Mirabai Bush, a meditation and mindfulness teacher who leads Google’s mindfulness training, “Search Inside Yourself,” pointed us to an illustration of contemplative practices, which shows the breadth of meditation and mindfulness within traditions. Although this list isn’t comprehensive, it does open up one’s imagination about how these disciplines take root and manifest themselves in our lives.

The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society goes on to explain:

“On the Tree of Contemplative Practices, the roots symbolize the two intentions that are the foundation of all contemplative practices. The roots of the tree encompass and transcend differences in the religious traditions from which many of the practices originated, and allow room for the inclusion of new practices that are being created in secular contexts.

The branches represent different groupings of practices. For example, Stillness Practices focus on quieting the mind and body in order to develop calmness and focus. Generative Practices may come in many different forms but share the common intent of generating thoughts and feelings, such as thoughts of devotion and compassion, rather than calming and quieting the mind. (Please note that such classifications are not definitive, and many practices could be included in more than one category.)

Because this illustration cannot possibly include all contemplative practices, we offer a free download of a blank Tree that you can customize to include your own practices. Activities not included on the tree (including those which may seem mundane, such as gardening or eating) may be understood to be contemplative practices when done with the intent of cultivating awareness and wisdom.”

Seeing these classifications, I’m left wondering what else in our experiences might be part of this tree. Here’s a blank tree for your own practices. Fill it in and, if you’re willing, share it with us and others.

We have 28,000 registered participants from 190 countries. They are linked through 350 self-organizing Hubs across cultures, forming 700-1,000 coaching circles to co-create an inspired web of connections with change makers across society’s sectors and systems. Below is the first account of a bold experiment called MITx U.Lab, designed to transform higher education as we know it.

The current crisis in higher education has three characteristics: it’s overpriced, out of touch (with society’s real needs), and outdated (in its method and purpose). But the solution, a true 21st-century model of higher education, is already emerging: it’s free (or accessible to everyone), it’s empowering (putting the learner into the driver’s seat of profound personal, professional, and societal renewal), and it’s transformational (providing new learning environments that activate the deepest human capacities to create — both individually and collectively).

Today I would like to share some preliminary insights from our ongoing experiment, “U.Lab: Transforming Business, Society, and Self” (Watch a 7-minute video about it here), a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) developed with MITx and delivered through edX.org.

A frequent criticism directed at MOOCs is that the learning that happens in them is not as effective as the learning that happens in a classroom. That’s why, in the U.Lab, we didn’t try to replace the classroom. Instead, we decentralized it, then took the learning out of the classroom altogether.

The U.Lab is a hybrid learning platform that offers the best aspects of MOOCs, which are democratizing access to education globally, while also eliminating many of the major criticisms of MOOCs — that they offer mostly superficial learning experiences.

The first U.Lab session was January 14. After only five weeks, we are beginning to recognize some powerful principles and actions that have the potential to revolutionize higher education. Here are seven of them:

Un milagro que muestra como el amor de una madre puede cambiarlo todo. Mirá el emocionante video y contanos qué te pareció

Kate Ogg y su marido David estaban hace tiempo buscando tener hijos. Finalmente ella quedó embarazada de mellizos, lo que alegró mucho a la pareja.

El parte de Kate fue prematuro y los médicos le dieron una mala noticia a los padres primerizos: uno de los niños no lo había logrado sobrevivir a la intervención y falleció. Inmediatamente, luego de conocer la noticia, Kate pidió que le trajeran a su hijo Jamie, quien había sido dado por muerto, para poder abrazarlo y darle calor de madre.

A partir de ese momento, lo sucedido no sólo conmocionó a la familia, sino también a los médicos que habían participado de la intervención: Jamie, que había sido dado por muerto, comenzó a respirar.

Mirá cómo, esta la emocionante historia, es contada en primera persona por su madre: