Category: Philosophy
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“Our Tragic Universe” & the Fiction of Perfection – The Self-Help Industry Exposed
In Scarlett Thomas’ new novel, Our Tragic Universe, heroine Meg concludes that self-help books succeed by first making us feel bad about ourselves and then giving us the perfect fix. It’s rather like Humpty Dumpty being pushed off a wall and broken so someone can make a fast buck putting him back together again.…
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Today is a Two of Swords Day – Prepare to see things as they really are.
With the sun in Gemini (where we learn that dichotomies like dark/light and good/bad – are but two sides of the same coin) and (2) the moon in Libra (where we often find ourselves in a stalemate) today is a Two of Swords day. On a divinatory level, the Two of Swords suggests we’re trying…
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Making the Most of Meaningful Coincidence
JUNG & SYNCHRONICITY – Making the Most of Meaningful Coincidence © 2007 by Debra Moolenaar The more Barbara reflected on a 12th century saint’s words – ‘being a feather on the breath of God’ – the more real feathers she’d find. One day while walking a labyrinth and grappling with whether to take her vows…
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Body & Soul – Harnessing the Renaissance Magic of Marsilio Ficino
BODY & SOUL – Harnessing the Renaissance Magic of Marsilio Ficino by Debra Moolenaar © 2006 Open your life to soul. Take control of your thoughts and emotions. Align them with the heavens, and you could you literally realign the energies surrounding you here on earth. By changing your frame of mind, you’ll make different…
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The Many Faces of God
“God” is a dicey word. Not only is it downright dangerous to use the word “God” at the wrong time or in the wrong place, but even when you do get it right there’s no guarantee the person with whom you’re speaking entertains the same ideas about what you mean by “God” as do you.…
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In the Age of Aquarius What Happens to God?
Today, many believe that the Christian God of our forefathers – a god distinct from and superior to man – is dead. Astrology concurs with this conclusion. For a preview of what might come next, read on. For the last 2000 years, we’ve been living in the Age of Pisces – the symbol of which…
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Playing God – Religious Experience in the 21st Century
At the turn of the last century, the famous philosopher and scientist William James asserted “….the mother sea and fountain-head of all religions lies in the mystical experience of the individual”. James believed that the key to understanding such experience, was to be found in the manner in which our eyes and minds, together, created…
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Selling Spirituality – where on the package does it say no pain – no gain?
Without qualification we accept that a personal sense of self (an ‘I’ that does things and a ‘me’ to whom things are done) is essential for a healthy, happy every-day kind of life. Yet throughout history mystics from all religions have sought the opposite experience of ‘no-self’ to grasp the ultimate truth – a reality…
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Rousseau’s Social Contract & Why the Rich Get Richer While the Poor Get Poorer
My husband and I recently visited a charming 280-acre National Trust property nestled in the green hills of south Oxfordshire. First built in the late Middle Ages, Greys Court comprises a substantial complex of sandstone buildings and walled courtyard gardens. Enjoying coffee and cake in a long, low building said to have garrisoned Cromwell’s soldiers…
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The (Philosophical) Demise of Democracy
Of late, there’s been much debate about the collapse of authority in the UK. It would appear a consensus of sorts has finally been reached this is not a good thing. However the hope is the new government will sort it all out for us. I wonder. In The Republic, Plato reminds us that just…