Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Where Do We Go From Here?

The ego seeks to divide and separate. The spirit seeks to unify and heal. — Pema Chodron   I had been looking forward to this past week for months. My youngest son turned 21 on Thursday, and months ago, I made plans to fly out to see him in Michigan and celebrate. After all, 21 i...

Musician Tena Clark Reveals How Her Southern Upbringing Influenced Her Activism 

(The following is an excerpt from Southern Discomfort: A Memoir, Tena Clark's new book which explores how her upbringing in a repressive society in rural Mississippi during the Civil Rights Era forged her path towards women's rights activism.) Where I grew up, girls like me knew our pla...

Repeat Roses Delivers Repurposed Event Flowers to Joyful Recipients

Event planner Jennifer Grove grew frustrated over the fact that hundreds of pounds of flowers wind up in the trash after every private and public celebration. Seeing this as a waste of resources, Jennifer recognized that this was an opportunity to change the status quo and founded Repeat...

Martha Beck Responds With ‘Lovingkindness’ to Heated Emotions Stemming From Kavanaugh Hearing Testimonies

As I write this, the controversy over the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh is filling the internet with such fury—from both sides—that I think my computer may explode. The situation feels like a microcosm of all public controversy in a time when technology has given individuals the power to...

Gold Star Mother Has Learned to Embrace Her Title With Pride

I confess that labels are hard for me. Not that I don’t love several brands whose label signifies something special. I do have dreams of owning a true Chanel dress and a brand-new pair of Dior shoes. But I choose, instead, clothes that conceal the label just as my only pair of Yves Saint L...

3 Steps to Finding and Connecting to Your Inner Voice

When we are looking for the clarity we need in life in order to find the path that is right for us, we can find ourselves on an endless search. It can be all too loud and overwhelming in a world of voices screaming their advice, their way, their thoughts, their opinions, their fears. We...

How to Raise Our Kids With a Kindness Advantage

(The following is an excerpt from The Kindness Advantage: Cultivating Compassionate and Connected Children) No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots sprin...

Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Learning to Find Your Voice

“The moment a woman comes home to herself, the moment she knows that she has become a person of influence, an artist of her life, a sculptor of her universe, a person with rights and responsibilities who is respected and recognized, the resurrection of the world begins.”  – Joan Chitti...

The Seasons of Life

We can live wisely only when we accept the reality of change. Where I lived as a Buddhist monk, impermanence was central to the curriculum. We deliberately contemplated change, our moods, the seasons, the passing of visitors, our aging, and the movement of our breath until we could see li...

Happy the Golden Jam Spreads Compassion and Medical Care to Shelter Dogs

For 23 years I have regarded my orchard in Malibu as a gift, one to be shared and enjoyed. The orchard is nestled in a ravine, a hundred meters from the sea and is protected from the salt air by a stand of mature avocado trees. Despite its proximity to the ocean mist, the orchard thrives....