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Take a music lesson with a master on Skype
Pakistan’s leading rock star writes songs about love and reconciliation. His embrace of social causes has invited comparisons with Bono. And now, an intelligent optimist like you can take a music lesson with him. Yes, that’s right. Salman Ahmad has kindly offered his time for the annual Read More...
10 Tips to Keep Energized (and Calm!) During the Holidays
When the rush and worry get to you, these ten tips will energize and relax your holiday season. With a balance of energy and calm, you'll get things done and enjoy your cherished memories. 1. Drink more water. It cleans out your body, fills you up, and provides extra oxygen for your busy brain Read More...
Soul Messenger: Michael Franti
I met Michael Franti in Amsterdam seven years ago. The Netherlands was still in shock after the brutal murder of director Theo van Gogh, who was shot and stabbed by a Muslim fundamentalist. Franti was performing at a literary music festival in The Hague, and I was amazed at the ease with which he Read More...
Children full of life
What is it that we want our children to learn in school? It was the question that came to mind after watching the documentary Children Full of Life (link to part 1 of 5). The documentary follows the Japanese teacher Toshiro Kanamori and his class of fourth-grade children in a primary school in Read More...
Microfinance Must Return to its Roots in Charity
Dewi Gigengack | November/December 2012 Issue What’s wrong with microcredit? “The original idea to help poor people by providing a small start-up loan is a good one. But the goal has increasingly shifted away from charity, and the problem now is that the sector has become totally profit driven. Read More...
Shout it From the Rooftops
From rooftop units to desert electricity plants, India is harnessing solar power to reduce emissions and fight poverty. [caption id="attachment_297516" align="aligncenter" width="592"] Affordable systems from companies like selco are enabling more and more indian families to go Read More...
Spontaneous Evolution Event with Bruce Lipton
I went to the seminar with two hopeful expectations: to get some inspiration and to feel some enlightenment. Both expectations were not only met, but exceeded. When I saw on my Twitter feed Dr. Bruce Lipton was speaking at a conference in San Francisco, I knew I had to go. After having read and Read More...
Where Do You Find Meaning?
In an online kindness class I facilitated not too long ago, I asked this question of the participants: Where do you find meaning? I gave them a little exercise to help, too, which was to choose a relatively small, personal object and place it somewhere so they’d encounter it each morning. I asked Read More...
Peace Recipe
This past month I received a lovely email from a woman named Monique Constant in Canada who’s an Odereader. She’d read one of my posts and wanted to thank me. Very nice when that happens. But then … she went on … “There is something I would like to share with you, I wrote this Read More...
Perfect Day: Music as a Mode of Travel
September 2, 2009 was a perfect day. And by some miracle, I found a way to share it with you. That day I was on a songwriting retreat at a tiny, beloved island in the border waters of Minnesota and Ontario. The days are long there. I awaken before dawn and slip into the cool, still water before Read More...