Conscious Business: How to Build Value Through Values (Three-CD set/audio download)
by Fred Kofman(Sounds True, $24.95)
If you’ve not heard of author/consultant Fred Kofman, you’ve certainly heard of Google (unless you live in a cave—without wireless). So you likely know that as a company, Google does a lot of things right. And let me tell you, their staff loves Fred Kofman (see his Authors@Google presentation on YouTube). In this CD program (adapted from his book), Fred presents techniques to “succeed beyond success” as you face the challenges of work. The number of people who hate their jobs is stunning… you may be one of them. Here’s your first step toward skillfully aligning your life with making a living.
—Rebecca Ephraim
Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate: At Work in the Wild and Cultivated World (Book)
by Wendy Johnson(Bantam, $25)
For those with a couple of acres lying fallow, Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate is a rich resource of what to grow, and where. But Wendy Johnson’s book is an inspiring and engaging read for anyone trying to find harmony in life. Wendy uses her long tenure as head gardener at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center to illustrate that weeds are as valuable as flowers and that pests are as integral to a garden as vegetables. Spirituality balanced by practicality is the soul of the Dragon’s Gate philosophy, and it is proffered with Wendy’s signature earthy wit and intelligence.
—Stephanie MacDonald
WORKERS OF THE WORLD RELAX: The Jevons Paradox (Streaming Video)
by RagTag Productions(workersoftheworldrelax.org , free)
More efficient technology is good, right? Sure, but it won’t save the world. Because the more efficient a technology becomes, the more goods and services we can produce with it—using the same amount of labour. Traditionally, we offset these gains by producing even more stuff. But this video, a documentary version of a chapter of Conrad Schmidt’s book Workers of the World Relax, urges us to—gasp—offset the gains by increasing our leisure time instead. The message is simple: work less, produce less, consume less. A beautiful concept for a finite planet unable to sustain infinite growth.
—Tamara Letkeman
