Though we prefer to spend our time in the real world rather than getting caught in the world wide web, we’ve rounded up our October list of favorite online finds. Hopefully this list will inspire you to get up, get out and start your next great adventure. Don’t forget your AllSwell Journal.
We’re obsessed with this Japanese museum-hotel hybrid. Benesse House allows guests to explore art, nature, and architecture in a synergistic fashion. The complex, intended to blend seamlessly into Setonaikai National Park, was designed by self-taught architectural mastermind Tadao Ando. The environments are woven together with long ramps, sweeping stairs, and quiet passages. Book your stay and bring along an AllSwell Notebook or three.
It’s Time for Doctors to Prescribe Outdoor Therapy, Outside Online
Is nature truly the cure? Signs (and scientific evidence) say yes. University of Southern California psychologist Dacher Keltner and veteran Stacy Bare have been putting nature to the test with the Great Outdoor Lab. Their three year study, which is currently pending review, showed that PTSD symptoms decreased by thirty-five percent in veterans after just a two-day rafting trip. Nature, meet nurture. Nurture, meet nature. Read on above.
Meet The Liberian Surfers Turning War Ruins Into Art, Monster Children
Liberia is making a comeback in quite the unexpected way starting in the small surf town of Robertsport. With much of the city ruined by years of war and an ebola epidemic, local surfers are coming together to beautify the man-made structures settled on a mountainous backdrop along the west coast of Africa. The Liberia Project partnered with artists the world over to send many works for recreation to Robertsport. You won’t want to miss them. Read on above.
Autistic Kids Are Thriving In “Shakespearean Therapy”, Quartz
We’ve seen first hand the amazing, therapeutic effects of surf therapy at A Walk On Water events, and now Shakespeare is being put to similar use, no saltwater required. A new therapy called the Hunter Heartbeat Method (the nomenclature is an ode to Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter - the key to its success) is composed of games based on plot lines from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest.’ Kids get to try on different personalities and practice skills that autism traditionally challenges, like maintaining eye contact, identifying emotion, and social cuing, which translates to improved function in their everyday lives and relationships. More after the jump.
Trailblazing Philosopher Susanne Langer on the Purpose of Art, How It Works Us Over, and How Abstract Thinking Gives Shape to Human Emotion, Brain Pickings
“Art is the articulation, not the stimulation or catharsis, of feeling; and the height of technique is simply the highest power of this sensuous revelation and wordless abstraction.” ― Susanne Langer. We’re into sensuous revelations. You, too? Click above to read more.
Something In The Blood, Part 1, The Paris Review
In honor of October’s frightful festivities the Paris Review dug their teeth into the literary origins of Bram Stoker’s notorious blood sucker: Dracula, through a selection of excerpts from David J. Skal’s Something in the Blood, a biography of Stoker. He crafted the character over a seven year period, citing a nightmarish visions induced by “a too-generous helping of dressed crab at supper,” which, of course no one took seriously. Click on.