Laurence J. Peter

“Real, constructive mental power lies in the creative thought that shapes your destiny, and your hour-by-hour mental conduct produces power for change in your life. Develop a train of thought on which to ride. The nobility of your life as well as your happiness depends upon the direction in which that train of thought is going.”

Dreams of a Mild Mannered Hero

The crowd, straining every muscle to get a brief touch of his robe, was violently thrown back by Indian police as the Dalai Lama passed. It was unlike anything I had experienced before or have since: such extreme fervor of religious devotion for a single man. How, I wondered, could this gentle, mild-mannered monk support such a high level of expectation? “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. How do you deal with it?” I ask. He thinks for a few moments, apparently oblivious to the small riot developing from this brief delay (and much to the aggravation of the Indian police and a wandering cow). “I’m carrying Buddha’s message,” he finally replies. “People have affinity for Buddha, and therefore they have affinity for me.” The humility was characteristically disarming.

The Bus Ride That Changed My Life

A few years ago I was an employee of an international company that sold computer devices. I had to travel a lot as part of my work. I remember that I was at a stage of my life where I only cared about how to make more money and how to solve technical problems. I was locked in my own world living as a robot that only worked in a mechanical way. On one particular business trip, I encountered a 20 year-old homeless man who was living his dreams.

Barbara Hall

“Because you are in control of your life. Don’t ever forget that. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made.”

Living Without Money For 13 Years

Twenty-two years ago Heidemarie Schwermer, a middle-aged secondary school teacher just emerging from a difficult marriage, moved with her two children to the city of Dortmund, Germany. Shocked and unsettled by the city’s significant homeless population, Schwermer set up what in Germany is called a Tauschring– a sort of “swap shop”– a place where people can exchange their skills or possessions for other skills and possessions, a money-free zone where a haircut could be rendered in return for car maintenance; a still-functioning but never-used toaster be exchanged for a couple of second-hand cardigans. This project found success among an unexpected audience, and its philosophy would become the inspiration behind her quest for fulfillment; one that would lead her to dramatically downsize her life, alleviate chronic backaches and body ailments, publish two books, find herself speaking in schools and on television, and grow exponentially in happiness.

A Miracle Cure

Richard Lueker, MD is a gentle giant with huge hands and a large heart. An encounter with a stranger and the unexpected healing of his son more that 35 years ago changed his life and laid the ground for his life’s work. Recently, a magazine editor caught him in Berkeley for an insightful interview.

Modest Needs: Small Gifts, Big Impact

Gary Ribble would not be able to read this story if not for people like you. Ribble, who has chronic lymphocytic leukemia in addition to severe diabetes and impaired hearing, needed new eyeglasses last spring but couldn’t afford them after losing a job he’d held for more than 40 years. Then he found out about the Modest Needs Foundation. The grass-roots charity pools thousands of small donations to help people get through short-term financial crises, with donors directly choosing the requests that move them…. Within a week, eleven visitors to modestneeds.org had pitched in, and Ribble, who lives in a trailer in Nappanee, Indiana, received a $364 check that changed his life.

Alice Koller

“I’ve arrived at this outermost edge of my life by my own actions. Where I am is thoroughly unacceptable. Therefore, I must stop doing what I’ve been doing.”

Food Bank Robbery Triggers Generosity

First the bad news: Burglars stole about $2,000 worth of food from the Rainier Valley Food Bank in Seattle on November 18. Now for the good news: In the succeeding two days, local residents, organizations and corporations donated at least $100,000 worth of food and money. Responses were immediate and meant the Food Bank could meet the demand for the Thanksgiving weekend. Sam Osborne, executive director of the food bank, said, “The depth of generosity and compassion that we’ve seen in the last 48 hours is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life.”

A Life of One’s Own

“In art speak, James Hubbell could be called an ‘outsider’ artist; in architecture, a ‘fringe’ architect. Talking with Hubbell, one feels the irony of these terms. As I spent time with him, something quietly grew, an impression that it was really Hubbell, the man himself, who was the most remarkable element in all of this. Outsider? Not if it’s humanity you’re interested in.” In this Works & Conversations Magazine interview, Hubbell “talks about his life, the importance of remaining open, of challenging oneself, of learning to trust the entire self, not just the thinking part. Listening to him, it’s impossible not to feel one’s perspective expanding, opening up, deepening and coming back to life.”

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