A Couple’s Weekly Gift
At the start of 2011, a couple resolved to pledge $52 to a different charity every week this year. Inspired by a website that challenges people to make public resolutions to do good, the anonymous duo made their first gift after receiving a fortuitous letter from a homeless shelter asking donors to consider providing 26 meals by giving $52.52. A teacher and a coach with three kids, the couple says that although it’ll be a bit of an adjustment, it’s just the right amount. “There’s a lot we spend money on that we don’t need to,” they observe, hoping that the small life changes in their lives will lead to large changes in others. Read More >>
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Go Easy on Yourself, New Research Says
Do you treat yourself as well as you treat your friends and family? That simple question is the basis for a burgeoning new area of psychological research that looks at how kindly people view themselves. New research suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step towards better health. Those who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Read More >>
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The Untapped Power of Smiling
We’re born to do it. A smile is one of the most basic, biologically uniform expressions of all humans. Paul Ekman, the world’s leading expert on facial expressions, discovered that smiles are cross-cultural and have the same meaning in different societies. 3-D ultrasound technology shows that developing babies appear to smile even in the womb. The mood-boosting power of a smile is unfathomable. Studies show that one smile can provide the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 chocolate bars. Yet, unlike lots of chocolate, lots of smiling can actually make you healthier. 🙂 Read More >>
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There’s a Farm in the Front Yard
“I’m 57,” Michael says. “Started at 26. And we’re just barreling along! If I have to work 7 days a week, I’ll do it.” Back when Michael and Bob started 30 years ago, there wasn’t much about urban agriculture around. Soon, City Farmer had hundreds of pages of original urban agriculture research online, before anyone else did. Today, City Farmer is now Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture, and their website may hold more information about this subject than any other source in the world. Read More >>
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The Technology of Compassion
The term “compassion” — typically reserved for the saintly or the sappy — has fallen out of touch with reality. Journalist Krista Tippett deconstructs the meaning of compassion as she traces the word through secular and spiritual icons like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Einstein, as well as everyday heroes like Matthew, a paraplegic yoga teacher. Through her stories, Tippett proposes a new, more attainable definition for the word in modern day: compassion as the latest technology. Read More >>
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Recycled Cell Phones Save Lives
“It’s your trash, but it turns into value, it turns into lives saved really quickly.” Josh Nesbit says excitedly. Four years ago, Nesbit noticed that health workers in Malawi often lost important information during their strenuous trips to patients in isolated villages. Instead of walking for hours on end, doctors and patients could instantly text each other if they just had the right technology, he thought. With the help of the 500,000 cell phones found in trash cans each day, Nesbit set up a network that allowed health workers to turn paper records into text messages, saving time, resources, and lives. His small project has spread across 11 countries and helped 3.5 million patients. Read More >>
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Sleep Helps Us Remember What We Need To
You may have heard it before. While we sleep, our brains replay and store the days events into our long-term memories. But it can’t keep everything. Of the deluge of information that pass through us each day, how do our minds “decide” what to keep and what to dump? Why can we replay the disagreement with a spouse or the promising job interview, but forget what we ate for breakfast or where we put that old sweater? A recent study says that the brain evaluates information based on future expectations. When we sleep, our subconscious sorts through our priorities and remember key points that will be useful in the future. Read More >>
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In This Issue
Also This Week
Wisdom Reading
iJourney.org excerpts of wise words: A Deep, Uncritical Love, by Bhante Gunaratna
Inspiring Video
KarmaTube.org video with be-the-change actions: Faceless Heroes: The Fukushima 50
Kindness Story
HelpOthers.org story submitted by readers: True Compassion in the Midst of Fear
Community
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