Doctors Explain How Hiking Actually Changes Our Brains

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While it may seem obvious that a good hike through a forest or up a mountain can cleanse your mind, body, and soul, science is now discovering that hiking can actually change your brain… for the better! Aside from the almost instant feeling of calm and contentment that accompanies time outdoors, hiking in nature can reduce rumination. Many of us often find ourselves consumed by negative thoughts, which takes us out of the enjoyment of the moment at best and leads us down a path to depression and anxiety at worst. But a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that spending time in nature decreases these obsessive, negative thoughts by a significant margin.

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A Taste of the Women As Game Changers Conference: Interview with Real Game Changer, Kina Murphy

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Want to meet a real game changer? Then you’ll want to meet Kina Murphy. She is one of our featured speakers at the Women As Game Changers: Creating a New Game Conference. My video interview with her here is a taste of what you will experience on October 13-14 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Kina has worked with communities, businesses and all levels of government in Botswana, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mongolia and the U.S. as a conservation biologist. Her work most recently focuses on how to increase biodiversity in areas that have been heavily impacted by resource extraction.

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Whimsical Faces Spring From Foraged Nature

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Chicago-based artist Vicki Rawlins constructs whimsical portraits of enigmatic women using flowers, greenery, sand and other organic objects. These unconventional works of art are captivating not only for their creativity but also for their ephemeral journey to creation and destruction.

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Growing Confidence: Domestic Violence Shelter Helps Women Grow Food

Greenhouse 17 is a small 40-acre farm and business outside Lexington, Kentucky, that provides women who are survivors of domestic abuse with both shelter and employment, giving them a chance to gain skills, confidence, and a renewed sense of self-worth. Residents grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers and sell them to the public through a community-supported agriculture program.

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How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone: Women as Game Changers Summit Interview with Sue Stockdale

Have you ever wanted to step out of your comfort zone, but not known how? In this week’s must see interview, Sue Stockdale, international motivational speaker and facilitator, addresses the challenges a business woman faces and how to overcome such adversity.

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Envisioning a Better Future, Empowering Better Voices: Women as Game Changers Summit Interview with Liz Cunningham

Liz Cunningham has been in the editing and writing business for over fifteen years. During this “Women as Game Changers” interview, Liz tells an engaging story about her journey from peril to hope, to save the seas. Despite the damage done to the world’s oceans, Liz finds plenty of people along the way who are fighting back.

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Greening Up the Woolworth Legacy: Women As Game Changers Summit Interview with Priscilla Woolworth

Priscilla Woolworth, named “New Green Pioneer” by Time magazine, is the founder and CEO of PriscillaWoolworth.com, an online ecocentric General Store and quarterly Almanac newsletter. In this online global summit: “Women as Game Changers” interview, Priscilla talks about how one can shape the world by their purchases.

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Filming The Black Mambas of South Africa

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The Black Mambas of The Balule Nature Reserve, a stone’s throw from Kruger Nature Reserve, on behalf of amazing Rhino Charity Helping Rhinos, protect the BIG FIVE: Rhinos, Lions, Leopards, Buffalo and Elephants. They clear countless snares which have been set up for catching game for the notorious bush meat trade and also teach locals about wilderness preservation.

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Lessons On Ecology From The Apatani Tribe In Ziro Valley

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The Apatani tribe in Arunachal Pradesh is known for its paddy cum fish agriculture. They practice this as well as other sustainable water management techniques that allow them to coexist and thrive.

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Celtic New Year, Chinese Dragons, and Our Cross-Cultural Traditions

Today is Imbolc, the first day of Spring, one of the four Celtic seasonal holidays that fall on the calendar mid-points between the equinoxes and solstices. Like most Pagans, I honor Brigid, the Goddess associated with: the water of holy wells, the hearth fire, the fertile earth of Spring and mental air energy needed to create poetry. She also offers needed protection. But what does Brigid have to do with the Chinese Dragon? To answer this question, first keep in mind this Asian mythological character is benevolent, protective, and inspiring— quite the opposite of the Western Dragon. In China and around the world where Chinese have settled, the Dragon’s appearance is the highlight of community gatherings. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese worldwide. It falls on the new moon between January 21st and February 20th. This year Chinese New Year is February 8. On the West Coast of the United States where I live, the Chinese Dragon plays a prominent public role, and not just for the Chinese community. Parades and diverse events draw massive crowds of varied lineages. During this festival season, which lasts from the New Moon to the Full Moon, a spectacular 268-foot […]

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