Jesse Friedman, who served 13 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, is now awaiting a decision that could overturn the conviction. Please take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with this story and please consider visiting the website, Justice for Jesse, where you...

As I contemplated the events of the week this morning, I found my mind going to strange places.

First of all I kept seeing the face of the younger brother lying in some hospital bed in Boston.

He has the face of an "angel," according to so many accounts...

I arrived on the first day of the four-day silent meditation retreat telling myself not to have any expectations. But of course, I brought them along nonetheless.

What I was hoping for was a lot of silence. Plenty of quiet space in which I could begin to hear the...

The sun pours in over my shoulder as I sit down to write this.

I am sitting here trying to absorb the fact that today I turned 60-years-old. It's kind of odd and strange to think about it. I recall a neighbor of mine, an older woman, telling me that...

What do you do when you find that you've boxed yourself in and sealed the lid with layer upon layer of plastic packing tape? How the hell do you set yourself free?

It won't do to sit inside the box and knock politely, hoping someone will hear you on the...

Seventeen years ago, investment banker Azim Khamisa was 46 years old and leading a pretty ordinary life. He had a good career, two children, and he enjoyed the sunny climate living in beautiful La Jolla, California.

That all changed on a night in 1995 when his only son, Tariq, 20,...

It was the last week of the happiness class that I teach at my university in the spring semester. We had read dozens of articles, books, stories and novels, all of which had prompted hours of discussion about what it means to be happy. We had also taken...

No, it isn't a rug, a painting or some kind of game board. The magnificent design you see here is an intricately constructed sand mandala, created via painstaking methods by a...

One of the most exciting things about attending a conference is that you often meet the most creative people doing the most amazing and creative things.

Recently, I had...

I wouldn't dream of stripping my clothes off in public. So why in God's name would I let my as-yet-unfinished novel, Sister Mysteries, dance naked in public? Why...

Is it any wonder that the Wall Street occupation is capturing the country's attention? Who among us isn't deeply frustrated and fearful and just plain fed up? The fact is, everyone has had it with the recession that's never gone away. There's no end in sight to the housing crisis...

This is a story about nightmares and dreams come true.

This is a story...

Call me a skeptic, but is it possible that we've all gone over the top with our anxiety over Irene? I'm not saying we don't have a serious storm here. And I'm all for preparedness in the face of disaster, but for heaven's sake, the news and social media hurricane...

I've never stopped to think how many books I've read in my life. But it is has to be several thousand. I had to read hundreds of books just to get through my doctoral program. I've always been a reader, and I've always kept a big stack of books beside...

I sit cross legged on the floor, my hands resting lightly on my knees.

I breathe in.

I breathe out. The candles are lit. I watch the glowing little bud...

Beverly Bowne, who lives in the Bronx, worked for 28 years as a billing coordinator for a printing company in New York City. And then in 2009, she and a number of other employees at the company -- including her own supervisor -- were laid off.

Bowne's employer was...

It's been more than a year since I sat up and really listened to something the president is saying. It's been at least that long since something President Obama has said...

Note to Readers: Earlier this year, I experimented by serializing chapters of my new novel "Seeing Red" on the Huffington Post. Meanwhile, I have also been...