly. Saddened and slightly frustrated at what seemed to be a missed opportunity for a joyful anniversary celebration, the man was at a loss for how to save the evening and reconnect with the woman he loves. Then, in a flash of inspiration, the husband said, “Honey, I love you so much and I am so grateful and lucky to be your partner. I am going to share with you 21 things I appreciate about you to represent the 21 years we’ve been married.”   Read more...

Last week when I was in Armenian Church, the priest presented the parishioners with a quiz that he said five-year-olds had answered accurately but that graduates of Princeton couldn’t. Here’s the quiz:

What is greater than god, more evil than the devil; rich people want it, poor people have it and if you eat it you will die?   Read more...

On my morning walk, I encountered a tow-headed two-year-old caught up in unbridled enthusiasm. The garbage truck had arrived.

The sights and sounds of the hulking vehicle triggered jumping, flailing and cheering. A moment of religious ecstasy.   Read more...

Journalist and camerawoman Margaret Moth is an amazing woman. No doubt. No argument. And definitely no fear.

She stands out in a profession populated with rebels and risk takers for her devotion to her work, her complete and utter fearlessness, and her strength of character--even, maybe even especially, in the face of death. She doesn't consider herself a heroine. But many others do.   Read more...

Have you ever walked into a clock shoppe and noticed the pendulums all swinging together in perfect rhythmic harmony? It's true, when placed together clocks with pendulums will "fall together" into rhythmic unison. It's really amazing when you think about it. Here you have these mechanical instruments, and something draws their functions into harmony. But what is that something? I honestly don't know if I could really understand it if it were explained to me. Yet having seen it, I can accept it as true. Sometimes we don't necessarily have to have proof to believe something as true. We may see it written or hear it said and just have a deep inner knowing that it is so. It resonates with us.

This phenomenon of spontaneous synchronization is called entrainment, and it exists in many different schools of thought. In physics, it is described as "the tendency for two oscillating bodies to lock into phase so that they vibrate in harmony..."   Read more...

Red-green colorblindness could soon be a thing of the past for humans. In a study at the University of Washington is Seattle, recently published in Nature, scientists injected naturally red-green colorblind squirrel monkeys with a gene for a human photoreceptor, according to the MIT Review.

The monkeys were given a test before and after the gene therapy similar to tests given to humans to test color-blindness. Two years after the gene therapy the two monkeys involved in the study have much-improved color vision with no negative side effects. Because human color-blindness is nearly the same as color-blindness in squirrel monkeys, researchers are hopeful that the gene therapy can be used on humans in the future.   Read more...

Machias, New York, a town of 2,300 people, has rallied together to help meet the needs of two children. Vicki and Webb Eisenhardt are parents to sons Dalton and Wyatt, who are both in a battle with a rare genetic disorder. The community has raised money to help with medical costs and is now going one step further.

After the family was turned down by the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition because they did not own their home, the town decided to take matters into their own hands. Machias gathered support from various community organizations to build a house suited for Dalton and Wyatt. Local companies, the American Legion and religious organizations are now working together to construct a new home for the Eisenhardt's, where the family can live rent-free for as long as the boys require medical assistance.   Read more...

Don't like the look of solar panels? There is a new option on the market for people who want to save money on their energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint through the use of solar panels. SRS Energy of Philadelphia has developed a solar panel in the shape of popular clay roof tiles, allowing a portion of a roof to be tiled with the solar panels while the rest is covered in regular clay tiles.

The solar tiles are dark blue, recyclable and are scheduled to be available on the west coast this fall, and nationwide in the spring of 2010. While many enjoy the look of sunlight-converting traditional solar panels, if you prefer the tiled look the Sole Power Tile has several more colors and styles planned.   Read more...

Success happens when all opposing sectors join for a common goal.

Earth Aid educates, rewards, monitors and reminds consumers of new trends in energy efficiency. Partnering with government energy offices and local businesses, Earth Aid offers tips on ways to save electricity, conserve water, save gas and the overall environmental benefit of being energy efficient. In addition, local diverse businesses have joined Earth Aid to offer discounts for members who are successful in lowering their energy use.   Read more...

My last posting was about shopping with my new found friend Okada-san. Well it was about two months since I had seen her, when I met her coming out of the dry cleaners.

"How was the meal?" I asked. "Fantastic!" she said. " In fact, it has lead to a whole new life for me." "Oh wow! Do tell me." I replied.   Read more...

Inventor and water-treatment expert Michael Pritchard watched the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami and hurricane Katrina in 2005 leave many without clean drinking water in the wake of horrific natural disasters, leading him to develop the Lifesaver bottle.   Read more...

Experience has taught me that everything happens for one of two reasons. Those reasons are that we either have something to learn or something to teach, often both. I may not know the reason or understand why things occur and I don't have to. Just trusting that there is a reason helps.

The real prize is that I or we get to decide what that reason is. It is up to us to find, create or associate a value to life's circumstances. Why did someone lose their job? Why did someone have to die? Why do I have multiple sclerosis? I can answer that last question.   Read more...

"And when one is thinking lovely, kind, beautiful thoughts of course one has no time to become lonesome."

Simple wise words for children (and adults) from a father to his daughter long ago. How similar in philosophy to spiritual teachers from around the world addressing parliaments, mass audiences, authoring countless books, or presiding over a simple gathering of families looking for just a bit of wisdom to carry into the following week. Yet, this father, Johnny Gruelle, was an author and illustrator from Arcola, Illinois in the early 1900s.   Read more...

A new renewable energy resource for the home has been developed by UK-based The Power Collective called RidgeBlade, a rooftop wind turbine. The home wind power system is designed to be visually unobtrusive and is designed to maximize energy potential even when there is little wind available, according to Springwise.

The RidgeBlade sits on the ridge line on the top of buildings where wind is forced over the surface, pushing air through the turbine to generate electricity.   Read more...

Yesterday, another Nobel Peace Prize winner was in Washington, D.C. On a slightly overcast day with rain drops sprinkling from the sky, the Dalai Lama visited Adas Israel Congregation to meet with the community.

Following the seven days of the Festival of Sukkot, it was only fitting that on this holiday of Shemini Atzeret, Rabbi Steinlauf spoke of how love is timeless and spaceless. He asked the congregation to imagine someone they love, there with them, what they looked like and what they would say. With tears, many would realize that their loved one was indeed there with them in their heart whether they lived far away or had passed away. In effect, the Rabbi was preparing the community for the visit of the Dalai Lama.   Read more...

To mark Botswana's Independence Day (30 September), and 18 months since Ian Khama came to office, Survival International has released a cartoon by an anonymous artist from Botswana depicting the President trying to sweep the Bushmen under a carpet.

President Khama (a board member of the non-governmental organization, Conservation International) has done nothing to undo his predecessor's pernicious policy of making the Bushmen's life in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve impossible. Indeed, he has called their way of life an "archaic fantasy".   Read more...

As the results of the old limited approach to business, leadership and finance become glaringly obvious, a new level of thinking, leading and conducting business is being summoned. And as we move forward in developing our new, sustainable approach to business, it is becoming clear to many that the sustainability of a company as a whole goes hand in hand with individual sustainability.

The Conscious Business Institute (CBI) is one of the pioneering businesses that has emerged out of this call to move into a new way of being and thinking around business, finance and our selves. Recognizing the current dissatisfaction amongst much of our labor force and the longing for inspiring, engaging work, CBI is helping businesses and leaders embrace conscious business practices that will ignite greater power, commitment and long-term sustainability inside and out and transform our business climate worldwide.   Read more...

Over 20 percent of methane gas, a greenhouse gas, is emitted by cows. There are about a billion cows in the world, and their methane emissions total more than the methane gas produced by all the cars, planes, ships and trucks in the world combined, according to Springwise.

UK company Mootral thinks they have found a solution to reduce methane gas emissions by cows by a minimum of 25 percent with a natural garlic-based extract that would be added to their food. Mootral is working with Welsh Neem Biotech to produce the additive, with plans to have a sample ready for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen this December.   Read more...

Here's the latest innovation to support the health and beauty of our skin, our bodies, and our planet! A new online Healthy Skin Clinic brings you the Custom Blends system, which lets you add powerfully nourishing botanical "boosters" to your choice of "Pure & Simple" base products. Specialties include sensitive skin, problem skin, and healthful "graceful aging."

Grateful Body is known for creating remarkably nurturing, joy-inspiring scent blends from impeccably pure essential oils, and when customizing you have your choice of many exquisitely nurturing scent boosters. It's simple and educational!   Read more...

Project Masiluleke is an effort designed by PopTech, a global network whose goal is to "accelerate the positive impact of world changing people, projects and ideas" to address HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis in South Africa through the power of mobile technology.   Read more...

New York City has unveiled a new ad campaign encouraging people to put down sodas, sugary juices and sports drinks, store-made coffee drinks, and other beverages laden with sugar and high fructose corn syrup in an effort to educate New Yorkers on calorie consumption.

The campaign, which features a graphic image of human fat being poured from a plastic soda bottle, follows a previous a NYC campaign which aimed to reduce obesity in the city by requiring restaurants by law to post the calorie counts of it's food. Posters displayed in New York subway cars informed New Yorkers that "2,000 calories a day is all most adults should eat."   Read more...

Ode. TED. Ode. TED. TED. Ode.

Both are so inspirational, it's tough to decide which is my favourite resource for just about everything.   Read more...

Not sure what it’s doing other than knocking the small white blossoms off the tree. Blossoms that will turn to small smooth round balls of sweet fruit.

Flapping its wings of black and orange. Collapsing them from view. The butterfly waits motionless. I've never seen a butterfly visit this tree. Maybe one comes everyday. But I am too busy reading emails and writing to see the natural world unfold before me.   Read more...

The Global Corner International Learning Center has posters of works from Picasso and several paella pans imported from Spain among the many items left over from their Passport to Spain Program. Twenty-nine schools participated in virtual trips to Spain with The Global Corner. Thousands of Escambia County elementary students learned about Spanish geography, language, dance, art, literature, and food during the 2008-09 school year. Using exciting, hands-on activities, The Global Corner helped the students learn more about the Spanish Explorers who founded Pensacola and about Spain today.   Read more...

What is perspective? It is more than just how we view everything. Perspective is how we choose to view everything.

Do we really have a choice about our perspective?   Read more...

The Opportunity Collaboration is a four-day, purpose-driven networking and problem solving summit commencing on World Poverty Day.

In a focused and intensive series of working business meetings, social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, social financiers, grant-makers and agents of change will explore unprecedented levels of collaboration, identify opportunities for leveraging resources across organizations and accelerate proven models for reducing poverty.   Read more...

Only a woman would be able to photograph women living in the Muslim world and even some women behind a veil. What sense of truth is present? What perspective is revealed in the eyes of the photographer?

Portraits and Stories of Women in the Middle East exhibit is open to the public in Geneva at the Museum of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) from September 23rd to January 24, 2010.   Read more...

The Pachamama Alliance will lead an Awakening the Dreamer session at the The European Summit for Global Transformation to be held at the World Trade Centre in Rotterdam on the 20, 21 and 22 of november 2009.

The Pachamama Alliance's mission is twofold: To preserve the earth's tropical rainforests by empowering the indigenous people who are its natural custodians, and to contribute to the creation of a new global vision of equity and sustainability for all.   Read more...

Executive coach Lynn Harris got tired of reading about the dearth of women in senior leadership positions.

Why, she asked herself, were women not making it to the upper echelons in the corporate world? And perhaps more important, WHAT could be done about it?

Tongue in cheek, Harris says there's a lot of contradictory advice floating around about what women need to do to get to the top:

"People say women should be more assertive, but not so assertive that they are disliked. Be collaborative, but not so friendly that they lack credibility. Be more competent than their male colleagues, but in a way that doesn't threaten the men. Be a role model for other women, but behave more like the men to succeed," she points out.   Read more...

But my planet is making me.

Tuesday was the Autumnal Equinox, one of two days out of the year when day and night are of equal length. For a moment, the earth's axis will not be tilted toward or away from the sun but rather level with it.

Our daylight will grow shorter and our nights longer.   Read more...

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Hi there. I am the founder of a new website that is all about spreading and sharing gratitude and appreciation online. The website is called www.GratitudeLog.com and we already have thousands of active members that share their gratitude and appreciation every day.

GratitudeLog is a website where people come together to celebrate happy moments, send simple gifts of appreciation and brighten up each other’s day. It’s based on the simple practice of expressing gratitude daily for wonderful moments in your life.   Read more...

SolarCity and Rabobank announced today that they will partner together to build the world's first electric car charging corridor, which will allow electric vehicles to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to a press release.

The corridor will be the first of its kind, enabling people with electric vehicles to travel a substantial distance with four fast, reliable, solar power-enhanced charging stations along the way in Salinas, Atascadero, Santa Maria and Goleta. The corridor, built in cooperation with Tesla Motors, an electric vehicle manufacturer in the Bay Area, plans to cut charging time to one third the time of other charging stations.   Read more...

Throughout Latin America, communities, activists and social movements are fighting dams, pollution, and water privatization -- and they're winning! A new report "Changing the Flow: Water Struggles in Latin America" collects a dozen interviews with water activists from across Latin America, talking about why they needed to take action to protect water, and how they won.

The 56 page report, which can be viewed here as a PDF in English and Spanish, was produced by Food and Water Watch, Red Vida, Transnational Institute,The RPR Network and Other Worlds.   Read more...

A brisk burst of air waves off the humidity revealing strong, powerful, majestic trees. Against the crisp blue, trees in the city reach into the sky providing a service for the community like none other.

Bapuji, a former freedom fighter for Gandhi and a retired UN official shares the yogi perspective. He says, "Trees are the ultimate symbol of service to others." He continues explaining trees remove carbon dioxide and provide oxygen. They provide shade when it is hot. They offer fruit and nuts for our pleasure. When the branches are heavy with fruit they lower closer to the ground easy for picking. They do all of this and ask for nothing in return. Bapuji's words resonate every time I see a remarkable tree standing tall.   Read more...

Recently, as I was about to enter my local supermarket, I noticed an older woman having trouble getting her shoe back on her foot. The problem was that she couldn't find a good place to steady herself in order to bend over and adjust her shoe.

Without a moment's thought, I stepped next to her and knelt down as I asked, "Would you like some help with that?"   Read more...

Design4Kids is a volunteer-based community of creative professionals who share their area of design expertise with teens in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. Volunteers come from a variety of professional design backgrounds, including graphic design, photography, marketing, fine art, web development, writing, animation and illustration.

Volunteers for Design4Kids provides week-long workshops where teens learn how to establish a successful design business. The organization works with a non-profit called Fotokids, which is working to end the cycle of poverty for some of Central America's poorest children. Fotokids is an after school program that teaches art techniques to participating students.   Read more...

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For the past ten years, Luis Soriano, a teacher in the small town of La Gloria, Colombia, has been following the same ritual. Every week-end, he gathers his donkey in front of his house, straps on the “Biblioburro” pouches to its back, and loads them with a selection of books from the eclectic collection he has acquired over the years.

Off on his mobile library, he travels into the hills and through the fields to the villages beyond where children await his visits impatiently. He firmly believes that bringing books to people who don’t have access to them can improve the country and open up possibilities for the future generation of Colombia.

Check out a short film about Luis' work by clicking here.

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You know the old joke... how many (fill in the blank) does it take to change a light bulb? Well, the real question is: How many people does it take to clean up a broken CFL.

Be extra diligent with the Compact Florescent Lamp light bulbs. Yes, they use 75% less energy than the incandescent light bulb and come in all sizes and shapes now. But be cautioned, there is an unseen cost. The CFLs require special care in handling when inserting into the socket and then extreme careful removal when broken.   Read more...

As the nonprofit sector adjusts to a rough economy, more groups are turning to Grassroots.org for solutions. Membership has nearly tripled in the last eleven months for the organization, which gives 501(c)3 groups free technology tools, including web building, web design, graphic design, language translation, and SEO consultation, among other resources.

In Sept. 2008, only 680 organizations used Grassroots.org services. In less than one year, membership has spiked to nearly 2,000 nonprofits, and Grassroots.org has given 501(c)3 groups $1,117,671 worth of technology tools.   Read more...

In general, being an architect has little bearing on one's quality as a musician, but in Moscow, that's a different story. All students of architecture there are required to study music as well, so architects are professionally trained musicians as well. Peter Nalitch and some of his fellow students at the Moscow school of architecture started a cover band some years ago.

At first they merely emulated personal musical heroes like Deep Purple, but as time passed they expanded their musical horizon with reggae, rap, country, belcanto and even Bach. Demos sent out to record companies and radio stations yielded no response whatsoever, but all of that changed when the band put some self-produced music videos on YouTube. The song "Gitar" with its Boratesque lyrics and absurdism especially became a cult hit and transformed the band into an overnight sensation.   Read more...

Farmers’ markets have gone presidential in the United States. On September 17th, 2009, a FreshFarm Market will open by the White House in Washington, D.C.-- just weeks after President Barack Obama wished for a market during his national forum on health care.

This is a remarkable achievement in the recent history of the return of the farmers markets. In 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recognized 1,755 fresh produce markets across the United States. Now, there are more than 4,685. The growth has been slow and steady, and is now a recognized benefit for farmers, consumers and ultimately the health of the community.   Read more...

Way Basics is yet another conscious business that is proving with commitment and ingenuity our furniture industry can be transformed from an unconscious consumer to a partner in global health.

After ten years of dedication, Way Basics perfected their innovative zBoards that replace the standard, wood-based particle boards with boards made of 99% post-consumer paper. These boards are 60% lighter than their wooden counterparts and are 100% recyclable. They require no tools and are easily assembled into custom bookcases, desks, beds and chairs with industrial strength two sided tape.   Read more...

Valérie Grandury's breast cancer diagnosis was the impetus for reinventing her life. Driven against the odds by a will to live, she created a battle-plan against her disease through a total detoxification of her environment. Valérie quit her job in the film business, moved out of the polluted Hollywood hills and into the serenity of Topanga, California.

She dedicated her time to studying the healing power of plants, started meditation and yoga, adopted a raw food diet and became a health and wellness coach in order to guide other cancer patients through their healing journey.   Read more...

The Institute for Individual and World Peace (IIWP) is a peace organization whose mission is to identify and present the processes that promote peace. The principles serving as the cornerstones of IIWP are simple yet profound:   Read more...

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Hello, I have conceived of a very unique human powered vehicle that is in the final design process, and I am soon to be starting the building of the first prototype. You can find a good description of this invention on my blog.

Without any formal design or engineering training, I have for most of my adult life been a carpenter, woodworker, and musician.   Read more...

2012 marks the end of the world - at least that's what the ancient Mayans believed. With over 173 million hits on Google for 2012, mounting interest in this prophecy has become a cultural phenomenon. In his new novel, The Twelve, William Gladstone, an expert on the implications and impact of 2012 and ancient religions, draws on his own life experiences to create the dramatic story of Max Doff -- and his whirlwind journey from birth to December 21, 2012.   Read more...

I've said it before and I'll say it again (and again and again, likely 'til the day I die): I'm surrounded by amazing women who are doing incredible work to make positive change in the world.

They come from all races, religions and nationalities.

In the last few weeks three amazing young women in particular have come onto the amazingwomenrock.com radar screen: Masarat Daud, Natalie Carney (see photo), and Ambreen Rahman.   Read more...

This is Rosmery. She is one of Reading Village's teen reading promoters who receives funding for school in return for her literacy work with children in her community. She's eighteen years old but just started high school this year. Her father, who only completed the first grade, doesn't much value education. So Rosmery had to drop out for a while to help her family. Going back to school was a personal dream and struggle for her. And then her mother died a few months ago and she nearly had to give up that dream. But she has stood strong against her father to continue her studies and remain in our program.   Read more...

Hoping to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality, Ben & Jerry's ice cream has partnered with Freedom to Marry, a leader in the movement to gain nationwide marriage equality, to celebrate gay and lesbian couple's freedom to marry in the state of Vermont, as well as all other states practicing marriage equality. For the month of September the popular Chubby Hubby flavor of ice cream will be renamed Hubby Hubby, and the ice cream makers will be publicly supporting the first gay and lesbian marriages to take place in Vermont.   Read more...

Hands build. Hands heal. Simply stated, an environmental hand print is the good one does for the world. This contrasts with the well-known environmental footprint that signifies the damage one does. The best one can get with a footprint is no impact at all. The potential of a hand print is unlimited.

There are lots of examples of the environmental hand print The science educators of Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors (ECO) teach first through fifth graders about streams and the soil. Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring to raise our awareness of pesticides. Wangari Maathai of Kenya organized the Green Belt Movement which has planted 40 million trees. Our environmental heroes have bold environmental hand prints.   Read more...

"When I was a boy ... I had dreams" are Captain Abu Raed's first words to the group of hopeful children surrounding him on the hill top in Jordan. The dusty dry soccer area circled by Roman columns and the airport become the settings in the award winning film, Captain Abu Raed. The older widower and several children from the village learn life's joy and lessons. It is a tale of truth, dreams, compassion, forgiveness, courage and sacrifice.   Read more...

As the saying has it "one man's trash is another's treasure," yet with a little bit of creative thought you can turn your trash into your treasure. That's exactly what has inspired a new wave of sustainability that goes beyond practicality and into decadence.

The idea of artistic living is a growing trend in eco-friendly culture, which has already witnessed a significant growth in consumer interest when it comes to modular living and organic decor. Even non-greenies are getting interested now that being green has brought with it a new level of stylish eccentricity.

And what comes more easily in this economy than an assortment of empty wine bottles after you've just thrown a smashing get-together? With the preference being on sourcing cheap entertaining ideas, most people now see staying at home with a good meal and great wine as a viable alternative to spending money on restaurants and clubs.   Read more...

José Gómez-Márquez, the MIT Technology Review's Humanitarian of the Year, is making innovative medical devices for use in poor countries. Márquez's inspired creativity in the field of medicinal invention is producing tools that medical workers in poor countries can count on. Based on the notion that medical devices are often complicated and expensive to fix, find or replace, he makes simple new creations that are easier to fix than the standard version. Some are designed to be difficult to break in the first place and require no power.   Read more...

Confetti in brilliant colors illuminate the magic of Paris on canvas as only Angelique can create. Opened her 10th show in Paris on August 27 at the Seven Seventy Gallery, 18 rue Dauphine, Paris 75006. Angelique reveals the hidden romance and joy of Parisian life.

With palette knife and bold colors Angelique blocks out the air, roof tops, cobble stone streets and cafe street scenes with ethereal illusions. Each has a notion of mystery and curiosity. To capture the unusual colors and light, Angelique delicately balances a canvas while climbing a drain pipe to the roof. She sets up early in the morning to capture the spring light hitting the bronze roof tops with clay chimney pipes. Often shuttered windows are open offering another breath of life.   Read more...

As a sustainability consultant in Buenos Aires, I recently attended the first ever green building conference in the country. Though the organizers expected less than 100 participants, the room packed with more than 200 architects, engineers, developers, property owners, and public representatives, eager to learn about other countries' experiences developing their green building sector. Currently, 12 projects are LEED registered in Argentina and the first, Madero Office, will be certified soon.   Read more...

The name of this winery popped out at me while browsing through a book on interesting wine factoids. Grace Family Vineyards planted their vines in 1976, long before Napa was known as a wine growing region. It also turns out that the owner, Dick Grace, and his family have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to children’s charities in Mexico, Nepal and India as well as helping the homeless of San Francisco and constructing health clinics around the world through the Grace Family Foundation.

The Grace Family Vineyards is a very small Napa Valley winery focused on extremely high quality. It is one of the most unique wineries in existence due to it’s owner, whose son Kirk manages the vineyard which is farmed organically using biodynamic techniques. Grace has adopted many Buddhist beliefs and tries to use the winery and its profits as “a catalyst for healine our planet."   Read more...

Books are whispers of the past heard well into the future. Lydie Hakizimana opened her bookstore Drakkar Ltd. in Nyarutarama, Mountain Center in Kigali, Rwanda three years ago. Lydia sells new and used books with an emphasis on educational material and text books for students at the local schools and universities. With the return to academics for many Rwandans, Lydia has a created a welcome niche.

However, though the genocide is over, the lingering result is a collective ambition for survival, success and deeper faith, which is reflected in Lydia's current recommended reading list.   Read more...

The United Cerebral Palsy's Transition Employment Center or TEC Students in Pensacola, Florida recently took an all expenses paid "trip" to Egypt! The Global Corner International Learning Center visited TEC and transported the students to Egypt by presenting interactive lessons.

About forty students began their trip with learning that Egypt is located in Africa, and that most of the country is compromised of a desert. Students also actively participated in the introduction by learning to say hello, teacher, and goodbye in Arabic, and then saying the words to one another.   Read more...

Last month I visited Norway, to attend the folk and world music festival in the small town of Førde. It turned out to be a major event -- one of the largest of its kind in all of Scandinavia -- with an audience easily twice as numerous as the town's usual population (11,000).

One of the highlights of Førde 2009 was a fantastic "unplugged" performance by Skáidi at the former bank building of Førde, a beautiful wooden house from the nineteenth century. Skáidi is a very unusual duo, consisting of Sami joiker Inga Juuso and jazz bassist Steinar Raknes.   Read more...

A rather old man who lives in my Tokyo neighborhood came shuffling along on his way to go shopping. He stopped and talked with a girl of about six who was playing in the parking lot of my apartment complex. It was obvious by their animated conversation that they knew each other well.

The man asked how she was doing in school and she replied that she was working hard and even though it meant less play time, she was studying a lot every day. He praised her for her effort and exhorted her to do her best. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar which he offered her as a reward. She bowed and accepted without hesitation. The old man smiled, bowed back to her and continued down the street.   Read more...

For Paul Romer, Stanford economist and one of TIME magazine's 25 most influential people in America in 1997, global progress and growth could begin with cities. His project, charter cities, is based on the idea that struggling countries can break the cycle of poverty by implementing a new set of rules.

He proposes that the scale of the city is the proper venue for the implementation of new administrative zones, which would allow people to potentially leave areas with bad rules that stifle growth and progress and enter into a charter city with better rules that allow the community to thrive.   Read more...

In the world of HIV/AIDS, communications is vital. In many communities, often the initial reaction is to say, "we do not have any men who have sex with men; we do not have any men who visit prostitutes; and, we do not have any HIV/AIDS." Reality is a bit different than the words. Today, according to the World Health Organization, approximately, 33 million people are living with HIV and 2.7 million new cases were reported in 2007. The face of HIV/AIDS is everyone's face. HIV/AIDS knows no economic, race, ethnic, gender, age or religious boundaries. It is an equal opportunity disease. As people move around the globe - so too does the virus.

A rural clinic physician is setting the tone for HIV/AIDS leadership. Dr. Thubten Phuntsok from the Kham region of the Tibetan plateau in China is a bold leader. The silence around HIV didn't quiet the facts that patients were trickling in for HIV treatment. The first patients - possibly non-Tibetans - were identified in Lhasa in the 1990s. A year later, the first Tibetan AIDS patient was identified. Gradually, more patients were identified in the region.   Read more...

Compassion.

That’s the reason why Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill released Abdel Baset al-Megrahi who was serving a life sentence for his role in the bombing of the Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Doctors have given al-Megrahi only a few months to live making him eligible for compassionate release www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1993/ukpga_19930009_en_2#pt1-pb1-l1g3.   Read more...

The East 13th Street Theater in New York City is hosting an evening of music, poetry, monologues and dance to support EarSay’s work with teenagers from war zones and workshops in prisons. The event, Transforming Trauma Into Art, will take place Tuesday September 15th from 7-9 PM and will benefit EarSay, " an artist driven non-profit arts organization dedicated to uncovering and portraying stories of the uncelebrated," according to EarSay.org.   Read more...

My husband has a high-powered magnifying glass which he’s put on a string to wear around his neck. Mostly, he forgets about it, and it’s come out quite seldom in the past few years. When we were heading to Newfoundland last month, I asked him to make sure to bring it. For some reason I always forget the term “magnifying glass,” and as I’ve struggled to recall it, I’ve begun referring to it as the “microglass.” I was the one who mostly wore the microglass in Newfoundland, and on my birthday in July, my husband handed me a small gift wrapped in a Newfoundland brochure. It was the microglass.

So now it’s mine, and I have a few things to say about it. First, this was a great gift, and choosing great gifts for people who don’t need any more things, who try to live by the MOGO (most good, least harm) principle, who don’t want to contribute to waste, etc., can be tricky. How perfect that my husband passed on something already part of our household that I loved so much.   Read more...

Green Life Smart Life is a green home building project on the coast of Rhode Island driven by homeowners searching for integration of a modern lifestyle with green, sustainable living.

Green Life Smart Life embraces the notion that modern day living can and should go hand in hand with sustainability and environmental stewardship, according greenlifesmartlife.com, and demonstrates how families can make lifestyle choices that are both sustainable and realistic to meet their needs without compromising the environment's needs.   Read more...

Peaceful Schools International is a non-profit, charitable organization providing support to schools that have declared a commitment to creating and maintaining a culture of peace, according to peacefulschoolsinternational.org. Students are taught peace education and learn to value each other without aggressive behavior, violence or bullying.

Over 300 schools from around the world are members of the organization, founded by Hetty van Gurp in 2001. Peaceful Schools International's member schools promote a community where the teachers, students and community members collaborate in an environment of safety and respect.   Read more...

As the morning light welcomes a new day, so too does an ice cream shop in the heart of Rwanda.

Marlene, a young woman with a big smile, opened Unik Ice Cream five years ago. She offers ice cream to the children and young at heart at Union Trade Center Mall on Avenue Justice in Kigali, Rwanda. Currently, Marlene imports her ice cream from South Africa and shares this delight with many.   Read more...

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Within the last two decades a quiet revolution has been occurring in the legal profession. Largely ignored by the media, it began when various pioneers around the country got to the point that they just couldn't practice law in the typical polarizing, adversarial way any more. Innovators like Stu Webb, a family lawyer who lost his best friend when they were on opposite sides of a contentious divorce, created Collaborative Law and other new approaches and models to law. Judges like Peggy Hora and Len Edwards couldn't stand putting the same people behind bars time after time and transformed their courts into problem-solving courts that got to the root cause of the criminal behavior and supported defendants in becoming responsible citizens. Lawyers began to inquire into what it was to be a conscious lawyer, exploring meditation, well-being and balance.   Read more...

In Every Language, a Louisville-based interpreting and translating provider, has joined the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association’s (KDVA) council for the development of domestic violence interpreting certification. As there is currently no domestic violence interpreting certification available in the United States, the certification will be the first of its kind. Lead by Isela Arras with the KDVA, the Interpreter Certification Project hopes that its certification model, once complete, can be used to qualify or certify domestic violence interpreters in other states. This project therefore only not impacts victims of domestic violence in Kentucky, but has the capability to help people throughout the nation.   Read more...

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Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros announced that he will donate $35 million to the state of New York to provide money for school supplies and clothing for low-income youth. The gift leverages federal stimulus money bringing the total amount to about $175 million going toward the program. To access the federal money the state must provide 20 percent of the funds, but due to recession-related budget cuts New York couldn't put up the money, so George Soros stepped in. The program will give $200 to about 850,000 low-income families in New York state to help pay for back-to-school supplies and clothing.

"Even in the toughest of economic times, starting the school year right is key to a child's success," said Mr. Soros in a press release announcing his gift.   Read more...

Professor Muhammed Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, was honored by President Barack Obama with the Presidential Medal of Freedom alongside fifteen other individuals being honored for their work as “agents of change.”

Dr. Yunus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, challenges the notion of hopeless poverty in his country, Bangladesh and now in the United States. Currently, Dr. Yunus is expanding into health care services in Bangladesh and offering financial services in the United States - striking in the epicenter of the financial world of New York.   Read more...

Traveling has become more personal than ever, and the well-seasoned traveler is looking for something more than tourist-filled plazas and resorts. The modern day traveler wants to experience the places they visit hands-on and many desire to also make a difference. With a perfect blend of service, community and raw experiencing of local spirit, Travel for a Cause is the answer for globetrotters with heart.

A vacation with a cause touches all levels of mind, body and spirit while providing true cultural immersion and contributing to greater good. Independent tour operators are popping up to provide travelers with philanthropic travel itineraries that allow meeting regional natives, participation in ceremonies and giving back either in dollars or volunteered time. This is Travel for a Cause.   Read more...

You may be the type of person who tells yourself that you need to get away in order to rest or that you will rest when you have time. Perhaps you say that when the job or project is done, then you'll rest. Maybe you are even waiting for "the kids to be grown up" before you'll rest. This way of living life, where we are consistently putting off what is essential for us, makes no rational sense at all. Rest is already in our presence and the purpose of this article is to assist you in making a crucial, subtle shift that may enable you to fully experience rest in at least one of its many facets.

There are many ways of looking at what rest actually is. It is not only a multifaceted word but also, in life, a richly nuanced expression -- an attitude that we can bring into our daily lives, no matter what we are doing. There is no need to wait to rest when we can rest right now in the moment or between moments. We don't need to strain to live. As counterintuitive as it may seem in today's culture, for the most part life can be lived in a relaxed, restful way.   Read more...

Greenwashing. A particularly evil practice used by companies to fool you into thinking you are buying an environmentally-friendly product or service. Here are three ways to out-smart cunning companies with deep pockets.

1. "Natural" isn't a regulated term, and products labeled as such are often quite the opposite. Because no laws govern the use of terms such as "derived from natural ingredients" or "all-natural", these phrases are frequently abused. Arsenic and formaldehyde are both naturally-derived, but that doesn't mean we want them in our products.   Read more...

During the "Notes & Neurons: In Search of a Common Chorus" event from the 2009 World Science Festival, musician Bobby McFerrin treated the audience to several live performances and cross cultural demonstrations to illustrate music’s note-worthy interaction with the brain and our emotions.   Read more...

Meatless Mondays, a non-profit initiative started by The Monday Campaigns in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, encourages people to refrain from eating meat one day a week (Monday). The campaign has received global support, endorsed by Paul McCartney and his daughters who started a Meatless Monday campaign in the U.K. as well as Michael Pollan - author of In Defense of Food and Omnivore's Dilemma as well as the shocking documentary Food, Inc. which shows the atrocities of factory farming and slaughterhouses.

Their goal is to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet by reducing our carbon footprint. The campaign offers avid omnivores an opportunity to help reduce the massive waste created by the meat industry while still maintaining their usual diet the rest of the week.   Read more...

How can we work with the masters of globalization? Lawrence O. Gostin, an internationally acclaimed scholar, argues that "McDonald's provides a fantastic service that people value and can afford, even in poorer countries which is a huge advantage." Is there a way we can work with McDonald's to promote healthier products?   Read more...

Music, quite literally, plays on and reflects back to the politics and key social issues of any particular period in time. Modern musicologists emphasize the connection between music, politics and history and how cultural evolution can be traced through a parallel evolution of musical styles. In his publishing debut, A Music Manifesto (published by AuthorHouse), John A. Allegro offers a unique account of musical history as it pertains to biblical tradition, starting from the Psalms and working towards a discussion of modern Zionism and the conflict between Palestine and Israel.

Part informal conversation between a professor and his students and part comprehensive examination of musicology throughout biblical history, A Music Manifesto offers readers an accessible guide into a seldom-discussed topic, linking the distant past with current affairs in politics and cultural studies. Allegro begins by re-describing the musical events and celebrations from the Psalms, including the multitude of references to musical terminology, instrumentation and musical composition, before turning to examine the authenticity of the period of David and Solomon’s reigns and the first temple building.   Read more...

Based in Pensacola, Florida, The Global Corner (www.theglobalcorner.org) provides age-appropriate activities for elementary school children to help them understand the arts, language, literature, customs, culture and food of other countries. Each school year, they focus on bringing one country to life. In 2009-2010, the focus country is Egypt. Our teachers and volunteers keep the students involved with hands-on activities that are designed not only to help them understand the world around them, but also help them learn.

Last week The Global Corner International Learning Center held a three day "trip" to Egypt. The event was open to all children who would attend elementary school this coming fall. The second day of activities was centered around Contemporary Egypt. Students reviewed previous information on the location of Egypt and the eco systems within the country. Students responded to questions during the review by answering yes in Arabic. A presentation by The Global Corner's Director, Lee Little of modern day Cairo and other cities along the Nile were also explored. Students also learned other words in Arabic which they used throughout the day including how to say: hello teacher, thank you and good bye.   Read more...

United Prosperity is a non-profit organization that helps you combat global poverty effectively by multiplying the impact of your money through loan guarantees. We are the world’s first person to person loan guaranteeing website.

There are small entrepreneurs all over the world who cannot afford to start and grow their business alone. Expanding their business may be the only means to adequately feeding their family or sending their children to school. However, banks do not lend to them without collateral, and that’s where you come in!   Read more...

This is going to be an awesome, exciting event at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, New York. eomega.org Many women of different generations and maybe a few men will come together to speak about their generations' experiences and how we can weave lessons learned in past generations into the realities facing all of us today. Amazing faculty will be present, and there will be keynotes, break-out workshops, evening entertainment, networking and learning about other organizations, and also just enjoying each others company on the beautiful Omega campus. In the past, these conferences always inspired and strengthened me, and have changed my life to the better in more than one way. Find more information about the Conference and the work of the Women's Institute here: eomega.org/omega/womensinstitute   Read more...

The “I KNOW” monster has reared its ugly head today in our home. Yes ... it finally has made its way here and we cannot get rid of it! The “I KNOW” monster has stolen my kid!

You know the “I KNOW” monster, because ...well ...I know you do. We all do. It grabs us while we are sleeping, usually about the time we turn thirteen and does not let go of that tight grip on us until we realize that we DON’T know everything. And of course you KNOW that can take years!   Read more...

Supporting artists in conflict zones reflects the underlying mission of Musicians for Harmony founder Allegra Klein: To promote peace and cultural exchange through music. Her non-profit organization, founded shortly after September 11, 2001, has earned significant and growing attention for its charitable and diplomatic efforts in the years since. Their annual concerts of chamber and world music are the centerpiece of an expansive program of performances, educational activities and cross-cultural exchange.   Read more...

Newsweek's Daniel Stone encourages you and President Obama to have a laugh with Ode's special laughter issue in the magazine's political blog The Gaggle.   Read more...

I want to tell you about a project a friend of mine is putting together. So, many of us acknowledge that we have a consumption problem: we consume too much, and we often don’t know the origins of the stuff we consume.

Is your T-shirt assembled in a sweatshop?   Read more...

Often our weekend plans include or necessitate the purchase or addition of something new in our lives. Maybe you need an outfit for a wedding, a new refrigerator or something smaller like cleaning products or shampoo. Whether it be toys or gadgets for your kids, a gift, or necessities like toilet paper and food, how environmentally sound and healthy of a purchase we are making is often the last thing on our minds during hectic weekend errands. We go to the store, pick up what we need and then move on to the fun stuff we wait for all week. A few minutes of thoughtful consideration before running errands can add up to big changes toward reducing our consumption.

Reducing our carbon footprint is a big task. Where to start? What makes the most difference? Tackling one thing at a time can be a manageable way to get to a greener place, so here is a challenge for all of us: Find something we have already or that you need/want that isn't green and replace it with a greener version, or better yet, get rid of it all together (in an environmentally-friendly way of course).   Read more...

Energy technology company Jetstream Wind recently announced plans that it will develop the world's first sustainable zero-emissions power plant. The plant will use power from renewable resources such as wind and solar power, which will then be converted into hydrogen and transferred back to the grid as available power, according to the New Mexico-based company.

The process is completely sustainable, doesn't create any greenhouse gasses and produces distilled water as a byproduct, a promising prospect for parts of the world without access to freshwater.   Read more...

On a recent afternoon, I went to a pottery shop outside of Tokyo and happened to meet the head potter who had stopped by to check on her staff.

After looking around the shop, I asked the potter if she had a few minutes to chat and explain her work to me. The first thing she talked about was how a potter never knew what was going to wind up coming out of the kiln. "Each kiln opening," she said, "was somewhat like Christmas morning. Sometimes you got many wonderful gifts, and sometimes you wound up with coal in your stocking, like when most of the pieces explode in the kiln due to severe changes in atmospheric weather conditions."   Read more...

Very few services exist for those who live without shelter in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. I want to change that! Prosperity House, a project of Many Paths World Service, is a high-quality, unique soup kitchen to serve the only evening meal to those who live without permanent shelter in the San Fernando Valley.

We believe that the whole being must receive attention, spirit, mind and body. We have just launched our largest campaign to raise $250,000 within 1 year to serve our first meal. This will allow us to build and sustain Prosperity House for these citizens who go hungry each night. Until there's not a need, we need to feed.   Read more...

The Great Kindness Challenge is one day where kids around the world dedicate themselves to performing as many acts of kindness as possible, using the checklist of 50 suggestions published on our web site.

On Saturday, August 8, we aim to have over one million youth participate in this one-of-a-kind global event. The Great Kindness Challenge is presented by Kids for Peace, whose mission is to cultivate every child’s innate ability to foster peace through cross-cultural experiences and hands-on arts, service and environmental projects.   Read more...

Our greatest asset is also our greatest challenge. How can that be? The answer is actually very simple. It is a single word that makes all the difference in the world. That little, powerful word is choice.

Every minute of every hour of every day, we make choices. Even choosing not to make a choice is a choice. How we respond to all of life’s occurrences is a choice. So make good choices. End of story.

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The Novato Charter School is a tiny public elementary school in Novato, California, built and run by a small group of administrators and faculty with the help of a highly involved parent body. Absolutely everything that has happened at this small school (a Waldorf methods/best educational practices amalgam) is the result of individual dedication and vision. In 2001 the Novato School District offered the school a site. It was nothing more than a chunk of asphalt, the desolate former Hamilton Air Force base landing pad.   Read more...

Do you think others see you quite differently than you see yourself? As time has past I know I view myself as my much younger self. In my mind I am still that 20 year old that danced on SoulTrain, so many years ago. My children cannot imagine me ever being that cool. I wish I had pictures of it.

As children we looked at everything with wonderment and awe. Perhaps we just need to give ourselves permission to release those dreams we once had, the hopes and desires that so often get waylaid by what life tosses in our path. Who or what is in our way, those limitations self-imposed or constraints we allow to define us, we can change those things. It only demands an active choice.   Read more...

KEEN Inc., a leader in hybrid outdoor performance products, including footwear, socks and bags - is running an exciting contest with the chance to win a week-long volunteer vacation at an animal rescue society near Cape Town, South Africa. Entries are being accepted until August 21, 2009, at keenfootwear.com/southafrica.

The trip is organized by i-to-i, a U.K.-based volunteer travel company which has sent more than 20,000 people to volunteer in Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America since 1996.   Read more...

With the vast amount of "green" information out there it's easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to knowing what you should be doing. Just remember that every little bit counts, and making a few small choices this weekend can make a big difference. Making green choices helps us create a healthy environment for our planet and our bodies, something we can all get on board for. Here are a few tips to help you have a green weekend and save you some cash at the same time.   Read more...

Nine shark attack survivors gathered in Washington D.C. this week to lobby Congress to pass a Senate bill outlawing shark "finning" in U.S. waters. Shark finning, the practice of slicing off a shark's fins and throwing the body back into the ocean to die, is mainly practiced in other parts of the world where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy. The bill, which already passed in the House of Representatives last March and is supported by federal fisheries, will make existing shark-protection laws easier to enforce and help close loopholes in the existing U.S. shark-finning ban. A firmer stance by the U.S. will bring global awareness to shark conservation and help to influence policy on a global scale.   Read more...

Why is it ‘news’ when someone applies the laws of nature to architecture, climate change, or even national energy policies?

Common sense is returning. Recently The Economist profiled the new U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu in the July 2, 2009 issue. Secretary Chu being a Nobel Prize winner in physics is a rare commodity in national policy making. He is a scientist in a leadership policy-making position. For a little perspective, there are 535 members in the U.S. Congress - only 11 have a science background.   Read more...

Double your philanthropic power at LavishGiving.com, an online shop where you can purchase a gift for a loved one and receive 20% back on purchases of $100 or more to donate to your charity of choice. The site features products from top designers, including home and kitchen items, clothing, accessories and jewelry as well as gifts for children and pets.

LavishGiving.com, started by a Cincinatti boutique owner who was inspired to create a retail experience that gives back after losing her brother and a dear friend to cancer, gives online shoppers an opportunity to purchase gifts and products they would buy anyway and make a substantial donation to a cause that is meaningful to them.   Read more...

By the year 2020, The U.S. will make up only four percent of the world's population, according to a 2001 CIA report. The Global Corner International Learning Center is spreading awareness of the world to elementary students along the Florida panhandle. Every year a different country is highlighted and brought into classrooms for children to learn that country's culture and spark international curiosity.   Read more...

Save Your Logo, a creative new French non-profit committed to biodiversity and the preservation of plant and animal species, is asking companies who use a plant or animal's likeness in their logo to make a commitment to preserve and protect the species they profit from.

The first companies to step up and commit to joining preservation efforts of their logos are international clothing brand Lacoste, committing to the preservation of crocodiles and alligators, and the French insurance company MAAF, whose efforts will go toward saving their companies animal representation, the dolphin. Lacoste says, "The brand will actively support projects selected by the GEF to safeguard or protect the endangered crocodile, alligator, caiman or gavial species, whose loss would jeopardize the biological balance of their natural habitats."   Read more...

I always believed happiness was contagious. Now, like so many other things I feel innately but tend to doubt without external verification; I can say I know it to be true.

We now have scientific proof that happiness spreads. James Fowler (University of California, San Diego) and Nicholas Christakis (Harvard) recently released the results of a 20-year study showing the “dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network.”   Read more...

World Bicycle Relief, founded in 2005 in response to the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean by SRAM Corporation and Trek Bicycle, empowers people in area of extreme poverty and those suffering in the wake of natural disasters with the gift of transportation.

According to worldbicyclerelief.org, "Simple, sustainable transportation is an essential element in disaster assistance and poverty relief. Bicycles fulfill basic needs by providing access to healthcare, education and economic development. Bicycles empower individuals, their families, and their communities."   Read more...

I recently got a bar of Sea Hag Soap. Yeah I know the name is weird, but the product is great.

I have very sensitive skin and need all natural type products. Sea Hag Soap (I use Got Your Goat Lavender; made with essential oils and goat milk as well as an all natural olive oil base with glycerin). These soaps (and there are a lot of choices; there even even some that work on your hair, skin and clothes) last an amazingly long time, are good for your skin and have very little impact on the environment as they are made in an old converted barn in northern Pennsylvania, not a big factory.   Read more...

Sick or healthy. Rich or poor. Thin or fat. Tall or short. Curly haired or bald. None of it matters when it comes to waking up happy everyday. What does matter is gratitude and perspective.

What makes a man rich? It is not money. There are plenty of poor people - “economically challenged” - that feel wealthy in ways that are beyond their wildest dreams. They are ‘loaded’ with family and friends, rich in experiences and participate in life like tycoons. They are showered in immeasurable riches of making a difference to someone and to the world in which they live. These are the people whose vocabulary does not include phrases like “I will be happy when...”, or I would be happy if...”   Read more...

TakePart.com wants you to get involved in the causes you care about and have the tools to make a difference. Covering issues from climate change to the industrialization of the food chain and how clean our drinking water is, the site allows you to explore issues that concern you or that you want to learn more about. You can share your ideas with others sharing your concerns and learn about ways to participate in your cause and take action to change something you don't think is right.   Read more...

Architecture for Humanity spans the globe working as a benevolent tour de force with a network of over 40,000 professionals who lend their time and services such as design, construction and development skills to those who would otherwise not be able to afford their services in places where people are critically in need. With 80 chapters in 25 countries, Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofit design services firm and a network for people who care about sustainable development.

Legendary architect Frank Gehry is a former advisory board member, and David de Rothschild, British adventurer and environmentalist and actress Cameron Diaz have both served as former competition jurors and project reviewers.   Read more...

Ken Thaiday Senior, respected artist from the Torres Strait Island, presents his visions and art with grace and eloquence. With his wife Liz by his side, they have been transported from one world to another to be honored in Washington, D.C. during NAIDOC Week, which celebrates the achievements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Mr. Thaiday reveals a perspective into a world of dreams, faith, nature, fishing, dancing and art all the while connecting ancient spiritual traditions to contemporary times.   Read more...

Whole Foods Market has joined the Non-GMO Project, committing to the third-party system that verifies food does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The store's private label brands, 365 Every Day Value and Whole Foods Market, will carry the "Non-GMO Project Verified" seal beginning this fall.

GMOs are plants whose DNA have been altered to create an organism that did not previously exist in nature. According to WholeFoodsMarket.com, the GMO crops currently approved and marketed in the United States do one of two things: make their own pesticides or resist herbicides, so that farmers can spray an entire field with a strong chemical herbicide and kill everything but the GMO crop.   Read more...

Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of microcredit said, "If you want to solve poverty, you have to put people in a position to build their own life."

Allowing two families to build their own lives in new homes is the goal of ING's Huis voor een huis (Home for a home) program, which offers Dutch borrowers taking out a mortgage an option to donate 300 Euros (about 424 U.S. dollars) which will then be matched by the bank and used as microloans for families in Bangladesh and India to use toward building their own homes.   Read more...

The Mubarak Prize for Arts recipient this year is artist professor Muhammad Taha Hussein, a contemporary artist who illustrates the fine balance between modern and tradition.

Mr. Hussein is a gentle giant of a man who stands tall in height, with encompassing hands and has a large vision for the arts and life in general. His enthusiasm for new designs, new technique and new ideas is appealing. Especially when he recognizes his roots in historical neighborhoods in Cairo contrasted by his time in Germany. This constant balance between new and old is reflected in his work.   Read more...

People thought we were crazy. Absolutely nuts for building a service that would enable people to create their own memorial sites. To do that, people would have to admit they are one day going to die... and who wants to do that? We were told we were insane, morbid, out of our minds. But build it we did.

Now www.bcelebrated.com exists and even though some people raise an eyebrow when we describe it, those who use it describe it as profound, soothing, inspiring. The service also allows users to create private password-protected messages for loved ones. They can also prepare a notification system for when they pass away, so loved ones won't have to go searching for their contacts.   Read more...

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Finding a clean and safe swimming spot in Europe this summer is at your fingertips with the Eye on Earth World Watch map, a user-friendly resource resulting from a partnership between Microsoft and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Beaches, rivers and lakes are marked by icons which are color coded (greens are safe, reds warn against swimming areas where the water is unhealthy and swimming is prohibited) and many are marked by a thumbs up or thumbs down, indicating other map-users rated a particular area as good, bad or average.   Read more...

A fund raising Zumbathon™, a dance marathon combining fitness and philanthropy, on one of the hottest days on record this year in Pensacola, brought together a diverse group of over 70 supporters who raised $851 dollars for The Global Corner International Learning Center.   Read more...

The International Ecotourism Society unites conservation, communities and sustainable travel while promoting responsible travel to natural areas while conserving the environment and improving the well-being of local people.

According to ecotourism.org, TIES works by creating an international network of individuals, institutions and the tourism industry, educating tourists and tourism professionals and influencing the tourism industry. Public institutions and donors integrate the principles of ecotourism into their operations and policies. As the world's oldest and largest international ecotourism association, TIES seeks to be the global source of knowledge and advocacy uniting communities, conservation, and sustainable travel.   Read more...

Seventeen-year-old Iraqi piano prodigy Zuhal Sultan has confirmed plans for the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. Her ambitious program will debut in August 2009 in the northern Kurdish region, and will feature performances by a 35-piece orchestra comprised of Iraq’s most promising young classical musicians.   Read more...

Often when I travel, I look for a good local bookstore. I am curious to know what people are reading and what is the role of the bookstore in the community. Plus, I have found that books can be treasures that transport you back in history or possibly forward in time to events yet to take place.

In Cairo, I discovered Diwan Bookstore in Zamalek. It is a special bookstore featuring books in Arabic, English, French and German. When I entered, they had on display front and center their recommended books, among them:   Read more...

Recession. Economic crisis. The air is abuzz with these words, from the concerned whispers of colleagues and friends, to the speculation and predictions of the media. Who will sink? Who will swim? How bad is it? How long will it last? Although it came as a shock, the current economic crisis serves as a reminder of the oldest, most pervasive and predictable aspect of life itself: change. The only thing that is certain, is change. In our society, our attitude toward change is often of sticking our heads in the sand. We try to pretend that it doesn't exist. We become rigid, seeking the illusory permanence of routine to make us feel safe, to feel in control. Many of us spend our lives dedicated to creating a stable environment; a solid career, a dependable spouse. But even the longest marriages can end in divorce, the largest fortunes in the world can dwindle down to nothing.   Read more...

InFocus, a web site created by Andrew Kilbourn and Faith Model, is an online, not-for-profit resource featuring "short documentary films that bring a thoughtful and thorough awareness to the positive forces of change in regions hammered by conflict, poverty, oppression or distaste", according to InFocusworld.org.

Their web site states their goal as "to tell stories of hope and inspire change. All too often, we are faced with images of certain parts of the world that are shocking; deplorable living conditions, war torn villages; starving children. But what we don’t always hear about are the everyday extraordinary people whom, in the midst of these struggles, are effecting real change in their homes and in their communities."   Read more...

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“Are you Obama?” Imagine my surprise when young and old yelled this question to me as I walked through crowded Cairo just days after US President Barack Obama visited Egypt. Being blonde and blue eyed, I realized when I questioned them they were asking me if I was American. I had to smile and realize an era has passed.   Read more...

I work in an industry with a deservedly poor reputation: affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketers are paid to drive web traffic to ecommerce sites. In fact, we clog the web with sites designed to manipulate people, and clog inboxes with torrents of spam.

I didn’t appreciate how mindless and heartless commerce could be until I was dropped in to the middle of the most mindlessly heartless segment of it. I wish that I could do my work with some purpose beyond convincing people that they need what they don’t.

This desire has driven some friends and I to create Wishnut.com.   Read more...

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Many of us read Ode magazine for inspiration and encouragement for continuing to do the work that we do for positive and peaceful causes. In this light, I want to share with you the inspiring work of my colleague, Susan Allen, Ph.D., a media anthropologist who has worked in the area of nonviolence education for many years.

She has been the creative force behind the development of a Campaign for Nonviolence on the Kansas State University campus and has more recently been successful in developing a Nonviolence Education program at that same university.   Read more...

Howard Glasser, author of Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nurtured Heart Approach , is a man best known for creating the Nurtured Heart Approach for treating childhood ADHD. Howard knows from his own experience. As a self-described difficult, annoying, challenging child who continually pushed the limits, Glasser shows the world what works and what doesn’t when treating children with ADHD.   Read more...

Having worked in the non-profit social service arena, one of the biggest concerns I have is that is has become bureaucratized. In some cases, it seems as though procedure and protocol have trumped passionate concern about human rights.

Yet I know grassroots advocacy is still alive and well, because I am currently immersed in it. No More Tears (NMT) is a non-profit that provides individualized assistance to victims of domestic violence and their children.   Read more...

In light of the current heated and frequently negative debate surrounding aid to Africa and development in general, I would like to highlight what I consider to be an incredibly uplifting approach to fighting global poverty, embodied in the model of Flying Kites Global, a non-profit organization started by three young intelligent optimists.   Read more...

During my many years in Japan, I've taken the opportunity to dabble in various Japanese arts. I always come away feeling inspired by the sensitivity and attention to detail that is expressed.

One of my explorations led me to take some lessons in Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. During my brief training, my teacher told me the following:

"In contrast to the massing of blooms typical of flower arrangements in the West, Ikebana is usually characterized by a line of twigs and/or leaves, connected by a sparse arrangement of flowers. The idea being to give the viewer the sense that they have come across a scene in nature."   Read more...

Ode's co-founder and Editor-in-Chief Jurriaan Kamp was fortunate enough to moderate a panel on Fortune 500 companies embracing sustainability at the annual LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) Forum happening this week in Boulder, Colorado. The panel had representatives from Walmart, Coca Cola and the Mohawk group answering questions about the steps their companies are taking in the transition toward sustainability.

“We haven’t been sustainable for a long time, but we have a vision to be zero-waste. It’s a lofty vision, but it’s there.” said Candace Taylor, Walmart’s Director of Strategy and Sustainability.   Read more...

As a child growing up in New York City, singer Chloe Temtchine’s parents took her to visit Harlem’s Hale House on a regular basis. Six-year old Chloe brought clothes and toys to the sick children, spent time with them, and formed an early sense of compassion that continues today, with her involvement in Musicians On Call, Life Beat, Dewitt Nursing Home and elsewhere.   Read more...

I recently read a quote that equated switching off cell phone chargers to bailing out the Titanic with a teaspoon. While I understand that the simple act of unplugging a cell phone charger is going to save a negligible amount of electricity, I tend to look at these acts on an environmental fitness scale.

For example, you can’t expect someone who has never worked out a day in his or her life to jump off the couch and run a marathon. The people who are now unplugging their cell phone chargers didn’t even know that the ship was sinking a year ago - so even in that there is progress.   Read more...

Green singles and members of the natural dating community have a new home online: EcoDater.com. EcoDater is an eco-friendly online dating site for green single men and women who care about living a natural, holistic lifestyle. Members include environmentalists, vegans and vegetarians, organic farmers, outdoor enthusiasts, yoga practitioners, adventure singles, activists and much more.

"EcoDater.com is a very open-minded place," says Ryel Kestano, EcoDater founder. "We believe in building a community one person at a time, giving each person the resources to share passions, interests, or musings. We created EcoDater because it represents the best of what we see and experience in this world - community, connectivity, friendship, and a respect for the natural life."   Read more...

Three years ago when I was working as a bi-lingual bi-cultural therapist in a middle school, many mothers came to me to ask if I knew of a job they could do in order to help their families become more self-sufficient. It was very frustrating that only once in a while I could help one or two women, usually with a job they were not excited about. For many years as an artist and a psychotherapist I have worked with low income communities in collaborative projects where people helped and supported each other, and felt good about the art they were making. Out of these experiences grew the Si/See Project.

I got together with five Latino women who were interested in my idea and its mission and the project got underway. The mission of Si/See is to bridge cultural diversity, improve standards of living while being environmentally sensitive, and encourage connection through art. Rug hooking, a North American craft, has been the inspiration and foundation of the project. Latino woman who are also known for their colorful handcrafted work are introduced to rug hooking traditions and are encouraged to incorporate what they learn with their own sense of artistic knowledge and traditions.   Read more...

On June 23rd a remarkable album, eight years in the making, will be released. Listen is a collection of 15 original songs, written by children who stutter, and recorded by iconic artists including Carly Simon, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Duncan Sheik, John Forte, Mandy Patinkin and many others. In addition, Jon Bon Jovi donated the use of his studio, so that his state-of-the-art facility could support the recording process. Superstars from the worlds of pop, rock, R&B, Broadway, hip-hop and more joined together to contribute their time and talents to a cause bigger than stuttering - a call for compassion and acceptance, and for respect of one-another’s differences.   Read more...

My friend Sue is a Master Gardener, and the large patches of earth circling her home near Banks, Oregon, reflect that. Every time I visit her we take a leisurely turn around the garden. She points out new starts and interesting things she’s learned; pruning a little here, pulling a weed there. I ask about this or that and just generally gawk at the beauty she’s created.

This Sunday I saw for the very first time a pink poppy. I didn’t even know they existed. I am not a Master Gardener, as you may have guessed. I am, however, a bit of a photographer; so I immediately had to take a photo of this anomaly. I delighted for several minutes in this new find. Not only did I learn something new (which I love to do) while reveling in the splendor of Sue’s garden; but I also opened another window of possibility in my mind.   Read more...

The French side of the tiny Caribbean island nation of St. Martin (87 km2) is addressing its environmental problems in a novel way. On May 12, they held a swearing in ceremony for its newly formed environmental enforcers.

These environmental agents from the Brigade de l’Environment and Direction de l’Environment will have powers similar to those of police officers to issue fines for any offenses committed anywhere on the French side that are deemed detrimental to the environment.   Read more...

In his latest weekly address, President Obama says health care reform must no longer mean “reform that throws good money after bad habits”.

A wide array of interest groups that have lined up against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) hope President Obama’s commitment to eradicating health care reform bad habits extends to the nation’s de facto investment in genetically modified crops which have been linked to 65 health risks and long-term health care costs.   Read more...

Life is so very interesting how it twists and turns, allows our thoughts to manifest in mysterious ways. A passing thought can create a whole world of its own. I just wanted to share a little about that world that we all share and encourage everyone to not only be knowledgeable about how this time and space works, but to apply that knowledge for the greater good.

2009 seems to be a tipping point as we approach the 12/21/12 shift and I find it amazing how so many global peace projects have found their way into the consciousness of man, culminating at what seems to be a pinnacle peak of need at this time of war and economic shake-downs. As one tip of the scale loosens it's grip, the other reaches out to fill the void. I fully believe we are at that point where we as a team fully realize that we are all connected, and by knowing this, reach out with our hearts and minds and unify in peace.   Read more...

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...

The biggest challenges standing in our way to achieving good health are stress, lack of sleep and the biggest of all, diet. Unfortunately, these three obstacles really sum up the average American lifestyle. The good news is through supplementation, we can promote optimum health without completely changing how we live…though eliminating our unhealthy habits is always best.

This guide covers seven key dietary supplements, which we here at Swanson Vitamins have discovered over the last forty years can be beneficial to nearly every body.   Read more...

Kim Korona is a graduate of our M.Ed. program at the Institute for Humane Education and a friend and colleague. Kim doesn’t usually like to make waves. She’s so kind and caring and avoids conflict with people assiduously. But she’s also a changemaker and a humane educator. This fall she moved to Brooklyn, New York, to be a humane educator for HEART, offering humane education programs to schools throughout the city. She moved into an apartment that had a host of problems, from smoke and a build up of soot from an improperly functioning boiler, to lack of fire and carbon monoxide alarms. She brought up the problems with her landlord, to no avail. Kim had some concerns about her own health, but when she also began to learn about the problems her neighbors were having, which included severe symptoms ranging from headaches and migraines, to nose burns, excessive coughing, black mucus, and sore throats, Kim took action. She contacted her neighbors, co-wrote a stern but honest petition to the management for them to sign, and launched change. The problems have been fixed.   Read more...

American investment in Africa has the potential to provide much-need jobs, access to healthcare, and generally improve standards of living. In fact, American corporations are becoming increasingly interested in investing in Africa, with some regarding it as the last big growth market, but they are often deterred by Africa’s negative image, a new study shows.

US companies in some sectors, particularly technology companies, now regard Africa as “the last frontier for growth”. It has a market of one billion people, mobile telephone networks have been successful, and other countries, particularly China, are increasing their African investment thrust. Accessing that huge market will benefit investors, but also has the potential to improve life for Africans as workers and consumers.   Read more...

Bizlightenment is an online business directory with listings of conscious businesses, informational articles provided by experts and other news of interest to consumers who want to work with ethical businesses and professionals.

Businesses and consumers who register on the Bizlightenment site by June 15, 2009 will be entered to win one of 10 Conscious Biz gift baskets, with a combined retail value of $16,000.   Read more...

Global Spirit is Link TV’s new series focused on the pan-cultural experience of what it means to be human. The series will examine the relationships between mind and spirit, science and metaphysics, and mental and physical well-being as approached by the world’s ancient wisdom traditions and modern science. Called the first “internal travel” series it intends to give viewers an experience that just might change them.

In this episode of Global Spirit, host Phil Cousineau speaks with BBC filmmaker Alan Ereira about his beautiful, sobering documentary: From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers' Warning. This poignant film carries a strong warning from a remote South American tribe that cautions us, the “younger brothers”, to give up our self-destructive ways and honor the planet, before it is too late.   Read more...

In the midst of this global economic crisis, there is a movement happening in some of the hardest hit places in America - local communities. This movement is showing that Main Street truly is the way to building a better, more sustainable future. And that’s just what Joe Grafton, founding director of the Somerville Local First has set out to prove. Dedicated to promoting and sustaining local business, Local First organizations across the country are campaigning for a shift in the way we act, in the way we think and most importantly, in the way we spend. That’s what prompted Joe and other local organizers in New England to start the 10% shift campaign and evangelize the true power of local spending.   Read more...

Dresses and skirts on the couch, jackets and sweaters on the dining table, pants in the play room, shirts on my son's bed, shoes on the living room floor, bags and purses on the red chair. This is what my house looked like yesterday when my friend Kendra and I hosted our Spring Clothes Swap!

We've been swapping for over ten years now, with one in the Fall and one in the Spring, and at this point my wardrobe is about 75% swap clothes. I had always been a big thrift store advocate, which is where I buy the rest of my clothes, but with swapping not only are the clothes free, it's also an event that fosters community. We sip champagne while trying on each others clothes, everyone in various stages of disrobing. It's like being back in a dorm before a party, but this time we're also doing something to help the environment.   Read more...

How many t-shirts in your closet are feeding malnourished children? Probably zero. CommonThreadz.org, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has set out to change that with the launch of the Orphan Collection, a new series of t-shirts designed by African orphans.

The Orphan Collection t-shirts are all limited editions, printed with eco-friendly water-based inks and are available in women, men and kids sizes. Each t-shirt sold from The Orphan Collection provides the financial support needed to feed an orphan or vulnerable child for one month and provide the child with a new school uniform, school supplies and meals for the school year.   Read more...

Just wanted to let you all know about this opportunity.

What: Soliya is recruiting skilled volunteers to facilitate its Connect program for the Fall semester 2009. The Connect program intends to bridge the divide between the "West" and the "Arab & Muslim World” by empowering young adults to play a constructive role in creating a more informed, just and peaceful global society. Through a series of online video conference discussions held between university students from the United States, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, participants will be given the opportunity to collectively address some of the root causes behind the tensions between the "West" and the "Arab and Muslim world."   Read more...

There are an endless number of short narrow streets in Tokyo that create a fascinating patchwork quilt of sorts. Whenever I go rollerblading, I love exploring such unknown territory.

Recently, I found myself in an interesting warren of backstreets. In a neighborhood that seemed to have fallen asleep a number of years ago, I came upon a small nursery selling bonsai. The sign out front proclaimed, "open 24 hours a day, seven days a week!"   Read more...

More than a few organizations attempt to connect volunteers with ways to pitch in. WiserEarth stands out because it connects users with jobs, events and volunteer opportunities associated with a variety of non-profit organizations. It's a user-edited database where you can find ways to make a difference, make a living and make friends based on your values. So far it has listed over 100,000 organizations.

Currently, WiserEarth also developing an API to help share their database with more organizations and grow their network. They've decided to crowd-source the funding for this project: the individuals and organizations they're helping are invited to pitch in and to show larger investors how valued WiserEarth is. If you'd like to pitch in or learn more, click here.   Read more...

COMING AGAIN TO A PAVEMENT NEAR YOU...

CHALK4PEACE is a global chalk art project for peace that will happen again this year on five continents. Over 100,000 young artists of all ages joined us last year; and since 2006, the event has covered more than eighteen football fields' worth of sidewalk.   Read more...

Global Spirit is Link TV’s new series focused on the pan-cultural experience of what it means to be human. The series will examine the relationships between mind and spirit, science and metaphysics, and mental and physical well-being as approached by the world’s ancient wisdom traditions and modern science. Called the first “internal travel” series it intends to give viewers an experience that just might change them.   Read more...

If I could turn back the clock, I would change my ways. I would recycle, ditch the old car and buy only durable and environmentally-friendly products. If it was only to save my own soul and avoid this unbearable feeling of guilt.

After 60 years, I finally realized that true change comes from the consumer, not the manufacturers.   Read more...

You might wonder, how can drinking green tea help you lose weight?

Green tea originates from China and is still widely drunk all over East Asia. In history, green tea has been attributed many positive effects: among others that frequent usage would have a positive effect on the chance of heart diseases, cancer and weight loss.   Read more...

People in Need Partnership is a new kind of ‘sponsorship’ program that helps form genuine relationships between people in extreme poverty and others. Modern technology presents us with a lot of missed opportunities. Instead of making the world more fragmented, we can use it to cultivate deeper relationships with more understanding. That is the goal of PINP.

You can form a relationship with a child slave, or a girl or mother from a starving family, for $15 - $25 per month. You will have many opportunities, through messaging, photos and videos and many other ways, to become a real partner and friend, as well as providing crucial assistance.   Read more...

I just got back from my second visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - a two-day business trip to help a Riyadh-based consultancy with its communications initiatives. Getting there, being there and even leaving there created a host of mixed feelings, some of which I share in the video clip.   Read more...

Hello, my dear wizards of Ode,

I am a first-time writer for Ode, attempting to make a humble contribution to the benefit of the learned readers, writers and lovers of Ode in particular, and the world in general, for all seeking inspiration on how to live life at least one day at a time, if not willing to learn to live one moment at a time.   Read more...

When my father succumbed to Parkinson’s at the age of 61, it forever sensitized my brain to all things Parkinson’s. My spirits have been buoyed over the years to learn about advances in science that show great promise for, if not curing the disease, at least improving the quality of life for those suffering from it.

So when a celebrity like Michael J. Fox talks about his experiences living with Parkinson’s, I listen. He was interviewed recently on ABC’s Good Morning America show, highlighting his new book Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. What especially struck me about the interview was what he learned when visiting the Himalayan country of Bhutan.   Read more...

My World, My Choice! is an educational program that engages students to make sustainable choices. Sustainable individual choice is the atomic linchpin of sustainable living and decision-making. It is the integral core from which stem the well-being of business, society and the environment.

The first step to making sustainable choices is to understand the meaning of sustainability - which is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Young children, being the future generation, are the ideal recipients of this educational program - for this is the best age in which to sow the seeds of understanding of the sustainability principle.   Read more...

Have you ever entered a food service setting and asked for your order “to go?” Most likely you were supplied with a foam, polystyrene container. Perhaps as you loaded your food into the container there was a moment of guilt, as you reflected on the end destination of that container.

Each year millions of hinged lid, disposable containers end up in the landfill. These containers take centuries to decompose. Unfortunately these disposable containers are just part of a much larger problem: a society and economy that is built on consuming and producing waste.

Fortunately there is a solution, at least to the issue of disposable containers.   Read more...

A Monday Washington Post article discusses what appears to be a good news front moving in: cases of swine flu are diminishing and several economic indicators are shuffling in the direction of "up." Along with these changes, there's a dramatic shift in optimism, much of it centered around the president.

So has one man really made a difference? In a way, yes. Optimism and confidence are contagious. And once people are confident, they are in a better position to help themselves.   Read more...

Ubuntu is an African concept of coexisting with other people, of compassion, of responsibility to other people. Although it's not as widespread in the US, for example, as the Christian concept of charity, it crops up now and again, frequently in interesting places (such as the name for a linux interface). Watching this Global Oneness video is a good way to get a handle on the concept and appreciate this wonderful aspect of African culture.   Read more...

When I need to think, I think out loud. Silent reflection is a lonely interior affair, whereas saying one's thoughts audibly splits the self into speaker and listener and turns monologue into dialogue. Nor is any dialogue quite so enjoyable as a dialogue with oneself.   Read more...

Living in Japan, I'm amazed by the bonsai displays of local people who keep their collections as a hobby. One of my favorites is a treasure trove of about one hundred chrysanthemums in the yard of an older gentleman. Some of the plants stand close to five feet tall and have one massive bloom each. Other varieties are short and dense and have been shaped to look like colorful clouds.

Out for a stroll one day, I noticed the flowers looking more robust than ever. My neighbor was bent over inspecting the leaves of a large, blooming chrysanthemum, and I finally decided to strike up a conversation.   Read more...

When Marc Stephen's wife went into labor suddenly, he simply googled "how to deliver a baby" and found instructional videos on YouTube. He then helped deliver their fourth child, safe and sound. Of delivering a baby for the first time, without doctors, nurses or midwives, he said: "The videos gave me peace of mind. I think I would have coped, but watching videos made things much easier."

The whole episode is a rather stunning example of the incredible ability of humans to cope with emergencies. Admittedly, humans have been giving birth long before modern hospitals or drugs existed, but even so, I'm impressed at the confidence of a man delivering a baby for the first time after watching a few online videos. I'm also impressed at the trust of his wife.   Read more...

The evolution and transformation of the universe, what Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry called "Cosmogenesis" in their book relating the story of the universe, proves more compelling than the guesswork that comprises our previous mythos.

That mythos has much to teach us about ourselves, but its lessons only become comprehensible against the backdrop provided by the investigative and historical sciences. Brian Swimme's various DVDs and CDs, especially the "Powers of the Universe" set, found at www.brianswimme.org, intensely and thoughtfully relate what we've learned about whence we came and where we might go together if we wake up to the wonder and the challenges of our steps not only to an ecology of mind but an ecology of mindful coevolution.   Read more...

This book is a gem. Whether you’re new to the notion and practices of holistic medicine and body/mind/spirit consciousness, or a forty-year veteran, Jesse Dylan’s new book, The Good Life, deserves a place in your library and consideration as a perfect gift for a friend or loved one. It is a comprehensive, clear and highly accessible compendium of both the most fundamental wisdom and the latest state-of-the-art knowledge, that promote personal health, happiness and peace.   Read more...

What is the connection between an article in Ode magazine and a gala concert at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland with an audience of over one thousand five hundred people and more than five hundred and fifty performers on stage?

Inspiration. See what an Ode article can do.   Read more...

The LivinginPeace Project seeks to bring together the elements of travel, permaculture, art and education into a sustainable business model that is self-sufficient, energy efficient, environmentally responsible and socially empowering.

The project includes a backpackers' hostel (www.rongobackpackers.com), a motel complex (www.karameamotels.com), a gallery (www.globalgypsy.com), a community radio station, permaculture farm and eco-tourism adventures. It is run by a group of dedicated, enthusiastic, positive volunteers from all over the world.   Read more...

Sometimes I don’t listen. I would rather be wandering around the hallways of my mind with my old thoughts than pay attention to what is right in front of me. Old habits never die, they just get older.

That happened yesterday at the office. My thoughts about a certain old topic were coming a bit too fast for my liking so I decided it would be a good time to sit down and ask a few questions of myself and my guides in meditation. Actually I didn’t sit, I lay on the bodywork table. When my breathing and thoughts slowed down I focused on my first question - and promptly fell asleep. Hey, it happens. I figured it was exactly what I needed. I woke up happy and rested right before my client arrived. A successful meditation!   Read more...

Better The World has developed an innovative fundraising platform and suite of tools that give people free and easy ways to raise money for charity while surfing the web. The platform acts as a hub, bringing together companies, charities and people with a shared interest - to make the world a better place.

Surf the Web, Save the World.   Read more...

There is a whole lot of fuss over organic food, and justifiably so, but we hear very little about the details of "organic" or "eco-friendly" textiles. While in India exploring various interests, from jalebi (a far-from-organic-or-healthy sweet treat) to organic farming to Tollywood film (yes Tollywood, not Bollywood), I found myself a guest at a textile company just outside of Ahmedabad.

The city is a textile-producing center of the country famous for its beautiful fabrics, and the industry provides jobs for hundreds of thousands of locals. While these jobs help keep their families fed - though on little more than rice and milk - their employees spend their days soaking their hands, arms, and bodies in chemical dyes or bleach to produce a product that, in turn, poisons everything it touches.   Read more...

I live in a really great community in Guelph, Ontario. Over the last year or so, we've been adapting our community website into a tool that any community can use to get organized. Now we are hoping to find some other communities that can help us test it out. We are planning to offer this as a free tool for any community. It's helped us do some pretty amazing things: organizing parties and movie nights, sharing tools and skills amongst neighbours, and mobilizing community initiatives.

The site is at www.villagetoolbox.com   Read more...

I work for March of Dimes in Portland, Oregon. The non-profit health organization that works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Yesterday was our biggest fundraiser of the year, March for Babies.

After walking the route with 5,000 others whose lives have somehow been touched by our mission, many people will stay, have a hot dog and an ice cream bar and enjoy the upbeat music by 5 Guys Named Moe. As the music lightened the steps and hearts of the crowd, there was dancing. I became mesmerized by one particular pair - a father and his young daughter. Held in his arms, this beautiful little girl was twirled and waltzed and gazed at with a love and tenderness one doesn't see just everyday.   Read more...

I recently posed this question on several LinkedIn green groups and was surprised to get so many answers with a wide range of opinions. Most of them advocated systemic expressions of sustainability: green business, policy and regulation, economic incentives, standards, strategic planning and simple common sense. A few mentioned awareness-building: education, marketing campaigns (“green is good”) and mission statements. The rest championed tools like directories, handbooks and websites. One outlier suggested that sometimes the answer is just in a state of mind.

In the spirit of Ken Wilber and the Integral, in one sense they are all right. Just not 100% right, to the exclusion of the others. I found it intriguing that the majority of them oriented towards systems, technologies, and policy and only one touched on the metaphysical. Yet, consciousness of our innermost motivations, values and beliefs is critical to the success of any greening initiative, whether personal or organizational.   Read more...

Recently I had a lengthy discussion with a group of people (strangers) that happened to be waiting with me for a Toastmasters meeting. The topic somehow managed to turn to “superstitions” and I stood there listening contently as it was a somewhat bizarre topic to come up amongst a bunch of strangers.

What I found interesting about these people was the fact that they each gave so much power to superstitions.   Read more...

I’ve just finished reading an insightful TimesOnline article entitled Madonna: Sexual and Proud, in which India Knight comments on the public’s reaction to the controversial celebrity’s recent fling with a man less than half her age.

All I can say is hats off to both the star and the columnist: Madonna for being who she is (and not being afraid to flaunt it), and Knight for getting to the core of what makes some people uncomfortable with “older” women expressing their sexuality (and not being afraid to write about it). The sad truth is that there’s a great deal of discomfort in most cultures with women of any age expressing their sexuality. As Knight observes:   Read more...

We’re happy to announce Ode has been awarded a Maggie, the Western Publishing Association's annual award for excellence in publishing. Ode won in the Politics and Social Issues category, outdoing Mother Jones, Reason and Sierra.

"We’re very proud to receive this Maggie," says Managing Editor Marco Visscher, who attended the ceremony Friday in Los Angeles to receive the award, "especially since we had competition from long-standing, reputable magazines like Mother Jones, in a category that traditionally shows more appreciation for the hard-hitting, bad news. It’s absolutely great to see that our message of hope and optimism is being welcomed in the industry with so much appreciation."   Read more...

This month, the Casa do Caminho Language Centre was officially opened in Rio de Janeiro.

What is the so special about this language centre? It’s been created and managed entirely by volunteers and all revenues go to the orphanage Casa do Caminho; only the teachers are being paid for their services. Foreigners can learn Portuguese and ‘Cariocas’ (as the inhabitants of Rio are called) can learn English or Spanish. The centre is located in Ipanema, one of the most safe and affluent areas of the city and only 3 blocks from the beach.   Read more...

Imagine a world where leaders’ decisions are heartfelt and guided by conscious thoughtfulness; a world where societies benefit from intuitive, collective wisdom and where scientific discovery and technological innovation is derived from heart-centered minds. If this vision resonates with your soul, you are not alone. For the past nineteen years, ISSEEEM has united healers, teachers, researchers and pioneers seeking to bridge science and spirit.   Read more...

Juliette dreams of someday marrying a nice man. One unlike the monster who poured acid on her in a jealous rage in July 2007. We are sitting with this young woman, just 19 years old, on a porch near a church in Kampala, Uganda. Juliette is beautiful on the side of her face that she shows to the world. Her eyes are bright and she has a radiant smile. The other side of her face she covers with long braids. It prevents the fearful looks from those who pass her by. It covers the half of her face that was destroyed in the brutal acid attack that sent her to the hospital for five months and disfigured her for life. “I open?” she asks. She lifts her hair to show what remains and tells her story.   Read more...

Senta Yamada was born in Fukuoka Japan in 1924, and he is the founder of Kikusui Kai. He studied Judo with its founder, Dr. Jigaro Kano, who sent him to study Aikido with its founder. Recently I had the pleasure and honor of meeting Senta Yamada sensei for the first time. What follows is a loose translation of Yamada sensei's words, embroidered by the larger picture I sensed he was pointing toward. Uncharacteristically for a Japanese person, he moved his hands as he spoke, to portray the movements he perceived as inherent in the mind of Aikido and the mind of water. You might try doing the same as you read the words that follow. Take your time, breathe freely and move your body so as to feel the movement and mind that the words suggest.   Read more...

If you’ve never heard of Gabriel of Urantia - musician, author and spiritual leader - that’s because the powers that be have tried very hard to suppress his truth, environmental and social advocacy. He fights injustice through his books and music, and his words are powerful against greed and religious hypocrisy. You might say that he’s like the Spike Lee of music!

Gabriel of Urantia started singing on the street corners of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was 8 years old and was a professional nightclub entertainer at age 18, until a spiritual transformation happened to him at age 24. At that time he began to write spiritual music with commercial-sounding melodies.   Read more...

I’m reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (Daniel H. Pink) at the moment.   Read more...

Wall Street traders gave us the global economic meltdown. Oil futures traders gave us $4.00 a gallon gasoline. This Earth Day, Swaptree traders will be helping to reforest the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, one of the world’s most endangered regions. Which kind of trader would you rather be?

If you’d like to do your part to help the Earth, visit Swaptree.com on Earth Day, April 22, and start swapping books, DVDs, CDs, and video games, for free. With each completed trade, Swaptree will contribute $1.00 to Plant a Billion Trees, a conservation initiative created by The Nature Conservancy. Every dollar helps The Nature Conservancy and its partners plant one tree in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.   Read more...

Seeking higher ground and an escape from the chaos of everyday life? Gravitate towards a more organic lifestyle and harmonize with nature at Finca Bellavista, a sustainable treehouse community set within the spectacular backdrop of the south Pacific coastal mountains of Costa Rica!

Perched overlooking the Golfo Dulce and nurtured by two whitewater rivers, the location of this unique enclave is unmatched in its magnificence and pulses with life. While it feels a world away, this 350-acre preserve boasts easy access to some of the country’s most stunning natural assets, like National Parks, isolated beaches and epic mountainscapes. Those with a taste for adventure will feel right at home amongst the multitude of outdoor activities available nearby, such as windsurfing, hiking, birdwatching, diving, surfing, kayaking and deep-sea fishing.   Read more...

Although spying joy is still easy to do if you look for it, these days it seems more challenging to really relax into the moment and let the joy we see soak down into our bones. At least, it seems a bit tougher to me.

Take yesterday, for example. After sleeping in until 7am and savoring a morning mocha, I check my email for the first time in a few days and find a heartfelt note from a friend saying she is closing the doors of her yoga center. As if that, among the daily barrage of bad news and double-digit unemployment, wasn't enough; I opened mail and found the neighborhood hardware store is also closing its doors. Driving through town I see so many more signs shouting "for lease" or "going out of business sale." It's moments like these that challenge me to remember the truth.   Read more...

I remember when I was in high school, looking forward to college, I thought independence from my parents, thousands of new people to meet and access to all the arts, shows and parties I could handle would make me the happiest person on the planet. I remember, years earlier, staring at the ashes of half of my family's house - the half containing my room and all my belongings.

College was good. After a while, though, it was kind of average. As for all of my possessions burning up, a year later it was only a curious fact from my past. Many researchers have found that people significantly overestimate the emotional impact of both positive and negative future events.   Read more...

Walking up to the PLUSAA wheelchair factory in Leon, Nicaragua, you wouldn’t think that it is a place that changes lives every day. The floor of the workshop is concrete and peppered with cracks. Dust from the dirt courtyard outside leaves everything covered with a fine coat of brown earth. The walls are mostly bare, except for the tools that hang neatly in their place.

PLUSAA provides custom-made and fitted wheelchairs at little or no cost to people with disabilities. It is one of the few alternatives to the used, donated American wheelchairs that are sent to Nicaragua in huge quantities every year. These used wheelchairs, while donated with the best of intentions, can have negative impacts on the health and psyche of people with disabilities and often end up in wheelchair graveyards, massive areas where hundreds of broken wheelchairs find their final resting place.   Read more...

Shai Agassi, featured in a January/February Ode article, has plans big plans for electric cars. Founder of Better Place, he has contracts with several countries not only to mass produce electric cars but also to create the infrastructure that will make them practical.   Read more...

Less than a week ago, 47-year-old Susan Boyle was unemployed, and pretty much unknown beyond her hometown (in her own words: "a collection of villages"), outside of Edinburgh, Scotland.

As of midnight last night (Dubai time), the video of Boyle’s audition performance for Britain’s Got Talent 2009 has generated worldwide media coverage based on almost six million views, close to 40,000 five-star ratings, and 36,000 comments on YouTube.   Read more...

People watching has always been one of my favorite activities, and there is no better place to do this than in a foreign culture. I've been in Japan for more than twenty years now, but in many ways, I still feel like a "stranger in a strange land." I say this in a totally positive sense, as I love being drawn into human interactions that leave me contemplating the richness of life.

One of my favorite rituals is breakfast in a local restaurant. I like sitting by the window, as the view gives me a wonderful perspective on the world. By viewing without being seen, I'm entranced by the opportunity to take in life in a pristine form. Here's some of what I get to see.   Read more...

In an insightful couple of minutes, futurist Paul Saffo discusses the pitfalls of trying to solve environmental problems with an old mindset. In the long term, the solutions that work are not quick fixes, or wholesale abandonments of development. Instead of trying to fix things for our generation, we should focus on learning to be "good ancestors."   Read more...

All are invited to join in thousands of events in hundreds of cities, in over 65 nations, spanning 6 continents, coming on Saturday, April 25th, 10am local time worldwide. A global wave of mass teach-ins and exhibitions will enable you to be part of the Tai Chi & Qigong participatory events that will wrap our planet in healing intention.

You can learn more or find a local event to attend by visiting www.worldtaichiday.org   Read more...

"Welcome Back" is an animated celebration of springtime by artist Jeff Scher. Click here to watch "Welcome Back."

I watched the video on the website of New York Times and it made me think that nature does not need a 'change management plan' or a 'mission statement' to grow. What if this beautiful film could represent the essence of our ideas, dreams and business plans?   Read more...

The fact that you can find free content on the internet is no surprise to anyone, but I thought it might be useful to start a list of things you can find for free on the internet. Things you can find for free, legally. While I'm writing in very broad, basic strokes, I hope this list will spark some ideas for the bored and the budgeting. Please comment and add your favorite resources!   Read more...

Of course, as soon as humanity discovers how to make large explosions, it begins to looks to create a violent application of that technology. Explosions, however, have many civilian applications. Such as, on a smaller scale, the quick and safe demolition of buildings. So why not find non-violent applications of atomic explosions?

The US government has been funding research for civilian use of atomic bombs since the 1950s.   Read more...

Amateur Steve Wilson, a rookie golf player in the Masters competition, is finally achieving his dream. After 10 years of professional golf and four years since he was reinstated as an amateur, “People ask if I’m a late bloomer,” Steve Wilson said. “Maybe I’m a slow learner.”   Read more...

Roger Greenwald's Psychology of Art website is an experiment that seems more for the sake of the participant than the experimenter. Greenwald explains the purpose of his website and research: "If one practices using their creative mind, mental imaging, a positive mood can be chosen by recalling a pleasant image or memory. Tough day at work, bad mood - modify your state of mind by choosing a pleasant image."

The Psychology of Art consists of a series of bright, colorful images - some with recognizable forms and some abstract - that invite you to recall pleasant memories. The text fields for your responses ("What do you see?", "Does it trigger a memory or familiar thought?") are an exercise, helping you to more fully process the art and obtain a positive state of mind.   Read more...

Today I met an inspirational young man named Kapil in Lucknow, India. Kapil grew up very poor in rural India, without attending school. At some point during his childhood, two sisters from Lucknow - the capital city of the Uttar Pradesh province - offered him a job doing domestic work. The two sisters began schooling him and eventually sent him to school. During this time, he began recycling cards and selling them. He asked everyone he knew for old birthday, wedding, etc. cards and cut out the figurines, scenes and images, and pasted them onto cards he had designed. Ever since he has been selling the cards.   Read more...

If you didn't get into Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford or Yale, you can still get a world-class education via Academic Earth. This new site, profiled in BusinessWeek's feature on America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs, hosts over a thousand video lectures from courses taught at top US universities.

The site's videos are high-quality enough to read the blackboard, with clear sound, and they load quickly. Some videos are single lectures, some videos cover an entire course, and all are free.   Read more...

My Tokyo neighbor Suzuki-san took great joy in walking her ailing Chihuahua, Pon-chan, around the neighborhood. When Pon-chan died suddenly one day, my neighbor was deeply saddened. I wanted to cheer her up, so I had my daughter write a note in Japanese that read, "I'm looking forward to seeing you happy again!" I left the message and a box of cookies by the woman's door.

The next day as I was riding away on my bicycle, I saw Suzuki-san cleaning up her yard and called out a hearty "Good morning!" As I returned home, she was unlocking the door to her house, and she asked, "Did you leave me cookies and a note yesterday?"   Read more...

I'm a 54-year-old inventor from south-east Texas. I work designing the Robotic Construction Model, a series of robots I have invented to build a new kind of building. Through the RC Model, using a series of construction robots, we will build much faster, safer, stronger and cheaper. So cheap that we could add several energy systems, constructing an energy self-sufficient building, still less expensive than today's construction methods. We change the way we live by changing the way we build. I believe the RC Model will help bring on the personal robotic revolution.   Read more...

Despite the difficult economic environment, counselor Sheila Radha Conrad’s expert advice on self-awareness and confidence can give us the freedom to create and enjoy the life we’re after. Conrad emphasizes three areas:

Tip #1: Make a list of things you would need to feel prosperous in your life.   Read more...

As an optimist and a photographer, I am always looking for happy emotions. I work with my camera the way a musician masters an instrument, because when I am shooting, I want to be able to completely step into the moment, and not be distracted by fussing with technical details.

During this economy, a lot of people have asked me, "How's the optimism going?" And I say, "It's going great!" Because I am always looking for happy moments, they are easy to find. A pause in a person's thoughts often give way to a contemplative smile. Asking someone to speak about their dog or their beloved always creates a grin or even a giggle. While much of the mainstream media is obsessed with making and showing images of fear and despair, I keep myself focused on the beauty in our daily lives.   Read more...

TV, hand-held devices and computers have shrunk the world, allowing us to communicate across previously unimaginable differences. However, excessive use of these devices distances us from those closest to us - we end up watching TV or grooving to our own personal mp3 players rather than speaking to each other. That's why the Center for Screen-Time Awareness has created Turnoff Week. Turnoff Week is for interpersonal relationships what Earth Hour is for energy consciousness: a chance to unplug and remember the importance of our human environment.

In addition to providing some scary facts about the extent of our media addiction, Screentime.org organizes Turnoff Week so that we have "time to think, read, create, and do the things we never have time for." People interested in supporting Turnoff Week on a larger-than-individual scale can order an Organizer's Kit CD that includes a step-by-step organizing toolkit, facts sheets, suggested screen-free activities, curricular suggestions, posters and Screen-Time-Reduction plans.   Read more...

I'm lucky enough to have a brilliant friend who shares some of the questions and thoughts he garners from his education at Harvard Law, questions about human rights or economic policies. One question he raised recently was "How do you encourage people to take risk?" In hard economic times, we suffer potentially more from a lack of risk and entrepreneurship than from falling stock prices. Just when we need creative solutions the most, we are least willing to take a risk on new ideas.

This question has had me looking for examples of successful entrepreneurship. Ode has featured several in the past couple of issues. Another great source of entrepreneurial insight is the Pop!Tech/American Express OPEN Series.   Read more...

It's something to meditate over the weekend, before you re-enter the rat race: what is the difference between winning and success? It's the topic of a TED video with basketball coach John Wooden. Wooden's casual, grandfatherly style is a great way to relax and revisit what matters most. He speaks from a long perspective; he's almost 100 years old.   Read more...

Video games have long been the bane of parents who wish their kids would study more or go out and exercise. The attraction to video or computer games is the lure of two things that children frequently lack in their own lives: instant, predictable rewards and control. Teachers, with finite attention to give to their students, frequently focus on trouble makers, and many good deeds go unrewarded. But in video games, objectives and rewards are clear. Get X amount of points and you get Y reward. Also, whereas many of kids' choices are at least guided - frequently controlled - by adults, games offer them tremendous freedom to customize a character, sans adult intervention.

The Humana Foundation capitalized on these two key issues to create a video game that encourages kids to exercise - outside. It's called The Horsepower Challenge.   Read more...

In honor of Ode's travel issue, I thought it might be nice to highlight AirBnB. AirBnB connects people who want to let out a room (or couch) and those who are traveling. Not only is it a potentially inexpensive way to travel (you can find rooms as cheap as $20/night in New York), you have the chance to make a new friend from another city.   Read more...

A dear friend of mine is offering a wonderful course this Spring which I would like to share with the Ode community.

We all experience challenging periods of loss, disappointment and anxiety. Buddhist teachings offer us concrete ways of addressing these challenges. On April 10-12 Gabriel Cohen and Mary Myers will be co-presenting a workshop that explores this topic at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The workshop will be based on Gabriel's book, Storms Can’t Hurt the Sky: A Buddhist Path Through Divorce.   Read more...

During my first year in Japan, I hitchhiked for two weeks, visiting rural fishing villages on the west coast and relying on the kindness of the people I met. I visited tiny villages that had no hotels and very few tourists. Upon entering a village, I would find a kind-looking soul and pantomime that I needed a place to sleep. Sometimes my acting skills were not enough to get the message across, and sometimes I wound up in the house of a family willing to take in visitors for a small fee. I ate with my hosts and was then led to a simple room to sleep in.

In one village I had the privilege of staying with a remarkable man and his family. One night the man and I sat on a small wooden dock by the ocean. Using lots of gestures to help me understand, the man told me about his life.   Read more...

Two years ago while flying home from a meeting in Chicago I was overwhelmed with a heavy feeling. I wrote these words in my journal: "I can sense a darkness building. It's not the darkness of some evil force coming toward us, but of the light disappearing within us. What can we do, my brothers, to rekindle the fires of creativity and inspiration?" With all the war and poverty and hatred... it began to feel overwhelming. Like mankind was running out of creative fuel - and fresh ideas that would take us to the next level.   Read more...

With all of the charitable and governmental organizations designed to help people, there are still a lot of people who need help and most don’t know how or who to ask for it. That is why we have created Sent From Ebove.

Sent From Ebove is a website where people can post a wish and ask for help that they need, no matter how small or large the request, for their community or the world to see. There are many generous people who would love to give and help someone directly. We want to bring these people together. We are an online marketplace for altruism and informal philanthropy, connecting people in need with people that can help.   Read more...

In a new documentary, Bill Clinton and Michael Dukakis, as well as architecture and energy experts, discuss the problems caused by suburbanization and horizontal development. The DVD, Sprawling From Grace, which will be released on April 21, looks at the pollution, health-risks and decreased quality of life caused by suburbanization.   Read more...

Getting held hostage inside the sweltering conference room, where it can easily reach one hundred degrees, is not an option. In Ganta, a small town in North-central Liberia, Karen Cheng and I heed the night manager’s warning about the electrical shutdown and building lock down. We gather our hospital administration team from Sierra Leone and establish a makeshift work station outside of the building that consists of basic benches and wooden chairs. For the next hour with computers in laps, we answer questions and walk the group through financial models on the last day of our Finance Workshop to promote transparency and accountability through good financial reporting. Finally, laptop batteries give-out as twilight descends upon the Liberian jungle. Our “students” prepare to head back to Sierra Leone and implement the skills they and 20 other delegates from Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Guinea learned over the past three-days.   Read more...

Donna Spector, a veterinary internist in New York, knows what creatures have the key to living the good life. Hint: They typically have four feet.   Read more...

When you're an English major, the question everyone asks (after you reply "no" to "Do you want to be a professor?") is "So, do you want to write?" When I was feeling honest, I would answer that I didn't know many English majors who wouldn't love to be authors. It's the secret ambition of all English majors, and many other people, to write. Are you one of them? Since it's a Friday, and you're looking at a little free time over the next few days, why don't you try to jump start your writing this weekend? Here are a few ideas to get you typing away.   Read more...

With the advent of the internet and social networking, and of so many new - and amazingly convenient - ways to donate, raise awareness and support causes, many people are beginning to wonder less whether they will serve and more how to best serve their cause. What if you could support your favorite cause continuously, at no charge, with only one, incredibly brief time commitment?   Read more...

With a tighter household budget, most people are wondering about ways to save money - including energy conservation. However, it's easy to leave the process at wondering. In a very insightful National Geographic article, Peter Miller discusses the ups and downs of making his home more energy efficient and reducing his carbon footprint. He and his wife made a goal of reducing the carbon their household produces to 20% of the US average.

Miller's efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions range from the more mundane - such as using compact fluorescent light bulbs and cutting down on car travel - to some less common and more insightful ways of conserving. He describes the "energy audit" that he and his wife did, revealing areas of their house with poor insulation. All of his tips are useful and within the means of most homeowners. Miller found that he and his wife saved $190 on energy bills.   Read more...

An autistic child from Thailand, frustrated by the first day of school, sat on a third-story ledge and refused to budge. Bangkok authorities were unable to persuade the boy to come down, until fireman Sonchai Yoosabai heard about the boy's love of superheroes. Yoosabai made a quick change into his Spider-Man costume - apparently he had one laying around at the fire station. Of course, the boy didn't hesitate to follow Spider-man's instructions to walk slowly back from the ledge.

This Sydney Morning Herald article inspired me on two levels. First, the story is literally a kid's dream come true. But second, the story made me stop and think about our everyday heroes a bit more. Although costumed superheroes sell movies and comic books, most heroes wear plain clothes. For the rare moment, regular people may "put on costumes," work their magic and transform lives. Most of the time, however, they go about saving lives in much more mundane fashion: a random phone call, returning a lost wallet, even sometimes just a smile for a stranger.   Read more...

With the pressures of bills, the job or the job hunt, the practices we most need to combat stress are the most neglected. We don't have time to exercise, to connect with friends or to meditate. But when you consider the risks of running yourself ragged - sickness, reduced energy and reduced resilience in the face of new challenges - we don't have time to neglect personal maintenance. And although research on meditation is still scattered (studies tend to focus on groups with specific ailments, like chronic pain or ADHD), thousands of "average" people can attest to the power of meditation in reducing pain, stress and depression while increasing their ability to focus and respond to challenges.

Interested in trying meditation, but still don't think you have the time? Beginning meditation isn't as difficult as you might think. So, without taking any more of your time, here are five ways to fit much-needed meditation into your schedule.   Read more...

Schoolbuses never seemed like the safest idea to me: These big, yellow monstrosities with no seatbelts and no real separation between the driver and a bunch of rowdy little kids. But schoolbuses are getting a whole lot safer, and it has nothing to do with seatbelts or paper-airplane proof barricades. Diesel retrofit programs are greatly reducing childhood exposure to toxic air pollution, and they are becoming more and more common, especially in the northeastern United States.

According to the EPA website, 24 million children ride a schoolbus every day, spending an hour and a half traveling on the bus. The noxious fumes released from a diesel bus engine are circulated right back into the bus and breathed in by children, contributing greatly to childhood asthma and other respiratory health problems. But through the hard work of environmental and health groups, as well as the growing public concern about health problems associated with diesel exhaust, a number of cities and states are now requiring these pollution-reducing retrofits on their vehicles.   Read more...

As I walked along 5th Avenue from 96th St. to Central Park North in Manhattan last night, talking on the phone with someone from college I’d seen earlier in the day for the first time in 20 years, the message “There is so much life to be lived” kept running through my head. Sharing memories with Carole, who I reconnected with via Facebook, made me laugh and remember how much fun we had as silly, confused, searching, 18-22 year-old students. YES! We had fun! Perhaps it didn’t all seem that way at the time, but we can choose now to focus on the fun and not the drama we created.

When I hung up the phone, I walked into the subway station and waited for my train. I pulled out my iPod and hit ’shuffle.' A dance tune came on and I began to sing quietly and move my feet to the beat. “Why don’t you dance, right here, right now?” I dared myself. Thinking about my Radical Openness policy and a commitment to do something Radically Unusual once a day, I started to dance, slowly and self-consciously at first, and then I just closed my eyes and let the rhythm consume me. Spinning around on the subway platform I again heard “There is so much life to be lived.”   Read more...

Last July, returning from a trade show, I opted to take the train through the woods of New York home to Toronto. Train rides and hot baths have always been great ‘idea releasers’ for me; this one did not disappoint (I wonder what a bath ON a train would do!?). Not only did it release an idea, but allowed me to transition into the next phase of my life; one that is more aligned with my core values and ethics. The idea? Mobius Manitou.

The name Mobius comes from the discovery by German Mathematician August Ferdinand Mobius in 1858 and is symbolic of eternity and infinity. Though it appears double sided, a Mobius Strip can be traversed entirely and endlessly without ever stepping over an edge. Manitou, to the Algonquins of Eastern Canada and North Eastern USA, is the word for spirit, as well as for life energy. Together, the words Mobius Manitou stand for the Infinite Spirit in ourselves, the ‘other’, and the animals and nature that surround us. Mobius Manitou, the web site, hopes to provide a forum to create honouring and supportive connections between each.   Read more...

One thing that we've been doing here in Grand Rapids, Michigan as part of our Helping Hands Project is to piece together various care packages for our homeless community. These packages include handmade hats, scarves, some snacks, toiletries, pen/paper, and the like as well as an inspirational and encouraging handwritten card.   Read more...

Are you fascinated by the prospect of transmitting power to devices wirelessly? By computers that can think like people? By the prospect of diagnosing cancer - before someone has it? By phrases like "probabilistic electronics" or, say, "transcontinental brain-machine interface"? Geek out for a couple of hours by watching the video of the IEEE 125th Anniversary Media Event. Although you do have to take a moment to register, the video is well worth it.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers brought together 7 experts to present about cutting-edge research - from pattern recognition to cancer research to brain-machine interaction to the latest in mobile computing. For a two-minute digest, take a look at Radio Worlds' article on the IEEE event. The presentations last for just over an hour and a half, with half an hour for some good questions about privacy rights & policy, engineering education and our societal perception of engineers.   Read more...

Business School Ashridge, in association with the European Academy of Business and Society (EABIS), and with the support of HP and WWF, are running a competition to find the best ideas from management and other post-graduate students about how organisations can innovate to create value from the shift to low carbon economy. The deadline for entries is 3 May 2009.   Read more...

This is an invitation to join Peace and Collaborative Development Network, an online initiative to bring together professionals, academics and students involved in Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Development, Democratization, Social Entrepreneurship and related fields.

The network fosters interaction between individuals and organizations around the world and currently has over 5,600 members. The site is a terrific networking tool where you can find local and international partners and practitioners, share resources, read guides to careers, scholarships, internships, funding, and IT resources in the field and exchange best practices. Discussion topics and personal blogs can be posted. The site also has a video section where members can access and view videos related to the field.   Read more...

"It's not their attitudes, it's not their families; the majority of students are one, two, sometimes even three or four years behind," explains Oakland sixth-grade teacher Sam Franklin in a video on the Vida Verde website. The children are motivated to learn, but they are coming from a large gap in educational opportunity and experience. Many children have supportive parents - although frequently the parents don't have a broad knowledge base to pass on - but the families and school districts don't have the budget to provide experiences that many other children take for granted.

Vida Verde begins addressing this problem by providing "at-risk" youth with a three-day environmental education program.   Read more...

I have noticed in my morning commute how jealous people are of their own space on busy sections of freeway. One car will follow another, bumper to bumper, shouting and honking if someone attempts to merge or change lanes. The result is always the same: the merging car goes as far as it can and then wedges into the lane, causing everyone to come to a complete stop. Including the jealous, honking driver who was afraid to give just a little bit of space.

Cami Walker explained in an interview that, before she started her personal 29 days of giving, she was "a selfish, resentful person." However, 29 days of giving have transformed not only her, but a community of over 3,600 committed givers.   Read more...

The tag line for Ashoka's Changemakers initiative is "open sourcing social solutions." Changemakers seeks to develop a community that competes to generate the most effective solutions to social problems and afterwards works together to refine and implement them. The latest Changemakers contest, Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities, focuses on improving the quality of life in impoverished, rural areas.   Read more...

Akoha's cutting-edge approach to gaming takes advantage of the most sophisticated 3D technology to create the world's most massively multi-player game. Interact with almost 7 billion lifelike characters and practically infinite, perfectly-rendered, real-world objects. When you complete a mission - with pulse pounding, a smile tugging at your lips or perhaps with victory arms - you feel as though you are literally inside the game. Because you are. It's the world's first "social reality game."   Read more...

Ashoka's Young Venture, a contest for aspiring young inventors, comes to a close this Sunday. Entrants include such inspiring participants as Cody Smith, a visually impaired inventor who is designing a high-tech pair of glasses that would allow even legally blind individuals to read. The device combines cutting-edge LCD technology with cameras and microcomputers.   Read more...

For the last few years, my husband has been after me to do something with the seeds in our catchall drawer. My response is always, “I am going to plant them in the spring.” But springs seem to come and go lately, and the only germinating that appears to be going on is that of new seeds in the drawer.

I have an affection for gardening and even dried these seeds myself. But a lack of follow through with planting is a sign of change for me. It is a hint that I have outgrown this activity - outgrown it because it doesn’t fit who I am anymore.   Read more...

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently awarded Matthew K. Gold, assistant professor of English at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), a grant for his innovative digital humanities project, “Looking for Whitman: The Poetry of Place in the Life and Work of Walt Whitman.”

The project focuses on a new kind of interactive learning, made possible by recent advances in social networking technologies, that is gradually reshaping academia by expanding the boundaries of education beyond the “walled garden” of traditional academic disciplines, classroom activities and online learning environments.   Read more...

The United States needs to establish individual and family health insurance premiums so that everyone is paying the same percentage of their income per dependent regardless of the source of that income. This percentage would be based on the national cost of health care as a percentage of the gross individual income (not taxable income). In other words, both people on welfare and those earning multi-millions per year would be paying some fair (emotional) share tax deductible premium.   Read more...

‘g’ serves as a one-stop shop, containing items that range from green building materials and home improvements to lifestyle products. With a commitment to make going green a simplistic process, the flagship store - located on Cape Cod in Mashpee, Massachusetts - has grown into a position as a community leader providing affordable and accessible materials under one roof. With continued success in the marketplace of environmentally conscious consumers, ‘g’ Green Design Center offers the opportunity to capitalize on a growing industry.   Read more...

Don't we love clean and happy endings? We plan events in our Google calendar, budget our retirement based on a projected rate of return and buy ultra-pasteurized milk to avoid any potential bugs. These action plans can make our lives more structured but do they allow for the unexpected? After all, most of the wonderful and innovative things in life come from the unexpected.   Read more...

I'm not Catholic, but I decided to participate in Lent last year. Was it to strengthen my relationship with God? Was it to try to create more peace with myself?

No. My motivation was to lose weight. I should have known right away that it wasn't a good idea.   Read more...

You can stock your couple’s psychological first aid kit by practicing communication strategies - such as just being there, active listening, partner care and identifying needs - at low-stress, neutral or even positive times. Here are five communication skills you can develop at low stress times to help you through more painful moments.   Read more...

Some good news about your favorite good news magazine: Ode is a finalist for three Maggie awards. Nominated once last year, this year Ode has received nominations for the Political & Social Issues, Lifestyles & Alternative Lifestyles and Special Theme Issue awards.   Read more...

The audience applauds when Willie Smits announces that he has almost 1,000 orangutans in his two centers, but Smits quickly interjects: "No no, wrong! This is horrible, this is proof of our failing to save them in the wild." Smits has his sights set higher than saving orangutans in shelters. That's why he has built a rainforest.   Read more...

Asheville, NC - recently named one of the happiest cities in the world - will play host to HATCHfest from April 15 - 19, 2009. HATCH is a multi-disciplinary mentoring festival that brings together veterans from seven media/arts industries and pairs them with up-and-coming artists over a four day festival. The HATCH mission is to mentor, educate, inspire and recognize the next generation of creative innovators. After 5 years in Bozeman Montana, HATCH expands to Asheville this spring.

Join us as thousands of creative leaders and learners descend upon our beautiful Western North Carolina home.   Read more...

For the young, music is an intimation of life. Each sonata or concerto cracks, but does not fully open, the door to worlds not yet experienced. The violin, singing of unknown desires, stirs desire. The cymbals' crescendo resounds with heights of elation not yet relished. The bass drum booms a cryptic proclamation of great events - happening where? For the old, music is a memoir of life. The buried strata of past experience, loosened by the mysterious psychoanalysis of sound, erupt into consciousness. Sorrows and joys which played singly through time now harmonize into a grand symphonic impression of the tremendousness of living. Must not the brittle self shatter to have been poured so full of experiences?   Read more...