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Walking in circles: Rev Lauren Artress on walking a labyrinth as spiritual practice

Walking a labyrinth may seem like nothing more than an amusement, but these serpentine spirals have been used as spiritual tools by many cultures for thousands of years.  According to Rev. Artress, they are "paths of prayer, a walking meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit and a mirror of the soul."
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Audio slideshow: Katrina Blues

Loss and heartbreak are time-honoured inspirations for the  Blues, so when Grammy award-winning musician and actor Chris Thomas King lost his New Orleans home during Hurricane Katrina, he did what any Blues musician would do. Within days of the levees breaking, he picked up his guitar and started writing.  » Full Story

Does poetry have the power to heal?

A scheme to promote the healing powers of poetry has found its way into thousands of GPs' surgeries. But can rhyming couplets really help the sick? Michael Lee, the man behind Poems in the Waiting Room, believes so.  » Full Story

Five Social Innovators Over Age 60 Receive $100,000 Purpose Prize Winners Serve as Role Models for Those Who Want to Change the World in 'Encore Careers'

The Purpose Prize is the nation's only large-scale award for those in the second half of life working on critical social issues. The winners have developed new ways to help children succeed in life through reforms to the education and foster care systems, and new methods to save lives through improvements in hospital safety, newborn care, and search-and-rescue efforts.  » Full Story

Hummus brings Israelis, Palestinians to the table
Foodies from both groups say that their love for the savory spread forces them to meet.

Abu Gosh, Israel - "For me, hummus is a cultural place where Israelis and Arab cultures communicate and cooperate," says Shooky Galili, the editor of a Hebrew weblog entitled "Hummus for the masses."  Indeed, in a place where Arabs and Jews are mostly segregated from one another, the dip is one of the few things that brings them together.   » Full Story

In Darfur, one husband sticks by his wife despite society's pressure

Women with postchildbirth complications are often ostracized by their own families, but Mr. Al Bakar – who is blind – took the cultural road less traveled. He took his wife, Mecca Mohammad Ibrahim, to get help, by donkey cart and car, across war zones, losing most of his possessions in the process, but keeping his small family unit intact. » Full Story

US grassroots tackle climate change
The US government may have refused to throw its weight behind efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but Americans are increasingly acting on their own initiative.

"The nationals aren't going to do it. But we as a community are going to demonstrate to the rest of the country what can be done,"  said Mr Pierce, a member of the Green Party in Sebastopol, California.  » Full Story

Janitor visits Golden Gate Students raised funds for his trip

Joe Venable from Magnum Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina, never took sick leave and rarely went on vacation. And since the day the children told him they were sending him on a memorable trip, he became endearingly weepy, marking most of his thank-yous with tears. » Full Story

Sharing Secrets About the Amish

Joe Mackall's book, "Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish,"  is only about "the Amish (he) know(s)" and isn't a treatise on the Amish in general. The book takes us inside a very private world, plus it's a wonderful manual on how two people of different faiths can be good friends, even when they don't always agree on fundamental issues.  » Full Story