This website is dedicated to presenting positive stories about the undying human spirit, which overcomes adversity and nurtures a more positive and creative approach to living. We believe these stories should be celebrated as a way of illuminating the power of hope and imagination within all of us.

On December 18, 2011, Human Spirit celebrated its 8th year online. In the coming months, we hope to bring more stories that inspire the best in all of us.

We encourage you to submit stories and/or links to be posted. Contact: robert@cloudgazer.com. 

Human Spirit Stories (HS Archives are Temporarily Unavailable)   

The Art of Living
06/01/12  Stunning Photographs From Around The World. At Pxleyes.com
12/12/11  A Colourful Uprising in Damascus. The Art of Creative Dissent. By Basma Atassi, Aljazeera.
11/12/11  Syria’s Actress-Turned-Revolutionary. Aljazeera.
25/11/11  Former Paralympian Makes Miraculous Recovery to Become Pro Cyclist. By Randy Starkman, The Toronto Star.
06/11/11  Mother Risks Life for Unborn Son. By Megan Ogilvie, The Toronto Star.
27/10/11  Doctor cum Trucker Delivers Baby on a Plane. By Raveena Aulakh, The Toronto Star.
14/10/11  Toronto Start-Up Designs Solar-Powered Hybrid Aircraft. By Tyler Hamilton, The Toronto Star.
21/09/11  Allowing Teenage Boys to Love Their Friends. By Jan Hoffman, The New York Times.
20/09/11  5 Things Happy People Do. By Gabrielle LeBlanc, The Oprah Magazine.
29/08/11 ‘The Blade Runner’ Challenges at the World Championships. By Pat Graham, The Toronto Star.
30/07/11  Gift of Blood Ends Pakistani Town’s Bloody History. By Rick Westhead, The Toronto Star. 
16/06/11  Want to Have a Great Death? Have a Great Life.  By Valerie Hauch, The Toronto Star.
27/05/11  Shannen’s Dream Website.  Shannen Koostachin, an aborginal youth from Attawapiskat, led a movement to build a new school in her home community and called for equality in education across Canada.  Koostachin was tragically killed in a motor vehicle collision in June 2010, before her dream was realized.
28/04/11 SlutWalk marches expand to the U.S. and England. By Jenni Dunning, The Toronto Star.
14/04/11  Under South Africa’s Skin: Contemporary Photography.  Audio Slideshow.
19/03/11  Libyan Citizen Journalist Killed. By Cynthia Vukets, The Toronto Star.
10/03/11  Hours After Soldier Killed in Action, His Faithful Dog Suffers Seizure. By Jill Lawless, The Toronto Star.
06/03/11  Honesty and Humility Best Predictors of Job Performance: Study. By Kenyon Wallace, The Toronto Star.
05/03/11  Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries Companion Granado Dies. BBC.com
18/01/11  The Slow Photography Movement: How Slowing Down Lets You Experience More.By Tim Wu. Slate.
17/01/11  Charlie Rose Interview with Wes Moore — On his Book “The Other Wes Moore.”Two Men with the Same Name and Two Fates.
21/12/10  An Interview with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange. By Andy Greenberg, Forbes.
20/12/10  An Inspirational Letter to My Students. By Roger Rosenblatt, The New Yorker.
09/12/10  A Facebook Story: A Mother’s Joy and a Family’s Sorrow. By Ian Shapira. The Washington Post.
29/11/10  The Courage of Jill Costello. By Chris Ballard. Sports Illustrated.
04/11/10  Couple Gives Away $11.2 Million in Lottery Winnings. The Toronto Star.
29/04/10  Local Boy with Cancer Turns into a Superhero for a Day. By Katherine Long, The Seattle Times.
28/04/10  Documentary Trailer: Journey of a Dream. A Heavy Metal Story of a Tibetan Refugee.
17/04/10  Almost Barefoot in Bolivia. By Robert J. Brodey. The Toronto Star.
29/01/10  Strange Pilgrimages in San Juan Argentina. By Robert J. Brodey, The Toronto Star.
01/12/09  Trail Blazing Olympic Sport for the Physically Disabled. By Daniel Girand, The Toronto Star.
23/10/09  Rich Germans Demand Higher Taxes. BBC.com.
26/09/09  From Motown to Hoetown. Transforming Detroit into an Agriculture Centre. By Catherine Porter, The Toronto Star.
09/10/09  Seeing the Beauty and Fragility of Earth from Outer Space. By Nelson Wyatt, CP.
08/07/09  Canadian Bike Rider, Svein Tuft,  Races the Road less Traveled. By Juliet Macur, New York Times.
28/06/09  Iraqi Jew Aids Dispossessed Palestinians: “Right Thing to Do.” By Ethan Bronner, New York Times.
12/06/09  Meet Toronto’s Young Poet. By Daniel Day, The Toronto Star.
11/06/09 The Power of Patagonia. By Robert J. Brodey, The Toronto Star.

The Politics of Hope
24/12/11  There’s no Such Thing as Canadian Values. By Andrew Potter, The Ottawa Citizen.
29/08/11  How Jack Layton Brought a Social Vision to the Canadian Political Landscape. By Bruce Campion-Smith. The Toronto Star.
15/03/11  The Rise of Citizen Photojournalism. By Dan Gillmor, Aljazeera.
05/03/11  Argentina ‘Stolen Baby’ Cases Legacy of Dirty War.  By Vladimir Hernandez, BBC Mundo.
08/03/10 Reconciling Quebec and Canada. The Toronto Star.
03/03/10 Islamic Scholar Issues Fatwa Against Terrorism. CBC.ca.
03/12/09  Politicians Demand Audit of the Federal Reserve. By Zack Carter, Media Consortium.

Environment Matters
21/12/11  Solar-Powered Boat Sails Around the World. [Video]. Aljazeera.
27/02/11  Audio Slideshow: Beautiful Science. BBC News.
26/11/10  Dinosaur Demise Allowed Mammals to ‘Go Nuts.’ By Neil Bowdler, BBC News.
11/11/10  Mystery of How Cats Lap Revealed. By Rebecca Morelle, BBC News.
11/03/10  The Story of Stuff: An Interesting Website about Consumption and Waste.
22/09/09  Boosting Brain Power. By Stephen Pincock, The Guardian.
14/10/09  New Solar Farm in Ontario can Power 1000 Homes. By Tyler Hamilton, The Toronto Star.

Human Science
17/11/11  What a Woman’s Brain Looks Like Having Sex. By Debra Black, Toronto Star.
20/10/11  Old American Theory of Settlement is ‘Speared.’ By Jonathan Amos, BBC.
23/09/11  Picture This: Brain Scans Reveal Images from People Viewing Movies. By Macolm Ritter, Associated Press.
30/08/11 Doctors Prescribe the Great Outdoors to Get Patients Moving. By Andrea Gordon, The Toronto Star.
27/05/11  Radar-like ‘inner vision’ helps blind learn to navigate beyond preconceived limits. By Anne McIlroy, Globe and Mail.
26/05/11  Ex-Smokers are Willpower Kings.  By Mark Fenske, Globe and Mail.
11/03/11  Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese?  By Brendan Kennedy, The Toronto Star.
08/03/11  Study Helps Unlock Key to Long Life. By Nancy J. White, The Toronto Star.
05/03/11  Leeches Making Medical Comback.  By Meridith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun.
18/02/11  Wooden Toe on Egyptian Mummy is First Known Prosthesis. By Elizabeth Haggarty, Toronto Star.
18/01/11  How Meditation May Change the Brain. By Sindya N. Bhanoo, The New York Times.
30/12/10  Out of the Darkness – Proposing a New Field of Human Study. By Joseph Brean, National Post.
20/12/10  The Amazing Thing Music Does to Your Mind. By Oakland Ross, The Toronto Star.
19/12/10  Brain Works More Like Internet Than ‘Top Down’ Company. By Jason Palmer, BBC News.