Seeing the Good in the Bad “Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.” -Proverb I once read that people who journal to identify lessons from painful situations generally move on more quickly and easily than people who write merely to vent their emotions. In discovering opportunities for growth, we empower ourselves to see whatever we’ve been through as something that can be ultimately beneficial, even if it’s tremendously uncomfortable in the short-term. It’s not always easy to do that, particularly because there are so many things that happen that we may never understand—and plenty of events that seem downright unfair. Why do some people retain their health despite poor choices, while others wake up seriously ill one day with no reason or warning? When you look at the world through this lens, it’s easy to be bitter. What is a guarantee is that we can always decide how to interpret what we see. Photo by PrescottFoland
Different Takes: Should we abandon idea of hell? Editor’s note: The new documentary "Hellbound?" explores Americans' ideas about hell. We asked two prominent Christians who featured in the film to give us their very different takes on hell. My Faith: The dangerous effects of believing in hell Editor’s note: Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author. His latest book is "Crazy For God." By Frank Schaeffer, Special to CNN Is it any coincidence that the latest war of religion that started on September 11, 2001, is being fought primarily between the United States and the Islamic world? And nowhere on earth have conservative Christians been closer to controlling foreign policy than here in the United States. What a pair George W. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter And so my view of "hell" encompasses two things: First, the theological question about whether a land of eternal suffering exists as God's "great plan" for most of humanity. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories Why does our view of hell matter?
An Essay by Einstein -- The World As I See It "How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving... "I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. "My political ideal is democracy.
Rumi Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (Persian: جلالالدین محمد بلخى), also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (Persian: جلالالدین محمد رومی), Mawlānā or Molānā (Persian: مولانا, meaning Our Master), Mawlawī or Molavi (Persian: مولوی, meaning My Master), and more popularly in the English-speaking world simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian[1][6] poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.[7] Iranians, Turks, Afghans, Tajiks, and other Central Asian Muslims as well as the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy in the past seven centuries.[8] Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. In 2007, he was described as the "most popular poet in America. Name Life Jalal ad-Din Rumi gathers Sufi mystics. Why should I seek? Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Teachings Major works Poetic works
The Dragon In My Garage by Carl Sagan "A fire-breathing dragon lives in my garage" Suppose (I'm following a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard Franklin) I seriously make such an assertion to you. Surely you'd want to check it out, see for yourself. "Show me," you say. "Where's the dragon?" "Oh, she's right here," I reply, waving vaguely. You propose spreading flour on the floor of the garage to capture the dragon's footprints. "Good idea," I say, "but this dragon floats in the air." Then you'll use an infrared sensor to detect the invisible fire. "Good idea, but the invisible fire is also heatless." You'll spray-paint the dragon and make her visible. "Good idea, but she's an incorporeal dragon and the paint won't stick." Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? Imagine that things had gone otherwise. Now another scenario: Suppose it's not just me. » Read this in Belorussian! » to Atheists of Silicon Valley Homepage «
FBI The FBI’s Reading Room contains many files of public interest and historical value. In compliance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, some of these records are no longer in the physical possession of the FBI, eliminating the FBI’s capability to re-review and/or re-process this material. Please note, that the information found in these files may no longer reflect the current beliefs, positions, opinions, or policies currently held by the FBI. The image quality contained within this site is subject to the condition of the original documents and original scanning efforts. These older files may contain processing procedures that are not compliant with current FOIA processing standards. All recently scanned images posted to the Reading Room adhere to the NARA 300 DPI standard. Some material contained in this site may contain actions, words, or images of a graphic nature that may be offensive and/or emotionally disturbing.
George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff /ˈɡɜrdʒiˌɛf/ (January 13, 1866-1877?)[1]|- October 29, 1949), also commonly referred to as Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff and G. I. Gurdjieff, was an influential spiritual teacher of the early to mid-20th century who taught that most humans live their lives in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep", but that it is possible to transcend to a higher state of consciousness and achieve full human potential. At different times in his life, Gurdjieff formed and closed various schools around the world to teach The Work. §Biography[edit] §Early years[edit] §Seeker after truth[edit] In early adulthood, according to his own account, Gurdjieff's curiosity led him to travel to Central Asia, Egypt, Iran, India, Tibet and Rome, before returning to Russia for a few years in 1912. §Businessman[edit] §In Russia[edit] In the midst of revolutionary upheaval in Russia, Gurdjieff left Petrograd in 1917 to return to his family home in Alexandropol. §In Georgia and Turkey[edit]
How “god” evolved « EvoAnth Religious belief is very common in Homo sapiens, with almost all cultures having some kind of supernatural belief that is important to their sense of identity, although that’s about the only unifying characteristic of these ideas. Within the spectrum of human society is a similarly broad spectrum of religious beliefs. These range from the simple “animal spirits” who are responsible for the unexplained (but not much else) to a “High” or “King” God who takes an active role in the world, dictating morals of a people he created. Some suggest this handaxe – nicknamed “excaliber” – is the earliest evidence of ritual, being “buried” with several hominins. Given the prevalence and importance of these religious ideas studying them is obviously something which greatly interests many evolutionary anthropologists. However, anthropologists have managed to identify certain factors which seem to be associated with the rise of complex religious beliefs (such as the “high” god). Like this:
Color Psychology & Infoplease.com by David Johnson Like death and taxes, there is no escaping color. It is ubiquitous. Yet what does it all mean? Colors often have different meanings in various cultures. Black Black is the color of authority and power. White Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. Red The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. The most romantic color, pink, is more tranquilizing. Blue The color of the sky and the ocean, blue is one of the most popular colors. Green Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. Yellow Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. Purple The color of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. Brown Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Colors of the Flag In the U.S. flag, white stands for purity and innocence. Food for Thought While blue is one of the most popular colors it is one of the least appetizing.
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava[note 1] (lit. "Lotus-Born"), also known as Guru Rinpoche, was an 8th-century Buddhist master from the Indian subcontinent. Although there was a historical Padmasambhava, little is known of him apart from helping the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye, at the behest of Trisong Detsen,[1] and shortly thereafter leaving Tibet due to court intrigues.[2] A number of legends have grown around Padmasambhava's life and deeds, and he is widely venerated as a "second Buddha" by adherents of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, the Himalayan states of India, and elsewhere.[3][4] Historical sources[edit] Mythos[edit] Sources[edit] Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1136-1204) was the principal architect of the Padmasambhava mythos according to Janet Gyatso.[8] Guru Chöwang (1212–1270) was the next major contributor to the mythos.[8] Early years[edit] Birth[edit] Tantra in India and Nepal[edit] Tibet[edit] Subjection of local religions[edit] Translations[edit] Nyingma[edit]
Let’s get Bigfoot! All across cable television, earnest man-boys are frenetically hunting Bigfoot, ghosts and lake monsters — when they aren’t investigating UFOs and alien abduction. The past several years have seen such an onslaught of these paranormal programs that one wonders what took cable so long to barrage our species’ soft spot for the fantastical and absurd. In the mid-1990s Leonard Nimoy narrated the relatively tame A&E series “Ancient Mysteries,” a show spawned from the success of the series “In Search Of” that ran from 1976 to 1982. Both programs offered the standard fare of sasquatches and flying saucers, poltergeists and voodoo priestesses, as well as the occasional episode that transgressed against the OED’s opinion of “mystery” — killer bees, hurricanes, tidal waves — because, let’s face it, there really aren’t that many unexplained phenomena anymore. These programs, like their learning-disabled sibling “Ghost Hunters” on Syfy, are all mediocre intercourse and no orgasm.
Enneagram History and Origins: The Traditional Enneagram Click here for The Stages of the Work The Enneagram of Personality Types is a modern synthesis of a number of ancient wisdom traditions, but the person who originally put the system together was Oscar Ichazo. Ichazo was born in Bolivia and raised there and in Peru, but as a young man, moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina to learn from a school of inner work he had encountered. After many years of developing his ideas, he created the Arica School as a vehicle for transmitting the knowledge that he had received, teaching in Chile in the late 1960's and early 70's, before moving to the United States where he still resides. This group spent several weeks with Ichazo, learning the basics of his system and engaged in the practices he taught them. Among the highlights for many of the participants was a system of teachings based on the ancient symbol of the Enneagram. "We have to distinguish between a man as he is in essence, and as he is in ego or personality. Type One Passion: Anger [Resentment]*
Scientific proof of god's non-existence There were a couple of interesting (anonymous) comments in response to my post on what constitute rational and irrational beliefs. The writer said that I was overstepping the line that divided science from philosophy when I argued that religious beliefs were irrational. The arguments took a familiar form and went something like this: We cannot prove that god does not exist.Hence it is rational to believe that god exists.Scientists should stick to the world of data and not venture to question god's existence since that enters the realm of philosophy, not science. The author states that if a scientist is asked: 'In your scientific opinion, does God exist?' I will readily concede the first point, and in fact have done so previously (See here, here, and here.) But the other two statements do not follow from the first. The only time that you can prove a negative is if you have the ability to do an exhaustive examination of every possible situation.
How the Enneagram Personality System Works This explanation covers the basics that you will need to understand how the Enneagram works, and will be especially helpful for beginners. As you will see, only a few simple concepts are needed to begin your journey of self-discovery. The Enneagram, however, is ultimately subtle and complex, as you will appreciate the more you use it in your life. For more guidelines, consult Personality Types 27-55, and for further clarifications Understanding the Enneagram, 11-30. Index of Subjects: Structure The Enneagram's structure may look complicated, although it is actually simple. Draw a circle and mark nine equidistant points on its circumference. The nine points on the circumference are also connected with each other by the inner lines of the Enneagram. The Enneagram Your Basic Personality Type From one point of view, the Enneagram can be seen as a set of nine distinct personality types, with each number on the Enneagram denoting one type. Identifying Your Basic Personality Type The Centers