Nice Art

found at INDIEARTH

Lumos

When you strip away everything fantastical and bring it down to its root, from the very first page of the very first book it was about overcoming feelings of unworthiness. An orphan who had to fight against his feelings of loneliness and self-doubt that was drilled into him by neglecting foster parents. So from the depths of darkness, self-pity and isolation the journey was to discover the magic and love that lay dormant deep within. Fortunately he was able to find the light, but others in the story were not.

Self Actualisation is one of the most fundamental processes of being human. If people are not given the space and careful guidance to find out who they are- and to feel love, and acceptance for being that way, they develop all sorts of darkness and hatred within. Throughout history across cultures warmongers have been created this way- jealousy, hatred, anger, unquenchable thirst for power and destruction. It is us against them. This darkness eats away at their souls until somehow they can still overcome it or die.

We all need some help in finding the light. It is so wonderful to find out that JK Rowling is taking her thoughts and converting them to action to help hundreds, thousands and hopefuly millions of Harry’s out there to discover the magic, love and light waiting within.

Find out all about the program wearelumos.org

There is also this awesome thing

Cracking the Code

The Ted Prize 2013 was awarded to Sugata Mitra this week for his incredible experiments with “hole in the wall” computer terminals that were randomly placed in slum areas without any instructions or supervision.

He found that it took no time at all for kids (lacking formal education) to rapidly pick up how this alien device functioned simply by playing around with them. As the project evolved into more slums, reaching more kids with more sophisticated terminals they were continuously surprised how fast these young inexperienced users were able figure out and perform complex tasks just by mucking around for a few hours with friends.

It serves as a true testament to the power of learning by doing as well as the “challenge accepted” Gamification mentality spawned from the mixing of childish curiosity and desire to prove oneself. These two concepts are completely revolutionising education in the 21st century and the way kids (and adults) can be taught around the world.

This all links to an inspiring video I saw circulating on facebook today featuring the vast array of notable tech innovators discussing the power of learning how to read & write computer code. It turns out most of them picked it up by accident in their early teens- just for kicks, to prank or simply as a way to procrastinate from school work. Unbeknownst to them, it allowed them to acquire some extremely powerful transferable skills as well as develop a unique attitude and approach to life that led them to become the great innovators and success stories they have.

So on that note don’t wait- lets start playing [Code Academy] and begin to understand technology instead of simply being mindless users. If we can learn why & how it works, we can start thinking about how to bend the rules.

There is no spoon.

 

 

Do http://www.socialworkshop.org/
Make http://knowable.org/
Say http://www.eduhacker.net/
Think http://hackdesign.org/

[soundtrack: Do Make Say Think - Horns of A Rabbit]

Not Your Average Job Interview

Buddha, Buddhism and Ambition

Is Entrepreneurial Ambition and a Buddhist Path at odds? This is a question I was trying to figure out myself. Luckily I stumbled upon a very interesting paper that set the records straight.

“The Buddha was the most active and energetic religious teacher. He advised people to use their skills and knowledge in their daily life. A Buddhist should not lead a lazy and easy life and blame it on Buddhism for any of his/her failures. A good Buddhist has the quality of VIRIYA – energy. Buddhists must strive for perfection. They must not delay doing something by finding excuses like it is too hot or it is too cold. The Buddha’s advice to lay people was not to go to either extremes of sensual pleasure or self torture to practise a religion. Everyone must try to lead a happy, harmless and peaceful life. Buddhism is known as the Middle Path.”

Article: Is it wrong to be ambitious in a Buddhist frame of being?

Social Enterprise Showcase: Fresh Truck

Increasing access to sustainable fresh fruit & vegetables to rural communities outside the Boston Area. With a fun, innovative and “fresh” approach with music, technology and affordable pricing. It’s a simple but exciting idea to increase health consciousness and sustainability among townships embedded in the beautiful Massachusetts landscape.

Participate in the launch of this awesome project

Space Monkeys

Greetings from outer space. fascinating:

 

This is recorded onboard the International Space Station.

Cosmic Grace

sound    |    vision

Inspired Sound: Max Cooper

Kitchenette: Food Business Incubator

   

inspired by 5 cool food incubators in the US