Category Archives: Spirituality and Mysticism

Powerful Thought: The dead bird urges you to write

Rachel Carson was urged to write ‘Silent Spring’ by the dead birds she held in her hands who called her to write.

She could not live, knowing what she had learned about DDT, without speaking, without – her gift – lifting her pen to write.

Ancient Fable: St. Francis of Assisi and the injured wolf

13th century Italian saint, St Francis of Assisi never understood earth as being a garden of resources over which we have dominion. Instead, he saw the earth as a mother or a sister who governs us.

Book Review: The Book of Symbols by the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS)

The Book of Symbols is a masterpiece of art history, philosophy, mysticism, psychology, anthropology, biology and spirituality. It brings together the history of various symbols, concepts and objects from many cultures and civilisations.

Comforting Thought: Regard yourself as a cloud

“Regard yourself as a cloud in the flesh; because, you see, clouds never make mistakes. Then through this capacity you will develop a kind of confidence … you will be able to trust your own intuition.” Alan Watts

Comforting Thought: Live now, as we think human beings should live @jhalifax

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history based not only on cruelty but also on compassion, sacrifice, courage and kindness. “What we choose to emphasise in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst,Continue reading “Comforting Thought: Live now, as we think human beings should live @jhalifax”

Ancient word of the day: Uncanny

The ancient word of the day is Uncanny. This is the feeling of encountering a landscape, person or object that is both frightening and unsettlingly dissonant. Freud coined a similar word for this “unheimlich”— which is to say, eerie and both homely and unhomely. I’m sure you would be able to recall some uncanny encounters,Continue reading “Ancient word of the day: Uncanny”

The high-spirited thoroughbred

The great affair, the love affair with life, is to live as variously as possible, to groom one’s curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred, climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sunstruck hills every day. Diane Ackerman

The wisdom of children

Children often use rich metaphor to describe their inner states. Far from being meaningless ramblings, often their insights into how the mind works are profound, philosophical and meaningful. In this TED talk Alise Shafer Ivey shows how children’s open minds reveal a Jungian and symbolic way of understanding consciousness, creative ideas, ancestral knowledge and howContinue reading “The wisdom of children”

Map Porn Part 1: Inter-Planetary Topography

Have you ever pondered about the topography of the moon’s surface? Well I have. My brain works in weird and wacky ways. So naturally before we expose what the moon’s surface actually looks like, you need to see what the moon would look if you were on acid. courtesy of The Mighty Boosh. Previously, weContinue reading “Map Porn Part 1: Inter-Planetary Topography”