Wherever I go around the world, I see the same hunger to live our lives with more meaning and purpose and less unnecessary stress and burnout. This is the goal of "33 Days of Awakening Through Loyalty to Your Soul," a new online course being offered by the University of Santa Monica, which I'm delighted we have arranged to offer free for HuffPost readers. The class is designed so that on each day of the course, the intention for the day is supported with meditations, videos, podcasts and other resources that help us go deeper. Each day's email has a theme: clarifying our intentions, accepting what we cannot change, putting our thoughts in writing to help us forgive ourselves and others, writing out a gratitude list, dropping grudges and -- my favorite -- realizing that the way we deal with the issue is the issue. When we make these habits part of our daily practice, we can view ourselves and the world with more awareness and more gratitude.

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My hope is that, when a friend does finally choose to come out to you, these notes will help you be more comfortable with it, and that you'll understand what he or she has been going through up to this day that shapes the conversation in his or her head.

Do you like Blueberries? Tomatoes? Fruit and Vegetables in general? Pay attention. California supplies the half of the United States produce and California is in the midst of a drought that could effect all of our families.

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We will all mourn Michael Brown's death and wait to know more about what happened that night. What is clear, however, is that platitudes about "starting a conversation" will not do.

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The American people are some of the most creative and driven in the world and there's no reason solutions can't be found if we lay aside our differences and understand that we all want essentially the same thing: strong, safe, beautiful cities which we're proud to call home and pass on to the next generation better than we ourselves found them.

It's clear enough that personhood was one of the foundational building blocks of his climb to Congress, proving Keith Mason correct and shedding light on the short-term gain GOP candidates encounter by joining with anti-abortion activists.

Freelancers are at high risk for getting overwhelmed and burnout from their extensive workload. But how can you prevent and handle getting burnout from your clients? More importantly, how can you achieve this without burning any bridges? Here are 8 tips that you should follow when you feel that you've finally had enough.

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These critiques of athletes are not new. They have been articulated for years, in barbershops, bars, social media, various articles and blogs, by the everyday fan to the most celebrated scholars. But many still are misguided and inaccurate.

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Buffett used his punch-card analogy in an investment context. It's consistent with his belief that really profitable investment decisions are few and far between. But I think the punch-card analogy applies equally well to life, and to the decisions that define and shape our lives.

Who cares if Burger King wraps its Whopper in the rainbow if the company is hurting the American economy, American taxpayers and American workers, including LGBT workers?

Rachel Zenzinger is no mere office placeholder, she has the experience, enthusiasm and most importantly a history of bi-partisan achievement -- something this state needs more of at the Capitol.

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The changing climate is forcing species into tough choices: adapt at record speeds to warming temperatures, die off, or invade new territory.

As a life-long Coloradan, I am concerned about right-wing nominees whose records are unknown to most voters. At the top of the ticket is the Republican nominee for Governor, Bob Beauprez.

With the higher bar, you don't waste time with people with whom you will never have a meaningful relationship. The risk is that you may lose out on what might have turned out to be a great friend or even the person you marry.

Rep. Paul Ryan was in town last week, and he did a round of interviews on talk radio shows, hoping to find an audience hungry for his new book, which essentially explains how the Tea Party can grab actual control of things.

All federal judges go through a public Senate confirmation process after they are nominated by the President. But where does the President get those names to nominate?

So I have two beefs. One, as a Democrat, I would like the paper I subscribe to, be one of high standards that treats all sides without prejudice. If you are going to cover an election and can't get your personal views out of the way, you should either get reassigned or resign.