Inspiration Inspiration | Natural Awakenings Twin Cities

Last Updated: May 28, 2021 08:30AM • Subscribe via RSS • ATOM

Group of people practicing small random acts of kindness holding sign saying free hugs

Simple Acts Can Change the World

May 28, 2021 08:30AM ● By Julie Peterson

It’s easy to feel small and helpless in a world full of big problems, but there are simple, daily actions we can take to change it for the better.

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The back of a teddy bear wearing hat placed on ground with comforting arm around other teddy bear

Three Steps for Facing Difficult Emotions

Apr 30, 2021 08:30AM ● By Shauna Shapiro

We can build resiliency and find greater clarity, calm and well-being when facing change, uncertainty and stress with these three key steps using mindfulness and compassion.

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Nurturing space in a home with a plant near windows created by feng shui principles

Create a Nurturing Nest

Mar 31, 2021 08:30AM ● By Marlaina Donato

Home is a harbor of habit, and breaking out of the usual routine can be transformative. Here are some activities to transform living spaces into nurturing sources of inspiration.

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Grieving individual holding dove seeking inner peace and healing for grief

Healing from Grief: Four Ways to Find Peace

Feb 26, 2021 08:30AM ● By Jasmin Jenkins

How to discover the light side of grief and identify and embrace the invitations that lay within its deep layers to find inner peace and healing.

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Becoming Heart-Minded

Jan 29, 2021 08:30AM ● By Sarah Blondin

Meditation teacher Sarah Blondin explains how drawing our attention inward and focusing on our heart center can help us become more kind, calm, loving, accepting, inspired and creative.

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Sacred blessed household items for protected spaces

House Blessings for Clearing and Protecting Spaces

Dec 30, 2020 08:30AM ● By Marlaina Donato

Ways to bless and welcome positive energy into a new house, office or other space with smudging sage, prayers, seasonal flowers, essential oils, crystals, singing bowls and more.

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A New Story for the World: Re-Visioning the Script for a Healthier Society and Planet

Nov 27, 2020 08:30AM ● By Linda Sechrist

A revolutionary new way of viewing the world and our place in it points to a future that regenerates the natural environment and reinforces our essential interconnectedness.

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Fresh Rituals for a New Year

Nov 27, 2020 08:30AM

Here are several New Year’s rituals to help us connect more deeply to our loved ones, to ourselves and to a richer sense of purpose as we embrace the promise of 2021.

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Giving Thanks: Meditation on Gratitude and Joy

Oct 30, 2020 08:30AM ● By Jack Kornfield

Bestselling author, Buddhist practitioner and mindfulness practice teacher Jack Kornfield offers a meditation that opens our hearts to gratitude and joy this holiday season.

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Calling All Genies

Oct 01, 2020 12:00AM ● By Drake Burke

This speech was delivered at the 2020 Exercising Your First Amendment Rights: Engaging in Protest and Civil Disobedience event by Drake Burke, a non-binary and trans social justice activist, educator and historian.

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Staying Connected Virtually During the Pandemic

Coronavirus as a Calling

Sep 30, 2020 08:30AM ● By Gregg Levoy

The pandemic can be transmuted into golden opportunities if we look for purpose and meaning in it. Here are four ways to respond to the call of these turbulent times.

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Happiness Helpers: Five Ways to Be More Positive

Aug 31, 2020 08:30AM ● By Brad Aronson

We can choose to see things in a more positive fashion by taking these 5 steps to train our brains to look for the good more often, leading to increased levels of happiness.

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The Spiritual Dome Prayer Vigil: An Invitation to Join In

Aug 30, 2020 01:24PM ● By Carole Burton

Carole Burton of Radiance Resources invites you to join the Spiritual Dome Prayer Vigil, made up of prayers and intentions that provides waves of positive change and lights of active hope.

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Man standing in flower field with arms raised to sky

How Awe Can Transform Our Lives

Jul 31, 2020 08:30AM ● By Jonah Paquette

Feeling a sense of awe provides many physical, mental and spiritual health and wellness benefits. Here are some ways we can find and elicit more awe-inspiring moments in our daily life.

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Cultivating Contentment: The Spiritual Discipline of Evoking Joy

Jun 30, 2020 08:30AM ● By Marlaina Donato

Tending to our own happiness begins by seeing joy not as a mood dependent upon circumstances, but as a spiritual discipline like any other. Here are ways to create more joyous moments.

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Fathers Know Best

May 29, 2020 08:30AM ● By Neal Allen

Dads have a habit of imposing their own success goals on their kids, but letting go of this can lead to a greater emphasis on what children really need—love, kindness and strength.

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Hope in Hard Times

Apr 30, 2020 09:00AM ● By Vajracharya Dechan, Charlotte M. Steen

As we look out into our current pandemic-focused world, perhaps it is difficult to imagine or even to hope for a better future. Yet with light, love, and happiness, there is hope.

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Finding Calm During Trying Times

Apr 16, 2020 02:38PM ● By Laurie Nadel

How the global pandemic can serve as our spiritual wake-up call to learn how different traditions heal from life-shattering events.

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Making Luck: An Intentional Path to Good Fortune

Mar 31, 2020 08:30AM ● By Carol Kline

Research shows that we can, and in fact already do make our own luck. Here's how to quickly, with a little conscious attention, change your luck.

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Panache Desai on the Antidote to Modern Living

Mar 30, 2020 08:00AM ● By Linda Sechrist

When you realize that you’re enough, everyone else becomes enough by extension. You treat everyone as yourself. You don’t have to hold them to a higher standard or to some ideal. Y

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Living In Synchronicity: The Power of Meaningful Coincidence

Feb 28, 2020 08:30AM

Synchronicities link us to an underlying order in the universe that is profoundly reassuring. Here are ways to encourage these moments to show up within our lives.

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New Classes Offered to Help & Understand Lost Souls

Feb 01, 2020 12:00AM

Based on Annette Rugolo’s book, Soul Whisperer: Releasing Lost Souls, these new classes help participants gain a better understanding of why spirits get stuck and how to help.

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Choosing Love: How to Cope With Fearful Times

Jan 31, 2020 08:30AM

Scarlett Lewis, the mother of a 6-year-old killed during the Sandy Hook tragedy, explains how we can choose love instead of fear in response to the anxiety and suffering in today’s world.

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Tidying Up The Bucket List: Deciding What We Really Want

Dec 30, 2019 08:30AM

Many people have a bucket list of things they want to make sure they experience. Tidying up that bucket list when it no longer reflects a person’s values and deepest desires makes sense.

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The Emerging Power of ‘We’: Awakening to the Evolution of Community

Nov 27, 2019 08:30AM

In this time of climate and societal problems, intentional communities that challenge the “It’s all about me” culture are pointing the way to collective solutions that can save the planet.

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The Generous Heart: How Giving Transforms Us

Nov 27, 2019 08:30AM

When we give to others, whether it’s an act of kindness, generosity or compassion, it helps us live from the heart instead of the ego.

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Enough For All: In Pursuit of Grateful Living

Oct 31, 2019 08:30AM

If the gratitude movement grows strong and deep enough, it may bring about necessary, radical change in the world.

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The Art of the Nap: Unplugging From Life Without Apology

Sep 30, 2019 08:30AM

Allowing the time for daily naps might very well be one of the most beneficial acts of self-care we can give ourselves.

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Fairy Magic: Feeling Their Touch in Nature

Aug 30, 2019 08:30AM

Fairies are the heart and soul of living nature. To enter into a profound relationship with fairies, first we must believe in them—we must make-believe.

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Loving Ourselves Madly: Practice Intentional Self-Love

Aug 15, 2019 11:11PM ● By Scott Stabile

When we truly commit to self-love and take steps to follow through, we can create a peaceful, joyful and meaningful life.

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The Grace of Abundance: Five Practices to Create a More Abundant Life

Jun 28, 2019 11:37AM ● By Meriflor Toneatto

We can move into the flow of love, vitality, wealth and much more by consciously undertaking simple steps.

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Fatherhood's Pain and Glory: We Must Face Our Own Story First

May 31, 2019 10:46AM ● By Chris Bruno

To father a son consciously, a man must first admit to the pain and hunger he experienced as a child through his own father’s failings.

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The Mother Our Souls Need: Connecting With the Energy That Made Us

Apr 30, 2019 10:46AM ● By Christiane Northrup

Holistic pioneer Dr. Christiane Northrup on how, on a soul level, we’re all old friends with our mothers and got the mothers our souls needed.

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Her Soul In Bloom: Self-Care for All Stages of Life

Apr 30, 2019 10:46AM ● By Marlaina Donato

When it comes to taking care of body and soul, women are inclined to put others first—but everyone is nourished when women prioritize loving themselves.

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Sacred Space: Bringing Bliss to Every Room

Mar 29, 2019 10:53AM ● By Maya Whitman

From refrigerators decorated with kids’ drawings to a bowl of sea glass in the bathroom, bliss corners dedicated to personal memories and mementos can provide inspiration and beauty in our daily lives.

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Meditation and Music Slow Cellular Aging: Mindfulness Combats Memory Loss

Feb 28, 2019 10:49AM

Doing a chanting meditation or listening to classical music can alter biomarkers associated with cellular aging and Alzheimer’s disease in adults with early memory loss.

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The Path to Wealth: How to Make a Dream Come True

Feb 28, 2019 10:48AM ● By May McCarthy

Repetition of three daily practices—writing down a goal, speaking it with emotion, and visualizing the outcome—is key to prosperity and success.

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The Power of Thank-You Notes: People Underestimate the Message

Jan 31, 2019 12:07PM

People who receive heartfelt thank-you notes are typically surprised, happy and appreciative, reactions that the letter-writers tend to underestimate.

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A Common Heart Song: Whales Point the Way

Jan 31, 2019 12:06PM ● By Mark Nepo

Just like whales, when we go deep within, we find the common song that unites all beings.

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Head, Heart and Gut: Lodestars of Powerful Decision Making

Dec 27, 2018 01:46PM ● By Lee Milteer

Instead of always falling into a default mode of old behaviors, it’s important to check with our built-in guidance system before undertaking a course of action.

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A Global Wake-Up Call: Collective Consciousness Nears Spiritual Tipping Point

Nov 30, 2018 10:59AM ● By Linda Sechrist

The rapid spread of enlightened awareness and the harmonic convergence of science, psychology and spirituality are bringing humanity closer to a mass shift in consciousness.

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Holiday Happiness Helpers: Six Ways to Bring On Joy

Nov 30, 2018 10:59AM ● By James Baraz

Following some simple strategies can transform our holidays from a laborious trudge of to-do’s into a light dance of meaningful rejoicing.

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Abundant Living: 10 Practices Open Doors

Oct 31, 2018 11:03AM ● By Dennis Merritt Jones

By living in ways imbued with oneness, purpose and meaning, we can enlarge our possibilities beyond our wildest imaginings.

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What Did You Do Once You Knew?

Sep 28, 2018 10:57AM ● By Drew Dellinger

Excerpted from Love Letter to the Milky Way, by Drew Dellinger.

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Bats

Sep 28, 2018 10:57AM ● By Randall Jarrell

Inspiring poem by Randall Jarrell.

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Yoga Meets Life’s Essential Questions: Tapping into Our True Nature

Aug 31, 2018 11:10AM ● By Michael A. Singer

The greatest gift of yoga is that it can help us transcend the limitations of a personal mind and discover our essential self.

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A Kinder Heart: Cultivating a Life of Compassion

Jul 31, 2018 12:14PM ● By Amy Leigh Mercree

To transcend society’s hectic pace and intrusive demands, we can relax deeply into our heart center and experience the all-embracing love that is always there.

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Four Steps to Authentic Living: How to Live a Deeply Joyful Life

Jun 29, 2018 11:01AM ● By Jan Desai

Heeding our inner voice is pivotal in taking steps that enable us to live a life rooted in our deepest, truest self.

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Doing Nothing: Why Timeouts Matter

May 31, 2018 10:42AM ● By April Thompson

It’s hard to take timeouts to do nothing. Yet, when we pump the brakes, we discover fresh productivity, creativity and contentment. Here are tips to reclaim the art of be-ing over do-ing.

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Pillow Self-Talk: Three Questions to Ponder Before Sleeping

Apr 30, 2018 10:42AM ● By Krista O’Reilly Davi-Digui

Spending a few minutes each night with three purposeful questions will help us to rest content and awaken with joy.

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Love Rocks: Inspiring Messages that Surprise

Apr 30, 2018 10:17AM

People are hand-painting stones with uplifting messages and planting them randomly in public spaces.

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Indigenous Wisdom: Elders Urge Us to Reimagine Life

Mar 30, 2018 11:58AM ● By Anita Sanchez

Indigenous elders from around the world meet together to pass down four sacred gifts of wisdom we would do well to heed.

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Reclaim Your Magic: Make Your World Wondrous Again

Feb 28, 2018 11:24AM ● By Paige Leigh Reist

To regain the sense of magic we felt as a child, we must live in accord with Earth’s natural cycles and listen to our inner voice.

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Self-Love

Jan 31, 2018 12:03PM ● By Charlie Chaplin

Silent film star Charlie Chaplin shares wisdom gained through a long, well-lived life.

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Expect a Miracle: Five Ways to Manifest Our Desires

Dec 29, 2017 12:44PM ● By J. Marie Novak

The miraculous enters our everyday lives when we are grateful, proactive, adventurous, generous and intuitive.

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Peace on Earth: Conflict Resolutions that Work to Bridge Divides

Nov 30, 2017 03:20PM ● By Linda Sechrist

In these days of strident voices, people with opposing views are exploring new ways to talk civilly and come to a mutually satisfying “Yes”.

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Inspired Living: Five Ways to Make the New Year Sparkle

Nov 30, 2017 03:20PM ● By Kelly Martinsen

Instead of waiting for inspiration to hit, we can live life in such a way that creative sparks will show up on demand when we need them most.

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Sharable Thanksgiving: Ways to Focus on What Really Matters

Oct 31, 2017 11:55AM ● By Marlaina Donato

In this special holiday, we can find fresh ways to celebrate our interconnectedness with one another.

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Soul Shine

Sep 29, 2017 07:53PM ● By Marianne Williamson

Spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson points out that it is our light, not darkness, that most frightens us.

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Being Beauty: What Makes Us Glow

Aug 31, 2017 11:46AM ● By Glennon Doyle Melton

Contrary to what we’re led to believe, the quickest way to be beautiful is to fill ourselves up with the beauty of all we love.

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Aging with Passion and Purpose: Finding Fulfillment, Creativity and Meaning

Aug 31, 2017 11:45AM ● By Deborah Shouse

As our bodies grow older, we can engage with life in ways that build belonging, generate enthusiasm and spark rewarding self-discovery that also blesses the world.

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Create a Love Nest: Set Out a Welcome Mat for a Soulmate

Jul 31, 2017 11:48AM ● By Arielle Ford

Clearing out your home physically and psychically opens up space for the love of your life to walk in the door.

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An Awesome Antidote to Polarization

Jun 30, 2017 10:37AM ● By Kirk J. Schneider

In these black-versus-white days of civic discord, awe opens us up to fresh views and the value of respectful, harmonious living.

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On Fatherhood: The Lifelong Lessons of Being a Dad

May 31, 2017 11:03AM ● By Ben Greenman

Guiding a child into adulthood involves unending learning, a deep faith in trial and error, and the willingness to be changed in unexpected ways.

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When We Set Out: Let Spirit Steer Us

Apr 28, 2017 11:20AM ● By Mark Nepo

Our soul is like a sail, filled by the wind of Spirit; our job is to harness our will to let Spirit take the rudder.

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The Heart of the Wild Reveals Our Spiritual Life: Excerpts from “America’s National Parks” from The Hour of Land

Mar 31, 2017 09:31AM ● By Terry Tempest Williams

A child, accidentally marooned in a cave, feels her fear morph into wonder—a lesson that nourishes her for life.

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Reframing Your Life Story: Create Your Own Hero’s Journey

Feb 28, 2017 11:25AM ● By Kim Schneiderman

By viewing yourself as a character on a heroic path of self-discovery, you can regard yourself from a new perspective and make wiser, kinder decisions.

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Sacred Passage: Conscious Dying as a Transformative Healing Journey

Jan 31, 2017 12:28PM ● By Linda Sechrist

By being deeply attentive, we can turn the dying process of ourselves and others into a profoundly moving, loving and more peaceful experience.

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Kissed By Kindness

Jan 31, 2017 11:45AM ● By Emily Esfahani Smith

Sure, hormones help, but it turns out that what most keeps love romantic and alive is simply being kind to our beloved.

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Sky High: A Simple Gaze Invokes the Infinite

Dec 28, 2016 02:34PM ● By Sandy C. Newbigging

By relaxing gently into unfocused vision, we enter into a state of spacious calm that invites us into stillness to serenely observe passing thoughts.

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Lobster Liberation: Monks Free Creatures from Certain Doom

Dec 28, 2016 12:43PM

Canadian monks bought up all the live lobsters at a fish market, chartered a boat, and set them free as an exemplary act of compassion.

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Live as Your Heart Lives

Nov 30, 2016 12:03PM ● By Lyric Benson Fergusson

Our deepest wisdom and bravest truths reside in our heart rather than our mind.

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Loving Large: Scientists Say We’re All Connected

Nov 30, 2016 12:03PM ● By Linda Sechrist

Emerging scientific findings reveal what sages have long taught: Our core nature is love, and love is the organizing principle of the whole cosmos.

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The Art of Blessing: Sanctifying Everyday Life

Oct 31, 2016 10:13AM ● By Dennis Merritt Jones

Getting in the habit of sending forth daily blessings is a good spiritual practice, for we can bless our world as we have been blessed.

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Tree-Mendous Love: How Trees Care for Each Other

Sep 30, 2016 10:20AM ● By Melissa Breyer

Just like us, trees can communicate, nurture one another and protect each other from danger.

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The Secret of Sublime Living: Savoring Perfect Present Moments

Aug 31, 2016 01:07PM ● By Carl Greer

When we pay attention to life’s small, sweet pleasures, we enter into sublime experiences of pure perfection.

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Music as Medicine: Music Soothes, Energizes and Heals Us

Aug 31, 2016 12:43PM ● By Kathleen Barnes

Whether it involves strumming a guitar, humming, or listening to a favorite tune, music has potent healing abilities for what ails us, from depression to addiction to pain.

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Earth Guardians: Kids Say No to Global Warming

Jul 29, 2016 12:30PM ● By April Thompson

A young Colorado boy has started a worldwide network of youngsters from Bhutan to Brazil that fight environmental degradation.

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Good Reads: Fiction Readers Have More Empathy

Jul 29, 2016 10:50AM

Snuggling into a chair with a good novel whisks us into another world—and that makes us not only smarter but more empathetic, recent studies show.

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Signs That You’ve Found Your Calling

Jun 30, 2016 10:57AM ● By Lissa Rankin

When you’re on track with your life purpose, the people and money you need to fulfill your calling flow to you in unexpected ways.

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Real News That Matters: Independent Media Tell Us the Truth

Jun 30, 2016 10:13AM ● By Linda Sechrist

The monopolistic control of mainstream media means that we often get only one side of the story on crucial eco-issues, topics such as healing and spirituality, and upbeat markers of progress.

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Happy All Day: Simple Daily Practices for a Happier Life

May 31, 2016 12:08PM ● By Judith Fertig

By working into our days more mindfulness, movement and gratitude, we can make ourselves more deeply happy.

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Emotional Intelligence: How to Raise Your Quotient

May 31, 2016 12:08PM ● By Harvey Deutschendorf

Emotionally intelligent people focus on the positive, set boundaries and adopt other sensible strategies that help them thrive in the world.

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Swedes’ Solution: Six-Hour Workday Reaps Benefits

May 31, 2016 12:07PM

Wary of the high personal costs of long workweeks, Swedish employers are switching to six-hour workdays, and report happier employees that maintain their productivity.

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Live Comedy Evokes Trust and Empathy: Stand-up Comics Induce Bonding in Audience Members

May 31, 2016 10:09AM

Stand-up comics evoke warm bonding in their audience, a British researcher has found.

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Women Power: Feminists Redefine Senior Housing

Apr 29, 2016 10:01AM

Enterprising senior women in France have created a nurturing 25-unit independent-living apartment building just blocks away from shops, a theater and the metro.

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Picture Your Future: Creating a Vision Board Makes Dreams Real

Apr 29, 2016 10:01AM ● By Jayne Morris

Putting together a collage that graphically illustrates your deepest hopes and desires propels a new future.

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Earth Song: Mother Nature’s Rhythms Restore the Soul

Mar 31, 2016 10:28AM ● By Susan Andra Lion

When we step away from our manicured lawns and enter into wide-open natural spaces, we move into a lyrical realm of peace and beauty.

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Color Me Calm: Grownups De-Stress with Adult Coloring Books

Feb 29, 2016 03:54PM ● By Avery Mack

We don’t have to be kids to once again take up coloring pages of inviting graphics that induce calm, improve fine motor skills and enhance our creativity.

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The Power of Friendship: It Sustains, Nourishes and Supports Us

Jan 29, 2016 10:43AM ● By Judith Fertig

True friendships transcend age and time, come in many flavors and make for happy and healthy lives.

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Seeing Change: Young Children Can Unlearn Racial Stereotyping

Jan 29, 2016 10:07AM

Using morphed photographs of African and Asian faces, researchers have reduced the differentiating response of toddlers to foreign racial groups.

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Deep Listening: Our Wholehearted Attention Is Our Greatest Gift

Jan 29, 2016 10:07AM ● By Kay Lindahl

How often do we really listen to another? Yet listening deeply opens up vistas of creativity and healing in ourselves and others.

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Key Signs We’re Approaching a Defining Moment

Dec 29, 2015 05:37PM ● By Dennis Merritt Jones

Significant events in life—often unplanned and painful ones—inspire us to dig deeper into their potential to move us toward authentic wholeness.

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Unique Character: Sesame Street Addresses Autism

Dec 29, 2015 04:23PM

Creators of the popular kids’ puppet show are consulting with autism groups in creating a new autistic kid-character named Julia.

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Puppy Cuddles: Students De-Stress by Petting Dogs

Dec 29, 2015 04:23PM

Thoughtful British universities are providing “puppy rooms” to help students make it through exam anxiety.

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OM MBA: Eastern Practices Penetrate U.S. Corporate Culture

Dec 29, 2015 04:23PM

To boost employee productivity, morale and health, corporations as diverse as Aetna, Google and General Mills now supply courses on meditation and yoga.

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Autism Spurs Creative Thinking: Inventive Minds at Work

Dec 29, 2015 04:22PM

People with autism, asked to devise fresh uses for mundane objects, came up with more original and creative ideas than those in a control group.

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Awakening to Spirit: Prayer and Meditation Heal and Free Us

Nov 30, 2015 10:25AM ● By Richard Davenport

By penetrating to the core of our true identity through spiritual practices, we open the door to vast expanses of peace, healing and joy.

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Meditation Linked to Telomere Integrity in Cancer Patients: Mindfulness Helps Recovery

Nov 30, 2015 09:48AM

The chromosomal decline common in breast cancer is averted when patients either do yoga and meditate or participate in a therapy support group.

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Uncommon Devotion: Religion in America Shows Resilience

Nov 30, 2015 09:47AM

On any given Sabbath, four out of 10 Americans travel to a place of worship, a number that hasn’t fluctuated dramatically in the past half-century.

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