This animated psychology video outlines the process of healing — which can be very uncomfortable. Examples of healing include acknowledgement of painful emotions, expressing boundaries, and acceptance that healing is not a linear experience. Pain will continue to resurface, but eventually less often. I think it’s a lovely video and reminder that the path to growth is a balance of success and failure. — CD

Construction toys – like Legos – are among the best toys because they are so open ended, infinite in form, satisfying and durable. But many construction sets need nimble fingers. Magnetized sets are better for younger kids because the magnets aid the building. The best magnetic construction toys for the youngest toddlers are Magformers, which are basically large outlines of shapes, whose holes make them super easy to grip, while the magnets ensure they will easily stick together. They are fun enough that older kids build with them too. Like Legos we keep adding to our set so that by now we have enough pieces to let several kids play at once. — KK

If you want companies to stop selling your personal information, install this app, called Permission Slip, from Consumer Reports. It automates the task of sending out email requests to companies that sell information it collects about you to data brokers. In minutes, the app sent out 18 requests on my behalf. The app’s data dashboard said it handled 54 emails and saved me 36 hours. — MF

The price of natural gas has skyrocketed in California. Los Angeles has been experiencing relative bone-chilling temperatures at night. To combat this we are keeping our thermostat down, but our feet are warm, thanks to this electric heated foot warmer. You simply stick your feet into the plush sack and select one of three temperature settings. It has an automatic shut-off feature after 2 hours. — MF

This might be of interest to only certain parts of the US, but my favorite social media find of the week is @traderjoes5itemsorless on Instagram. The account is not affiliated with Trader Joe’s but every post is an easy recipe using only 5 items or less from TJ’s. It’s one of those rare feel-good social media accounts to follow because it makes me think, “Hey, I can do that!” It’s inspiring and mouth-watering. — CD

I find the world of “Breathwork” hard to navigate. There are many methods and the physical effects of those methods vary widely. This infographic created by Kyle Kowalski of Sloww Sunday does a fantastic job of describing different breathing practices to help master your nervous system and down-regulate anxiety. What works for me in moments of stress, is the Physiological Sigh - a full inhalation followed by a relaxed sigh. Sloww Sunday is one of those newsletters I open as soon as it hits my inbox. It’s free and you can subscribe here. — CD 

I’ve been skeptical of the need for humans to live in space. I’m having my mind slowly changed by the science fiction of Daniel Suarez, who describes in great detail how moving some industry – including power generation – off our planet into near-orbit space may be the greenest thing we can do. All this hard science is wrapped up in a page-turning sci-fi thriller. The second volume in his Delta-V trilogy, called Critical Mass, is his best so far and can be enjoyed without having to read the first one (though of course it’s even better that way). — KK

Vacay’s free AI-travel assistant is a chat bot that answers travel related questions and even generates full itineraries based on your budget and interests. All you do is ask it a question. To test its capabilities, I asked it, "I am interested in modern Japanese design. Describe the top 10 less-well-known stores I should visit in Tokyo and explain why they are worth visiting." The results were impressive, although it seems one store may have been a hallucination. I plan to visit these places on my next trip to Japan. — MF

We were gifted a digital picture frame, and it has been a revelation. It’s a whole new medium different than a fixed picture, different than a picture on your phone. A constant stream of images from our collective lives are flashed in a modest-size frame quietly sitting in our kitchen. The genius is that everyone in our family – including those not living nearby – can easily add new pictures to the stream. It is “calm technology” – without having to engage the monkey-mind to flick-flick, we absorb in a relaxed way, and are gently reminded of in the background, what is happening in our lives. We are now gifting the same to relatives in distant lands, so we can calmly share with them. There are a lot of brands of digital frames; since it was a gift I have not researched them, but am happy with the one we have which is an Aura. Unlike many other frames, there are no subscription fees. — KK

A 20-minute video that looks at 21 kinds of thinking errors. Here’s an example of the Gambler’s Fallacy: “A University of Chicago review found asylum judges were 19% less likely to approve an asylum seeker if they had just approved the previous two. The same person applying for a loan was more likely to get approved for a loan if the previous two applicants were rejected and was more likely to be rejected if the previous two applications were approved.” — MF

We’ve recommended a site that summarizes YouTube videos before, but Eightify is markedly superior and very cool. This Chrome browser extension gives you a little button on the YouTube video play page. You click “Summarize” and in a few seconds the Eightify AI gives you a very usable text summary of the video content broken into ten parts with time stamps. You can click on the time stamps to play that part. You get three free summaries per week, or you can pay for more (which I have done) at about 30 cents a piece. I use it as a way to quickly get to the most important parts of any video. — KK

This article has some unexpected tips on how to work on improving your memory, like assigning vivid images to things you want to remember and spending 5 minutes before bed reflecting on what happened throughout the day. The one I swear to do more of is to take more pictures on my phone and actually go back and look at them. — CD

Wikenigma is the wikipedia of unanswered questions and gaps in human knowledge for the curious-minded. For example, words of unknown origin, the dilemma of free will, or the purpose of the human chin. It's a jumping-off point for the imagination. — CD

“Principle Of Humanity: Every single person is exactly what you would be if you were them. This includes your political opponents. So instead of dismissing them as evil or stupid, maybe seek to understand the circumstances that led them to their conclusions.” Read 39 other useful concepts in this issue of The Prism. — MF

For the past half century the most powerful resource in the world has been computers. The book Chip War is the story of the political, commercial, and military struggle to control this global resource in the form of tiny silicon chips used in everything. Chip War is a brisk, insightful, punchy, fast read. The ups, downs, upsets, rebounds, and flameouts of the major players make it clear that this story is not done and there will be more surprises around this power in the future. Highly recommended. — KK

Cory Muscara meditated 15 hours a day for 6 months and wrote a list of 36 things he learned. Here’s a few of the insights that stood out to me or made me smile. — CD

• There are 3 layers to a moment: Your experience, your awareness of the experience, and your story about the experience. Be mindful of the story.

• The moment before letting go is often when we grip the hardest.

• There is no set of conditions that leads to lasting happiness. Lasting happiness doesn’t come from conditions; it comes from learning to flow with conditions.

• The more comfortable you become in your own skin, the less you need to manufacture the world around you for comfort.

• Your mind doesn’t wander. It moves toward what it finds most interesting. If you want to focus better, become more curious about what's in front of you.

• You cannot practice non-attachment. You can only show your mind the suffering that attachment creates. When it sees this clearly, it will let go.

• Monks love to fart while they meditate. The wisdom of letting go expresses itself in many forms.

Last week, Southern California experienced a heavy rainstorm that caused a power outage in our area for 18 hours. We would have been in the dark without the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Camping Lantern. It features a bright and adjustable LED light, as well as a built-in lithium battery that can charge smartphones and other USB devices. In case of a power failure, the lantern can also be powered manually by turning a crank for one minute, which provides 10 minutes of illumination. — MF

Good book recommendations are hard to come by. I'm rarely excited by what Goodreads or Amazon recommends. Right now I'm creating a reading list based on Readow.ai recommendations, which uses reviews from readers to give unbiased suggestions on what to read next. The more titles you add, the more personalized your matches will be. — CD

Every new tech generates new art forms. So I’ve been waiting for new art forms based on AI to arrive. One suggestion of a new AI art is a Instagram account that posts AI generated scenes from a unified fictional world. Somehow the artist(s) have figure out the prompts to explore this elaborate fiction consistently. (They are not the only one doing this; others have similar worlds, but theirs is the best so far.) This alternative world, manifested in detail, is zany, stunning, and oddly beautiful. Check out TheVisualDome for a hint of what is to come. — KK

ChatGPT is a versatile chatbot that can perform various tasks, including answering questions, simplifying complex sentences, and summarizing articles. The "Awesome ChatGPT Prompts" repository offers a variety of text prompts that allow users to instruct ChatGPT to take on different personas, such as a travel guide, debate coach, chef, or dentist. The results are impressive, but it's important to note that ChatGPT does not have full knowledge or understanding of the information it provides. It's important to seek outside confirmation before acting on any advice it gives. — MF