Art derives from the power of imagination, whereas evil derives from the imagination of power. Both have imagination at the center. In one direction, imagination enlightens, educates, and elevates the human spirit; in the other, it degrades, darkens, and deadens it. Artists generally see imagination as the most important human faculty, and it is easy [...]
A great religious teacher once said, “No teacher, however illumined, has changed the basic course of man.” After hearing this statement, I began asking (foolishly I now feel): What is required to change the course of humankind? Of course, the vast majority of people would deny the truth of the statement, in one of three [...]
In my last column, I talked about an experience of agnosia (the loss of the ability to recognize people and objects) that occurred during an especially intense meditation along the Merced River. In this piece, I’d like to convey another life-altering experience at the same place. I thought of this experience at the end of [...]
What happens in the brain during higher states of consciousness? Is consciousness no more than the product of the human brain, as neuroscientists believe? The neuroscientists’ basic premise—that consciousness has solely a biological basis—is an inadequate explanation. Furthermore, when neuroscientists like the Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel insist that a consciousness has solely a biological basis, [...]
“We believe that Genesis chapters one and two are factual accounts of creation and we therefore reject the false teaching of evolution which has no scientific basis, but is simply another of Satan’s schemes to lead people away from the truth.” Egad. Many Christians believe that “the false teaching of evolution is simply another of [...]
Fog enshrouds the town as I enter the mountain community from the valley below. With a few hundred meters more of elevation, the fog clears, though the skies remain cloudy. Reaching the man-made lake, there is a brightening, and even a small patch or two of blue. A few men, with pickup trucks loaded with [...]
I’d been deathly ill for a fortnight with food poisoning. Having foolishly asked the universe, in a meditative state, ‘should I become a vegetarian?’ the cosmos answered, rudely. A week later, I saw death, not in space but in time, waiting for me two days ahead on my present course. Ambulatory after my brush with [...]
Arriving at the creek at the edge of town at the zenith of the day, I’m surprised by the warmth, clarity, and quietness of the afternoon. As I drop down off the paved bike path, a large woodland hawk alights a small tree across the creek, and then departs as I approach. Warm enough to [...]
The Earth Charter Initiative (ECI), located in Costa Rica, began with an excellent vision but limited intent. It provides an “ethical framework for the values and principles of sustainability from an integrated approach.” Can ECI be renewed with a whole intent, and become a true force for sustainability? Though there are exceptions that prove the [...]
The mountain reservoir is low. Ten or fifteen meters of steep hillside lie exposed, and the light brown soil is pockmarked with stumps from trees cut down over fifty years ago. But the bowl is still beautiful, and a stiff breeze blows off the lake, generating countless wavelets that gently lap against the shore. Even [...]
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