New Thinking • Nov 29, 2024 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. Saul-Paul Sirag reviews the history of our understanding of higher dimensions, from early ideas of the “fourth dimension” to the early 20th century dimensional theory that proved to be successful in unifying electromagnetism and gravity. This search for unification has lead to continued exploration of higher dimensional space. Saul-Paul Sirag is a theoretical physicist who has developed a model utilizing hyperspace to unify Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics. His essay on “Hyperspace and Consciousness” is an appendix to the second edition of Jeffrey Mishlove’s book, The Roots of Consciousness. 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.

(creativefabrica.com)

Robinson Erhardt • Nov 3, 2024 • Full Episodes Judith Butler is Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School and formerly the Maxine Elliot Chair in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley. In this episode, Robinson and Judith discuss three broad topics. First, they talk about Judith’s latest book, Who’s Afraid of Gender? (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024). In particular, they touch on the dynamics of sex and gender, as well as their political dimensions. Second, the conversation turns to the 2024 presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Finally, they broach the topic of Israel and Palestine, with particular attention to the questions of genocide and anti-semitism. Who’s Afraid of Gender?: https://a.co/d/beDcQ1S OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Judith’s Introduction to Philosophy and Gender Studies 11:00 Who’s Afraid of Gender? 22:11 On Trans and Intersex Olympics Controversies 26:09 Is the Man/Woman Binary a Fantasy? 35:17 Are Putin and Orban Transphobic? 41:49 How to Change One’s Gender 47:25 Language and Gender 52:16 On Psychoanalysis 58:49 On Gender Issues and the 2024 Election 1:04:30 On Trump 2024 1:06:14 On Harris 2024 1:10:39 Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism? 1:18:51 Is Gaza a Concentration Camp? 1:20:49 How Will the War in Israel and Palestine End? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, historians, economists, and everyone in-between.

100 Notable Books of 2024

Here is the standout fiction and nonfiction of the year, selected by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

As you browse, you can keep track of how many you’ve read or want to read. By the time you reach No. 100, you’ll have a personalized reading list to share. (Want to be among the first to see our 10 Best Books? Sign up to receive our newsletter.)

Fiction

SEXY PERIMENOPAUSE FICTION

ALL FOURS by Miranda July

The unnamed heroine of July’s gaspingly explicit comic novel plans a cross-country road trip, only to stop 30 minutes from home. There she lavishly redecorates a motel room and begins an odd but passionate affair with a younger man who works at a rental-car agency.

For fans of “Big Swiss” by Jen BeaginI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

SPECULATIVE FICTION

BEAUTYLAND by Marie-Helene Bertino

In 1970s Philadelphia, an alien girl sent to Earth before she’s born communicates with her fellow life-forms via fax as she helps gather intel about whether our planet is habitable. This funny-sad novel follows the girl and her single mother as they find the means to persevere.

For fans of “The Book of Strange New Things” by Michel Faber and “Contact” by Carl SaganI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

NOIR

BLACK RIVER by Nilanjana Roy

This brilliant, brutal and utterly affecting novel, about the murder of an 8-year-old child in rural India, uses the trappings of the mystery to examine deeper ills in the entire country.

For fans of “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” by Shehan KarunatilakaI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

POETRY

BLUFF by Danez Smith

Smith’s poetry balances a delight in the possibilities of language with an innate skepticism about its use in the world; here is a poet who nurses the tension between art and action and exhorts readers to acknowledge injustice while appreciating the chaotic nature of human existence.

For fans of “American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin” by Terrance Hayes and “Ordinary Beast” by Nicole SealeyI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

FANTASY EPIC

THE BOOK OF LOVE by Kelly Link

After three teenagers are brought back from the dead, the magic-wielding band teacher who revived them gives them a series of tasks to stay alive. This is the first novel from a master of the short story, and it pushes our understanding of what fantasy can be.

For fans of “Ninth House” by Leigh Bardugo and “Neverworld Wake” by Marisha PesslI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

ARTHURIAN FANTASY

THE BRIGHT SWORD by Lev Grossman

Grossman, who is best known for his Magicians series, is at the top of his game with this take on the myth of King Arthur, which resoundingly earns its place among the best of Arthurian tales. The novel follows a knight who helps lead a ragtag band to rebuild Camelot in the wake of the king’s death.

For fans of “Wolf Hall” by Hilary MantelI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

THE COIN by Yasmin Zaher

The narrator of this smart and sneering novel of capital and its consequences is an unnamed Palestinian schoolteacher in New York City who becomes involved in a scheme to buy Hermès Birkin bags and scalp them to “trashy and unworthy” buyers. In a spiraling, hallucinogenic plot, the narrator seesaws between jaded American consumerism and the sadness and guilt of displacement.

For fans of “The Guest” by Emma Cline and “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa MoshfeghI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

MIXED-RACE DRAMEDY

COLORED TELEVISION by Danzy Senna

The eternal conflict between making art and selling out gets a fresh take in Senna’s funny, foxy and fleet new novel about a struggling mixed-race couple — she’s a writer, he’s a painter — in Los Angeles. The jokes are good, the punches land, and the dialogue is tart: You often feel you’re listening in on a three-bottles-into-it dinner party.

For fans of “Erasure” by Percival Everett and “All Fours” by Miranda JulyI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION WITH A SOUPÇON OF SPY

CREATION LAKE by Rachel Kushner

An American agent infiltrates a commune of French environmentalists in Kushner’s philosophical rendition of the spy novel, which blends pointed comic observation with earnestness in vinaigrette harmony. You know from this book’s opening paragraphs that you’re in the hands of a major writer, one with a gift for almost effortless intellectual penetration.

For fans of “Birnam Wood” by Eleanor Catton and “Already Dead” by Denis JohnsonI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

SPECULATIVE FICTION

DEAD IN LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA by Venita Blackburn

Blackburn’s first novel (after two inventive short story collections) is an experimental and disarmingly funny look at death and loss. Narrated by dystopian artificial intelligence machines, the story follows a woman who impersonates her brother by texting from his phone after his suicide.

For fans of “Death Valley” by Melissa Broder and “The Fifth Season” by N.K. JemisinI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

HISTORICAL FICTION

THE EMPUSIUM by Olga Tokarczuk

In 1913, at a health resort in what is now Poland, a shy and sickly student discovers a terrible secret: Every year around the first full moon in November, a man, sometimes two, is torn to pieces in the nearby forest. This novel by the 2018 Nobel laureate, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, pits nature against the state and the social world, with a particular emphasis on gender.

For fans of “When We Cease to Understand the World” by Benjamín Labatut and “Trust” by Hernan DiazI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

HISTORICAL FANTASY

THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo

A lowly servant girl in 16th-century Spain has a secret: There’s magic in her fingertips, perhaps the kind that anxious kings and other assorted schemers would kill for. The best-selling fantasist Bardugo infuses this new standalone novel with both rich historical detail and a heady sense of place and romance.

For fans of “Spinning Silver” by Naomi Novik and “Shadow of Night” by Deborah HarknessI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

POETRY

A FILM IN WHICH I PLAY EVERYONE by Mary Jo Bang

The poems in Bang’s latest collection, her ninth, are full of pleasure, color, sound and light — but also torment.

For fans of “The Captain Asks for a Show of Hands” by Nick Flynn and “Exit Opera” by Kim AddonizioI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

POETRY

FOREST OF NOISE by Mosab Abu Toha

Written in the months since Israel’s invasion of Gaza, these poems conjure memories of orange trees, lost family and brutal airstrikes with palpable grief and uncertainty. “Even our souls,” writes Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet, “get stuck under the rubble.”

For fans of “The Country Between Us” by Carolyn ForchéI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

SUMMER ROM-COM

FUNNY STORY by Emily Henry

In this heartfelt and humorous romp, a librarian and a bartender move in together after their respective partners leave them for each other. Though they’re polar opposites — she’s introspective and insecure; he’s gregarious but emotionally guarded — they have an immediate connection. This book pulls out all of Henry’s signature stops: sparkling banter, thoughtfully rendered family trauma and a charming community of side characters.

For fans of “Georgie All Along” by Kate Clayborn and “Party of Two” by Jasmine GuilloryI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

HORROR

GHOSTROOTS by ’Pemi Aguda

These stories, set in an alternate version of Lagos, Nigeria, in which supernatural phenomena make the impossible commonplace, unflinchingly explore complicated human emotions. Wildly inventive and odd, but written with surgeonlike precision, they herald the arrival of a major voice in speculative fiction.

For fans of “Magic for Beginners” by Kelly LinkI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

THRILLER

THE GOD OF THE WOODS by Liz Moore

A pair of missing siblings at an Adirondack summer camp spark a reckoning about the powerful, wealthy and possibly wicked family whose house — and presence — loom over the lakeside idyll.

For fans of “The Fever” by Megan Abbott and “Saint X” by Alexis SchaitkinI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

GODWIN by Joseph O’Neill

This globe-trotting novel by the author of “Netherland” chronicles the quest of a man named Mark Wolfe to find a mysterious soccer prodigy in West Africa and the unraveling of his workplace back in Pittsburgh. Mark shares narratorial duties with his colleague Lakesha Williams; their stories build into a study of greed and ambition that our critic called “populous, lively and intellectually challenging.”

For fans of “The Darling” by Russell BanksI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

ROMANTIC COMEDY

GOOD MATERIAL by Dolly Alderton

Alderton’s novel, about a 35-year-old struggling to make sense of a breakup, delivers the most delightful aspects of romantic comedy — snappy dialogue, realistic relationship dynamics, funny meet-cutes and misunderstandings — and leaves behind clichéd gender roles and the traditional marriage plot.

For fans of “Romantic Comedy” by Curtis Sittenfeld and “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie GarmusI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

POLITICAL FICTION

GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Vinson Cunningham

In this impressive first novel, a Black campaign aide coolly observes as aspiring power players angle to connect with a candidate who more than resembles Barack Obama.

For fans of “Primary Colors” by AnonymousI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

PUNCHY DEBUT

HEADSHOT by Rita Bullwinkel

Set at a young women’s boxing tournament in Reno, Nev., this novel centers on eight contestants, and the fights — physical and emotional — they bring to the ring. As our critic wrote, this story’s impact “lasts a long time, like a sharp fist to your shoulder.”

For fans of “Chain-Gang All-Stars” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and “The Swimmers” by Julie OtsukaI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

https://fe035642f90a3340270fa39eb14c2702.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

THRILLER

THE HUNTER by Tana French

French’s moody, mesmerizing thriller — a sequel of sorts to “The Searcher” — paints a rich portrait of a rural community in western Ireland roiling with “unseen things,” where a Chicago cop has decided to retire.

For fans of “Case Histories” by Kate AtkinsonI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

SAD IRISH MILLENIAL FICTION

INTERMEZZO by Sally Rooney

Rooney’s latest novel is about brothers, a successful barrister and a competitive chess player, who are mourning the death of their father and navigating the lingering bitterness between them. But its primary subject, as in all of Rooney’s work, is love in its various permutations, the minutiae of falling in and out of it.

For fans of “The Idiot” by Elif Batuman and “Kairos” by Jenny ErpenbeckI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

REIMAGINED CLASSIC

JAMES by Percival Everett

In this reworking of the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Jim, the enslaved man who accompanies Huck down the Mississippi River, is the narrator, and he recounts the classic tale in a language that is his own, with surprising details that reveal a far more resourceful, cunning and powerful character than we knew.

For fans of “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver and “The Fraud” by Zadie SmithI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

POETRY

JOY IN SERVICE ON RUE TAGORE by Paul Muldoon

Muldoon’s latest poetry collection continues his longtime trick of marshaling obscure references into fluent, fun and rollicking lyrics that lull you in with their musicality, then punch you in the gut with their full force once you decipher their meanings.

For fans of “The Rain in Portugal” by Billy Collins and “House of Lords and Commons” by Ishion HutchinsonI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

FAMILY SAGA

LONG ISLAND COMPROMISE by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Based on a true story, this novel follows a dysfunctional suburban family decades after the father, a prominent businessman, is kidnapped from his driveway. His adult children lay out the ways they are screwed up by latent trauma, their father’s repression and the wealth that insulates them.

For fans of “The Bee Sting” by Paul Murray and “White Teeth” by Zadie SmithI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

UNCATEGORIZABLE

MARTYR! by Kaveh Akbar

A young Iranian American aspiring poet and recovering addict grieves his parents’ deaths while fantasizing about his own in Akbar’s remarkable first novel, which, haunted by death, also teems with life — in the inventive beauty of its sentences, the vividness of its characters and the surprising twists of its plot.

For fans of “The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga and “Empty Hearts” by Juli ZehI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

THE MIGHTY RED by Louise Erdrich

A love triangle is at the heart of this novel, which is set against the backdrop of a North Dakota beet farm during the economic meltdown of 2008-9. It’s as much about the financial crash and environmental destruction as it is about the people most impacted by these devastations.

For fans of “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth StroutI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

POETRY

MODERN POETRY by Diane Seuss

The grandiose title is tongue in cheek — mostly. These witty, sexy, sometimes heartbreakingly personal lyrics demonstrate how ordinary life can be the stuff of poetry, and also, thrillingly, how poetry can be a vital part of modern life.

For fans of “Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry” by John Murillo and “Context Collapse” by Ryan RubyI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

GRAPHIC NOVEL

MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS, BOOK 2 by Emil Ferris

If you read Ferris’s original 2017 graphic novel, you can’t forget it: a beguiling, haunted hybrid of personal memoir, murder mystery and 20th-century time portal. This surreal and densely referential follow-up, drawn in Ferris’s signature cross-hatched style, continues to follow 10-year-old Karen Reyes in circa-1968 Chicago as she wrestles with loss, sexual identity and a host of secrets.

For fans of “Feeding Ghosts” by Tessa HullsI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS by Janice Hallett

A modern take on the epistolary novel, this riveting mystery lets readers sift through texts, emails and WhatsApp messages alongside a true-crime journalist in an effort to discover the real story behind a series of occult deaths.

For fans of “Magpie Murders” by Anthony HorowitzI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

https://fe035642f90a3340270fa39eb14c2702.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

LITERARY FICTION

NEIGHBORS AND OTHER STORIES by Diane Oliver

This deceptively powerful posthumous collection by a writer who died at 22 follows the everyday routines of Black families as they negotiate separate but equal Jim Crow strictures, only to discover uglier truths.

For fans of “Slapboxing With Jesus” by Victor LaValle and “Drown” by Junot DíazI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

OUR EVENINGS by Alan Hollinghurst

Hollinghurst’s latest brings readers deep into the trials and tribulations of Dave Win, an English Burmese actor confronting confusing relationships, his emerging sexuality, racism and England’s changing political climate over the course of his life, all tied together by Hollinghurst’s keen eye and affecting prose.

For fans of “NW” by Zadie SmithI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

GOURMET EUROTRIP ROMANCE

THE PAIRING by Casey McQuiston

In the latest queer romance from the author of “Red, White & Royal Blue,” Theo and Kit, two exes who haven’t seen each other since their disastrous breakup four years ago, find themselves on the same European food tour. The book is a sexy, sensory feast, weaving together luscious descriptions of petal-pink pastries, salted Negronis and lavender-strewn countrysides amid the inferno of their rekindled passion.

For fans of “The Day of the Duchess” by Sarah MacLean and “Yerba Buena” by Nina LaCourI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

PIGLET by Lottie Hazell

Two weeks before her wedding, a cookbook editor at a London publishing house discovers that her fiancé is cheating on her. Determined to meet her family’s ridiculously high expectations, and hungry (in every sense of the word) for perfection, she forges ahead with plans for the wedding of everyone else’s dreams.

For fans of “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” by Aimee Bender and “Nightbitch” by Rachel YoderI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

SCIENCE FICTION

THE PRACTICE, THE HORIZON AND THE CHAIN by Sofia Samatar

Written with sly and slicing grace, this far-future fable is set on spaceships stratified into rigid social hierarchies. A professor plucks a boy from the lowest level, called the Hold, to be equal parts educated by and exhibited to the faculty and other students. But what the boy and professor learn from each other changes them both, and could transform their worlds.

For fans of “The Saint of Bright Doors” by Vajra ChandrasekeraI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

DOWN UNDER FEVER DREAM

PRAISEWORTHY by Alexis Wright

This bracing satire of clashing worldviews in Australia begins with a toxic haze settling over an Aboriginal town, where one resident believes he can fight climate change by replacing conventional transport with hordes of donkeys. The novel only gets stranger and funnier from there.

For fans of “Safe Haven” by Shankari ChandranI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

SCIENCE FICTION

RAKESFALL by Vajra Chandrasekera

A book in 10 parts, “Rakesfall” shifts wildly in structure and narration. Uniting all the threads is a kind of oscillating theme: Souls return over time, sometimes as two people, sometimes four or more, engaged with each other over the thorny question of how to endure fascism and kill kings.

For fans of “This Is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max GladstoneI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

REBOOT by Justin Taylor

This satire of modern media and pop culture follows a former child actor who is trying to revive the TV show that made him famous. Taylor delves into the worlds of online fandom while exploring the inner life of a man seeking redemption — and something meaningful to do.

For fans of “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess WalterI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

NSFW STORIES

REJECTION by Tony Tulathimutte

This collection of linked stories tracks the losers in the great American popularity contest: shoe gazers who are mostly short and unattractive, and cut from the herd. Tulathimutte is writing about alienation and skin starvation, a longing for the nonexistent touches of friends and the embraces of lovers.

For fans of “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis and “Homesick for Another World” by Ottessa MoshfeghI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

THE SAFEKEEP by Yael van der Wouden

In this taut, remarkable novel set in 1960s Amsterdam, Isabel clings to her childhood home after the death of her mother, fixating on a broken china plate. When her brother brings his girlfriend into the house, Isabel is rude to the point of cruelty — until the novel’s psychological drama gives way to a love story of such intensity that it is easy to forget about the broken china.

For fans of “Eastbound” by Maylis de Kerangal and “We Do What We Do in the Dark” by Michelle HartI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

PUBLISHING WORLD THRILLER

THE SEQUEL by Jean Hanff Korelitz

This delicious follow-up to “The Plot” finds Anna Williams-Bonner basking in literary acclaim (and moola from her husband’s estate) — until pesky excerpts from a manuscript resurface and put questions of authorship, and the publishing world’s values, under the microscope.

For fans of “Palace of the Drowned” by Christine Mangan and “Last Resort” by Andrew LipsteinI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

SHRED SISTERS by Betsy Lerner

This coming-of-age novel, overcast with the inconstant cloud of mental illness, maps the effect of a daughter’s volatility on her parents and younger sister — and probes what exactly it means for love to be unconditional.

For fans of “My Sister, the Serial Killer” by Oyinkan Braithwaite and “The Most Fun We Ever Had” by Claire LombardoI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

LITERARY FICTION

THE SILENCE OF THE CHOIR by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

Seventy-two migrants settle in a small Sicilian town in this polyphonic novel, translated into English by Alison Anderson. Sarr — who won the Prix Goncourt, France’s most prestigious literary prize, in 2021 — not only follows the newcomers, but also considers the inner lives of the villagers, whose reactions vary considerably.

For fans of “The Wrong End of the Telescope” by Rabih Alameddine and “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine EvaristoI’ve read itI want to read itBUY BOOK ▾

THRILLER

Continue reading 100 Notable Books of 2024 from the New York Times →

Along with telling Steiner’s story and placing Steiner in his historical context, Lachman’s book presents Steiner’s key ideas in a readable, accessible manner. In particular, Lachman considers the spread of Steiner’s most popular projects, which include Waldorf schools-one of the leading forms of alternative education-and Biodynamic farming-a popular precursor to organic farming. He also traces Steiner’s beginnings as a young intellectual in the ferment of fin de siécle culture, to his rise as a thought leader within the influential occult movement of Theosophy, to the founding of his own metaphysical teaching called Anthroposophy.

---

Jorge N. Ferrer’s groundbreaking work on participatory spirituality holds that human beings are active cocreators of spiritual phenomena, worlds, and even ultimates. Ferrer discusses the relationship between science and transpersonal psychology, the nature of a fully embodied spirituality, and the features of integral spiritual practice. Ferrer concludes with an original solution to the problem of religious pluralism that affirms the ontological richness of religious worlds while avoiding the extremes of perennialism and contextualism, offering a hopeful vision for the future of world religion.

---

What if Socrates and Jesus met in the afterworld? What would they have to say to each other? What ideas would they explore? In this work you can journey along in just such a dialogue. Socrates and Jesus share their wisdom, how each saw his destiny on earth, and their views on how each met his death. Since neither of them left writings of his own, they question each other and explore the various interpretations of their lives and teachings that arose among their followers after they died.

---

For more than 20 years the CIA studied psychic abilities for use in their top-secret spy program. With previously classified details about ESP now finally coming to light, there can be no more secrets. The fascinating documentary produced by Russell Targ and filmmaker Lance Mungia is available for purchase or rent.

Five years after a fire devastated the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, the world got a first glimpse inside the historic French landmark as President Emmanuel Macron conducted a tour of the restored monument Friday. Notre-Dame, which lost its famed spire in the flames, is set to reopen on December 7.

Issued on: 29/11/2024

By: NEWS WIRES

France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre Dame cathedral, just over a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire.

President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019.

While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor.

The floor shimmers and the freshly-cleaned walls dazzle, while a subtle combination of natural and artificial light creates a near theatrical impression.

“You have achieved what was thought impossible,” Macron told restoration workers and officials who packed Notre Dame, after he toured the cathedral.

“The blaze at Notre Dame was a national wound, and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment,” he said, adding the cathedral’s re-opening will be a “shock of hope”.

Notre Dame will welcome visitors and worshippers again over the December 7-8 weekend, after a sometimes challenging restoration.

World leaders are expected to attend but the guest list has yet to be revealed.

Macron toured the key areas of the cathedral, including the nave, choir and chapel, and spoke to experts.

“Sublime,” said a visibly pleased Macron, who was accompanied by the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, plus France’s culture minister, the mayor of Paris and other officials.

“It is much more welcoming,” he added, praising Notre Dame’s pale-coloured stones and saying everyone involved in the reconstruction should “be proud”.

‘Insane challenge’

 After the devastating fire Macron set the ambitious goal to rebuild Notre Dame within five years and make it “even more beautiful” than before, a target that the French authorities say has been met.

The “building site of the century” was a “challenge that many considered insane”, Macron has said.

Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were brought in for restoration work costing hundreds of millions of euros.

All 2,000 people who contributed to the effort had been invited to Friday’s event.

The restoration cost a total of nearly 700 million euros (more than $750 million at today’s rate).

It was financed from the 846 million euros in donations that poured in from 150 countries in a surge of solidarity.

The 19th-century gothic spire, which collapsed dramatically in the blaze, has been resurrected with an exact copy of the original.

The stained windows have regained their colour, the walls shining after fire stains were cleaned and a restored organ is ready to thunder out again.

Unseen to visitors is a new mechanism to protect against future fires, a discreet system of pipes ready to release water in case of a new disaster.

Notre Dame, which welcomed 12 million visitors in 2017, expects to receive an even higher figure of 14 to 15 million after the reopening, according to the church authorities.

French ministers have also floated the idea of charging tourists an entrance fee to the site but the Paris diocese has said free admission was an important principle to maintain.

Reopening ceremony

Macron had hoped to speak inside Notre Dame to mark the reopening on December 7 but after negotiations with the diocese, he is now set to speak in the forecourt only.

France is by its constitution a secular country with a strict division between church and state.

Sunday December 8 will see the first mass and consecration of the new altar.

Macron said in December 2023 he had invited Pope Francis to the reopening of the cathedral but the head of the Catholic church announced in September, to the surprise of some observers, that he would not be coming.

Instead, the pontiff is making a landmark visit the following weekend to the French island of Corsica.

The French Catholic church has in recent years been rocked by a succession of sexual abuse allegations against clerics, including most recently the monk known as Abbe Pierre who became a household name for providing aid to the destitute.

Over five years on, the investigation into what caused the fire is ongoing, with initial findings pointing to an accidental cause such as a short circuit, a welder’s torch or a cigarette.

(AFP)

Sunday Meeting DECEMBER 1st

MEMORIAL FOR SUZANNE DEAKINS One of our beloved Mentors who was involved with The Prosperos for many decades transitioned/passed away Thursday, November 21st. Please join us for a memorial service for her this coming Sunday and share in stories and reflections about her that you may have.  Click here for further information  SUNDAY MEETING December 1, 2024 11:00 am Pacific/Noon Mountain/1:00 Central/2:00 Eastern Join Sunday Meeting  Meeting ID: 332275676 Find your local number:  https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdTAYZq0XQ

The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey

Bernadette Roberts

“One of the most significant spiritual books of our day. One of the best books on this subject since St. John of the Cross. An amazing book, it clarifies the higher regions of the spiritual path.” — Father Thomas Keating

Within the traditional framework, the Christian notion of loss-of-self is generally regarded as the transformation or loss of the ego (lower self) as it attains to the higher or true self in its union with God. Thus, because self at its deepest center is a run-on with the divine, I had never found any true self apart from God, for to find the One is to find the other.

Because this was the limit of my expectations, I was all the more surprised and bewildered when many years later I came upon a permanent state in which there was no self, no higher self, true self, or anything that could be called a self. Clearly, I had fallen outside my own, as well as the traditional frame of reference, when I came upon a path that seemed to begin where the writers on the contemplative life had left off. But with the clear certitude of the self’s disappearance, there automatically arose the question of what had fallen away–what was the self? What, exactly, had it been? Then too, there was the all-important what remained in its absence? This journey was the gradual revelation of the answers to these questions, answers that had to be derived solely from personal experience since no outside explanation was forthcoming.

“I must re-emphasize that the following experiences do not belong to the first contemplative movement or the soul’s establishment in a state of union with God. I have written elsewhere of this first journey and feel that enough has been said of it already, since this movement is inevitably the exclusive concern of contemplative writers. Thus it is only where these writers leave off that I propose to begin. Here now, begins the journey beyond union, beyond self and God, a journey into the silent and still regions of the Unknown.” — Bernadette Roberts, from the Introduction

(Goodreads.com)

Funny Or Die • Jul 5, 2017 What would the miracles of Jesus have been like if he dispensed them with the same criteria as the current healthcare bill?

The Queen of Disks A day ruled by the Queen of Disks is one where we need to turn our attention to the practical roots of our security and sense of domestic contentment. This Queen provides us with a stable foundation from which to move forth into the often turbulent forces of life.When we feel safe, and at peace; when we know our home for a haven; when we have a place to rest and regenerate, we function much better as human beings. We are more tolerant, less fearful, more compassionate, less grasping.So on one of these days, we must make a point of doing something to love ourselves in our home environment, and also something to make that environment more welcoming, more attuned to our own sense of peacefulness.We can do this in many different ways. For ourselves, we can take half an hour or an hour out to do the things which make us feel at peace. We could do some work in the garden, or take a long relaxing bath, or cook ourselves something special to eat, or listen to music with a whole head, or whatever else makes us feel gentle and timeless and happy.For our homes, we can buy something that makes things more comfortable, or we can re-arrange something so it’s more pleasing, or we can clean out that cupboard that has been gathering cobwebs for ages.The key here is to spend time and energy both on yourself, and your home – and to do both of these things with the intent to harmonise more thoroughly, to feel more rested and centred, to make more of a haven than we already have.Remember – our intentions, when coupled with actions, have a powerful influence on our environment. They create new streams of energy which will manifest. And since the Queen of Disks is about the home and family, and about our view of ourselves in that environment, on her day we must nourish those things in order to put them in their rightful place in life.In creating a happy environment on the physical level, we become empowered to create a happy environment within ourselves, too. And that’s a very nourishing experience. Affirmation: “My heart’s haven surrounds me always”

(Angelpaths.com)