A new study has provided fresh insights into how animals such as the woolly mammoth, musk ox and arctic fox evolved to survive the cold during the ice age.
A team of palaeontologists and palaegeneticists studied ancient fossil and DNA evidence for the nature and timing of changes animals and plants in the Northern Hemisphere.
Young people often ask: “Why must we have humility? Is it not enough if we do social good? What need has a social worker or a national leader of humility? Let us remember that the worker is God and man is only His instrument. We would cease to be proud if such consciousness grew upon us that it is God who is the worker, the helper, and the saviour of the nations. Zarathushtra gives a vivid picture of hell, saying that in hell there are numerous souls, as the hairs in the mane of the horse, and they are as close to one another as our ears are to our eyes, and yet everyone feels himself alone! It is this feeling of loneliness which is at the root of misery in our modern world. The richness of life is rooted in the recognition that in our work we are in contact with and dependent on the divine.
Sakia Campert – the Netherlands
Saskia Campert
Introduction by the author
I wrote the article below some time ago. Must admit, the subject is rather difficult, but I felt I had to write it since I have personally witnessed that having one’s body rebuilt is not always as simple and joyful as it is sometimes presented.
Barbara Hebert – USA
Barbara during a TheosoFEST event on the "Olcott grounds" a few years ago
We typically think of light and darkness as opposites that represent positive versus negative, or good versus evil. The light almost always epitomizes the positive—goodness, happiness, awareness, wisdom, unity, and hope. Light represents the Divine in whatever way we define that term. Darkness frequently symbolizes the negative—evil, ignorance, hatred, pain, isolation, and selfishness. Darkness represents materialism in its most earthly form—ungodly, nonsacred, and almost hellish.
Tim Wyatt – England
Nice shot of Tim overlooking the Gulf of Corinthos, GREECE
For aeons humanity has struggled to explore and explain the mysteries of matter and the deep secrets of the cosmos – whether in the infinity of space or the microscopic world of transient particles. It’s faced an even tougher job when it comes to the metaphysical side of things – especially when trying to explain itself.
A study provides surprising insights into the phenomenon of 'spiritual boredom'
We commonly consider spiritual practices sources of peace and inspiration. A recent study led by researchers of the University of Vienna shows that they can also be experienced differently: Many persons feel bored during these practices -- and this can have far-reaching consequences. The results recently published in the academic journal Communications Psychology open up an entirely new field of research and provide fascinating insights into a phenomenon that has received only scant attention so far.
Philosopher Barry Lam, now a professor at the University of California, endorses only one rule, and that is, “we should have fewer rules.” Even as a teenager he had defiant disposition, with an urge to do just the opposite of what he was asked to do. For instance, he studied philosophy when his family pushed him to study computer science or medicine.
Antti Savinainen - Finland
photo credit: NEEDPIX.COM
Introduction
Bart D. Ehrman (b. 1955) is a respected New Testament scholar who describes himself as an agnostic or atheist. He is a professor at the University of North Carolina. Ehrman is the author of a fascinating book on how contemporary Christianity’s concept of heaven and hell came to be (Heaven and hell. A History of the Afterlife, Simon & Schuster, 2020). It might be better to speak of the plural concept of heaven and hell, since there are differences, sometimes quite large, in the teachings of Christian denominations. The most common understanding, however, is that there are only two possible destinations for a human being: eternal heaven or damnation, which in the interpretation of some denominations may mean eternal suffering in hell. What are these beliefs based on? Did Jesus himself, or perhaps the Apostle Paul, teach this? These are the questions Ehrman seeks the best reasoned historical answers to in his book. I will present Ehrman’s perspectives and examine the subject from a theosophical perspective.
Bart Ehrman