The Untouchables

I AM WRITING this having just completed my sixth week of IV treatments for a rare blood and bone cancer. Our thoughts about who we are in this world can all come crashing down due to sickness, accidents, loss of employment, or any other events outside our control. My “I am’s” are in disarray.

To Admire

THE ANTIDOTE TO PESSIMISM is admiration. It sounds so simple, but the counterpoint to dwelling on what is missing is to affirm what is already here. To live a life of admiration is to name what is uplifting in the world and, through our love and attention, to discern how what matters works, so we can bring it to bear on all that life offers. Through admiration, we address what is missing the way light addresses dark.

Ringing Gongs, Clanging Cymbals, and the Primacy of Love

THE SOUL OF THERAPY KEVIN ANDERSON, PHD

ROMANTIC LOVE FOR FRIENDS

It’s not that we don’t feel deep love for friends; it’s just that we don’t always feel comfortable expressing it. When I did a talk on how to make friends at work, I asked the audience to write down something positive they feel for a friend that they have yet to tell them.

FRIENDSHIP FLATTENS HILLS

It’s time to put connections at the center of wellbeing, says relationship expert Marisa Franco.

LESSONS FROM Extreme Rituals

Dimitris Xygalatas, PhD, runs a unique lab at the University of Connecticut that gathers data from around the world to answer a very big question: Why do so many ordinary people regularly participate in painful religious rites?

FINISH THE STRESS CYCLE FOR BETTER SLEEP

Sleep coach MONICA LE BARON describes how to let your body know that it’s time for rest.

RETHINKING THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

Mindfulness and meditation teachers BENJAMIN KOCH and ADRIENNE VAN DER VALK explore how to go beyond self-focused manifestation and imagine true global change.

LESSONS FROM MASTER SURVIVORS

MARK MATOUSEK has spent decades studying how obstacles morph into strengths. He shares what he’s learned from master survivors.

Peace and Quiet

THERE WERE A LOT OF naysayers who said it would never fly-a true destination spa in the woods of Wisconsin-but nearly 20 years on, Sundara Inn & Spa in Wisconsin Dells has quietly but steadfastly proved those naysayers wrong. Since opening in 2003, Sundara has garnered a reputation as a sanctuary from stress and has managed to stay true to its wellness mission.

Suffering Exists So We Have Something to Do

HOW WE SPEAK AND BEHAVE affects our relationship with the world. It affects how people see us, judge us, and decide how to interact with us.

Ten Thousand Hands

In August, MARK NEPO will be speaking and teaching at the Chautauqua Conference in Buffalo, NY, at Mercy by the Sea in CT, and offering a three-session webinar. See www.MarkNepo.com and www.live.marknepo.com for details.

NEW WAYS TO GET OUTSIDE

Cause for optimism: A boom in stunning public parks. MARY BEMIS spoke with author Victoria Newhouse about the parks of the future.

JOURNALING OUT LOUD

Distracted by worrying, anxious, comparing thoughts? Give voice to them. Then give voice to a response to them. KEVIN ANDERSON, PhD, tells you how.

MINDFULNESS OVER MERLOT

It's time to update our attitudes towards recovery. ADRIENNE VAN DER VALK explains why-and how.

PRISON AND PAGANISM

AWYN DAWN, the author of Paganism on Parole, explains how she deepened her faith while incarcerated.

Writing Their Own Story

SEASONED AUTHORS ARE REINVENTING THEIR LIVES BY CREATING INSPIRING HEROINES THAT READERS LOVE.

THE GANDHI FORMULA

How to Be Everything All at Once

How Rituals Rewire Your Brain

You can spend weeks trying to find a single, satisfying, comprehensive definition of the word ritual, but we simply don't have one.

A Ritual-Full Life

A ritual is anything that is done with intention. It can be formulaic or intuitive, elaborate or simple, personal or shared.

Self-Care Tips from Slow Animals and Helpful Droids

Meditate with (rev) Sarah Bowen and her favorite creatures at sacredsendoffs.com/ meditations.

Billy Collins

“Read. Just Read,” advises Billy Collins. “The best teachers are not lecturing behind some seminar table, but are instead sitting quietly on the bookshelves of your home.”

A Better Friend

Victor Parachin dives into the Buddha’s advice for being a better friend.

RESTORING RELATIONSHIPS to Ourselves, to One Another, and to the Earth

AN INTERVIEW WITH FARIHA RÓISÍN

READING AS A SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

GRACE JI-SUN KIM encourages us to see reading in a new light.

FOCUSING ON WHAT MATTERS MOMENT BY MOMENT

The Summer 2002 issue of S&H included this still-timely article

LOGGING INTO Online Wellness

LEARNING CAN IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE—AND THE EFFECT IS TWOFOLD FOR COURSES ON WELLNESS AND SELF-BETTERMENT.

HOW TO LAMENT

JENNIE MCLAURIN, MD, MPH, gives instructions to guide a rediscovery of this age-old tradition.

Seeing Is Empathy

Mixed-media artist Morgan Harper Nichols explores how art can lead to empathy.

5 Care Tips: Pineal Gland

The pineal gland, which is about the size of a grain of rice, is located in the center of the brain (although technically it is not part of the brain). Its main function is to receive signals from the environment about the amount and quality of light so that it knows how much melatonin to produce to help us wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. Melatonin is involved in much more than sleep, however. It plays a role in sexual development and is a strong antioxidant, among other functions.