Month: January 2011

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I Dare You to Flirt With the Taboo of Cagey Optimism

And now, the good news about Africa

Africa may often be seen as a lost continent, but a new study reveals a completely different image. Africans are becoming increasingly wealthy—at a faster pace than most assume. The growth spurt started in 1995 and is increasing at a constant rate. “Africa is reducing poverty, and doing it much faster than we thought,” write American National Bureau of Economic Research economists Xavier Sala-i-Martin and Maxim Pinkovskiy.

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An Obvious Secret to Feeling Good

Want to be happier? Pay Attention.

According to the article, “Whatever people were doing, whether it was having sex or reading or shopping, they tended to be happier if they focused on the activity instead of thinking about something else. In fact, whether and where their minds wandered was a better predictor of happiness than what they were doing.”

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There Are So Many Other Modes of Consciousness and Types of Intelligence Besides the Dominant Ones

“Awakening the Cosmic Serpent: Shamanism and Plant Teachers in This Transformative Time”: a class offered by my favorite website, Reality Sandwich

Indigenous wisdom about plant medicine can open the path to deep personal healing and a profound understanding of the universe, and for many people this ancient knowledge is transforming modern life.

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Doomsday Predictions Sell Better Than Optimism? You’re Kidding Me!

Economic Optimism? Yes, I’ll Take That Bet

You can always make news with doomsday predictions, but you can usually make money betting against them.
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Natural gas . . . is selling for less than half of what it was five years ago.
There’s so much available that the Energy Department is predicting low
prices for gas and electricity for the next quarter-century.