Current times require new responses girthed in organizational resilience, conscious leadership, advocacy, collaborative funding, data and technology enhancements and peer learning networks for the social sector. Join us to meet the moment and focus on what matters most as we support one another and uplift our beloved San Diego community.
Here are a couple of high value opportunities if they resonate:
Join Ascent and a panel of experts for a timely conversation on what student loan borrowers should keep in mind when paying for their education this year. We’ll explore the evolving student loan landscape, offer practical guidance for both federal and private borrowers, and highlight alternative ways to pay for school — including scholarships, grants, and other financial aid opportunities.
Whether you’re currently in school, preparing to start, or navigating repayment, this session will provide you with tools to make informed decisions and feel more confident about your financial path forward.
This Is the Friendliest City in the U.S.—and It’s a Coastal Paradise Looking for a warm welcome? These are the friendliest cities in the U.S., according to a new report.
3 takeaways from a cardiologist and ‘SuperAgers’ researcher on how to live longer and healthier: Dr. Eric Topol says science can make “big inroads by preventing age-related diseases.”
These mesmerizing marine shots earned a pro drone pilot the coveted Aerial Photographer of the Year title The International Aerial Photographer of the Year Awards celebrate stunning bird’s-eye-view imagery.
Emotionally Intelligent People Use the Ancient Greek ‘Kairos’ Rule to Reduce Anxiety and Make the Most of Their Time: The ancient Greeks didn’t see time the way we do. There’s a lot to learn from their approach.
Do you suffer from “time anxiety”? Before you answer, consider if any of the following scenarios sound familiar: You get a late start, and the whole day you’re running behind You always feel rushed, to the point that you start to get panicky. You look at your task list at the end of the day, and you’ve only finished half of what you planned. You constantly feel that time is slipping away…
Happiness researcher shares his ’90-second rule’ to live a more fulfilled life: Mo Gawdat says you can find happiness in 90-seconds using this quick, science-backed hack after something makes you sad, angry or unsettled.
I tried Denmark’s No. 1 secret to happiness for a year—it made me happier and more confident: While teaching in Denmark, one of the world’s happiest countries, Professor Marina Cooley discovered that hobbies are integral to joy and balance in life.
Science couldn’t be clearer: kindness makes leaders more successful. The best of the best are kind in three distinct ways.
1. Interpersonal kindness
2. Practical kindness
3. Developmental kindness
Research shows that firms with kinder CEOs perform better financially on average. The same goes for middle managers. Kinder bosses’ teams perform better. Promoting a sense of trust, decency, and justice leads to higher productivity, growth, and profits.
Acts of kindness can make you happier and healthier: 3 simple ways to give: The World Happiness Report recently dove into research about how acts of kindness like volunteering and donating to charity improves wellbeing.
Astronaut shares the big ‘lie’ he realized after seeing the Earth during 178 days in space: It was a transformative moment for former NASA astronaut Ron Garan, and might be for you too…
Check out this cool experience from this past weekend with my son Arman and The Uninvited band playing at The Troubadour in LA this last weekend.
Got to love the unintentional redo of Rocketman with Elton!
There is so much we don’t know about the power of music, but here are a few insights that might change your tune.
Stay in harmony…
Love,
Neville
Bruce Lee Mocked by Famous Pianist Vladimir Horowitz. He Played and Silenced the Whole Room:
In 1970, martial arts icon Bruce Lee finds himself at a party for Hollywood A-listers. It isn’t the kind of place he’d usually frequent, but he’s there as a favor. He unexpectedly finds himself being mocked by legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz at the exclusive Beverly Hills gathering. What begins as a clash of egos soon transforms into a profound exchange about discipline, instinct, and the true meaning of art. As tension rises and the room holds its breath, Bruce sits at the piano and silences everyone. But the real surprise comes later, when music builds an unexpected bridge between the two men.
The doctor said, ‘be happy.’ Music therapy can help cancer patients do that: A new study shows that music therapy is as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy at helping cancer patients and survivors heal emotionally.
Serenading Cells with Audible Sound Alters Gene Activity: Audible sound can affect gene activity in mouse cells, boosting the attachment of muscle precursors to their scaffolding and decreasing fat accumulation Biology The cells in your ears aren’t the only ones listening: recent research suggests that crucial cells throughout the body may respond to audible sound. Experiments described in Communications Biology revealed more than 100 genes whose activity changed in response to these acoustic waves, pointing to possible medical applications.
Is there a link between mental illness and musical creativity? | Classical Music: The cliché of the ‘mad genius’ has long perpetuated the idea that creativity and mental illness are linked. But asks Rebecca Franks, how true is that notion?
Read on to discover if there is a link between mental illness and creativity…
The ‘mad genius’… a cliché centuries in the making ‘No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.’
That was the view of Aristotle. It’s a powerful idea that has travelled down the ages.
David Byrne Stars in ‘The Art of Sound,’ L-Acoustics’ New Documentary on ‘Audio’s Hidden Language’: Professional audio technology specialists L-Acoustics, in collaboration with Black Meteor, have launched “The Art of Sound,” a three-part documentary series that merges scientific discovery with artistic insight to explore sound’s fundamental role in human evolution and its continuing influence.
4 Traits for Great Hiring, 5 Mental Models for Resilient Leadership, 6 Steps to Pivoting in a Crisis, 7 Phrases to Put a Rude Person in Their Place & 8 Micro Habits that are the Key to a More Fulfilled Life
When I see someone with these 4 traits, I try to hire them ‘on the spot’—even if I’m not hiring: What will make you stand out in job interviews? Harvard-trained career expert, CEO, and bestselling author Suzy Welch shares the four traits that make her want to hire someone “on the spot.”
Use these 7 phrases to ‘put a rude person in their place,’ say psychology experts: We deal with rude people at work, in stores and restaurants, on airplanes and public transit, even at home. Psychology and communication experts Kathy and Ross Petras share the phrases that calmly demand respect and put rude people in their place.
Wear Purple on Friday June 20th and Join the Fight to End Alzheimer’s:
The Longest Day is the day with the most light — the summer solstice. On June 20, thousands of participants from across the world come together to fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s through a fundraising activity of their choice. Our team is joining the fight! You can help by donating — or even joining a team — today. We need your help to end this relentless disease. Together, the strength of our light will outshine the darkness of Alzheimer’s.
Doctor: This one daily habit can boost brain health, lower risk of dementia There are many things you can do to keep your brain sharp, but there’s one practice that longevity doctor Dr. Avinish Reddy says is overlooked.
“We are citizens of a country that does not exist and that badly needs to exist”
– Dr. Vincent Harding
“America, you’ve never been America to me, but I swear this oath, you will be!”
– Langston Hughes
This week:
We are living a tale of two America’s. Maybe this has always been true, but it seems starker and more polarized than ever in recent memory.
What is required to dream, design and deliver a better future to all American’s?
Research found that nonviolent social movements engaging at least 3.5% of a population consistently succeeded in achieving significant change.
The “3.5% rule” shows how a focused small group of committed individuals can reach a tipping point that shifts systems and create transformative change.
If we don’t like F’s and prefer A’s then it’s time to move from fear, fighting and freezing to agency, allyship and advocacy.
I am biased. I am biased towards equity and justice.
If the arc of the moral universe is indeed long, then who and what will bend it towards justice?
Here are some insights on effective peaceful protest and here is to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans!
The Condition-
Trump Issues Horrifying Threat to Parade Protesters: The president said that anyone who protests his birthday parade on Saturday will be met with “very heavy force,” even if they’re being peaceful.
Opinion | Trump has unleashed something terrifying in the US – that even he may be powerless to control: The protests in LA are what everyone feared, and a warning to countries that flirt with populism.
“I’m watching the Los Angeles reaction to ICE raids with trepidation and regret.
Three years ago, I taught a class at Harvard on the “theater of protest”— designed to help people understand why so many protests turn out to be Republican campaign videos working directly against the interests of the original protest.
A protest is an invitation to a better world.
It’s a ceremony.
No one accepts a ceremonial invitation when they’re being screamed at.
More important you have to know who the real audience of the protest is.
The audience is NEVER the police, the politicians, the Board of supervisors, Congress, etc.
The audience is always the American people, who are trying to decide who they can trust, who will not embarrass them.
If you win them, you win power at the box office and power to make positive change.
Everything else is a waste.
There are a few ways to get there:
1. Let women organize the event. They’re more collaborative. They’re more inclusive, and they don’t generally bring the undertones of violence men do.
2 Appoint monitors, give them yellow, vests and whistles. At the first sign of violence, they blow the whistles, and the real protester sit down.
Let the police take out their aggression on the anarchists and the provocateurs trying to discredit the movement.
3. Dress like you’re going to church. It’s hard to be painted as a hoodlum when you’re dressed in clean, presentable clothes.
They don’t have to be fancy they just signal the respect for the occasion that you want to transmit to the audience.
4. Make your protest silent. Demonstrate your discipline to the American people. Let signs do the talking.
5. Go home at night. In the dark, you can’t tell the cops from the killers. Come back at dawn fresh and rested.
I have great fear that Trump’s staging with the National Guard and maybe the Marines is designed to clash with anarchists who are playing into his hands and offering him the opportunity to declare an insurrection.
It’s such a waste and it’s only because we haven’t thought things through strategically.
Nothing I thought of is particularly original.
It was all learned by watching the early civil rights protests in the 50s and 60s.
And it was the discipline and courage of African-Americans that drew such a clear line in the American sand that people were forced to take sides and that produced the civil rights act.
The American people are watching and once again if we behave in ways that can be misinterpreted, we’ll see this explained to the public in Republican campaign videos benefiting the very people who started this.
Wake up.
Vent at home.
In public practice discipline and self-control.
It takes much more courage.”
— Peter Coyote
Zen teacher and author/narrator, with Ken Burns
Note: Carry an American flag. As the administration creates a fake emergency to justify a state crackdown, it’s important to honor the values and vision of democracy for which we’re advocating.
When the Enquirer came for pics back in 2017, I smiled a big toothy grin and held a big flag as it felt so empowering and good to stand with my adult daughter, pastors, Franciscans, nuns, kids, parents, grandparents, and some women from our women’s groups for the values we tried to pass on.
After the protest, we sang and marched to a church where we heard poignant witness of immigrants trying to build a better life for their families against insurmountable odds.
Many Marines, National Guardsmen and vets are over on Threads and Substack expressing their disagreement over being used by this lawless administration.
Peace, shanti and shalom to all. ☮️
Leslie F/H
Sly Stone Knew Why America Rioted Better Than Anyone: Sly Stone, who died on June 9, wrung greatness out of the American abyss.
Kermit The Frog Drops 3 Pieces of Wisdom at Graduation Speech: Draped in “a very tiny cap and gown,” the Muppet delivered words of encouragement and inspiration — plus a forecast with a “100% chance of frog.”
“As you navigate the world of bright possibilities that awaits you, I urge you to take on the challenge and the opportunity to serve your fellow citizens.
Fifty years from now, you will want to be able to look in the mirror and know that you did what you thought was right, in every part of your life.
At the end of the day, your integrity is all you have. Guard it carefully.”
— Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in a speech at a pre-graduation ceremony at Princeton University amid months of unrelenting personal attacks from President Trump.
Jacinda Ardern reflects on a career focused on the power of kindness:
What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first?
Feeling Stressed? Here’s Why You Should Start Humming (Seriously) Mindfulness practices, such as meditation, are often the antidote for dealing with stress—and for good reason: there are loads of studies about the benefits of being present. But for some, meditation can be a hard practice to develop.
5 Gentle Yoga Moves That Loosen Your Body Better Than a Massage: Let’s be honest: There’s something incredibly soothing and indulgent about treating yourself to a full-body massage.
Doctors Say This Easy Habit Can Protect Your Brain as You Age—And Might Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease: Plus, simple ways to put the new study’s findings into practice.
Chronic pain could be eased by learning to regulate negative emotions: An adaptation of cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on mindfulness and tolerating distress has shown promise for relieving chronic pain.
Listening to birds sing really does soothe your brain. Here’s why. Spending time in nature is important for your mental health. But studies show that even just listening to birds singing can ease symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Here are some remarks from an event I spoke at some years ago, that is remarkably still relevant almost a decade later:
Making the case for (He)Art…
What does it mean to live in color?
Why would individuals, businesses, whole communities want to support Art?
In the words of Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On?”
Have we opened our eyes and looked around lately? Because we are in mixed company, I will refrain from lighting the powder keg of politics or social justice
So, let’s find a common denominator:
If you are like 99% of us, you are stressed.
Stress is the #1 epidemic in most of the world, costing us billions in both hard costs and human consequences. We have traded false formulations of success (counterfeit correlation) for our happiness, wellbeing, and fulfillment both as individuals and as a community. It is almost as if we have forgotten what it means to be human. Have we really lost touch with our humanity?
What is going on?
“Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure!”
Artists find their inspiration in this dynamic tension…
The Case for America’s Finest City:
We talk about creating the 21st Century Innovation Economy. Some are starting to call it the Impact Economy.
Today, let’s consider the Imagination Economy
Our imagination is a preview of coming attractions
What does your imagination hold for you and for our community?
What is YOUR craft?
“Creativity is as important as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status” says Sir Ken Robinson
We want creativity, from ourselves, from our teams from our kids, yet most of the time we don’t create the conditions for it.
Whether its craft beer locally with over 100 craft-brewers, (and Ballast Point recently selling for $1B) or whatever your craft, to foster a vibrant, colorful imagination economy we need he-Artists!
Any way you look at it, convention is in dire need of an intervention!
Bring in the He-Artists…
It is time to Re-Imagine His-tory and Her-story
It is time to get real, find your smile, and rekindle our humanness perhaps by learning, if not from each other then from another species: the dolphins
We think we are the smartest creatures on the planet, but I think it is the dolphins and here is why:
Let’s use POD to capture their genius…
P: Play more. They play! Play is a prescription that has equal efficacy to antidepressants or other medicines, yet we don’t make time for play
What kind of play am I talking about?
Lego of old v. Lego of new (unstructured, open, free v. proscribed)
Here is the thought experiment:
If you were a lego set, what is the picture on the cover of the box you are trying to craft and create?
Do the puzzle pieces in your box line up with the picture on the cover?
Are there any pieces missing?
Art creates the space for play to matter, & can answer these existential questions- as well, if not better, than science
O: Others are important. Make connectedness count. We are social creatures. Loneliness is today’s smoking when it comes to health risks. Are you a pack a day isolate? Enough me, me, me already- enough selfies. How about WE? What happened to WE?
Art connects us to our most humane and universal essence.
D: Downtime matters. Our lives are way too fast-paced and just like elite athletes, for peak performance we need the oscillation of intense activity with periods of rest and stretching- you do too. Take more breaks and experience more breakthroughs!
We say we are too busy for downtime. Busy is a false indicator of us doing work of importance, just as sleep deprivation is a lousy indicator or your amazing ambition. If you can’t make time for down time, what you are really saying is you can’t make time for creativity, what you are really saying is you can’t make time for be your best self.
So now let’s apply this to our kids…
Children learn what they live
Sadly, you are only a kid, for just a short time, and then relegated to adult status for the rest of your life. Yet instead of celebrating childhood, we lament that “youth is wasted on the young”, then do our best to steal it from them with developmentally inappropriate expectations, forcing them to grow up, catch-up, over-extend, over-schedule, all over-tired.
Play, Downtime, Creativity, Art. We’ve got no time for that. No child left behind, resulted in no child LEFT!
Time steals our youth fast enough. Why are we buying into and contributing to this forced acceleration? What if the opposite reality became the norm and you were only an adult-in-training for just a short time, and then rightly trained and equipped, your youthful attitude, zest for life, belief in the impossible, & focus on the positive were the longest season of your life cycle during your short time here on earth?
Kindness is NOT weakness.
Busy-ness is not Fulfillment
“Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure!”
My plea to you:
Enliven your P.O.D. , live in color and find your craft.
As this is Martin Luther King week, I must end with some MLK quotes:
“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends!”
Please don’t be silent about art- live loud, proud and in color.
You are brilliant, powerful, creative, limitless, and boundless.
Like Dolphins: Shoulder to shoulder, not face to face- we can change our world
Take time through your craft to celebrate the moments no one will ever know when you best self-showed up!
As MLK said, “The time is always right to do what is right”
Blessings….
Living With and ON Purpose: Virtuous purpose, as David French writes, is rooted in sacrifice.
It ennobles the individual because it serves the common good.
Happy Soul Food Friday! 