Better The World has developed an innovative fundraising platform and suite of tools that give people free and easy ways to raise money for charity while surfing the web. The platform acts as a hub, bringing together companies, charities and people with a shared interest - to make the world a better place.
Surf the Web, Save the World. Read more...
There is a whole lot of fuss over organic food, and justifiably so, but we hear very little about the details of "organic" or "eco-friendly" textiles. While in India exploring various interests, from jalebi (a far-from-organic-or-healthy sweet treat) to organic farming to Tollywood film (yes Tollywood, not Bollywood), I found myself a guest at a textile company just outside of Ahmedabad.
The city is a textile-producing center of the country famous for its beautiful fabrics, and the industry provides jobs for hundreds of thousands of locals. While these jobs help keep their families fed - though on little more than rice and milk - their employees spend their days soaking their hands, arms, and bodies in chemical dyes or bleach to produce a product that, in turn, poisons everything it touches. Read more...
I live in a really great community in Guelph, Ontario. Over the last year or so, we've been adapting our community website into a tool that any community can use to get organized. Now we are hoping to find some other communities that can help us test it out. We are planning to offer this as a free tool for any community. It's helped us do some pretty amazing things: organizing parties and movie nights, sharing tools and skills amongst neighbours, and mobilizing community initiatives.
The site is at www.villagetoolbox.com Read more...
I work for March of Dimes in Portland, Oregon. The non-profit health organization that works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Yesterday was our biggest fundraiser of the year, March for Babies.
After walking the route with 5,000 others whose lives have somehow been touched by our mission, many people will stay, have a hot dog and an ice cream bar and enjoy the upbeat music by 5 Guys Named Moe. As the music lightened the steps and hearts of the crowd, there was dancing. I became mesmerized by one particular pair - a father and his young daughter. Held in his arms, this beautiful little girl was twirled and waltzed and gazed at with a love and tenderness one doesn't see just everyday. Read more...
I recently posed this question on several LinkedIn green groups and was surprised to get so many answers with a wide range of opinions. Most of them advocated systemic expressions of sustainability: green business, policy and regulation, economic incentives, standards, strategic planning and simple common sense. A few mentioned awareness-building: education, marketing campaigns (“green is good”) and mission statements. The rest championed tools like directories, handbooks and websites. One outlier suggested that sometimes the answer is just in a state of mind.
In the spirit of Ken Wilber and the Integral, in one sense they are all right. Just not 100% right, to the exclusion of the others. I found it intriguing that the majority of them oriented towards systems, technologies, and policy and only one touched on the metaphysical. Yet, consciousness of our innermost motivations, values and beliefs is critical to the success of any greening initiative, whether personal or organizational. Read more...
Recently I had a lengthy discussion with a group of people (strangers) that happened to be waiting with me for a Toastmasters meeting. The topic somehow managed to turn to “superstitions” and I stood there listening contently as it was a somewhat bizarre topic to come up amongst a bunch of strangers.
What I found interesting about these people was the fact that they each gave so much power to superstitions. Read more...
I’ve just finished reading an insightful TimesOnline article entitled Madonna: Sexual and Proud, in which India Knight comments on the public’s reaction to the controversial celebrity’s recent fling with a man less than half her age.
All I can say is hats off to both the star and the columnist: Madonna for being who she is (and not being afraid to flaunt it), and Knight for getting to the core of what makes some people uncomfortable with “older” women expressing their sexuality (and not being afraid to write about it). The sad truth is that there’s a great deal of discomfort in most cultures with women of any age expressing their sexuality. As Knight observes: Read more...
We’re happy to announce Ode has been awarded a Maggie, the Western Publishing Association's annual award for excellence in publishing. Ode won in the Politics and Social Issues category, outdoing Mother Jones, Reason and Sierra.
"We’re very proud to receive this Maggie," says Managing Editor Marco Visscher, who attended the ceremony Friday in Los Angeles to receive the award, "especially since we had competition from long-standing, reputable magazines like Mother Jones, in a category that traditionally shows more appreciation for the hard-hitting, bad news. It’s absolutely great to see that our message of hope and optimism is being welcomed in the industry with so much appreciation." Read more...
This month, the Casa do Caminho Language Centre was officially opened in Rio de Janeiro.
What is the so special about this language centre? It’s been created and managed entirely by volunteers and all revenues go to the orphanage Casa do Caminho; only the teachers are being paid for their services. Foreigners can learn Portuguese and ‘Cariocas’ (as the inhabitants of Rio are called) can learn English or Spanish. The centre is located in Ipanema, one of the most safe and affluent areas of the city and only 3 blocks from the beach. Read more...
Op 21 maart 2009 is mijn boek gepubliceerd, De Paarse Panda. In dit boek schrijf ik hoe het voelt om longkanker te hebben en ongeneeslijk ziek te zijn verklaard. Het boek barst van geluk, positiviteit, liefde, creativiteit, levenslust, verwondering en optimisme maar dat laatste brokkelt heel langzaam af door teleurstellingen en het moeten verleggen van grenzen. De subtitel, Ongeneeslijk ziek, nou en? is niet om te shockeren maar meer om te benadrukken hoe ik ermee omga. Read more...
Imagine a world where leaders’ decisions are heartfelt and guided by conscious thoughtfulness; a world where societies benefit from intuitive, collective wisdom and where scientific discovery and technological innovation is derived from heart-centered minds. If this vision resonates with your soul, you are not alone. For the past nineteen years, ISSEEEM has united healers, teachers, researchers and pioneers seeking to bridge science and spirit. Read more...
Zeven vertegenwoordigers van Westerse spirituele groeperingen anno 2009 zullen in dit symposium een nieuwe geestelijke impuls voor de eenentwintigste eeuw vertolken. Read more...
Juliette dreams of someday marrying a nice man. One unlike the monster who poured acid on her in a jealous rage in July 2007. We are sitting with this young woman, just 19 years old, on a porch near a church in Kampala, Uganda. Juliette is beautiful on the side of her face that she shows to the world. Her eyes are bright and she has a radiant smile. The other side of her face she covers with long braids. It prevents the fearful looks from those who pass her by. It covers the half of her face that was destroyed in the brutal acid attack that sent her to the hospital for five months and disfigured her for life. “I open?” she asks. She lifts her hair to show what remains and tells her story. Read more...
Senta Yamada was born in Fukuoka Japan in 1924, and he is the founder of Kikusui Kai. He studied Judo with its founder, Dr. Jigaro Kano, who sent him to study Aikido with its founder. Recently I had the pleasure and honor of meeting Senta Yamada sensei for the first time. What follows is a loose translation of Yamada sensei's words, embroidered by the larger picture I sensed he was pointing toward. Uncharacteristically for a Japanese person, he moved his hands as he spoke, to portray the movements he perceived as inherent in the mind of Aikido and the mind of water. You might try doing the same as you read the words that follow. Take your time, breathe freely and move your body so as to feel the movement and mind that the words suggest. Read more...
Het Holland Festival is sinds het aantreden van Pierre Audi als directeur in 2005 weer terug bij zijn wortels: een mix van alle podiumkunsten, grote namen en gedurfde experimenten. Audi wil de bezoekers een ‘caleidoscopisch venster op de wereld’ bieden. Ook dit jaar brengt het festival, onder het thema Serenity & Anxiety, voorstellingen uit alle windstreken naar Amsterdam. Esmee Meertens, perschef van Holland Festival: ‘Het thema staat voor rust en angst. Rust in de zin van “overpeinzingen” en angst in de zin van “gedrevenheid” en “op een felle manier omgaan met de problemen in de wereld”. Bij dit thema zijn voorstellingen gezocht. En met name de voorstelling Orfeus van de Zuid-Afrikaanse theatermaker Brett Bailey sluit hier mooi bij aan.’ Read more...
In zijn nieuwe roman De winnaar staat alleen laat Paulo Coelho zien wat de gevolgen kunnen zijn van onze hedendaagse obsessie met roem. Ode geeft 10 x 1 exemplaren weg, mail naar redactie@ode.nl en wellicht wint u een exemplaar van De winnaar staat alleen! Read more...
De aarde en haar bewoners verkeren in een staat van wereldwijde crisis; de sociale, politieke, economische en ecologische uitdagingen van de 21e eeuw vragen terecht onze aandacht. De vraag hoe wij ons bewustzijn en onze creativiteit kunnen inzetten om tot actie over te gaan om de crises te keren, is des te prangender. Op zaterdag 16 mei aanstaande heeft u de unieke gelegenheid om hierover in gesprek te gaan met Dr. Ervin Laszlo. Voor Ode-lezers geldt een speciale aanbieding. Read more...
After a year of planning FairMail India actually started functioning in febrauary 2009! 10 local teenagers are learning to become photographer to finance their own education needs. FairMail director Peter just came back from India and tells about what he saw with his own eyes: "It is amazing how quick and fluidly the starting up of FairMail India went. It seems as if there is a little angle on our shoulder." Read more...
Het elektromagnetische veld (EMV) van hoogspanningsleidingen is in verband gebracht met leukemie, Alzheimer en andere degeneratieve aandoeningen. Dit wordt in vele onderzoeken bevestigd, maar elektriciteitsbedrijven noch de overheid doen iets met deze informatie. Waarom eigenlijk niet? Read more...
If you’ve never heard of Gabriel of Urantia - musician, author and spiritual leader - that’s because the powers that be have tried very hard to suppress his truth, environmental and social advocacy. He fights injustice through his books and music, and his words are powerful against greed and religious hypocrisy. You might say that he’s like the Spike Lee of music!
Gabriel of Urantia started singing on the street corners of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was 8 years old and was a professional nightclub entertainer at age 18, until a spiritual transformation happened to him at age 24. At that time he began to write spiritual music with commercial-sounding melodies. Read more...
Barbara Warmsley is The Green Granny. In deze tijden van kredietcrisis komen haar tips uit de oude doos goed van pas. The Green Granny is een initiatief van Oxfam UK en maakt onderdeel uit van de campagne Good Ideas Unlmt. waarbij de organisatie goede ideeën voor een betere wereld inzamelt. De bespaartips van oma Warmsley zijn onder andere te zien op YouTube.
Aan iedere beschaving komt een einde, maar als we zo doorgaan vergaat de onze zeer snel. De vredesactivist en boeddhistische monnik Thich Nhat Hanh vertolkt in zijn nieuwste boek Wat de wereld nodig heeft, de boeddhistische stem in het debat over de klimaatcrisis. Read more...
Het initiatief van Basisschool De Ark uit Diemen is uitgeroepen tot Microkredietonderneming van het Jaar. Read more...
Natuurlijk Smullen in Amsterdam is de allereerste biologische snackbar van Nederland. De verantwoorde snackbar opende eind vorig jaar zijn deuren en is een groot succes.
I’m reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
Het lijkt wel alsof alles wat met paranormaliteit te maken heeft een media-hype is. Dat werkt niet altijd even positief. Read more...
Kinderen met zulke ervaringen kunnen maar weinig informatie vinden over dit onderwerp. Bénazir wil in dit boek laten zien dat kinderen op verschillende manieren reageren op paranormale zaken. Read more...
Wall Street traders gave us the global economic meltdown. Oil futures traders gave us $4.00 a gallon gasoline. This Earth Day, Swaptree traders will be helping to reforest the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, one of the world’s most endangered regions. Which kind of trader would you rather be?
If you’d like to do your part to help the Earth, visit Swaptree.com on Earth Day, April 22, and start swapping books, DVDs, CDs, and video games, for free. With each completed trade, Swaptree will contribute $1.00 to Plant a Billion Trees, a conservation initiative created by The Nature Conservancy. Every dollar helps The Nature Conservancy and its partners plant one tree in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Read more...
Seeking higher ground and an escape from the chaos of everyday life? Gravitate towards a more organic lifestyle and harmonize with nature at Finca Bellavista, a sustainable treehouse community set within the spectacular backdrop of the south Pacific coastal mountains of Costa Rica!
Perched overlooking the Golfo Dulce and nurtured by two whitewater rivers, the location of this unique enclave is unmatched in its magnificence and pulses with life. While it feels a world away, this 350-acre preserve boasts easy access to some of the country’s most stunning natural assets, like National Parks, isolated beaches and epic mountainscapes. Those with a taste for adventure will feel right at home amongst the multitude of outdoor activities available nearby, such as windsurfing, hiking, birdwatching, diving, surfing, kayaking and deep-sea fishing. Read more...
De aarde en haar bewoners verkeren in een staat van wereldwijde crisis; de sociale, politieke, economische en ecologische uitdagingen van de 21e eeuw vragen terecht onze aandacht. De vraag hoe wij ons bewustzijn en onze creativiteit kunnen inzetten om tot actie over te gaan om de crisis te keren, is des te prangender. Read more...
Although spying joy is still easy to do if you look for it, these days it seems more challenging to really relax into the moment and let the joy we see soak down into our bones. At least, it seems a bit tougher to me.
Take yesterday, for example. After sleeping in until 7am and savoring a morning mocha, I check my email for the first time in a few days and find a heartfelt note from a friend saying she is closing the doors of her yoga center. As if that, among the daily barrage of bad news and double-digit unemployment, wasn't enough; I opened mail and found the neighborhood hardware store is also closing its doors. Driving through town I see so many more signs shouting "for lease" or "going out of business sale." It's moments like these that challenge me to remember the truth. Read more...
Het Amerikaanse tijdschrift Time heeft tien ontwikkelingen op een rijtje gezet die de wereld zullen veroveren en veranderen. Zo zijn banen het nieuwe meest waardevolle bezit (in plaats van huizen, auto’s en gadgets), is het calvinisme weer helemaal terug (wat wij Nederlanders door het succes van het tijdschrift Calvijn natuurlijk allang wisten) en doen we binnenkort onze boodschappen in ‘survival stores’. Read more...
I remember when I was in high school, looking forward to college, I thought independence from my parents, thousands of new people to meet and access to all the arts, shows and parties I could handle would make me the happiest person on the planet. I remember, years earlier, staring at the ashes of half of my family's house - the half containing my room and all my belongings.
College was good. After a while, though, it was kind of average. As for all of my possessions burning up, a year later it was only a curious fact from my past. Many researchers have found that people significantly overestimate the emotional impact of both positive and negative future events. Read more...
Walking up to the PLUSAA wheelchair factory in Leon, Nicaragua, you wouldn’t think that it is a place that changes lives every day. The floor of the workshop is concrete and peppered with cracks. Dust from the dirt courtyard outside leaves everything covered with a fine coat of brown earth. The walls are mostly bare, except for the tools that hang neatly in their place.
PLUSAA provides custom-made and fitted wheelchairs at little or no cost to people with disabilities. It is one of the few alternatives to the used, donated American wheelchairs that are sent to Nicaragua in huge quantities every year. These used wheelchairs, while donated with the best of intentions, can have negative impacts on the health and psyche of people with disabilities and often end up in wheelchair graveyards, massive areas where hundreds of broken wheelchairs find their final resting place. Read more...
Shai Agassi, featured in a January/February Ode article, has plans big plans for electric cars. Founder of Better Place, he has contracts with several countries not only to mass produce electric cars but also to create the infrastructure that will make them practical. Read more...
Zin in veel lucht, ruimte en uitzicht? In een extra brede kijk op de wereld? Dat kan nu heel gemakkelijk online! Read more...
Het eerste duurzaam gerenoveerde rijksmonument in Nederland is in gebruik genomen. Het nieuwe hoofdkantoor van AT Osborne, een onafhankelijk bureau voor ruimtelijke vraagstukken dateert oorspronkelijk uit 1771 en is in 1905 herbouwd. Door de samenwerking tussen eigenaar Triodos Vastgoedfonds en huurder AT Osborne kreeg het pand aan de Kennedylaan 100 in Baarn een nieuwe toekomst. Read more...
Less than a week ago, 47-year-old Susan Boyle was unemployed, and pretty much unknown beyond her hometown (in her own words: "a collection of villages"), outside of Edinburgh, Scotland.
As of midnight last night (Dubai time), the video of Boyle’s audition performance for Britain’s Got Talent 2009 has generated worldwide media coverage based on almost six million views, close to 40,000 five-star ratings, and 36,000 comments on YouTube. Read more...
Imre Vallyon is een spiritueel leraar en mantra-yogi van Hongaarse afkomst. Op zeer jonge leeftijd bereikte hij mystiek bewustzijn en onderwees al vanaf zijn tienerjaren het spirituele pad. Read more...
Mijn schrijven verenigt schepping en evolutie. Voor de oplossing is het van belang een radicaal ander perspectief op deze paradox te nemen. Read more...
People watching has always been one of my favorite activities, and there is no better place to do this than in a foreign culture. I've been in Japan for more than twenty years now, but in many ways, I still feel like a "stranger in a strange land." I say this in a totally positive sense, as I love being drawn into human interactions that leave me contemplating the richness of life.
One of my favorite rituals is breakfast in a local restaurant. I like sitting by the window, as the view gives me a wonderful perspective on the world. By viewing without being seen, I'm entranced by the opportunity to take in life in a pristine form. Here's some of what I get to see. Read more...
In an insightful couple of minutes, futurist Paul Saffo discusses the pitfalls of trying to solve environmental problems with an old mindset. In the long term, the solutions that work are not quick fixes, or wholesale abandonments of development. Instead of trying to fix things for our generation, we should focus on learning to be "good ancestors." Read more...
Duurzaamheid is hét modewoord van vandaag de dag. Iedere ondernemer doet er wel iets mee. En dus ook de bouw. De Stichting Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam (ARCAM) houdt tot en met 23 mei de expositie ‘Stad voor Straks’, een tentoonstelling over duurzaam bouwen. Read more...
All are invited to join in thousands of events in hundreds of cities, in over 65 nations, spanning 6 continents, coming on Saturday, April 25th, 10am local time worldwide. A global wave of mass teach-ins and exhibitions will enable you to be part of the Tai Chi & Qigong participatory events that will wrap our planet in healing intention.
You can learn more or find a local event to attend by visiting www.worldtaichiday.org Read more...
"Welcome Back" is an animated celebration of springtime by artist Jeff Scher. Click here to watch "Welcome Back."
I watched the video on the website of New York Times and it made me think that nature does not need a 'change management plan' or a 'mission statement' to grow. What if this beautiful film could represent the essence of our ideas, dreams and business plans? Read more...
The fact that you can find free content on the internet is no surprise to anyone, but I thought it might be useful to start a list of things you can find for free on the internet. Things you can find for free, legally. While I'm writing in very broad, basic strokes, I hope this list will spark some ideas for the bored and the budgeting. Please comment and add your favorite resources! Read more...
Pasen 2009. Massaal gaan alle Vlamingen eieren zoeken in tuintjes, blije kindergezichten, familie diners, wandelingetje in de natuur (nu de zon er is),zomer vakanties worden alweer op tafel gegooid enz. er is ook onzekerheid. Werk kwijt van schoonbroer, ouders verouderen (wat doen ermee?) kids hebben grove taal, welke antwoorden op wat nu? hoe positioneer ik me vandaag, welke waarden schuif ik in mijn top 10, hoe kunnen we er voor zorgen dat , welk aandeel heb ik in enz. Pasen 2009. Welke waarden willen jullie naar voor schuiven die nodig zijn voor deze transformatie? Read more...
Of course, as soon as humanity discovers how to make large explosions, it begins to looks to create a violent application of that technology. Explosions, however, have many civilian applications. Such as, on a smaller scale, the quick and safe demolition of buildings. So why not find non-violent applications of atomic explosions?
The US government has been funding research for civilian use of atomic bombs since the 1950s. Read more...
Amateur Steve Wilson, a rookie golf player in the Masters competition, is finally achieving his dream. After 10 years of professional golf and four years since he was reinstated as an amateur, “People ask if I’m a late bloomer,” Steve Wilson said. “Maybe I’m a slow learner.” Read more...
Deze zomer wordt voor de eerste keer de 'Tour for Life' georganiseerd: een zware, klassieke achtdaagse wielertocht van Italië naar Nederland. Van 30 augustus tot en met 6 september fietsen (amateur)wielrenners in ploegverband elke dag 130 km tot 200 km, waarbij zij meerdere zware, klassieke cols beklimmen. Hiermee brengen zij geld bijeen voor Artsen zonder Grenzen. Onder het motto Rijd de tour van je leven nodigt de organisatie mensen uit hun wielerpassie in te zetten voor noodhulp aan slachtoffers van rampen, oorlogen en epidemieën. Inschrijven kan nog tot 1 augustus 2009. Meer informatie is te vinden op http://www.tourforlife.nl Read more...
Bénazir laat zien in haar tweede boek, BBB oftewel Boerenkool Baklava Bara, dat ze schrijven kan. Het is een ontroerend avontuur geworden over een Friese puber die verhuist naar de Schilderswijk in Den Haag en zich verbaast over de vele kleuren van ons land. Ze wordt geconfronteerd met vreemde gewoonten en maakt een zowel vreemd als ontroerend avontuur mee, dat zomaar in het echt kan gebeuren. Read more...
Roger Greenwald's Psychology of Art website is an experiment that seems more for the sake of the participant than the experimenter. Greenwald explains the purpose of his website and research: "If one practices using their creative mind, mental imaging, a positive mood can be chosen by recalling a pleasant image or memory. Tough day at work, bad mood - modify your state of mind by choosing a pleasant image."
The Psychology of Art consists of a series of bright, colorful images - some with recognizable forms and some abstract - that invite you to recall pleasant memories. The text fields for your responses ("What do you see?", "Does it trigger a memory or familiar thought?") are an exercise, helping you to more fully process the art and obtain a positive state of mind. Read more...
Op 21 maart 2009 is mijn boek gepubliceerd, De Paarse Panda. In dit boek schrijf ik hoe het voelt om longkanker te hebben en ongeneeslijk ziek te zijn verklaard. Het boek barst van geluk, positiviteit, liefde, creativiteit, levenslust, verwondering en optimisme maar dat laatste brokkelt heel langzaam af door teleurstellingen en het moeten verleggen van grenzen. Read more...
Op zondag 19 april wordt op Terschelling de Maand van de Aarde geopend met een optreden van zangeres Wende Snijders. National Geographic en het eiland Terschelling organiseren deze maand om aandacht te vragen voor de schoonheid én kwetsbaarheid van onze planeet. Overal ter wereld vinden rond de Dag van de Aarde op 22 april acties plaats die wijzen op het belang van bewustwording van en zorg voor al het waardevolle dat de aarde in huis heeft. Read more...
Verkade is het eerste Nederlandse A-merk dat het is gelukt om met chocolade te voldoen aan de strenge eisen van het Max Havelaar keurmerk. Dat betekent dat de cacaoboeren een eerlijke prijs krijgen en dat er in de omgeving van deze boeren geïnvesteerd wordt – zowel economisch, als op het gebied van milieu, onderwijs en gezondheidszorg.
Een universele verklaring van wederzijdse afhankelijkheid. Boeddhisme voor de 21ste eeuw. Op een heldere en overtuigende manier verbindt de auteur de eeuwenoude wijsheid van het boeddhisme met het levensgevoel van de computergeneratie van de 21ste eeuw. Read more...
Today I met an inspirational young man named Kapil in Lucknow, India. Kapil grew up very poor in rural India, without attending school. At some point during his childhood, two sisters from Lucknow - the capital city of the Uttar Pradesh province - offered him a job doing domestic work. The two sisters began schooling him and eventually sent him to school. During this time, he began recycling cards and selling them. He asked everyone he knew for old birthday, wedding, etc. cards and cut out the figurines, scenes and images, and pasted them onto cards he had designed. Ever since he has been selling the cards. Read more...
If you didn't get into Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford or Yale, you can still get a world-class education via Academic Earth. This new site, profiled in BusinessWeek's feature on America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs, hosts over a thousand video lectures from courses taught at top US universities.
The site's videos are high-quality enough to read the blackboard, with clear sound, and they load quickly. Some videos are single lectures, some videos cover an entire course, and all are free. Read more...
Steeds meer mensen vinden het prettig om de regie van hun uitvaart in eigen handen te nemen. De nieuwe webwinkel Uitvaartgeschenk.nl speelt daar op in door de mogelijkheid te bieden een persoonlijke herinnering aan de nabestaanden mee te geven. Hiermee wordt een nieuwe trend gezet in de uitvaartbranche. Uitvaartgeschenk.nl is een initiatief van moeder en dochter De Meere. Read more...
Herinneren is misschien wel de wonderlijkste functie van het menselijk brein. Je herinneringen bepalen wie je bent: hoe werkt dat geheugen en wat gebeurt er als het je in de steek laat? Holland Doc, het documentaireplatform van de Publieke Omroep presenteert van 11 tot en met 17 april een themaweek met documentaires over het geheugen. Met onder andere de documentaire Bela, Bela van Marjoleine Boonstra over vier dichters die een politiek gevangenschap en dictatoriaal regime overleefd hebben. Bekijk hieronder alvast een stukje: Read more...
Mijn verbazing neemt toe over het functioneren van justitie en de overheid. Onlangs stelde de rechter nog dat de genocide in Ragawede en Indonesië verjaard was. Slechts 150000 doden en geen Nederlandse oorlogsmisdadiger wordt er meer voor een Indonesië tribunaal gesleept. Nederland heeft net zoals Turkije zijn eigen Indonesische leugen. Read more...
De onnodige angst voor BSE zorgt er voor dat in Europa 16,000,000 ton dierafval onnodig niet als hoogwaardig diervoer hergebruikt wordt. Om soja te verbouwen om deze 16 miljoen ton te voeren is meer dan drie maal het oppervlak van Nederland aan tropisch regenwoud in Brazilië nodig.
Current religions already appear very similar on a spiritual level. Globalisation will lead to a universal but also customised religion/spiritual life. Read more...
Voor iedereen die het gevoel heeft weerstand te bieden aan het leven of dat aanwezigheid van anderen hun leven negatief beïnvloedt. Als je snel en effectief los wil laten en nu eindelijk eens datgene wilt doen wat bij jou past en hoort. Read more...
My Tokyo neighbor Suzuki-san took great joy in walking her ailing Chihuahua, Pon-chan, around the neighborhood. When Pon-chan died suddenly one day, my neighbor was deeply saddened. I wanted to cheer her up, so I had my daughter write a note in Japanese that read, "I'm looking forward to seeing you happy again!" I left the message and a box of cookies by the woman's door.
The next day as I was riding away on my bicycle, I saw Suzuki-san cleaning up her yard and called out a hearty "Good morning!" As I returned home, she was unlocking the door to her house, and she asked, "Did you leave me cookies and a note yesterday?" Read more...
Wie herinnert zich niet de Indiase goeroe Bhagwan, wiens spraakmakende ashram in Poona destijds de wereld op zijn kop zette? De sannyasins, gehuld in hun rode jurk en hun mala met de afbeelding van de meester? Bhagwan’s uitspraken veroorzaakten veel commotie en klonken revolutionair en bedreigend voor het establishment. Terugblikkend kan gezegd worden dat deze Bhagwan zijn (spirituele) tijd ver vooruit was. Read more...
I'm a 54-year-old inventor from south-east Texas. I work designing the Robotic Construction Model, a series of robots I have invented to build a new kind of building. Through the RC Model, using a series of construction robots, we will build much faster, safer, stronger and cheaper. So cheap that we could add several energy systems, constructing an energy self-sufficient building, still less expensive than today's construction methods. We change the way we live by changing the way we build. I believe the RC Model will help bring on the personal robotic revolution. Read more...
De Nederlandse Vegetariërsbond (NVB) gaat ‘groen eten’, oftewel vleesvrij eten, promoten via de website http://www.eatgreen.nl. Op de site kunnen mensen elkaar uitnodigen om samen te eten, staan recepten en adressen van vegetarische restaurants. Read more...
Frisjes is een platform voor iedereen uit het Noorden van Nederland die een innovatief idee op de markt wil brengen. Nog geen twee jaar nadat Frisjes is opgericht hebben de eerste leden al veel bereikt. Met hun creativiteit, enthousiasme en ondersteuning van de stichting hebben Eelco Schutter, Pieter Poortinga en Nine Boersma stuk voor stuk een jonge, succesvolle onderneming opgezet. Read more...
Zeshonderd kinderen, honderd vrijwilligers en tachtig architecten nemen op 30 mei 2009 de gashouder op het terrein van de Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam over. Op deze dag vindt de gratis architectuurworkshop Archikidz! plaats. Onder begeleiding van architecten bouwen kinderen van 7 tot 12 jaar een middag lang aan hun ultieme droomhuis. Read more...
Despite the difficult economic environment, counselor Sheila Radha Conrad’s expert advice on self-awareness and confidence can give us the freedom to create and enjoy the life we’re after. Conrad emphasizes three areas:
Tip #1: Make a list of things you would need to feel prosperous in your life. Read more...
As an optimist and a photographer, I am always looking for happy emotions. I work with my camera the way a musician masters an instrument, because when I am shooting, I want to be able to completely step into the moment, and not be distracted by fussing with technical details.
During this economy, a lot of people have asked me, "How's the optimism going?" And I say, "It's going great!" Because I am always looking for happy moments, they are easy to find. A pause in a person's thoughts often give way to a contemplative smile. Asking someone to speak about their dog or their beloved always creates a grin or even a giggle. While much of the mainstream media is obsessed with making and showing images of fear and despair, I keep myself focused on the beauty in our daily lives. Read more...
De sociale cohesie, die nodig was voor de heropbouw, na de 2e Wereldoorlog is verloren gegaan bij het toenemen van de materiële welvaart en het loslaten van oude normen en waarden. De financiële sector krijgt nu alle negatieve aandacht maar het gaat niet alleen om de fraude, de balletje-balletjespelen en de roofbonuscultuur uit deze wereld. Ieder lijkt uit te zijn op korte termijn voordeeltjes en eigen belang of is gewoon gemakzuchtig. Read more...
TV, hand-held devices and computers have shrunk the world, allowing us to communicate across previously unimaginable differences. However, excessive use of these devices distances us from those closest to us - we end up watching TV or grooving to our own personal mp3 players rather than speaking to each other. That's why the Center for Screen-Time Awareness has created Turnoff Week. Turnoff Week is for interpersonal relationships what Earth Hour is for energy consciousness: a chance to unplug and remember the importance of our human environment.
In addition to providing some scary facts about the extent of our media addiction, Screentime.org organizes Turnoff Week so that we have "time to think, read, create, and do the things we never have time for." People interested in supporting Turnoff Week on a larger-than-individual scale can order an Organizer's Kit CD that includes a step-by-step organizing toolkit, facts sheets, suggested screen-free activities, curricular suggestions, posters and Screen-Time-Reduction plans. Read more...
I'm lucky enough to have a brilliant friend who shares some of the questions and thoughts he garners from his education at Harvard Law, questions about human rights or economic policies. One question he raised recently was "How do you encourage people to take risk?" In hard economic times, we suffer potentially more from a lack of risk and entrepreneurship than from falling stock prices. Just when we need creative solutions the most, we are least willing to take a risk on new ideas.
This question has had me looking for examples of successful entrepreneurship. Ode has featured several in the past couple of issues. Another great source of entrepreneurial insight is the Pop!Tech/American Express OPEN Series. Read more...
It's something to meditate over the weekend, before you re-enter the rat race: what is the difference between winning and success? It's the topic of a TED video with basketball coach John Wooden. Wooden's casual, grandfatherly style is a great way to relax and revisit what matters most. He speaks from a long perspective; he's almost 100 years old. Read more...
Video games have long been the bane of parents who wish their kids would study more or go out and exercise. The attraction to video or computer games is the lure of two things that children frequently lack in their own lives: instant, predictable rewards and control. Teachers, with finite attention to give to their students, frequently focus on trouble makers, and many good deeds go unrewarded. But in video games, objectives and rewards are clear. Get X amount of points and you get Y reward. Also, whereas many of kids' choices are at least guided - frequently controlled - by adults, games offer them tremendous freedom to customize a character, sans adult intervention.
The Humana Foundation capitalized on these two key issues to create a video game that encourages kids to exercise - outside. It's called The Horsepower Challenge. Read more...
Onze selectie van recent verschenen boeken die Ode graag onder uw speciale aandacht brengt, met onder andere een herziene bloemlezing uit het werk van Gangaji, spiritueel leraar en de nieuwe roman van Paulo Coelho, waarin hij zich begeeft in de wereld van de glitter en glamour. Bekijk hier alvast een filmpje over zijn nieuwe roman:
The Winner Stands Alone - The Red Carpet Experience - video powered by Metacafe
In honor of Ode's travel issue, I thought it might be nice to highlight AirBnB. AirBnB connects people who want to let out a room (or couch) and those who are traveling. Not only is it a potentially inexpensive way to travel (you can find rooms as cheap as $20/night in New York), you have the chance to make a new friend from another city. Read more...
Jaren geleden klopte Lisa Landymore-Lim, een jonge biomedisch chemica, aan bij Lynne McTaggart, hoofdredacteur van het Britse blad What Doctors Don't Tell You (WDDTY) met de ongehoorde theorie dat diabetes type 1 veroorzaakt werd door blootstelling aan bepaalde chemische stoffen en geneesmiddelen zoals antibiotica en vaccins. Read more...
A dear friend of mine is offering a wonderful course this Spring which I would like to share with the Ode community.
We all experience challenging periods of loss, disappointment and anxiety. Buddhist teachings offer us concrete ways of addressing these challenges. On April 10-12 Gabriel Cohen and Mary Myers will be co-presenting a workshop that explores this topic at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The workshop will be based on Gabriel's book, Storms Can’t Hurt the Sky: A Buddhist Path Through Divorce. Read more...
Er bestaat nog steeds een aversie tegen het matriarchaat, omdat het gezien wordt als een vorm van samenleven waarin Kenaus de scepter zwaaien. Niets is minder waar, betoogt godsdiensthistoricus Annine van der Meer op de bijeenkomst van Academie PanSophia op 18 april a.s. Met haar betoog sluit ze aan bij het wetenschappelijk fundament dat de Duitse filosofe en oprichtster van vrouwenstudies in Duitsland, Dr. Heide Göttner-Abendracht, formuleerde voor de studie naar matriarchaten. Read more...
During my first year in Japan, I hitchhiked for two weeks, visiting rural fishing villages on the west coast and relying on the kindness of the people I met. I visited tiny villages that had no hotels and very few tourists. Upon entering a village, I would find a kind-looking soul and pantomime that I needed a place to sleep. Sometimes my acting skills were not enough to get the message across, and sometimes I wound up in the house of a family willing to take in visitors for a small fee. I ate with my hosts and was then led to a simple room to sleep in.
In one village I had the privilege of staying with a remarkable man and his family. One night the man and I sat on a small wooden dock by the ocean. Using lots of gestures to help me understand, the man told me about his life. Read more...
Two years ago while flying home from a meeting in Chicago I was overwhelmed with a heavy feeling. I wrote these words in my journal: "I can sense a darkness building. It's not the darkness of some evil force coming toward us, but of the light disappearing within us. What can we do, my brothers, to rekindle the fires of creativity and inspiration?" With all the war and poverty and hatred... it began to feel overwhelming. Like mankind was running out of creative fuel - and fresh ideas that would take us to the next level. Read more...
Gentech.nl (www.gentech.nl) is een Nederlandstalige website voor informatie over genetische manipulatie van landbouwgewassen en voedsel. Het doel is laagdrempelige Nederlandstalige informatie over gentechnologie op internet te ontsluiten voor een algemeen publiek waarbij naast de algemene informatie ook (maar niet alleen) de kritische geluiden aan de orde komen. Daarnaast zal in de toekomst meer informatie over duurzame landbouw en voedselvoorziening in bredere zin te vinden zijn. Deze website is een initiatief jaren geleden voortgekomen uit een coalitie van kritische maatschappelijke organisaties waartoe naast A SEED ook Novib, Both Ends, Dierenbescherming, Friends of the Earth Europe, Goede Waar en Co, Hivos, ICCO, Kerkinactie, Milieudefensie, Nederlands Platform Gentechnologie en XminY behoren. De site had in 2007 tussen de 5000 en 9000 bezoeken per maand, in 2008 is dit aantal gedaald naar tussen de 2500 en 3500 bezoeken. Het plan is om dit aantal in 2009 weer op het oude niveau terug te krijgen door de website te promoten. Read more...
Afval is zelden waardeloos en kan vaak worden gerecycled. Zo lopen veel Kenianen lopen rond op sandalen gemaakt van oude autobanden. Fotograaf Lameck Nyagudi maakte er een reportage over. Read more...
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