Wanda Hennig » Conscious Living

The power of poetry and Colombian Fernando Réndon’s pen

editor — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:58:36 +0000

Poetry Africa 2011, Durban Colombian poet Fernando Réndon, in Durban this week for the 15th Poetry Africa festival, has helped transform Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city — known as a world capital of drug trafficking, terror and violence — into a world capital of poetry. © Wanda Hennig, 2011 When Fernando Réndon and a few of his friends organized the first International Poetry Festival of Medellín in 1991, the city was known as the epicenter of the cocaine trade and the world capital of drug trafficking. The so-called ‘Medellín cartel’, a multi-billion dollar ...

Inspiring quotes from Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011

editor — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:18:18 +0000

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to ...

Who put the trash out? Who cares!

editor — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:21:18 +0000

In the U.S. they see it as an opportunity, not a problem. So what about us?

Story and pictures by Wanda Hennig

Story first published op-ed page, Sunday Tribune, Durban, South Africa, on August 29, 2010

It’s Sunday morning at North Beach in Durban. The sun is shining. Somewhere the sardines are still running. The new, improved beachfront promenade is alive with foot traffic. People cycling, strolling, jogging, walking their dogs, walking their kids. The surfers are out; the fishermen are complaining to anyone who’ll listen about their ban from the piers; the skateboarders and BMX-ers are shooting the ramps at their graffitied concrete park ...

RSA-USA and Invictus beyond the Oscars

editor — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:59:21 +0000

What South Africa, Clint Eastward’s movie and Morgan Freeman’s Mandela moment can teach the USA. Ten reasons to see the Oscar-nominated film (with Freeman nominated for Best Actor and Matt Damon for Best Supporting Actor).

By Wanda Hennig

Invictus is the story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted and won by South Africa. The movie is a tribute to Nelson Mandela’s vision and leadership — and a lot more. Go see it and be inspired. Perhaps it will give you new thoughts and insights on Washington politics and the US health care debate. The Top 10 list starts with rugby

Zen and The Art of Vegetarian Cooking

editor — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:54:45 +0000

Greens Restaurant in San Francisco has an outstanding reputation for fine produce and creative food.

Story by Wanda Hennig This story was first published in Food Illustrated magazine, London, with photography by Richard Jung

A visit to Greens in San Francisco is a celebration of the senses. Dip your spoon into a bowl of butternut squash soup and delight in the delicate harmony of lightly caramelized onions and apple confit blended with a hint of calvados. Feast your eyes on a salad that marries fresh ripe figs with Kodata, Mission and Calmyra olives, melon, watercress and creamy goat’s cheese. Inhale and delight ...

I’m geeky, you’re geeky, we’re all geeky at She’s Geeky

editor — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:51:05 +0000

A perfect storm of synergy develops into an inspiring organic agenda when 300 women working in the STEM fields gather at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.

By Wanda Hennig

Super-geek and Berkeley–based internet identity guru Kaliya Hamlin mounted her first She’s Geeky 'un'conference in October 2007 and her most recent, last weekend. They grew from her observation that while women are encouraged to enter the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — once women leave school and enter the workforce,

Visualizations, creativity and the incredible oneness of being

editor — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:34:31 +0000

An inner journey can be more spectacular — and revealing — than a trip around the world. And a weekend spent doing something you really would prefer not to be doing can change the course of your life. By Wanda Hennig Can this really be me writhing around the floor in a large, darkened room with a number of other should I call us crazies? I have my eyes glued shut but I know the others are out there because I can hear grunts and whines and hisses and the odd ...

The Zen of Food

editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:22:04 +0000

It’s sometimes fast, always Slow, deafeningly quiet and a metaphor for life.

Story and Pictures: Wanda Hennig First appeared: East Bay Edible

“In Zen practice we want our intuition — our universal self — to come forth,” says Berkeley Zen Center abbot, Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi. “When you’re doing simple tasks [like peeling broccoli or breaking lettuce into bite-size bits], your body, mind, the broccoli, the knife, your hand, the breath, are all involved. When you keep bringing your attention back to what you’re doing — when you are simply one with your activity — it’s the same as sitting zazen.”

Blog wisdom: 40 key facts, tips and pointers

editor — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:59:25 +0000

The inside scoop from educators, activists and social media gurus at the East Bay’s first Beast Bloggers Bar Camp. Photos: Wanda Hennig This list of 40 facts, tips, key points and “how to” suggestions come from blogging panels and conversations at the first East Bay Beast Bloggers Bar Camp held at Tech Liminal in Oakland. (Read more on the event here.) Some comments are attributed. Others came from general discussion. All are from Bar Camp participants. (See Part One of this story.) About Blogging Decide what are you trying to say? What do ...

Turn social media into nonprofit gold

editor — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:00:44 +0000

You’re the marketing director of a nonprofit — or perhaps the director if it’s a smaller organization. You know you need to add social media to your tool kit. Where to begin? Any good swim coach starts with a plan. You need one too. To ensure success, consider these five key points before you dive in. By Wanda Hennig 1) Make sure the pool has water in it. In other words, have a handle on what you’re getting into. This involves, on the one hand, learning about the tools. On the other, ...