{"id":704,"date":"2018-11-15T21:45:50","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T04:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aligncenter.org\/?p=704"},"modified":"2018-11-15T21:45:50","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T04:45:50","slug":"newsletter-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aligncenter.org\/newsletter-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Align Center Newsletter #40"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"streetThe healing power of our hands, passing stress to our offspring, and a profile of the influential musician, Sia, are the selected reads for this issue of Align Center. Don’t miss a compelling interview on addiction and our traumatized world leaders with Dr. Gabor Mat\u00e9, then learn the history of the crop known as “The Mother of All Things” in an illuminating multimedia essay. Finally, find out five things I’m digging of late, followed by a monologue on “real life”, written after two weeks in the tropics.<\/p>\n

\u25e6 selected words<\/h1>\n

The Work of Our Healing Hands<\/a><\/h2>\n

Recalling childhood memories with her grandmother cleaning pinto beans and making tortillas out of masa dough, the author’s reflections show how manual labor and the healing power of our hands has the power to act as creative changemakers.
\nOn Being (6min read)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Two Things To Focus On Instead of Social Media<\/a><\/h2>\n

Posting all over social media but not getting the response you’re expecting? Maybe you’re seeing social media success as a side effect of quality, not the cause. It has the ability to amplify, the work needs to be done first to create real value. Practical advice on pursuing your goals and setting priorities, written and illustrated by a former police chief who spent 26-years in law enforcement before retiring early and became a professional artist.
\nJohn P. Weiss on Medium (8min illustrated read)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

How Your Stress Gets Passed to Your Offspring<\/a><\/h2>\n

Starting with observational studies that high-stress conditions from wars and crop failures set off negative health changes in future generations, researchers at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego last week presented new evidence from experiments with mice of sperm “learning” prior trauma from their parents. These findings could have a major impact specifically among those working in the military and other high-stress environments.
\nScientific American (4min read)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

MoMa-funded Space Boots Made of Fungus & Sweat<\/a><\/h2>\n

Concept development footwear designer Liz Ciokajlo (what a job title!) received a commission from New York’s Museum of Modern Art to create a new version of the Moon Boot, originally inspired by the Apollo 11 mission in 1972. After researching for biomaterials that can be constructed in space, the prolific artist discovered a versatile organic material perfect for the job: mycelium, the roots of fungus (mushrooms are the flower). Her innovative final design can be manufactured on board a spaceship with just human sweat and fungus. A unique project designed for a post-plastic world.
\nBBC Future (7min read)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Sia, the 21st Century’s Most Resilient Songwriter<\/a><\/h2>\n

Some will remember her work with downtempo group Zero 7, but Sia didn’t hit the mainstream until “Breathe Me” was featured in the final scene of HBO’s Six Feet Under in 2004. The singer-songwriter preferred to be behind-the-scenes, writing for Beyonc\u00e9, Rihanna, and Kylie Minogue, but gained fame with her hits Chandelier and Titanium with David Guetta, which was originally intended for Alicia Keys. A look at the “anti-fame” quirky Australian whose influence on the music industry spans two decades and counting.
\nNPR (12min read)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u25e6 listen in<\/h1>\n

Dr. Gabor Mat\u00e9 – Damaged Leaders Rule an Addicted World<\/a><\/h2>\n

Renowned physician and author Dr. Gabor Mat\u00e9 has worked for twelve years in North America’s most concentrated area of drug use, the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, establishing the continent’s first safe-injection site. His work with addiction and research linking it to childhood trauma is held in high-esteem by academics and social workers, but he’s also expanded beyond the academic bounds by leading transformational ceremonies using ayahuasca, explaining how the set and setting are everything. The Hungarian-born Canadian argues that our damaged society rewards grandiosity, explaining that our dysfunction leaders of state rose to the top because they haven’t addressed their childhood traumas. The week’s best interview by comedian turned spiritual ambassador, Russell Brand.
\nRussell Brand’s Under the Skin ep. 53 (94min podcast)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u25e6 eat well<\/h1>\n

Rooibos Tea Smoothies<\/a><\/h2>\n

Tea in your smoothie? It sounds like it doesn’t mix, but the gentle flavor of the South-African grown herbal tea with many health benefits and a lack of caffeine makes it an excellent alternative from the usual nut milk and over-sugared juice as a smoothie base. One company, Redespresso, has even found a way to make and market it as an espresso.
\n8 Rooibos Tea Smoothie recipes on South African Country Life<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u25e6 read slow<\/h1>\n

Corn Tastes Better on the Honor System<\/a><\/h2>\n

Having been bestowed such names as “The Mother of All Things” and the “Wife of the Sun”, maize was once revered as the giver of life for ancient peoples. It remains a keystone of sustenance, existing in 70% of all processed food. However, over the course of 9000 years through modern industrial agriculture we’ve domesticated the crop and changed our relationship with it, having forgotten the meaning of the seed that was once meant only to feed us. A multimedia history of the sentience and wisdom of a crop so intertwined with peoples of the Americas that it’s left a signature in human tissue so strong that it’s easily deciphered between cultures with less corn-dominated agriculture.
\nEmergence Magazine (31min read or 54min narration)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u25e6 current read<\/h1>\n

Almost Everything – Notes on Hope<\/a><\/h2>\n

San-Francisco native and Guggenheim Fellow Anne Lamott’s latest book will have you simultaneously laughing at the absurdity and chaos of life, while appreciating the beauty and magnificence of living in our emotional world. Lamott’s quirky yet profound observances on the everyday are delivered in her characteristic open and self-deprecating way. Reflecting a history of addiction, bulimia, alcoholism and family disfunction, many of her thoughts are also influenced by the troubled state of the country. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you” was one of twelve truths Lamott shared that would eventually become a TED Talk (because, what doesn’t eventually?).
\nAlmost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott (208p book)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u25e6 dig this<\/h1>\n

What I’m digging lately:<\/p>\n