 One of life’s enduring missions is the quest to create good habits. The big ones always come to the forefront: eating healthier, exercising more, becoming more productive. And as many of us know, the stumbling blocks are ever-present. But as Gretchen Rubin sees it, one of the keys to effectively generating good habits is simply knowing yourself, stating, “Shape the habit to suit yourself, and then you set yourself up for success.” Read More >>
10,531 reads, 321 shares 
 “One day, after a talk I had given on altruism, a person in the audience got up and said in an irritated tone: “What are you hoping for by encouraging us to cultivate altruism? Look at the history of humanity! It’s always the same thing! An uninterrupted succession of wars and suffering. That’s human nature, you can’t change anything about that!” But is this truly the case?…Can the individual change? And if he can, does this change have an influence on society and on succeeding generations?” Author and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard takes a deep look at these questions in his book on altruism. Read More >>
9,177 reads, 469 shares
 Three years ago photographer Matika Wilbur, a member of the Tulalip and Swinomish tribes, set out on a vast road trip across America to photograph members of all 562 of America’s federally-recognized tribes. (That number is now 566.) Her collection so far includes images from more than 200 tribes she has visited in the course of traveling 80,000 miles around the western United States. Read More >>
9,038 reads, 476 shares
 We all like to know where our offerings are taking us, the “goals” of the actions we take. But what if we could trust in the offering itself? One poem from Jacqueline Suskin proves that, given the chance, every gift has the power to change the world around us. Read More >>
8,580 reads, 666 shares
 Maria Popova explores her own experience of stress and PTSD, pointing out that long before scientists began shedding light on how our minds and bodies actually affect one another, an intuitive understanding of this dialogue between the body and the emotions, or feelings permeated our very language. Ancient Greek, Roman, and Indian Ayurvedic physicians all enlisted the theory of the four humors — blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm — in their healing practices. Read More >>
8,447 reads, 206 shares
 Can compassion change the world? In celebration of his 80th birthday, the Dalai Lama reached out to author, Daniel Goleman for assistance in capturing his compassionate vision. The result of their collaboration, “A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World”, a book that is both a translation of the Dalai Lama’s ideals and a call to action. Read More >>
8,426 reads, 340 shares
 You may have probably heard of the marshmallow experiment, where children were told they would get two marshmallows if they could resist eating the one placed in front of them for some time. The study highlighted how hard it can be to delay gratification, but how rewarding as well: children who resisted eating the marshmallow not only got two marshmallows but also did better later on in life. This article summarizes the latest research on how adults can have an easier time delaying gratification to secure larger payoffs in the future. Read More >>
8,049 reads, 177 shares |
In This Issue
Also This Month …
Awakin Reading
 Love Like Water, by Mark Nepo
(7 comments)
KarmaTube Video
 Say It Like It Is: The World Is Coming to an End
(14321 views)
 Awakin Call
A dialogue with Jacob Needleman: Money and the Meaning of Life
KindSpring Story
Submitted by elizabethgarza31: The traffic that made me smile
ServiceSpace Blogs
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Editor’s note: Dear Friends, we hope that you are enjoying the beautiful fall. This week’s newsletter is dedicated to the power of books. Stories of kindness, love, and joy are a constant inspiration and we are so grateful to the story tellers who create these timeless pieces of magic! – Guri
