Rupert Spira This meditation uses the analogy of undivided space to show that there is no distance, and therefore no relationship, between God and our self. These apparent two are one without distinction, so we can be neither separate from nor united with God’s being. The universal self and the individual self are the same being. Nothing and no one exists apart from God. The perception of separation between our being and God’s being is only a belief, which in the Christian tradition is referred to as sin and in the Vedantic tradition as the illusion of ignorance. In prayer, there is a sinking of the mind into the sanctuary of the heart as a surrender of the separate self into God’s presence, infinite being. This clip has been taken from Rupert’s Meditation Weekend in January. You can watch more meditations from this weekend here: https://rupertspira.com/teachings/sin…

Text by: FRANCE 24 | Video by: Simon Harding

30 September 2021 (france24.com)

Australia’s Daintree Rainforest has been returned to its original Indigenous owners, the state of Queensland, Australia’s third most populous, said on Wednesday, as the government begins to cede control of the world’s oldest tropical forest.

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, the Daintree National Park was handed back to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people in a ceremony in the remote town of Bloomfield on Wednesday.

The 135-million-year-old tropical rainforest is famed for its rich biodiversity – from a giant clawed cassowary bird to plants that have existed since the age of the dinosaurs. But it has come under sustained pressure from climate change and industries such as logging.

In striking a new deal to manage the rainforest, Queensland said the Daintree would be returned to the traditional owners of the land.

Queensland state environment minister Meaghan Scanlon said the return of lands was a key step on the path toward reconciliation after an “uncomfortable and ugly” past.

“The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people’s culture is one of the world’s oldest living cultures and this agreement recognises their right to own and manage their country, to protect their culture, and to share it with visitors as they become leaders in the tourism industry,” Scanlon said in a statement.

Eastern Kuku Yalanji traditional owner Chrissy Grant said the move was a historic event that put the community “in control of our own destinies”.

In total, 160,000 hectares (about 395,000 acres) of land on the Cape York peninsula – the northeast tip of Australia – is being returned to the area’s traditional Aboriginal owners as part of reconciliation measures, Scanlon added.

British settlers arrived in Australia in 1788, colonising the continent and leaving Aboriginal groups marginalised.

The deal is the first time Queensland has transferred the ownership of a national park in the Wet Tropics region of the state’s northeast to an Indigenous group.

Australia’s Uluru and Kakadu parks in the country’s remote north are already owned by a local Indigenous population.

The national parks will initially be jointly managed with the Queensland state government, before being transferred into the sole care of the Indigenous group.

Grant said a foundation would be created to provide training and employment for local First Nations people in areas such as land management, tourism and research.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP & REUTERS)

Lizzo | TEDMonterey | August 2021

Details

Twerking is mainstream now … but do you know where it came from? Superstar Lizzo traces booty shaking to a traditional West African dance and tells how Black women across generations kept the rhythm alive, from blues and jazz singers to modern rap and hip-hop performers. With her characteristic energy, she shares how twerking empowered her to love her own body — and explains why understanding its origins helps protect Black culture from erasure and misappropriation. (And, yes, she twerks on stage.)

This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Lizzo · Singer, rapper, songwriter, flutistThree-time Grammy-winning superstar Lizzo has become a household name, with more than four billion global streams and a Platinum debut album.

The Lovers

The Lovers is numbered six and is a card of innocence, trust, exhileration and joy. The couple (often seen intertwined or standing side by side) are soulmates, each being one half of a perfect union. The figure flying above them is Cupid, blessing them with the might of Universal Love.

The Lovers are the embodiment of the harmony of opposites. This is how we are before the fear and prejudices of life intervene. We give our love freely to others and we need no other to make us whole.

Love is much misunderstood. It is subjective and the word ‘love’ is so overused that it has almost lost its original meaning. We are all capable of the immense power of deep feelings. Love happens when we step out of the darkness of fear, pain and doubt into the light. Love can move mountains. Love breeds love – a happy smile breaking through another’s melancholy proves this.

Loving ourselves is the first step to touching the mighty power of Universal Love. We must live each moment as though it were the only one – rejoicing and celebrating, loving the soul within us rather than fighting with the reflection the rest of the world sees.

(via angelpaths.com and Alan Blackman)

The Weekend University Get early access to our latest psychology lectures: http://bit.ly/new-talks5 It’s been noted that the human experience of life has changed over time, and that during an “axial age”, in the middle of the first millennium BCE, a consciousness that is akin to our own first began to emerge. It’s why, in the west, we feel that philosophy began with figures like Socrates who lived then. So what are the features of this consciousness, what preceded it, and how has it evolved in the centuries since, particularly in the modern period during which it may have been shifting again? This lecture will explore how the human experience has changed over time, and how this can account for the birth of philosophy, as we tend to think of it, and the emergence of psychotherapy in the 20th century. Dr Mark Vernon is a writer, broadcaster, psychotherapist and former Anglican priest, with an interest in Ancient Philosophy. His work focuses on the skills and insights that illuminate our inner lives. He contributes regularly to programmes on the BBC, comments and reviews for the national press, as well as giving talks and leading workshops. Dr Vernon has degrees in physics and theology, and a PhD in Ancient Greek philosophy. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the School of Life, and works as a psychotherapist in private practice and at the Maudsley hospital. Links: Get our latest psychology lectures emailed to your inbox: http://bit.ly/new-talks5 Check out our next event: http://theweekenduniversity.com/events/ Mark’s books: https://amzn.to/2P7vL9C Mark’s website: www.markvernon.com

Conversations with Calvin: I am excited to bring to you, in October, my upcoming guest Natacha Alpert, a woman that has taken an item of everyday use and made it into an engineered art form. Here is a woman with an incredible background spanning stories from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the U.S.A.   Her strength of character, will, charm, warmth, and independence have given her a unique sense of insight and wisdom for today’s space, time, and place continuum. Natacha is a reminder that today, new ideas and opportunities are everywhere for those who have the courage to seize them! You have more than you think you have. You can do more than you think you can. Share with me how one woman took responsibility to use natural curiosity, intelligence, talents, abilities, and what some would call the ability to channel the divine to create a life of choice.   Sunday, October 31, 2021, 11:00 am Pacific Time Go to The Prosperos Sunday Meeting on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/332275676 Interesting people + Fun Conversation + Important Insights