Category Books

Freud and Rolland: Their Friendship and the Oceanic Feeling

The Friendship Between Sigmund Freud and Romain Rolland at the turn of the twentieth century, and its role in the French writer’s interior journey and spiritual realization The French Nobel Prize–winning writer Romain Rolland (1866–1944) foresaw the power of Sigmund Freud’s (1856–1939) analytical insights at the turn of the twentieth century, long before Europe recognized his seminal work on the human psyche. He regarded Freud as: A fellow pilgrim in this dark continent, a courageous and genius navigator. Rolland’s friendship with Freud began in 1923…

Inner Dialogue as an Essential Tool

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…

Emotional Intelligence in Action

“Emotions impact health and behavior, and they should be managed to gain self-mastery.”  Avicenna (970-1037), the 11th century medical savant and philosopher foretold the imperative role of emotions on human psyche and behavior in his preeminent book, The Canon of Medicine. Centuries later, James Gross, director of  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…

The Cure for Fear

The cure for fear is action. Action requires courage. – Aristotle 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.…

Rumi and the Religion of Love

  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 attributes it to his sublime spiritual poise that transcends all religious norms. She is known for her scholarly translations, her profound knowledge of mystical Persian literature, and life and spiritual personality of Rumi.  In the preface of her book Rumi, the…

Language of Numbers

The Pythagoreans believed that music was a purification for the soul, just as medicine was a purification for the body. The ancient Greek philosopher and polymath, Pythagoras (c. 570 – 495 BC) said that all things in cosmos – κόσμος are made of numbers ensuring that the universe functions in order and harmony. Known with his pioneering theories on music and mathematics, he proclaimed that cosmos is in harmonious motion precisely timed and structured.   The harmonious and repetitive rotations of the spheres emit celestial melodies…

Goethe’s Theory of Colors

Goethe’s theory of colors, and how the eye sees and simultaneously creates its own color   The great poet and savant Johann Wolfgang von Goethe  (1749-1832) passionately explored the phenomenology of light and colors witnessed by the human eye, and collected his findings in Farbenlehre (Theory of Colors). His innovative doctrine of “physiological colors,”  though dismissed by some due to lack of empirical data in his epoch, would later lead to wide repercussions in the centuries to come in art, physics and philosophy. He proclaimed…

The Art of Ostad Elahi

A master musician, an influential thinker and jurist, Ostad Elahi ( 11 September 1895 – 19 October 1974) said : “Music has countless properties, most of which have yet to be discovered.”   Born in a small remote village in Iran, he grew up in a spiritual milieu where mystical traditions reigned everyday life. He was devoted to music very early on in his quest for meaning, self-knowledge, and transcendence. By the age of nine he was recognized as “ a peerless master of the…

The Farther Reaches of Human Nature

The moments of awe, peak experiences and accomplishing the best version of oneself   It is in human nature to aspire higher and “ human life will never be understood unless its highest aspirations are taken into account, ”   said Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), renown with his triangle of hierarchical needs. At the peak of this triangle “ transient states of  absolute being ” are experienced. It is “ where the farther reaches of human nature are secluded. ” He declared that a thorough understanding of…

How Plants Communicate and Protect Each Other

How the intelligence of the trees is measured and what it means for maintaining our life on earth Plants are sentient beings which have emotions, who feel the pain when damaged, enjoy Mozart, can respond to unspoken thoughts of humans and more. Cleve Backster, a former intelligence agent, best known for his experiments with plants, he used a polygraph (lie detector) instrument in the 1960s long before science has discovered the intelligence of plants capable of cognition, learning, memory and communication. He hooked up the…