Il discorso conclusivo con il quale l’onorevole Angelina (Anna Magnani) rinuncia alla carriera politica.

The Yoruba religion, comprising the traditional religious concepts and practices of the Yoruba people, is found primarily in southwestern Nigeria and the adjoining parts of Benin, and Togo, commonly known asYorubaland. Yoruba religion is ancestral to the American religions Santería, Umbanda, and Candomblé.  Yoruba religious beliefs are part of itan, the complex cultural concepts which make up the Yoruba society.

Beliefs

Voodoo guardians of the peace under Yoruba religious belief. Zangbetotraditionally served as an informal police service to enforce the peace in rural Benin.

According to Kola Abimbola, the Yoruba have evolved a robust cosmology.  In brief, it holds that all human beings possess what is known as “Ayanmo” (destiny, fate) and are expected to eventually become one in spirit with Olodumare (Olorun, the divine creator and source of all energy). Furthermore, the thoughts and actions of each person in Ayé (the physical realm/Life) interact with all other living things, including the Earth itself.

Each person attempts to achieve transcendence and find their destiny in Orun-Rere (the spiritual realm of those who do good and beneficial things). One’s ori-inu (spiritual consciousness in the physical realm) must grow in order to consummate union with one’s “Iponri” (Ori Orun, spiritual self).

Those who stop growing spiritually, in any of their given lives, are destined for “Orun-Apadi” (the invisible realm of potsherds). Life and death are said to be cycles of existence in a series of physical bodies while one’s spirit evolves toward transcendence. This evolution is said to be most evident amongst the Orishas, the divine viziers of Olorun.

Iwapẹlẹ (or well-balanced) meditative recitation and sincere veneration is sufficient to strengthen the ori-inu of most people.  Well-balanced people, it is believed, are able to make positive use of the simplest form of connection between their Oris and the omnipotent Olu-Orun: an adura (petition or prayer) for divine support.

Prayer to one’s Ori Orun produces an immediate sensation of joy. Elegbara (Eshu, not the divine messenger but accuser of the righteous) initiates contact with spiritual realm on behalf of the petitioner, and transmits the prayer to Ayé; the deliverer of ase or the spark of life. He transmits this prayer without distorting it in any way. Thereafter, the petitioner may be satisfied with a personal answer. In the event that he or she is not, the Ifá oracle of the Orisha Orunmila may also be consulted. All communication with Orun, whether simplistic in the form of a personal prayer or complicated in the form of that done by an initiated Babalawo (priest of divination), however, is energized by invoking ase.

In the Yoruba belief system, Olodumare has ase over all that is, and hence Is considered supreme.

For more:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_religion

The statue of Laocoön and His Sons, also called the Laocoön Group, has been one of the most famous ancient sculptures ever since it was excavated in Rome in 1506 and placed on public display in the Vatican, where it remains. Wikipedia

“The universe is a complete unique entity. Everything and everyone is bound together with some invisible strings. Do not break anyone’s heart; do not look down on weaker than you. One’s sorrow at the other side of the world can make the entire world suffer; one’s happiness can make the entire world smile.”  ― Shams Tabrizi

Radio EarthRites:  http://earthrites.org/radio-earthrites/

(From Gwyllm Llwydd.)

This is a very unusual New Moon. It is called a Black Moon. This occurs rarely as it indicates two New Moons in one month, the last one was approximately 32 years ago. We more often hear the term Blue Moon which is two Full Moons in a month and seems to happen more frequently.

Traditionally, a Black Moon is extra receptive or feminine and portends a time of great awakening and clarity and often indicates a sharp turning point in a cycle, a very powerful blossoming process that has probably been in process for some time. Astrologers feel that this Black Moon will be filled with positive aspects and plenty of opportunity. The entire week leading up to the Black Moon and the days that follow it, are projected to be extremely positive and peaceful. Great epiphanies, opportunities and even miracles could be experienced. This is a powerful time to manifest all of our greatest dreams, wishes and desires. So pay attention to your feelings and spend some time in meditation concerning your spiritual insights as you are guided toward your higher path.

Jupiter conjuncts this New Moon in Libra, adding extra power to creating boundaries and balance in our lives and relationships. What do you want your relationship to look like? Are you sacrificing yourself and your dreams for your partner? This is a great time to look at the inner workings of and the interplay with your partner and decide what decisions need to be made to create the best outcome. Self-discovery is the imperative now.

Jupiter in Libra also relates to diplomacy as our government negotiates with other world powers.This energy should assist us in softening hard line relationships and smooth out former difficulties. We pray for this softening as many relationships with world leaders have heated up while Jupiter was in Virgo, emphasizing and magnifying the flaws in others and their beliefs. Jupiter in Libra is definitely our ally, personally and globally.

We continue to be involved in the energetic squarebetween Saturn and Neptune. They are opposites. Saturn builds structures and walls and Neptune dissolves structures and boundaries. We are seeing very clearly how many structures in the US are wobbling as the disillusion of toxic structures are being brought into focus. We so desperately need compassionate vision and imagination as we dream of a more peaceful world and a more compassionate country.

Mars moved into the sign of Capricorn on the 26th. Mars is very happy in Capricorn, loving the systems and structure and intensity of the work and achieving goals. It also relates to military activity. Let’s hope Jupiter will temper aggression, and peaceful resolution to conflict will be the goal.

Venus moved into the sign of Scorpio on the 23rd. This is a very powerful, passionate, intense and secretive energy. Venus is also forming a trine with Neptune which can represent fantasy, indicating that the merging of individuals may not be what it seems. This can also represent power struggles and covert activity. Pay attention to your gut vibes as it is hard to see what lies ahead. We are still experiencing the effects of the last two eclipses and the lingering energy of Mercury in Virgoand the retrograde. Mercury, the trickster, is still in play and the illusion of reality (Neptune/Saturn) is pervasive now. Things are not quite what you think they are. Anything can happen. Surprises are in store.

Written by Wendy Cicchetti

PLAN YOUR OWN NEW MOON CEREMONY. Give yourself some quiet time in meditation to see where you need to seed new ways of becoming. List these areas within your life you want to change. What areas do you want to break free from the norm and become more productive and discerning? The NEW MOON is the time to manifest the personal attributes you want to cultivate as well as the tangible things you want to bring to you. Possible phrasing: I now manifest ____ into my life. I am now _______ . Remember, think, envision and feel with as much emotion as possible, as though you already have what you want. Thoughts are things and the brain manifests exactly what you show it in the form of thoughts, visuals and emotions. The Buddha said, and I am paraphrasing, “We are the sum total of our thoughts up to today. ” If we want to be different then we must change our thoughts. “If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” CONSCIOUS CHANGE is the key.

Jennifer Molleda looks at the bloodied face of her husband, Alan Wakim. Two bullets went by his face in Houston, Texas, shooting on September 26. Photo: Mark Mulligan, MBI, Houston Chronicle

Billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday detailed his ambitious vision to colonize Mars: launching unmanned spacecraft to the Red Planet within the next 10 years as a first step toward establishing a self-sustaining city of 1 million people.

In a 95-minute presentation at an astronautical conference, the founder of electric car maker Tesla and private commercial space company SpaceX outlined his vision for an Interplanetary Transport System that he called the 21st century equivalent of building the transcontinental railroad to California.

And although he admitted he was not good at sticking to schedules, Musk said he hopes that SpaceX will start flying to Mars in late 2022 or early 2023.

“Once the transportation system is built, then there’s tremendous opportunity for anyone who wants to go to Mars to build the foundation of a new planet,” he told an enthusiastic audience at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Although SpaceX estimates that passengers will eventually be able to buy a ticket to move to Mars for about $100,000, Musk did not say how much it would cost to develop his Martian transportation system, only that it will require a “huge, public-private partnership.”

But Musk, speaking less than four weeks after a SpaceX rocket carrying a Facebook-backed communications satellite blew up at Cape Canaveral, said his sole purpose for accumulating wealth on Earth is to “make the biggest contribution I can to making life multiplanetary.”

“Right now, we’re trying to make as much progress as we can with the resources we have available,” he said. “It’s not just a dream, it’s something that can be made real, and I think the support will snowball over time.”

Whether Musk can accomplish his lofty plan remains to be seen, especially considering that it cost NASA about $3 billion to land one unmanned probe on Mars, said Dick Rocket, CEO of NewSpace Global, a Cape Canaveral space industry analytics firm.

But Rocket said Musk’s SpaceX is building a track record of success, even with this month’s explosion. Musk also was able to convince skeptical investors that a sporty electric car could sell.

“You could argue that everything that is disruptive in modern civilization is first considered insane,” said Rocket, who was in the audience. “It’s up to the entrepreneurs and the decision-makers in the public sector to make it sane.”

Musk showed the crowd a four-minute animated video, also posted on YouTube, of a future space flight to Mars. The video starts with some of the 100 passengers crossing a skybridge into a spacecraft at Cape Canaveral’s Apollo 11 launch pad.

After the carbon-fiber spacecraft lifts off and achieves Earth orbit, it separates from the booster rocket, which returns to Earth. The booster lands back at the launch pad, takes on fuel and returns to the orbiting spacecraft. That process might repeat two or three times before delivering enough fuel for the spacecraft to complete its journey to Mars, where it could refuel from previously established fueling stations.

The video ends with the silhouettes of four astronauts as the spacecraft door opens to reveal the Martian surface.

“This is what we plan to make it look like,” Musk said.

Once the first outposts are established, SpaceX could send ships every two years, when the orbits of the two planets bring them close. With ships that could eventually hold 200 passengers, and maybe 10,000 trips, it could take 40 to 100 years to have a “self-sustaining civilization on Mars,” Musk said.

Looking further out, Musk said a network of interplanetary fueling stations, dispensing a fuel based on methane gas, could expand to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. “You can go anywhere in the solar system by planet hopping or moon hopping,” he said.

Benny Evangelista is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: bevangelista@sfchronicle.comTwitter: @ChronicleBenny

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is incomplete as we commonly know it. Later in his life, Maslow wrote about a stage beyond self-actualization. Nichol Brandford explains how to arrive at this final place.