Governments from Australia to Rwanda, from Sweden to Brazil, and from Kenya to Belarus have devised policy solutions to bolster the health, well-being, and basic functioning of their societies, sometimes at the urging of grassroots organizers. And while no country is a utopia, even nations with long histories of inequality and violence carry lessons for…
by James O’Dea “I consider this an extremely important and and exceptionally lucid analysis of the contemporary spiritual/personal development scene. Many years ago, Byron Katie, one of the genuinely great figures of the world-wide field of personal development, stated that the number one problem of the world was not issues like hunger, war, etc. but…
October 19, 2020, Indianapolis Star (A leading newspaper of Indianapolis)https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2020/10/19/cats-inmates-rehabilitate… Cats are unable to distinguish between street clothes and prison uniforms – and that’s exactly what makes the relationship between the men at Pendleton Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison outside of Indianapolis, and the cats that live there, so special. For six hours a day, seven days…
Nestled on a wide plateau surrounded by the Espinhaço Mountains in southeastern Brazil is the city of Belo Horizonte, roughly 275 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. The city of 2.5 million is an industrial and technological hub, which had historically led to stark socioeconomic divisions, including high rates of poverty. But while other similarly…
Researchers say the world’s largest reforestation project – the 2011 Bonn Challenge – has beaten its 2020 target. Launched nearly a decade ago by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Germany, the challenge aimed to have 371 million acres of degraded forest under restoration by the end of 2020. According to a recent…
In a world immersed in urgency, with alarm bells ringing left and right and dire predictions for our future, how dare I come up with a banner marked, “Yes, so many good things are happening”? Simply because how we look upon the world is a purely subjective vision emanating from our view of existence, our…
Jinja, Uganda By Caleb Okereke Contributor to the CS Monitor Shadia and Imran Nakueira rented the space for a restaurant in the dreamy, lakeside town of Jinja, Uganda, before they knew exactly what they were going to do with it. They knew one thing though: They wanted to work alongside people with disabilities. When customers first enter…
– inspired by a donation from a tribe during the Great Famine Excerpts from an article by By Harmeet Kaur, CNN May 6 2020 People in Ireland inspired by an act of generosity committed more than 170 years ago are paying it forward. In 1847, the Choctaw people collected $170 to send to people in Ireland…
A few years ago, I discovered with wonder a new form of magic: expressing appreciation to others for something they had done. And modern life offers us a thousand different opportunities to manifest that magic. A small example: I live in a community that makes a special effort to decorate public places. Multicolored flowers are…
Around the globe, as uncertainty still looms over us, people are continuing to step up their compassion — in unprecedented ways. This story is one of many in the Karunavirus.org newsletter of April 23 (Karuna is Sanskrit for Compassion) Warring gangs in South Africa are working together in an unprecedented truce to deliver much-needed food…
We live in an infinitely benevolent, ever loving, universe …. but a very, very strange humanly (dis)organized world! After all, a world where a tiny virus weighing a microgram can upset the world economy in a few weeks is either inhabited by a very, very clever virus…or then is really inhabited by an extremely strange group of people. So…
Chicago Sun-Times Editor’s note: A supposed “open letter from Bill Gates,” the tech billionaire and philanthropist, has been bouncing all over the internet since at least March 23. The letter — titled “What is the Corona/Covid-19 virus really teaching us?” — is a fake. Gates did not write it. But there’s a reason it has…
The great Irish poet and writer remains a rare master of the English language. His use of words is unique. This month we quote from the introduction to that magical book of blessings of his, To Bless the Space Between Us. PP “It would be infinitely lonely to live in a world without blessings. The word blessing invokes…
A music teacher helps children living by a Paraguay landfill site to reach stardom with instruments made from rubbish. “To have nothing is not an excuse for doing nothing,” says Favio Chavez. On the edges of the Cateura landfill near Paraguay’s capital, he teaches a group of children to play violins, cellos, saxophones, flutes and…
There was an old man who was admitted in a hospital. A young man was visiting him every day and sat with him for more than one hour. He helped him eat his food and take his shower. Then he would take him for a walk in the garden of the hospital. After that he…
In Lyon, France, “L’Entreprise des possibles” helps the homeless. Some 3,000 people sleep every night in the streets of Lyon. A daily tragedy that a local entrepreneur wants to end. His idea? Mobilize all the companies in the region and pool their resources so that everyone can find a roof over their heads. A powerful…
What if you could actually train mothers to turn their compassion and connection into the first line of defense against terrorism? In Germany and 15 other countries, it’s happening. Their sons were dropping out of school, joining radical mosques, and breaking off contact. Hundreds of mothers had told Edit Schlaffer such stories when the Austrian…
by guest Rabbi Rami Shapiro – July 07, 2019 Comment: I love what Rabbi Shapiro writes – it is a major step forward from the rigidified religious practices of the past (and for quite a few, still the present.) However, after having been most of my life as a member of traditional churches, it is my belief…
Israeli government plans last year for a mass deportation of African asylum-seekers created a public outcry and remain on hold. But migrant families and their children live in a painful state of uncertainty. Yet in an impoverished neighborhood in Tel Aviv is a school dedicated to helping migrant children thrive educationally and emotionally, teaching students…
“The Infinite is the source of joy!” (Chandogya Upanishad 7.23) There is a mighty rushing river of deep Joy at the center of all life. Oh yes, there is also a roller-coaster ride of pleasure and pain at the surface of human experience. Yet transcending this is a Joy that is the very effervescence of…
Floral Angels, a charity re-purposing flower bouquets is helping to spread joy to others It was only when she read the letter from the women’s refuge that Frances Hunter fully realised the difference she and Floral Angels were making. “We had made up some posies and taken them to the refuge,” she remembers. “The letter…
Pierre was interviewed on the subject of the blessing practice in conjunction with the Awaken to Love global event sponsored by The Course in Miracles in November 2018 “This live event you just did on our Awaken to Love Conference was one of the most touching and most powerful sessions I have ever joined!…
Below is an excerpt from a recent feature in “Grateful Changemakers” of Gratefulness.org. We hope this short summary will encourage you to click on the link and read the entire inspiring story and, who knows, perhaps get involved. https://gratefulness.org/grateful-news/grateful-changemakers-musicians-for-world-harmony/ “Music is a great force for healing – something we all need in our lives…We are…
“I bless children in foster care, that the challenges of their past weigh not unduly on their future. I bless the hosting families that they may welcome their foster child with gentleness, deep compassion and caring and an understanding of their special needs.” Pierre Pradervand, from https://pierrepradervand.com/365-blessings-to-heal-myself-and-the-world/ On any given day, there are nearly 437,500…
Voix Libres (Free Voices) was founded in 1993 by Marianne Sebastien, who is primarily a singer and who has integrated song into her basic development approach with amazing success. Voix Libres’s primary goal was to offer alternatives to child labor in the mines, fields, garbage dumps and streets of Bolivia. The association is active all over…
“The non-dual spirituality of today is necessarily service-oriented. If my neighbor is myself, I cannot just state this in front of my private altar and let it stay there. If spirituality is worth its salt, it will be concerned with some form of active service to the world. Together, we will heal this world or destroy…
“We need a new consciousness, and we need to act differently. Instead of revenge we need to practice forgiveness, instead of all-out competition, we need embracing love, and in place of looking for our own advantage in every situation, we need to embrace everyone concerned – and do so unconditionally…. We need to embrace the…
This is the text of an astonishing oath given to an audience of 9000 dignitaries of all races in 324 B.C. It is just as relevant to our times! “It is my wish, now that wars are coming to an end, that you should all be happy in peace. From now on, let all mortals…
For years, Italian coffee giant illy has earned the reputation of a company that prioritizes people over profits. And while it sources its coffee from 25 countries around the globe, Columbia is the place where that philosophy is making a real difference. Ask Fernando, an ex-commander of the FARC paramilitary revolutionary movement that spent 50…
Posted by Neeti S W on Jul 10, 2017 We thought we would post this today, Global Oneness Day 2017, to illustrate how compassion for and acceptance of others can have a healing impact and remind ourselves that we are all ONE. Awakin gatherings started when three friends got together in 1996 to sit in…
In the USA an estimated 570,000 people are homeless on any one day and in Europe, the latest estimate is 4.1 million. The latest worldwide survey by the UN done in 2005 indicated that 100 million people were homeless, and Habitat estimated that l.6 billion lacked adequate housing. Progress is being made, but not fast…
Good News Network – http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org The town of Geel has been a sanctuary with a tradition of hospitality toward anyone with mental illness since the 1400s – and such ground-breaking integration was the key to healing success. Resident families volunteer their homes to people affected by mental disabilities by signing agreements with health authorities to…
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela. Education is a challenging undertaking even under the best circumstances. It is especially problematic in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo which has gone through years of political upheaval and violence, where schools were raided by paramilitary…
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead What started as a small gesture, feeding destitute children, by 31-year-old Darshan and his friends has turned into a full-blown movement. An email Darshan Chandan sent to a restaurant, after being…
I slept and dreamed that life was joy, I awoke and saw that life was service, I acted and behold service was joy. Rabindranàth Tagore Whether it involves help with cat sitting or learning a new language, moving a sofa or lending a hand at a charity event, helpfulpeeps has seen the need requested –…
“Compassion… the capacity for feeling what it’s like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there never can really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.” ~ Frederick Buechner Who would have ever thought that pairing preschoolers with elderly nursing home…
