The Rule of Saint Benedict was written some 400 years after Jesus was crucified to bring order to a community of monks in Italy. Benedict of Nursia, the monk known as Saint Benedict, is often referred to as the patron saint of Europe primarily because of the set of rules he wrote for monks to follow.
Read MoreAccording to a report published this week by the nonprofit group Common Sense Media, teens get 237 or more notifications on their phones each day -- a number that likely rivals many adults as well. The challenge comes when teens and adults alike are unable to turn off the barrage, concerned that they may miss something important or let someone down.
Read MoreWhen the James Webb Space Telescope captured what looks like a bright orange question mark hovering in space, many declared the photo a hoax prompted by congressional hearings on UFOs and the ensuing social media chatter over the past two months. But Webb scientists say the photo is no hoax.
Read MoreIn his essay "How to Grow Old," mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell defines the walk to a more fulfilling life: "Make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged with the universal life."
Read MoreHenri Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest, professor, and theologian who published 39 books and hundreds of articles exploring the Christian walk. In his book Discernment, Nouwen ponders how we hear God's voice in our daily lives:
Read MoreHear these wise words from a friend's recent online post: A co-worker came in, paused, and put their hand on their heart, sighed, and walked away. I was in training but caught them when they walked by again and asked if they needed something. They said, "I just needed to stop by because you remind me of where my heart needs to be just by seeing you and being in your presence."
Read MoreIn Baku, Azerbaijan, spectators are holding their breath today as the 2023 Chess World Cup Final is played out in a rapid-play tiebreaker: Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, a 33-year-old Norwegian, will play 18-year-old Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa -- with billions in India cheering on their teen hero.
Read MoreAccording to a new Gallup survey released this week, saying hello to the people you encounter could have a notable impact on your own well-being: Adults who greeted up to six people regularly boosted their own social, physical, financial, career, and community health in remarkable ways.
Read MoreSarah de Lagarde was on her way home from work one evening in September 2022 when she got off at the wrong London Underground station and fell into the gap between the platform and the train. Her right arm was crushed above the elbow and her right leg was crushed below the knee, leading to double amputations. This week, however, Sarah was fitted with an AI bionic arm that is miraculously giving her back her freedom.
Read MoreAccording to social work professor and researcher Brene Brown, feeling vulnerable is that counter-cultural moment when we are at risk and uncertain: "We've found that across cultures, most of us were raised to believe that being vulnerable is weak," Brown writes in Atlas of the Heart. "This sets up an unresolvable tension for most of us, because we were also raised to be brave."
Read MoreSong lyrics and poetry often remind us that life is a journey to be enjoyed, not just a final destination. True, but what about the seasons when the path is arduous and the journey is nearly unbearable?
Read MoreAs you revel in the summer warmth (or wilt a bit, as we Oregonians tend to do), consider these words from Mary Oliver in her 2014 poem "The Sun":
Read MoreAs daily news stories will attest, AI (artificial intelligence) can now be used to draft essays, complete exams, solve equations, and even converse with the lonely. But an AI Jesus? Beware ... it's here: Developers of the Twitch stream ask_jesus have created an interactive AI-generated version of Jesus that provides 24/7 Q&A programmed with teachings from the New Testament Gospels.
Read MoreMy Utmost for His Highest is a daily Christian devotional that compiles the teachings and preaching of Oswald Chambers to the soldiers and students he mentored over the years. Chambers' wife Gertrude Hobbs published the book in 1917 shortly after Chambers' untimely death, compiling the daily devotions from her pages of shorthand notes.
Read MoreFor Shamayim Harris, the past 16 years have been a journey of overwhelming loss: In 2007, Harris' two-year-old son Jakobi was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Highland Park, a suburb of Detroit. In 2021, Harris' 23-year-old son Chinyelu was fatally shot while doing a neighborhood watch.
Read MoreThe owner of several California restaurants was ordered this week to pay $140,000 in damages and back wages after he hired a "priest" to hear confessions from his employees in the workplace.
Read MoreIn Parker Palmer's book Let Your Life Speak, he invites us to to seek the true calling on our lives, embracing a sense of meaning and purpose as we claim peace, joy, hope, and fulfillment:
Read MoreAs you ponder summer projects, consider this one: NASA's Psyche mission was originally expected to lift off in 2022. But the two-month launch window opened and closed last fall before the flight software was ready. Then COVID reverberations and accompanying staffing issues delayed the mission further.
Read MoreA friend of mine ran for a local political position for the first time this spring. She lost by a slim margin, but she counted the experience a win. A coworker joined a new leadership team that required an all-day retreat last month, pressing her outside of her comfort zone. She reluctantly cleared her calendar to attend, and she returned to the office excited about new possibilities.
Read MoreFor most of us, museums are sanctuaries of the past -- beautiful spaces where we can peruse art and artifacts of those who have come before us, seeking to understand ourselves a little better in the process. But what about museums of the future?
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