What a wonderfully absurd, unbelievable, preposterous place is the universe! And yet most of us take it for granted. Some 13.7 billion years ago, give or take an eon or two that amazingly stupendous event, which we currently call the “Big Bang” occurred which commenced the evolutionary process that led to the world as we […]
You know it is not all downside getting old. I notice when I have my geriatric jog in the mornings these days I have more time to think than I used to. This, of course, is mainly a factor of my reducing speed which means it takes me longer to get around my jogging route […]
“To ask ‘What is consciousness?’ does not appear to be unreasonable: yet the question does not seem to be fully answerable in reasonable terms. So along with questions like ‘What is God?’ and ‘What is life?’ we generally rule out consciousness from scientific enquiry. After long searching for answers in many places, I have […]
Quranic verse 4:34: “Allah has made men superior to women because men spend their wealth to support them. Therefore, virtuous women are obedient, and they are to guard their unseen parts as Allah has guarded them. As for women whom you fear will rebel, admonish them first, and then send them to a separate bed, […]
My little book Froth and Goblets depicts a story of the Princess Naomi, daughter of the Sultan, Salazar, and how she has her burden of depression eased by the ministration of a Buddhist sage. I won’t have the opportunity in this short article to describe all the techniques he used to alleviate the Princess’s suffering. […]
“The world is illusory; Brahman alone is real; Brahman is the world.” Sri Ramana Maharshi When a child is born, it has no concept of its individuality. It has no need to believe it is unique – because from its own perspective it is all. It believes it is the universe. But then the process […]
The Blessed One thought, “I have taught the Truth, But simple as it is, the people can not understand it. Therefore I will tell them stories.” I have written many times that it seems to me that the essential truths of Mankind are largely taught through the medium of parables and metaphors. This seems true […]
I posted on my Facebook page the other day a quotation from the famous Robert Oppenheimer (theoretical physicist and to his everlasting regret, one of the “fathers of the atomic bomb”). This goes to show, I suppose, how unsuited I am to Facebook and such as a medium of communication– when others are posting pictures […]
Positive Psychology has only emerged as a defined field of study in psychology in the last decade or so. Martin Seligman is credited with its birth. Martin Seligman was elected as president of the American Psychological Association in 1998. He chose “positive psychology” as the theme for his term. Seligman had a few predecessors in […]
I recently heard a radio interview with Professor Gordon Parker who was for many years associated with the Black Dog Institute which as you may know seeks to help those suffering from depression. In the course of the interview, the interviewer asked Professor Parker how he would distinguish between depression and melancholia. Without hesitation Parker […]