The Lore Labyrinth Oct 25, 2025 You know the story. A curious girl falls down a rabbit hole into a world of talking animals, mad tea parties, and nonsensical riddles. For over a century, Alice in Wonderland has enchanted children around the world with its whimsical characters and dreamlike adventures. But the historical record reveals an origin far older and stranger than commonly believed. And once you understand the real context behind Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece, you’ll never see this children’s classic the same way again. It’s a cultural bomb, strategically disguised as fantasy, containing some of the darkest secrets of Victorian England. Support my channel: https://ko-fi.com/thelorelabyrinth

Laocoön and His Sons, 27 CE

Sculptor unknown

The statue of Laocoön and His Sons, also called the Laocoön Group (Italian: Gruppo del Laocoonte), has been one of the most famous ancient sculptures since it was excavated in Rome in 1506 and put on public display in the Vatican Museums,^[2] where it remains today. The statue is very likely the same one praised in the highest terms by Pliny the Elder, the main Roman writer on art, who attributed it to Greek sculptors but did not say when it was created.^[3] The figures are nearly life-sized, with the entire group measuring just over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height. The sculpture depicts the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being attacked by sea serpents.^[1]

The Laocoön Group has been called “the prototypical icon of human agony” in Western art.^[4] Unlike the agony often portrayed in Christian art depicting the Passion of Jesus and martyrs, the suffering here suggests neither redemption nor reward.^[5] The agony is conveyed through the contorted facial expressions, particularly Laocoön’s bulging eyebrows, which were noted by Guillaume Duchenne de Boulogne as physiologically impossible.^[6] These expressions are mirrored in the struggling bodies, especially Laocoön’s, with every part of his body shown straining.^[7]

Pliny attributed the work, then in the palace of Emperor Titus, to three Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes: Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus, but he did not mention the date or patron. In style it is considered “one of the finest examples of the Hellenistic baroque” and certainly in the Greek tradition.^[8] However, its origin is uncertain, as it is not known if it is an original work or a copy of an earlier bronze sculpture. Some believe it to be a copy of a work from the early Imperial period, while others think it to be an original work from the later period, continuing the Pergamene style of some two centuries earlier.^[9] Regardless, it was probably commissioned for a wealthy Roman’s home, possibly from the Imperial family. The dates suggested for the statue range from 200 BC to the 70s AD,^[10] with a Julio-Claudian date (27 BC to 68 AD) now being the preferred option.^[11]

Despite being in mostly excellent condition for an excavated sculpture, the group is missing several parts and underwent several ancient modifications, as well as restorations since its excavation.^[12] The statue is currently on display in the Museo Pio-Clementino, which is part of the Vatican Museums.

(Wikipedia.org)

Anand Giridharadas Nov 8, 2025 I talk with Terry Moran about Zohran Mamdani, how ICE is undermining America’s best feature, and our “Let them eat Ozempic” moment

(Image from Thriftbooks.com)

“We aimed to become men, already very different from ordinary men in the kind of knowledge we possessed of ourselves, in the understanding of our position on the ladder of possibilities and in the acquisition of a permanent centre of gravity. This phrase, that was often used in the “school” means that the idea of attaining unity, consciousness, a permanent “me” and will . . . would one day become more important to us than anything else. We would then have within us, our “Guardian Angel,” and would understand the significance of this expression.”

–Louis Pauwels in Gurdjieff

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Published: April 2, 2018 (TheOnion.com)

THE HEAVENS—Feeling unnerved after sensing a sudden movement in His peripheral vision, an increasingly jumpy God, Our Heavenly Father, was reportedly starting to worry Monday that Heaven may be haunted. “No, seriously, this is not okay—I’m really freaking the fuck out here,” said the Lord Almighty, adding that He was becoming more and more sure that the hazy, ghost-like apparitions lurking behind clouds were of paranormal origin. “Every so often, I get this cold shudder and it’s just, like, there’s someone there, you know? The angels tell me it’s all in my head, but I swear I’m telling the truth. I obviously don’t believe in all that afterlife stuff, but it’s starting to feel like there’s no other explanation besides that this place is haunted.” At press time, God had shrieked in alarm after catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure that bore a stark resemblance to His son, who had been dead more than 2,000 years.

Helen passed on September 27, 2025. She had been living in Pendelton, Oregon, with her daughter Marisa Dower Morgan. She died peacefully surrounded her family and a few friends.

In conversation, Marisa mentioned the role that Susane Deakins, HW, M, played in Helen’s and Marisa’s life. She said that Susane’s help was crucial for reuniting with Helen after several years of estrangement. This in turn made it possible for Marisa and her son Nick, Helen’s grandchild, to live with Helen for the last eight years, which immeasurably enriched the lives of the three of them.

Helen and her husband Jack joined The Prosperos in the early 1970s. They lived in Santa Monica while the Inner Space Center was on 4^th Street. During this period, I became friends with Jack and Helen, in particular, and also became acquainted with their daughters Marisa and Guerin. I eventually lost track of Helen, but recovered the connection via Susanne some decades later. Helen and I discovered that we really enjoyed chatting on the phoned, and for years we have had a weekly phone call. Over these many years Helen became on of my dearest friends.

Michael Kelly, H.W.

New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Nov 8, 2025 Peter B. Todd, MAPS, a psychotherapist with a Jungian orientation, is author of The Individuation of God: Integrating Science and Religion. He experienced clinical death, during cardiac surgery, in 2005, and was subsequently revived. He was also a gold medalist at the 1982 Gay Games in San Francisco. He lists a number of anthropogenic threats to human survival on this planet, particularly nuclear war and global warming. He describes the situation in his home city of Sydney, Australia, concerning fires that have already cost the lives of half a billion animals and are enveloping the city in smoke. He argues that these problems can only be addressed by a resacralization of the world and a global process of individuation. We must be willing to confront the shadow side of humanity. New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director (with Callum Cooper) of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science. (Recorded on January 31, 2020)

New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Nov 7, 2025 This video is a special release from the original Thinking Allowed series that ran on public television from 1986 until 2002. It was recorded in about 1994. It will remain public for only one week.  Author Richard Bach describes his own internal process of integrating the memories of his childhood. Through his work he has come to realize that ultimate reality is far deeper than the physical appearances of the senses, encompassing multiple dimensions of time and space. Richard Bach is the best-selling author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, One, Illusions, The Bridge Across Forever and Running From Safety. Now you can watch all of the programs from the original Thinking Allowed Video Collection, hosted by Jeffrey Mishlove. Subscribe to the new Streaming Channel (https://thinkingallowed.vhx.tv/) and watch more than 350 programs now, with more, previously unreleased titles added weekly. Free month of the classic Thinking Allowed streaming channel for New Thinking Allowed subscribers only. Use code THINKFREELY.

Brimming with both magic and mystery, this sweeping adventure bridges science and mysticism. It expands the reader’s sense of reality and offers Wilson’s fans a rich journey filled with insight, discovery, and wonder.

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You don’t need an expert to tell you what your dreams mean. Understanding their language is as natural as grasping the moral of a story or recognizing beauty in art. In The Dreaming Way, Toko-pa Turner revives an ancient yet radical idea, that dreaming belongs to the people.

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This is a story for those who follow their hearts and live by their own rules. This book is for those who take joy in doing something well, even if only for themselves. It speaks to everyone who senses that life holds more than meets the eye. With Jonathan, they’ll soar higher and faster than they ever imagined.

“If I know what love is, it is because of you.”

~ Hesse

Hermann Karl Hesse was a German-Swiss poet and novelist, and winner of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature. His interest in Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions, combined with his involvement with Jungian analysis, helped to shape his literary work. Wikipedia

Born: July 2, 1877, Calw, Germany

Died: August 9, 1962 (age 85 years),