“Everything is connected to everything by secret knots.” Numerology and number magic has fascinated humanity throughout millennia. From African tribes, American Indians, and Mayas to Mesopotamia, China and India, numbers are attributed mystery and meaning. Annemarie Schimmel (1922-2003), Harvard University professor known for her vast knowledge and distinguished books on Sufism and Islamic culture, offers a rare resource in numerology with her book The Mystery of Numbers. She demystifies the meanings of numbers in the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam with rich, at times astonishing examples, from folklore, literature, art, creed and everyday life rituals. She …
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“Music gives such pleasure that human nature cannot live without it, ” said Confucius. Music is essential says Victor Hugo because “ it expresses what cannot be put into words and what cannot remain silent.” The acclaimed neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist and musician Daniel Levitin explores the mystery of music and how music affects our brains, thoughts and our spirit. He says : The moods that music creates are part of its mystery. What most of us turn to music for is an emotional experience. Because music has the power to induce a certain emotion that will bring back a certain …
Lucidity, awareness, and “otherworldly” sensations experienced at the brink of death and awe-inspiring medical reports of notable doctors People like to wonder, and this is the kernel of science. – Ralph Waldo Emerson During the Second World War, the Austrian poet and writer Karl Skala (1924–2006), went to Russia with his troops. He and his comrade, Hannes, caught under artillery fire, took refuge in a fox inn. Hannes got hit and died there. Skala, heavily wounded, experienced that they were both rising up high in the sky, and found themselves looking at the battlefield below. Feeling the weight of …
Blazing story of the moth from the Canticle of the Birds, written by the apothecarist, hagiographer, mystic and outstanding Persian poet Farîd-ud-Dîn ‘Attâr (c. 1142-1221) Moths gathered in a fluttering throng one night To learn the truth about the candle’s light, And they decided one of them should go To gather news of the elusive glow. One flew till the distance he discerned A palace window where a candle burned – And went no nearer; back again he flew To tell the others what he thought he knew. The mentor of the moths dismissed his claim, Remarking : …
The friendship between Sigmund Freud and Romain Rolland at the turn of the 20th century, and how it sparked the interior voyage and the spiritual realization of Rolland The French Nobel laureate writer Romain Rolland (1866-1944), foresaw the power of Sigmund Freud’s (1856-1939) analytical assessments at the turn of the century in 1909, long before Europe recognized his seminal work on the human psyche. He regarded Freud as a fellow pilgrim on this black continent, courageous and genius navigator. Intrigued by his work, Rolland visited Freud and his daughter Anna Freud (1895-1982) in their apartment in Vienna in 1924. He …
As you go deeper into the heart, the mirror becomes clearer and cleaner. -Rumi Carl Gustave Jung, the renowned psychiatrist and psychanalyst defines the inner dialogue as an essential tool of human beings. Often heard at times of inner conflict, it is the precursor of a decision, and propels the self to discern good from bad. Instantaneously sparking self-reflective activity in the mental-psychic fronts, it tends to generate action. The eminent child psychologist D.W. Winnicott defines it as an essential part of development of the “self”. He says: The conversation takes place in the space between fantasy and reality where one feels …
Avicenna (970-1037) the 11th century medical savant and philosopher foretold the imperative role of emotions on human psyche and behavior. He wrote in his preeminent book, The Canon of Medicine : “Emotions impact health and behavior, and they should be managed to gain self-mastery.” Centuries later, James Gross, director of the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory known with his emotion regulation model explains: Emotional regulation refers to the process by which individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express their feelings. Human ability to control and regulate emotions using reason and willpower is …
Daniel, the pious sage, master interpreter of dreams and seer lived in Mesopotamia at the time when Babylon and Ancient Persia were reaching the heights of civilization (circa 700 – 500 BC). He was an upright man distinguished with his unwavering faith in God and courage among his kindreds many of whom worshipped kings and deities. His exemplary life and deeds became the subject of the Book of Daniel written in that epoch. The tale recounts that the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, having heard about Daniel’s unequaled giftedness, summoned him to the palace. Thereupon Daniel was obliged to serve in …
Winter of 1939. Finland is invaded by the Red Army. The Finns are far inferior in numbers and artillery. But they have “sisu” in greater quantities as the story goes. Using their cross-country skiing skills, they manage to surprise and disperse the Russian troops. The Finns describe “sisu” as the guts, the courage of the lesser. A mixture of audacity and perseverance which leads to never giving up, even when all seems lost. It is an inner strength that transforms one’s supposed inferiority to advantage by thinking out of the box. Joanna Nylund, author of “Sisu, the Finnish Art of …
Mathnavi is a universal love hymn. On the 750th anniversary of his death, the mythical poet, sage and spiritual master Rumi (30 September 1207, Belh region – 17 December 1273, Konya) is one of the most read poets in the West. Leili Anvar links it to his resolute spiritual dimension that transcends all religious norms. The author, known for her scholarly translations, her profound knowledge of mystical Persian literature, and of Rumi’s life and spiritual personality describes the epoch Rumi lived in Anatolia. She writes in the preface of her book Rumi, the Religion of Love : …
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