“All know that the drop merges into the ocean but few know that the ocean merges into the drop.” Kabir (1440-1518) Indian Poet

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

Art by Valerie Tsenov

(Courtesy of Rob Brezsny)

The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Max Planck in 1919 “in recognition of the services he rendered to the advancement of Physics by his discovery of energy quanta.” 

(Contributed by Ben Gilberti, H.W., M.)

How To Academy Mindset Oct 28, 2022 Illness and trauma are defining how we live. 45% of Europeans suffer high blood pressure, and nearly 70% of Americans take at least one prescription drug. We tend to believe that normality equals health. Yet what is the norm in the Western world? Joining us live on stage in London, the renowned physician, addiction expert and author Gabor Maté dissects the underlying causes of this malaise – physical and emotional, and connects the dots between our personal suffering and the pressures of modern-day living. Over four decades of clinical experience, Dr Gabor Maté has found that the common definition of ‘normal’ is false: virtually all disease is actually a natural reflection of life in an abnormal culture, as we grow further and further apart from our true selves. Filled with stories of people in the grip of illness or in the triumphant wake of recovery, this life-affirming talk from the beloved physician and author will show how true health is possible – if we are willing to embrace authenticity above social expectations. Gabor Maté is a retired physician, bestselling author and renowned speaker, highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, stress and childhood development. He has written four bestselling books published in nearly thirty languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. He has been awarded the Order of Canada (his country’s equivalent of the MBE) and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver, for his ground-breaking medical work and writing.

The Queen of Cups

If the Queen of Cups appears in a reading to indicate a woman, she will be a gentle and tranquil woman, romantic by nature, generous with her tenderness. She will be something of a day-dreamer – perhaps a bit unrealistic, but creative and hopeful.

She is often involved in creative or literary pursuits, and enjoys art, good music, literature and things of beauty. She is unstinting in her readiness to nurture others, sometimes to her own detriment. She’s often connected with motherhood, and mothering.

She is often intuitive, and psychic. Her foremost ability in this area is a talent for simply absorbing energies around her and reflecting them back, unchanged. In this aspect she can often be a revealer for those around her.

If she is badly aspected, however, another aspect of her personality shows through. The gentleness and tranquillity convert to weakness and unspoken resentment. She nurtures for the sake of inducing dependancy, and places undue importance on being in a relationship, no matter what its quality. She will believe herself unable to stand alone.

Her reflective quality backfires so that she begins to take on the attitudes and thoughts of others. When this happens she begins to show signs of feeling victimised. She might present to the world with a poor-little-me attitude.

When the card comes up to indicate a change in some-one’s response, we see the woman in love – entering into the deepest and most emotional realms of her personality, and returning refreshed and invigorated.

Sometimes the card will come up to indicate a woman acting as priestess of the Goddess.

(via angelpaths.co and Alan Blackman)

New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Sep 2, 2015 Christian de Quincey, PhD, is dean of consciousness studies at the University of Philosophical Research. He is a faculty member at John F. Kennedy University and Sophia University. He is founder and director of the Wisdom Academy. He is author of Radical Nature: The Soul of Matter, Radical Knowing: Understanding Consciousness Through Relationship, Consciousness From Zombies to Angels: The Shadow and the Light of Knowing Who You Are, Deep Spirit: Cracking the Noetic Code, and Blindspots: 21 Good Reasons to Think Before You Talk. Here he discusses the concept of synchronicity as popularized by the great Swiss psychiatrist, Carl G. Jung. Several classical Jungian examples of synchronicity are presented. He makes a point of stressing the non-causal aspect of synchronistic events, pointing out that they are connected in time – but not necessarily in space. He discusses synchronistic events in the context of a panpsychist view of reality – the idea that consciousness pervades all levels of the physical universe. The conversation also looks at apophenia, the potentially pathological tendency to project meaning into events that are purely random. 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). His master’s degree is in criminology. He serves as dean of transformational psychology at the University of Philosophical Research. He teaches parapsychology for ministers in training with the Centers for Spiritual Living through the Holmes Institute. He has served as vice-president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, and is the recipient of its Pathfinder Award for outstanding contributions to the field of human consciousness. He is also past-president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people are encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities. His American Indian name, chosen at age eight, is Soaring Eagle. (Recorded on August 23, 2015)

New Thinking Allo • Nov 1, 2022 James P. Driscoll is, perhaps, the foremost interpreter of renaissance literature from a Jungian perspective. He is author of Identity in Shakespearean Drama, The Unfolding God of Jung and Milton, Shakespeare and Jung: The God in Time, Shakespeare’s Identities, Jung’s Cartography of the Psyche, and Carl vs Karl: Jung and Marx, Two Icons for Our Age. Here he notes that Jung and Marx are iconic figures because they embody two significant and opposing trends in western culture. Marx focused almost exclusively on the problem of a just society, and almost totally ignored individual wholeness and psychic growth. Jung focused entirely on the process of personal individuation, and paid almost no attention to problems of social justice. Both men rebelled against conventional religion, however their rebellions took them in different directions. In Marxist thought, the party becomes a substitute for the church. In Jungian thought, depth psychology is often used as a substitute for religion. 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. (Recorded on October 18, 2022)

Ronnie Pontiac

Oct 30, 2022 (ronniepontiac.medium.com)

Friends, we have before us a relatively quiet week but it began with Mars stationary retrograde today just before 6:30 AM. The station occurred square Neptune. This can be a confused and frustrating aspect, exhausted, even to the point of illness. Compassionate actions are favored but choosing appropriately may require quiet reflection. The drive for intoxication can be very strong with this aspect, especially with Halloween arriving, but be careful. Confusion can lead to anger and this aspect is notorious for indicating pandemic spread or other aggressive collective health issues like stampedes. So be careful out there.

On Halloween only lunar aspects are exact. If it weren’t for the Mars station this suggests a quiet sociable holiday with the moon in Aquarius. The approaching Venus inconjunct Chiron can indicate health problems associated with romance, enjoying a concert or art gallery, and other pleasures of Venus. Venus square Saturn looms not faraway. The cause or causes of the likely winter surge will be out there and we may hear more about them later in the week when the Mercury inconjunction is exact. Emily Dickinson wrote, “One need not be a chamber to be haunted; One need not be a house….”

Tue Nov 1 only lunar aspects are exact. Joseph Conrad wrote, “There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery.”

Wed Nov 2 Venus inconjunct Chiron makes this a week for paying attention to well being. Taurus and Libra people may not want to, but devoting a little extra attention to health could have good benefits. That means eat better. Get rest. No matter how stressful your environment take the time to laugh and to love. Cherish your friends and show them appreciation, whether they be two legged or four legged, finned, feathered, or scaled, animate or not. For artists and musicians healing qualities can infuse your work if you are open to inspiration. Love can lead to healing. Betty of The Unobstructed Universe fame says that appreciation is one of the strongest forces in our world. All the small moments of appreciation counterbalance the tragedies that fill the news. In this time of division and conflict love is needed more than ever.

Thu Nov 3 and Fri Nov 4 only lunar aspects are exact. Contemplate Cicero’s assertion, “Peace is liberty in tranquility.”

Sat Nov 5 sun inconjunct Chiron about two hours after midnight echos Wednesday’s Venus inconjunct Chiron. For all of us this is a week when healthy choices will be important. Mid-afternoon Venus opposition Uranus is exact. This can bring surprises good or bad in the areas of art, romance, finance. Women may be more sensitive to opposition, especially where matters of freedom are concerned, so take care when communicating with loved ones. Leave room for spontaneity and try new things but with that inconjunction to Chiron avoid unnecessary risks.

Sun Nov 5 Mercury inconjunct Chiron may bring us news from the other Chiron inconjunctions earlier this week. A winter surge of the flu is already here and will no doubt be compounded during Halloween. New strains of Covid are out there, too. We typically here about surges after they’ve done significant damage so take care. In our own lives this is an important time to pay attention to the subtle messages our bodies send us. If you notice that something you do has a bad effect minimize it, or take countermeasures, or a break. About a half an hour after midnight Venus square Saturn is exact. Good for editing creative work, in relationships it requires patience, loyalty and respect for boundaries. Women will be feeling nervous thanks to the Uranus aspects but also concerned and perhaps pessimistic on the eve of the midterm election. Show support.

What about election day you ask? A lunar eclipse conjunct Uranus at 16 degrees Taurus, opposing the Sun, Mercury and Venus, while squaring Saturn. Mercury opposition Uranus exact. Venus square Saturn still strong. Venus trine Neptune Nov 10. The nearly exact final Saturn square Uranus will be emphasized. Expect confusion, surprises, disruptions, false claims of victory, and hurt and angry feelings on both sides. That Venus square Saturn seems ominous when it comes to the rights of women, but on the other hand could indicate that they draw a line by voting in unprecedented numbers. Lunar eclipses can indicate endings, could this mean the end of progressive politics as we’ve known with an eclipse conjunct Uranus? Even if that happens it means a new beginning and a new approach to politics for those who don’t want religious views imposed on them.

That Venus Neptune trine might indicate good news as races that will require longer than a day to call are resolved. The following week a grand trine between the moon in Cancer, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Neptune and Jupiter while the moon also T-squares Saturn and Uranus. The T square could indicate a crucial moment in the battle between old and young, right and left, etc. triggered by the moon and its eclipse. It could mean that women tilt that conflict to the Uranus side. It’s inevitable that Uranus wins this battle. Just as Saturn serves to restrict the excesses of Jupiter, Uranus liberates what Saturn has disempowered. That grand trine could indicate widespread understanding that women, and perhaps the young, have arrived as never before in American politics. But it could go either way. Remember this is only the second of the most important four elections occurring during America’s Pluto return. Whatever the results, this battle over the soul of the nation is far from over. As Eliphas Levi wrote, “Judge not; speak hardly at all; love and act.”

We can expect all kinds of hostility and anxiety around the election, and when many people are apprehensive it causes a sort of collective atmosphere that can be hard to resist. Our own troubles may be magnified. A good time to talk about Vajrakilaya. This wrathful deity summons from all directions demons to be slain. He is the action of all the Buddhas in all the worlds. He knows that the fate of the demons is to become enlightened. Though they don’t know it they long for it more than they long for power or revenge. So he summons them and they are irresistibly drawn.

Vajrakilaya looks like a monster to them, his glowing eyes and nimbus of flames terrify them. In his six hands he carries the weapons they fear most. He roars the lion roar of enlightenment. The roars of lions can shake the ground, and the ground was said to shake when the Buddha became enlightened. It can be helpful to visualize yourself as Vajrakilaya and the demons as your troubles. Begin with four oms, the sound of the creation of our world. Summon your troubles to the center of your being where they can only bow before the original consciousness that is outside time. As Eliphas Levi wrote, “There is nothing more to controlling demons than to do good and fear nothing.”

More from Ronnie Pontiac

A place for my writing about spiritual mysteries, American Metaphysical Religion, astrology, and related subjects. As a kid I was mentored by Manly P. Hall.

(Contributed by Gwyllm Llwydd)

What if we could use the power of DNA to create a sustainable, circular economy? In a talk about breakthrough science, synthetic biologist Jason W. Chin describes his team’s work rewriting the genetic blueprint of cells to create a virus-resistant organism — the largest synthetic genome ever made and a first step towards reimagining what life can become. Learn more about how this advancement could lay the groundwork for the sustainable factories of the future, capable of producin…SHOW MORERead transcript

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED’s editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about how Jason W. Chin and his team at Constructive Bio are commercializing their scientific advancements.

About the speaker

Jason W. Chin

Synthetic biologist See speaker profile

Jason W. Chin pioneers methods to reprogram the genetic code of living organisms.

“The only service you can do for anyone is to remind them of their true nature.” Stephen Levine (1937-2016) American Poet and Teacher

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY