Stuff and Values
Very curiously, the shift toward consumption and "progress" as primary driving values of our society, which results in us throwing away 90% of the products we purchase in a matter…
Where have all the utopias gone?
Before anything can be realized, it has to be imagined. The first step in any process is the visualization of what the end result might look like. Looking at movies…
Focus
Learning to direct your mind sustained on one focal point is at the core of many spiritual practices. One of the core themes of the last year for me has…
Operate Your Brain
One of the nice things about having control over my time lately is that after years and years of working with the Internet, I lately have actually had the time…
Inspirations…
Look forward to all that will happen in 2007.... I think I found a map to candy mountain....
Happy New Year!
"Es ist auch mir gewiss, dass wir in der Ordnung bleiben muessen, dass es den Austritt aus der Gesellschaft nicht gibt und wir uns aneinander pruefen muessen. Innerhalb der Grenzen…
Here’s to the crazy ones…
"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and…
Cinderella – A deeply complex story of transformation
Here another paper I wrote recently on the story of Cinderella. While most fairy tales have been butchered into meaningless “childproof” drizzle, they are still deep rooted myths and in their origin contain powerful archetypal principles that can help us understand ourselves, our thoughts and emotions, our own personal stories, and life as a whole (e.g. the in the original frog king, the princess never kissed the frog, but instead threw him against the wall with all her might – much more interesting psychologically). Been studying with Jonathan Young over the last weeks (who worked with Joseph Campbell and started his archives), which has been quite fascinating. Really reminded me of the power of myth. Gave me quite a different view on myth and fairy tales and really reminded me, how we all live out archetypal patterns.
What fascinated me most about Cinderella apart from being a typical story of transformation, again fitting with the process of transformation Arthur Young so aptly described, was the parallels to both the Quabala as well as also Buddha’s life… Read on to find out more 😉
Reapproaching the Mystical Experience
Another paper I wrote lately taking further the concept of “Demystify-Remystify”. Based on a chapter on mysticism in a book I was reading for my masters program in transformational psychology, this paper explores the concept of demystifying reality in overcoming spiritualism with a scientific (materialist) approach, and overcoming materialism with openness toward the mystic experience. Enjoy!
Materialism – Spiritualism: Prepare for Synthesis
Sri Aurobindo was one of the sages of the last century whose philosophy will provide increasingly useful in the world we live in. His approach was marked by synthesis. As we enter the 21st century, we see dualism everywhere around us. It nearly seems that dualism has been stretched to the max, especially when one considers political or socio-economic factors. Synthesis is desperately needed.
Nearly all philosophies are either materialistic or spiritualistic. Either they embrace life and the ego/body, or they deny it. Neither is particularly satisfactory explanation for life.
Following is a paper I wrote recently on Materialism and Spritiualism, and on how Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy provides an approach to overcoming the two.
A new Aeon has begun. According to several esoteric traditions, a new age for mankind and our universe saw its dawn last century, and as we are entering the 21st century more and more rapid developments point to a climax of the current paradigm in the near future. In all areas of life dualism has been stretched to a maximum and both materialism and spiritualism are failing to provide sufficient answers to questions about life that appear to become more and more pressing in light of ecological devastation, global warfare, dead-end intellectualism, and psychosociocultural alienation.