Articles from: October 2012

Agape Celebrates 26 Years with Virtual Gala

Date: October 31, 2012 Author: admin 146 views Leave a comment

NB_Image_Agape Virtual Gala_Michael B. Beckwith copy

The Agape International Spiritual Center will be hosting a virtual 26th Anniversary Gala on Friday, November 30 beginning at 7 p.m. Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith will serve as host of “One Moment in Eternity.” Being a virtual event, attendees will join the streaming celebration online.

IOBELLA Body-Shaping Spa Opens First US Location

Date: October 31, 2012 Author: admin 218 views Leave a comment

IOBELLA, an innovative body-shaping spa exclusively for women, recently opened in downtown Santa Monica near Wilshire Boulevard and 5th Street. Originated in Switzerland and evolved in Italy and Argentina, the facility, owned by Roxana Lissa, is IOBELLA’s first ever location in the United States.

Transition into the New Year at Agape’s Meditation Retreat

Date: October 31, 2012 Author: admin 137 views Leave a comment

ES_Image_Agape Meditat Rtrt_Madhavi Patel

Agape International Spiritual Center and Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith will be holding its 21st annual New Year’s Silent Meditation Retreat. This year’s retreat will be held from Saturday afternoon, December 29 until Tuesday afternoon, January 1 at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center.

HEALTH BRIEFS

Date: October 23, 2012 Author: admin 67 views Leave a comment

Wash-Day Woes: Scented Products Pollute the Air

Some scents make no sense for personal or planetary health. Using scented laundry products can release harmful—even carcinogenic—pollutants into the air, report University of Washington researchers. Their findings, published online in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, show that air vented from machines using the top-selling, scented, liquid laundry detergent and dryer sheet contains hazardous chemicals.

Global Briefs

Date: October 20, 2012 Author: admin 67 views Leave a comment

Eco-Pioneer

Paying It Forward: Rachel Carson’s Legacy

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s seminal book, Silent Spring, which warned of the far-reaching dangers of deadly pesticides and was widely regarded as a catalyst for America’s conservation, clean air and water and environmental protection movements. Now author Laurie Lawlor and illustrator Laurie Beingessner bring her message to today’s youth in the children’s book, Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World.

Children Follow Adult Examples Enabling “We” Instead of “Me”

Date: October 19, 2012 Author: admin 92 views Leave a comment

“If you want to be miserable, think about yourself. If you want to be happy, think of others.”

~ Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

The phrase “connected kids” may describe youth consumed by Internet-dependent relationships. Yet these same young people still crave old-fashioned, face-to-face connections with the adults in their lives. With one parent or two, stepparents, a grandparent, aunts or uncles, older family friends, teachers and coaches—experience shows they all can help guide our children by showing the compassion that nurtures kids’ own caring instincts.

The Four Qualities of a True Statesman

Date: October 17, 2012 Author: admin 90 views Leave a comment

What qualities should citizens look for in the next leader of the free world? What core criteria might voters consistently use to evaluate any legislative or other candidate running for political office?

Professor J. Rufus Fears, Ph.D., sets a high standard in articulating the yardstick by which we should measure leaders of either gender. As a noted scholar specializing in the history of freedom (Tinyurl.com/TrueStatesman), he emphasizes that the role of a politician and a statesman are not the same. A statesman, Fears attests, is a free leader of a free people and must possess four essential qualities.

Global Flavors New Ethnic Vegetarian Recipes Rock Taste Buds

Date: October 16, 2012 Author: admin 84 views Leave a comment

Celebrating Vegetarian Awareness Month, Natural Awakenings visits the continuing evolutions of vegetarian eating habits and leading cookbooks.

Ancient India and Egypt are known to have served up plant-based diets, but vegetarian cookbooks are a relatively recent American phenomenon.

The genre debuted nationally in 1977 with Mollie Katzen’s groundbreaking classic, the first Moosewood Cookbook, sharing recipes gleaned from her restaurant and a collective co-op in Ithaca, New York. Considered one of Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat, by Health Magazine, she has also hosted several PBS cooking shows.

Shaping the Future We Want: Global Commitments to Catalyze Change by Brita Belli

Date: October 4, 2012 Author: admin 68 views Leave a comment

“We don’t need another plan of action or more treaties; what we need are people that will begin to implement the commitments and meet the goals that have already been created and established,” explains Jacob Scherr, director of global strategy and advocacy for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), about the new thinking that drove this year’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The June conference brought together international heads of state, business leaders, nonprofits and activists to prioritize and strategize sustainable development. Unlike the United Nations’ annual climate change conferences, which led to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997—a legally binding treaty that set targets for greenhouse gas emissions the United States refused to sign—the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development is held once every 20 years. The theme of Rio+20 was simple and direct: The Future We Want.