This photo essay by photojournalist Tom Levy shows Oakland resident Samuel Martinez and his fire keepers as they prepare for a sweat lodge ceremony at his home. The photos capture the rituals that take place before participants enter into the domed sweat lodge structure. This particular ceremony was just for Martinez and his five firekeepers, […]

April 21, 2015—The annual TED conference invites some of the world’s most accomplished and eclectic thinkers to share their findings and visions with the world. This year’s lineup in Vancouver, Canada totaled 58 speakers and included one of San Francisco’s own — BJ Miller, the executive director of the Zen Hospice Project. Responding to San […]

For this special episode of KALW’s Crosscurrents, we spent the hour talking about spirituality. Radio personality and Spirit Rock Buddhist teacher Wes “Scoop” Nisker was our guest. The show also featured stories about an urban Native American sweat lodge and Marin wood carver Tom Killion. We played newly discovered tape from standup comedian Robin Williams. […]

Feb. 19, 2015–U.C. Berkeley is known for its world-class scientists, in disciplines like physics, chemistry or biology. But just a few blocks away from campus, you’ll find the school’s Greater Good Science Center, where one scientist focuses on something different – the science of Happiness. Emiliana Simon-Thomas has a PhD in Cognition, Brain and Behavior. […]

  Feb. 10, 2015–In the dining room of her San Francisco home, Maria Eitz shows off her priestly attire — a beautiful red, embroidered stole. It’s the only accessory that distinguishes Eitz from the rest of her community. Usually, there is more separation, especially during mass when Catholic priests wear robes. Considering everything else, her […]

Feb. 19, 2015–U.C. Berkeley is known for its world-class scientists, in disciplines like physics, chemistry or biology. But just a few blocks away from campus, you’ll find the school’s Greater Good Science Center, where one scientist focuses on something different – the science of Happiness. Emiliana Simon-Thomas has a PhD in Cognition, Brain and Behavior. […]

March 12, 2015—This week, we’re focusing on meditation and recent studies that suggest it may be good for your health in all sorts of ways. _____________________________ Waking up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning and unable to get back to sleep, is one of life’s more frustrating experiences. Insomniacs know the drill. […]

April 4, 2015—The evidence is piling up. In study after study, researchers are finding that mindfulness meditation not only promotes overall well being, but can actually improve outcomes for people suffering from certain conditions such as depression or HIV infection. The studies out of Carnegie Mellon University are another remarkable testament to how body and […]

May 5, 2015—Hypertension. Sixty-seven million Americans have been diagnosed with the condition, more commonly known as high blood pressure. For women, the female hormone estrogen likely serves as a kind of protection. But after the big 50, women’s rates of hypertension go up. That increases the risk of heart disease. And heart disease kills more […]

Mar. 9, 2015–Growing up, BJ Miller understood what it meant to live with a disability. His mother had polio. But until a college accident, Miller never imagined he would live out a similar fate. In college, he had an accident that left him a triple amputee.  After, he knew he wanted to use his experience […]

Feb. 10, 2015–When someone is dying, sometimes the best medicine is not medicine at all. And sometimes what needs to be healed, is not the body, but the mind. That’s the kind of care taking that Paul Kelley takes pride in doing. When Kelley began his career as a hospice worker in 1983, he knew […]

  Feb. 10, 2015–In the dining room of her San Francisco home, Maria Eitz shows off her priestly attire — a beautiful red, embroidered stole. It’s the only accessory that distinguishes Eitz from the rest of her community. Usually, there is more separation, especially during mass when Catholic priests wear robes. Considering everything else, her […]

  Feb. 10, 2015–In the dining room of her San Francisco home, Maria Eitz shows off her priestly attire — a beautiful red, embroidered stole. It’s the only accessory that distinguishes Eitz from the rest of her community. Usually, there is more separation, especially during mass when Catholic priests wear robes. Considering everything else, her […]

April 4, 2015—The evidence is piling up. In study after study, researchers are finding that mindfulness meditation not only promotes overall well being, but can actually improve outcomes for people suffering from certain conditions such as depression or HIV infection. The studies out of Carnegie Mellon University are another remarkable testament to how body and […]