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 Wednesday, 10 September 2008 19:00 | | 
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Addictive illness is mainly considered a personal matter, but perhaps we can see its inherent behaviour patterns and attitudes mirrored in a nation's approach to arms and warmongering - or peace-keeping?
Is it surprising that US President George Bush, an ex-alcoholic considered by some to be a dry drunk, is so keen to police the world and use force over diplomacy? Will Self, the broadcaster and journalist - no stranger to drug addiction himself - discusses these ideas with addiction specialist Dr Robert LeFevre
Published on Thursday, 11 September 2008 19:00 | | |
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Danza Voluminosa is like any other professional dance troupe, only heavier – a lot heavier, writes Geraldine
Royds
With most members weighing over 200 pounds,
the founder, Juan Miguel Mas, says he created the group to make a political as
well as an artistic statement. ‘We obese people also need to express
ourselves with our bodies,’ he says. ‘We feel our bodies, we command them and
we enjoy them just like any other human being.’ The troupe has overcome ridicule to win applause
for their exuberant performances, selling-out shows in
Published on Tuesday, 09 September 2008 19:00 | | |
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On the day the Large Hadron Collider is turned on to try to discover the basic 'how' of the universe, thoughts turn to the obvious follow-up - the 'why'. But as Ed discovered in The Buddha, Geoff and Me, according to psychiatrist Viktor Frankl that's the wrong question.
I started reading [Man's Search For Meaning] on the bus home. What a book. What a bloke! A man who could find meaning even in a concentration camp! I literally could not put it down. I almost chose to stay on the bus past my stop just so I could go on reading. But reluctantly I marked the page and jumped off, then hurried, ran almost, back to my flat so I could start reading again. Dora was right – Frankl deals with the meaning of life in a single page. And what a page!
Published on Monday, 08 September 2008 19:00 | | |
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The Large Hadron Collider in CERN goes online this week and it marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in scientific discovery, writes Phil Becque.
The object of the exersize is to re-create (in miniature) the conditions just after the Big Bang and to see if certain particles are produced. Expectations are that the 'Higgs boson' aka 'The God Particle', may be detected.
Published on Sunday, 07 September 2008 19:00 | |
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Was it a sudden death? A ritual sacrifice? Or maybe they were prehistoric, star-crossed lovers who took their own lives? Dubbed the 'Lovers of Valdaro', this Stone Age couple were found outside Mantova, Italy, in 2007. Their eternal embrace has captured the hearts of romantics everywhere.
Published on Thursday, 18 September 2008 11:24 | | |
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A stroke can happen to anyone – at any age – and is the second leading cause of death in the Western world, writes Louise Ellis
Those who do survive a stroke, caused by arteries supplying blood to the brain becoming blocked or ruptured, are left with a frightening loss of body functioning and often partial paralysis. Figures show that only 10% of sufferers will make a full recovery.
Dr Martin Stephen, headmaster of
Published on Friday, 05 September 2008 19:00 | |
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In the following extract from her inspiring memoir Raising Tiffany, writer and life-coach Deborah Trenchard shares some heartfelt realisations about the true meaning of motherhood
The best in me was born out of having a child with complex developmental challenges, with special needs. ‘How could that be?’ Someone asked recently, eyeballing me quizzically from head to toe. And without a moment’s hesitation I shared some of the deepest realisations I’ve had over the years as I mothered Tiffany.