I pick thoroughly and am convinced that every ripe raspberry, with the tug of thumb and finger, has slid from its cream-colored conical core. Then I kneel, lean down and look up at the low branches to see if any remain. It is not one or two ripe berries now before me – it is dozens. Again, I pick all I see, drop them in the container hanging from a belt at my waist and move on. While plucking from the other side of the row, I look through the sun-dappled leaves and see an abundance of ripe berries hanging where I had just picked everything in sight. “Did these ripen in the time it took me to walk to the other side of the row?” I ask myself, knowing full well it is an impossibility, yet feeling it is the only logical explanation. Because I really checked carefully and thoroughly and there were no ready berries in sight a few minutes earlier in that very place. A squirmy feeling lurks in the back of my mind, hidden like the raspberries have been. Eventually, as I wait, it reveals itself; it’s a reminder that changing my angle of vision can expose what has previously been entirely hidden. It’s a reminder that from a certain perspective, I see something clearly (In this case that there are no ripe raspberries). The certainty of it is reassuring. This is the way it is, the way things are. I can trust what I see, what I have experienced and what I know.
Then my perspective changes and voila! I perceive differently. Things are not what they appeared to be just moments earlier. My reassurance in the certainty of what I know evaporates.
I am reminded of a situation several years ago when I was teaching at the local school. Close to the school is a small church and the current pastor was perceived to be a difficult man by many of us. He complained regularly about the teaching at the school – both what was taught and how. He complained about teachers who did Yoga and therefore didn’t belong in a public school system, because they were engaging in what he called the devil’s work. What particularly vexed me was his regular shooting of the local, wild coyotes wherever he found them, whether they loped across a meadow or walked over a frozen lake. It was this behavior that aroused my considerable antipathy towards him, but it bothered me to feel it with the intensity I did.
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Be Open to what comes Your Way
CHARLOTTE DUFOUR is a veteran in the fields of international cooperation and sustainable food systems. Here she is interviewed by KALPANA SAI of the Heartfulness Institute about the role of Yoga and spirituality in her own mental health and wellness, sharing tips from her experience.
The Inner MBA
TAMI SIMON is the founder of multimedia platform, Sounds True, and the educational program The Inner MBA. Tami has grown Sounds True into North America's leading publisher of spoken-word spiritual teachings, and one of the world's very first organizations to operate along genuinely integral principles, with the emphasis on "multiple bottom lines" of purpose, profit, people, and planet. In part 2 of an interview with EMILIE MOGENSEN, she speaks about the competitive instinct, celebrating the successes of others through the practice of sympathetic joy, and what it means to be human.
WATCHING RIVER OTTERS: Visioning a Life-Sustaining Future
LLEWELLYN VAUGHAN-LEE is a Sufi and spiritual ecologist who is passionate about the sacredness of the Earth and the oneness of all beings. Here he discusses our current environmental crisis in the light of problems and solutions, and initiates a call to action to contribute to a brighter future.
Why We Are Not Responsible Toward the Environment
DR. ICHAK ADIZES is an expert in change management for organizations. Here he shares some of the reasons why companies are not changing their actions in relation to the environment, even though everyone knows we are facing an environmental crisis. He also offers simple solutions that will bring change.
A Sustainable MINDSET
THOMAS BRUHN is a physicist at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany. He is a researcher and a bridge builder, helping experts and change-makers from all sectors of society to come together to explore the topic of sustainability, listen to each other, and develop solutions. In part 1 of his conversation with JUDITH NELSON at the Spirit of Humanity Forum in Reykjavik, Iceland, he talks about the walking holiday he had after finishing his studies, and how it informed his perspectives on nature and sustainability.
The Resource Curse
AMITAV GHOSH is one of the world's most celebrated and awarded authors and thinkers. In conversation with TARA KHANDELWAL and MICHELLE D'COSTA, he talks about his latest book, The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, a non-fiction story highlighting the origins of our current climate crisis.
Annadata Suraksha Abhiyaan
A tailor-made insurance initiative to financially secure farmers and growers against farming risks.
The Planet Was There Before Us and Will Be There After Us
DAAJI shares how caring for Mother Earth begins with eliminating thought pollution from the mind and nurturing the attitudes of love and reverence. When love and reverence are there, will we intentionally hurt anyone or anything, especially our Mother Earth?
Join the Peace Games
WILLIAM URY is an author, anthropologist, and one of the world's leading negotiators and mediators. He has spent his life building bridges in conflict situations and teaching other people how to do the same. His book, Getting to Yes, is a worldwide bestseller, translated into thirty-five languages. This is part 3 of an interview conducted by GUILA CLARA KESSOUS and JULIAN PÉLABÈRE on the occasion of the 2021 United Nations and NERA Humanity Prize, which was awarded to William for his efforts in promoting innovative thinking to change the world for a better future, to help us better understand what is negotiation, and how we can all live together for a better life, a better future.
A STORY OF Everlasting Love
V. RAMAKANTHA retells the legend of Savithri and Satyavan, which is centered around the Banyan tree, also known as the Tree of Life in India. The story is accompanied by a beautiful mural by the German artist, CHRISTIAN MACKENTANZ.
Wild Neighbors
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS IS a big city—not the sort of place you’d expect to find wild predators. So when people started spotting coyotes in downtown Chicago, they had lots of questions.
The Day the Dogs Disappeared
THERE WAS A time, many moons ago, when humans and coyotes lived in harmony. People told stories of the great trickster Coyote and how he brought fire to humans, winter to the world, and stars to the Milky Way. They honored coyotes with dances and songs. They even saved the best scraps of meat for them.
Dispatches From Yosemite: Alone With The Bears and Beauty
The glacier-carved valleys of Yosemite National Park have been closed to the public for nearly three months and a few dozen lucky kids have had it mostly to themselves.
The Moon Through The Hard Water
America Doesn’t Like Me
Navya-Sid's 'moon' connection sparks rumours
The latest Instagram posts of Navya Naveli Nanda, the granddaughter of actor Amitabh Bachchan, and actor Siddhant Chaturvedi has left the internet users buzzing.
Sunil resumes shoot in Rishikesh two months after his heart surgery
Sunil Grover is back to work two months after suffering a heart attack. The comedian was spotted at the Mumbai airport this morning.
One soldier inspires another: Auto driver's son joins NDA
Hemal Shrimali had also passed the exam at Sainik School at Balachadi and is a student cadet
Sanctum of solace
Entrepreneur Karishma Manga Bedi shares the joy of solitude she experiences by the Ganga at her mountain home nestled in the mystical hills of Rishikesh.
Citing build-up on Chinese side, govt seeks SC nod to widen roads
Centre informs Supreme Court that the Army needs to be ready for any exigency and cannot be caught napping like it happened in 1962
PM to dedicate 35 PSA oxygen plants to nation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation 35 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants, established under PM CARES, across 35 states and Union Territories on Thursday. The event will be held at AIIMS Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, on 7 October at 11 am.