Welcome to the ezine produced by SGI Buddhists that prompts the positive, kindles the constructive, highlights the hopeful and leaves you feeling - well, up!
Published on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 19:00 | | 
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Anne Frank would have been 80 this year - her diary still has a message for us all says Alex Canfor-Dumas
To the casual passer-by there may seem nothing remarkable about 263 Prensengracht – a four-storey building which overlooks a quiet Amsterdam canal. Yet, almost every day throughout the year, a crowd of people gather outside this address, and patiently wait their turn to climb the steep stairs that lead to a secret annexe at the top of the house. Here, more than sixty-five years ago, a young Jewish girl wrote a diary so remarkable and moving that its impact is still felt more than six decades after her death.
Published on Sunday, 18 January 2009 19:00 | | |
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Published on Saturday, 17 January 2009 19:00 | | |
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The news that the Government has given the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow is disastrous news for many, writes Julia Stephenson, particularly for those who live in the village of Sipson who must now come to terms with the forced bulldozing of their homes.
Even flat-earthers who believe that global warming is not man-made cannot disregard the horror of thousands of people being subjected to increased levels of pollution, noise and brutal eviction from their homes.
But even though many of us feel outrage at the Government’s decision, how many of us are actually prepared to stop flying to protect the biosphere and our quality of life? It’s altruistic to stop but it throws up dilemmas. What do you do, for example, if a close relative decides to get married in an exotic far flung destination and will be offended if you refuse to attend? Flying to these increasingly extravagant nuptials incurs what George Monbiot calls `love miles. `It is both immoral to travel there’, he writes, `because of climate change, and immoral not to, because of the offence it causes’. In other words you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t…
Published on Thursday, 05 February 2009 19:00 | | |
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What do the films Syrianna, Good Night and Good Luck and Darfur Now have in common, apart from George Clooney? They are produced by former eBay President, Jeff Skoll, says Geraldine Royds
As eBay’s first President, he was a key player in the growth of the company from a start-up into an outstanding success with millions of users. When he was 35 years old, Skoll left the business world with a reported $2 billion in his pocket and began to devote his time and money to charitable causes.
Published on Saturday, 17 January 2009 03:00 | |
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It’s predicted that by 2018 a billion people will inhabit the virtual world of Second
Life. John Daniel explores the implications for psychological therapists
who may find they’re working with clients who present with dual personalities – and
genders
Published on Wednesday, 10 December 2008 08:06 | | |
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A medical trial of the Alexander Technique, published in the British Medical Journal, has concluded that the exercise method is highly effective in reducing back pain.
For years, F Matthias
Alexander struggled to get his technique recognised by the medical
establishment, despite remarkable results with his own patients. Yet
this year, a study established the effectiveness of the individualised
lessons, designed to develop lifelong skills for self care, and release
muscle tension and spinal decompression. The trial found the Alexander
Technique to be more powerful in treating long term back pain, than
massage or GP prescribed exercise.
Published on Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:00 | |
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On 20 January 2009 Barak Hussein Obama will be inaugurated as the USA's 44th and first African-American President. It is a historical event, not just for America but for the whole world, writes Vida Adamoli
Barak Obama, who accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for President on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's ‘I Have a Dream' speech, represents the culmination of a centuries-long struggle. A struggle fought on the battlefields of slavery, civil rights and continuing racial inequality. Many of his supporters see him as a ‘post-racial’ candidate, a man of unity and inclusion, reaching beyond colour to deliver a message of hope and positive change for all people. Here we take a look at some of the trailblazing African-Americans whose achievments made Obama's epoch-making achievement possible.