Miscellaneous
The evolution of happiness
It is said that after his enlightenment the Buddha was motivated to teach by seeing that all beings were seeking happiness, yet out of ignorance were doing the very things that brought them suffering. This aroused his great compassion to point the way to freedom. The Buddha spoke of different kinds Read More...
If you want to practice mindfulness, the garden is the place to be
Many of us have had a perfect day in the garden, the kind of day that we hope would never end. A day when the herbaceous borders burn brightly with colour, and the trees and shrubs stand green against the blue sky. A day when the grass is soft and rolling. A day when there is a warm sweetness in Read More...
How to make your mind happy, according to neuroscience
Everybody is talking about mindfulness… but nobody seems to be able to explain clearly what the heck it really is. Ask people and you’ll hear, “Umm, be in the moment and SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING, uh, meditation.” But is it merely the latest fad? Actually, no. And there isn’t some Read More...
How to bring humor to meditation
From the outside, meditation appears to be a thoroughly serious endeavor. You have to sit down, dutifully count your breaths and rein in your wandering mind, and practice this every day whether it’s fun or not. But that isn’t Chade-Meng Tan’s approach to mindfulness. The founding chair of the Read More...
How to afford raising a world-class athlete
When the Summer Olympics begin in Rio on Aug. 5, you will see 10,000 of the world's best athletes compete, and a much smaller number of them being draped with medals. But who really deserves gold? The families who scrimped and saved to get them there. Raising a world-class athlete under your own Read More...
How I cleared my cystic acne by switching to a plant-based diet
Like most teens and young adults, I grew up with acne. I started noticing my acne when I was around 13 years old, which is pretty typical. In the beginning stages it was little pimples and zits here and there, but it soon progressed. I remember being teased in eighth grade because I had pimples Read More...
Quinoa isn't a threat to food security. It's improving Peruvian farmers' lives
Trade in quinoa, the traditional Andean cereal loved by ethical foodies, has been accused of driving poverty in the region. In 2013, a Guardian article argued that rising prices, driven by western demand for the “super grain”, meant poor people in the region could no longer afford to Read More...
This bill could keep the U.S. government from plotting against vegan mayo again
There are few points of agreement between Democrats and Republicans these days, but it turns out maintaining a fair marketplace for vegan mayo is one of them. In a rare display of bipartisanship, Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, Read More...
How microbes can save farming
Right under our feet. That's where David Perry believes the next agricultural revolution will come from — the millions of unseen microbes in soil that play a crucial but complicated role in the well-being of plants. Perry believes that he can repackage beneficial bacteria and fungi as Read More...
Solar Dogger sears your sausage with the sun
Who couldn't use a $60 portable solar hot dog cooker? Anyone who doesn't want to solarize their franks in about 10 minutes, that's who. GoSun's innovative solar cookers, which concentrate and harness the energy of the sun onto a vacuum tube with a 'thermal battery' that allows for quick heating and Read More...