Potential for enlightenment has never been greater

The year is 2020, and the potential for enlightenment has never been greater. We now know the great hoax is that we thought we were independent and self-reliant. We should recognize that the lack of education, title, material possessions and income do not define the character, worth or essentiality of an individual.

Will this pandemic help us understand that everyone that is willing and able to work should be paid a living wage and their families provided with quality social services, education and medical care? This is nothing more than humanism.

To be or not to be is currently a choice that many fortunate Americans can make. Our options are to take care of all of our citizens providing whatever it takes to make their lives safe and productive, or turn this country over to those that like to parade around in public with an assault rifle hanging off their chest.

We must understand that without a consumer, our way of life will perish, because self-worth becomes extinct.

Visit link:
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Potential for 'enlightenment' has never been greater - SCNow

The three voyages of James Cook, between 1768 and 1780, substantially increased humanitys knowledge of the globe.

Prior to his odysseys, the Earth was divided into two separated hemispheres: the northern, which was largely but not entirely charted; and the southern, which was largely uncharted, and yet to be fully discovered by the more technologically developed world north of the equator. Cooks voyages, his achievements in seamanship, in navigation and cartography, his relentless will to explore both hemispheres, opened the way for contact between different regions and different peoples of the world, which had hitherto been impossible.

Cooks achievements ought to speak for themselves. He mapped more of the globe and sailed further south than anyone before him. When other mariners perished in the abyss of oceans, Cook could pinpoint his location to within a mile. He even pioneered a cure for scurvy that saved countless lives and increased the longevity of voyages.

He was also one of the very few men from the lower classes to rise to senior rank in the Royal Navy. Men followed Cook to the ends of the Earth and beyond, and his attitude to the indigenous peoples he encountered was enlightened and compassionate.

This month marks the 250th anniversary of Cook charting the east coast of Australia, then referred to as Terra Australis Incognita the unknown land of the south. He accomplished it during the three-year voyage of the Endeavour, the first of his three great voyages that marked him out as the mariner of the Enlightenment, if not all time.

Cook was born in 1728 in north Yorkshire, the son of a farm labourer. His fathers employer paid for Cook to undergo five years of schooling until, at the age of 16, he was sent to Staithes to work in a grocers shop where he slept each night under the counter. Eighteen months later he moved to Whitby to be apprenticed into the merchant navy, working on coal ships between the Tyne and London. At the end of his apprenticeship he worked on trading ships in the Baltic, progressing through the ranks. Then, at 23, he enlisted in the Royal Navy at the very bottom of the hierarchy.

He was relatively old for such a move, but was soon promoted. During the Seven Years War, he served in North America, mapping the entrance to the Saint Lawrence river as well as the coast of Newfoundland. The latter expedition resulted in a map so accurate it was still in use in the 20th century. The key to his accuracy was the astronomical observations he conducted to calculate longitude. This enabled him to use precise triangulation to establish land outlines. Cooks cartography brought him to the attention of the Royal Society and the Admiralty, who jointly arranged the voyage of the Endeavour. It was to be an expedition of scientific discovery, departing England in August 1768.

Official portrait of Captain James Cook (1775), at National Maritime Museum, UK.

The initial purpose of the expedition was to observe and record the transit of Venus across the Sun to help determine the distance of the Earth from the Sun. This would be done at the Pacific island of Tahiti. Cook was 39 and promoted to lieutenant in order that he could command the ship. Endeavour was a bark, which is a sailing ship with three or more masts. It had been built for moving coal, and it was a type of vessel Cook knew extremely well.

There were 94 on board, including a scientific team led by Joseph Banks, an independently wealthy naturalist who had been through Eton, Harrow and Oxford. Banks was an aristocrat, and brought with him the eccentricities of his class as well as some of his own. Alongside him were the naturalist Daniel Solander, the astronomer Charles Green, the artists Sydney Parkinson and Andrew Buchan. Banks also brought along two negro servants Thomas Richmond and George Dillon which was apparently the fashionable thing to do among his class at the time. The scientific team collected and recorded samples throughout the journey at sea and on land.

At Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America, Banks servants died of exposure in a snow storm. As the ship rounded Cape Horn, Banks shot an albatross. He intended initially to treat it as a scientific specimen, but then decided he would eat the animal in a stew, recording the recipe in his journal.

In sailing mythology, the albatross embodied the souls of dead sailors. It was a creature to be revered, not stewed and eaten. Given Endeavour was about to sail west into the uncharted Pacific, from where other vessels had failed to re-emerge, mutiny was a possibility for Cook even without Banks blasphemy. It would be three months before they would see land again. Some must have wondered if they ever would, and one of Cooks crew threw himself overboard.

But Cook could lead. He used the lash on sailors more than Captain Bligh, who famously provoked a mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789. But somehow sailors trusted Cook. He once wrote: The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. Leadership was about doing what was necessary, not what was popular.

For example, Cook knew that, when no fresh fruit was available, it was going to be difficult to ward off scurvy. The answer lay in ensuring his crew ate the less palatable pickled cabbage. Cook didnt understand how it worked, but he knew that it did and ordered his crew to eat it; when some didnt, he gave them a dozen lashes. Later he resorted to the reverse psychology of only serving sauerkraut at the captains table and one way or another not a single member of his crew died of scurvy. This was unheard of on such a voyage.

Having rounded Cape Horn at the end of January 1769, the Endeavour reached Tahiti on 13 April. The island had been chosen because a British expedition led by Samuel Wallis had landed there the previous year. Several of Cooks crew had sailed with Wallis and good relations were more easily established with leading Tahitians, including Tuteha, the chief of the area around the landing site. Cook was well aware that the people of the Pacific Islands were vulnerable to exploitation, and he set out very specific rules that his crew should abide by. It began: To endeavour by every fair means to cultivate a friendship with the Natives and to treat them with all imaginable humanity.

Cook was the mariner of the Enlightenment, if not all time

Permission was given for the visitors to build a fort, which became a trading post. During the stay, the British became acquainted with Tupaia, a Tahitian priest and navigator. Tupaia joined the Endeavour, sailing on to New Zealand and Australia. Cook and his astronomer observed the transit of Venus on 3 June 1769. He then opened a second packet of sealed orders from the Admiralty. These instructed him to search for new lands, in particular the great southern continent which would, redound greatly to the Honour of this Nation as a Maritime Power, as well as to the Dignity of the Crown of Great Britain, and may tend greatly to the advancement of the Trade and Navigation thereof.

When land was found his orders were to observe the Nature of the Soil, and the Products thereof; the Beasts and Fowls that inhabit or frequent it, the fishes that are to be found.

The artist Alexander Buchan died of epilepsy in Tahiti, but Banks and Solander continued to collect and collate samples at a relentless rate for Sydney Parkinsons quick hand. During the entire voyage, Parkinson made nearly a thousand artworks of plants and animals, and of lands and their peoples working in difficult circumstances. At one point his cabin was plagued by flies that fed on his paints. Banks subsequently had 738 copper plates engraved with Parkinsons work so his drawings and water colours could be published, but never completed the project. It wasnt until 1988 that the great Florilegium was published. In all Banks and Solander collected nearly 30,000 dried specimens, increasing the known flora of the world by a quarter. Parkinson was to die from dysentery later on in the voyage at Java. And Banks own journal of the Endeavour voyage was not published until 1962.

Cook was the second known European to land on New Zealand. His circumnavigation of both islands disproved the theory in Europe that it was part of the great southern landmass, as the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman had surmised a century before. Endeavour then made its way north east until, on 19 April 1770, Lieutenant Zachery Hicks called land from a masthead. They were looking at a coastline that no European had ever seen before, and it wasnt where Tasman recorded Van Diemens Land (known today as Tasmania) as being. As if to welcome them to Australis Incognita, the wind raised three water spouts, snaking up from the sea. Two died away quickly but the third hung in the air for some time, with Banks describing it in his journal thus:

It was a column which appeared to be about the thickness of a mast or a midling (sic) tree, and reachd down from a smoak colurd cloud about two thirds of the way to the surface of the seaWhen it was at its greatest distance from the water the pipe itself was perfectly transparent and much resembled a tube of glass.

Cook named the headland Point Hicks and continued heading north. They landed on 29 April, with Cook asking 18-year-old Isaac Smith, cousin to his wife Elizabeth, to be the first ashore. Banks and Solander wasted no time spreading out a sail on the beach and covering it with 200 quires of drying paper for botanical specimens. Endeavour stayed in the harbour for a week, and Cook named it Botany Bay on his departure.

His journals of the voyage were published on his return and established him as a world figure among the scientific community. He was, like the First Fleet that came to Australia after him, stunned by the vividness and abundance of bird life.

Two sorts of beautiful perroquets, he told Parkinson, a very uncommon hawk, pied back and white The iris or its every broad, of a rich scarlet colour inclining to orange, the beak was black, the cera dirty grey yellow, the feet were of a gold or deep buff colour like the kings yellow.

There were varying degrees of contact with Aboriginal people as Endeavour progressed up the coast. As Cook himself writes:

From what I have said of the Natives of New Holland they may appear to some to be the most wretched people upon earth, but in reality they are far more happier than we Europeans; being wholly unacquainted not only with the superfluous but the necessary conveniences so much sought after in Europe, they are happy in not knowing the use of them. They live in a Tranquillity which is not disturbd by the Inequality of the Condition.

On 11 June Endeavour ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. The coral tore its timbers and it began to sink. There were life boats enough for fewer than half of crew members, and the three pumps could barely keep pace with the incoming water. Crew member Jonathan Monkhouse told Cook about a method that was used on a leaking ship he was once aboard in the Atlantic. It was called fothering, and involved knitting fistfuls of wool and oakum to a sail, tying ropes to each corner, and smearing animal dung over it, before then wrapping it under the ship. The pressure of water would then push the bolstered sail into the hole. In Endeavours case it worked, and her crew were saved. The Endeavour limped to shore for repairs.

She finally returned to England in July 1771, and Cook became a sailor of international repute. During the American War of Independence Benjamin Franklin ordered his navy not to interfere with Cooks missions, for he was a common friend to mankind.

The Captain Cook statue vandalised in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2018.

Cooks achievements have lived on in the public memory for over two centuries. There are statues of him in Melbourne and Sydney. In 1934 the cottage where he was born was purchased and taken to Melbourne to be rebuilt brick by brick. The final space shuttle was called Endeavour, and Gene Rodenberrys Star Trek surely alludes to Cook, in the shape of James T Kirk and his spaceship, the Enterprise, with its five-year mission to seek out new life formsto boldly go where no man has been before.

Yet today things are different. On Australia Day in 2018, paint was thrown on Cooks statue, and he stands charged with colonialism, and facilitating the dispossession of Aboriginal people. This year a planned circumnavigation of Australia in a replica of Endeavour was criticised by many as insensitive.

James Cook and his achievements have fallen foul of the inane culture wars, and he finds himself out of favour, traduced. It would not be done to be seen in Sydneys best cafs reading a biography of the man. At a time when we find ourselves threatened by forces we do not fully comprehend, Cook and his crew can serve as an inspiration, a reminder of the resilience, of the insatiable curiosity of humanity. He embodies a spirit beyond talk of colonialism and national pride an indefatigable spirit of mankind that is fearless and optimistic, a belief that we can find answers and prevail.

Michael Crowley is a dramatist, and the author of The Stony Ground: The Remembered Life of Convict James Ruse and First Fleet.

Pictures by: Getty Images

What we could do with your 5 per month

For less than the cost of two copies of the Guardian, you can help spiked become bigger and better and bolshier than ever. All of our articles and podcasts and essays are free, and we want to keep it that way. But to do so we ask our wonderful readers, if they can afford it, to chip in ideally with a monthly donation. It might not sound like much, but donating as little as 5 per month has a transformative impact on our work. Knowing that we have your regular support means we can keep going and growing. So if you like our work and want to support us, please do consider signing up.

Thank you!

To enquire about republishing spikeds content, a right to reply or to request a correction, please contact the managing editor, Viv Regan.

Continued here:
Captain Cook and the heroism of the Enlightenment - Spiked

Khrimian Hayrik sometime before 1903 (Photo: S. Soghomonyan)

Dear and blessed Armenians, villagers, when you return to the fatherland, as a gift, one by one, get your friend and relative a gun, get a gun and more guns. People, before all else, put the hope of your independence on yourself.

This excerpt is from the most famous sermon in modern Armenian history. Its message, that Armenians must cease their hopeful reliance on foreign powers, is taught in textbooks throughout the Diaspora. The man behind the speech, Mkrtich Khrimian Hayrik, occupies an outsized role in the Armenian national memory. He is the fiery cleric who beseeched Armenians to defend themselves and became known as the father of the revolutionary movement. A rare figure of history who is beloved by most everyone, Khrimian is considered an honorary Dashnak, a founding member of the Armenakan party. His name was often invoked within the pages of the official publication of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia, all while simultaneously remaining a revered figure in the Armenian Church, respected for both his piety and devotion to his flock.

However, over the decades since his death, Khrimians legacy has been overtaken by the Sermon on the Sword mentioned above, which he first delivered in 1878 in the Armenian Cathedral in Kum Kapu. While the iron ladle metaphor he employed still resonates with contemporary audiences, Khrimians other myriad contributions to the development of the Armenian mind and the amelioration of the state of the villager have been left understudied.

Aside from his role as a pioneer in encouraging self-reliance, Khrimian also dedicated much of his life to educating the rural Armenian. Though the majority of Armenians lived in the vulnerable and vital eastern regions of the Ottoman Empirethe Armenian fatherlandmost resources were poured into developing the Armenian community in Istanbul. Khrimian was among the first to shift the focus from Istanbul to the eastern provinces to not only speak to the villager, but also to give the villager a voice.

Khrimian published a combination of nine essays and books between 1855 and 1901. During that time, he also wrote articles for, while also acting as editor and publisher of, two periodicals, Artsvi Vaspurakan and Artsvik Tarono. Throughout these texts, certain themes arise which were vital for Khrimian including gender and the financial stability of the villager.

However, one of the themes which was most frequently discussed and important to Khrimian was education and the enlightenment of the Armenian peasant. This essay will serve as an analysis of one of his seminal texts, Papik ev Tornik, as well as the Artsvi Vaspurakan publication as a sampling of his intellectual and literary output regarding his efforts to educate the rural Armenian population.

Long before he exhorted the carrying of arms as a solution to the critical plight of the Armenians, Khrimian entreated the value of education as a salvaging force. Within the first page of the introduction to Papik ev Tornik, Khrimian posed the following question directly to his reader asking, What is the reason why even with all the good you have, you are always left deprived? To this he answered, Read Papik ev Tornik and you will learn that the only cause is ignorancenot knowing how to read, write, count and economize. Khrimian frequently wrote that ignorance and lack of education were the root causes behind hardship. He also championed the idea that all Armenians, including women, should be educated; the education of the individual would lead to a more prosperous Armenian society within the Ottoman Empire.

Though Khrimian placed his emphasis on education, he did not advocate for formal education alone as the only avenue to escape ignorance. In the chapter of Papik ev Tornik titled, Amelioration of the State of the Villager, he extolled the intrinsic value of books, writing, You know, grandson, every book is its own teacher for the reader. The authors have died, but the writing has remained alive. There are those kinds of books that are immortal, thousands of years can pass and they still speak to us. This statement achieved two goals. Firstly, it worked to instill a respect within the Armenian peasant for reading; Khrimians statement posited the power of the book as a transmitter of knowledge which needed no mediator. Secondly, and more importantly, the statement gave the average rural Armenian a degree of agency over his education.

In the third issue of Artsvi Vaspurakan, printed in 1861, Khrimian argued for the need for Armenian public schools and challenged the popular belief that only the clergy needed to be educated, writing, Who has decided for the Armenian people that they must suffer eternally in this dungeon of ignorance or hell? Is Christs able hand going to come back down to earth again and free them, perhaps? The author answered his own cheeky rhetorical question by saying that the only solutions that would help the Armenians were public school and education. Here as well there was a connection between education and agency. Khrimian, despite being a cleric and soon-to-be Patriarch and eventually Catholicos, told his readers not to wait on Gods grace, but to free themselves from their dire situation through their education.

Aside from directly discussing the role and status of education in the development of the individual, many articles were themselves dedicated to educating the rural Armenian. One such example was the Tesarank Hayreni Ashkharhats series in Artsvi Vaspurakan which informed readers about different regions of the Armenian fatherland. This section provided the reader with important details oftentimes regarding either their surrounding regions or their own hometowns.

For instance, in the first publication of 1858, Khrimian printed a piece on the monastery of Varag in Vaspurakan. The article provided extensive information on the region including weather, its surroundings, topography, physical features, indigenous crops and the monastery itself.

Examples like this abound throughout Artsvi Vaspurakans publication. In the third issue of 1859, an article was dedicated to the scientific explanation of earthquakes. The catalyst of this article emerged after an earthquake occurred in Erzurum which led to the spread of terrible myths about what caused it, the worst result of which was that the youth believed in these myths and showed no further interest in learning the correct cause and thus remained ignorant. This compelled the author to write an article explaining the scientific process behind earthquakes in order to dispel superstition.

Lastly, Artsvi took up the mantle of educating its readership by engaging in pertinent contemporary discussions. One such example was a provocative and satirical piece on the debate of whether to use grabar (Classical Armenian) or the vernacular. The article, written by Khrimians student Garegin Sruandzeants, was styled as a tongue-in-cheek conversation between grabar and the vernacular themselves, each extolling its own virtue while insulting the other. After having already sparred for a number of pages, grabar responds to vernaculars claim that its time has passed. Grabar exclaims, , , , to which the vernacular retorts simply: It was a rare example of satire and humor in the publication, but more importantly, it invited the reader to participate in the national discourse and a pivotal development which was occurring in their time.

Khrimians image and legacy performed a specific role in the decades following his death, usually as the convenient and tidy embodiment of the nationalist and revolutionary movement which was brewing in the second half of the 19th century. Khrimian was undoubtedly a pivotal figure in the Armenian nationalist narrative and the revolutionary movement that came to fruition then.

Yet, confining Mkrtich Khrimians historical legacy to a single speech precludes an objective study of the vast impact Khrimian had on the development of the Armenians of the eastern provinces, the social dynamic of the Armenian millet and the perceived role of millet representation within the Ottoman Empire. The current limited understanding of Khrimian can only be expanded through a holistic analysis of his work and publications. This approach removes Khrimian as solely a character in Armenian history and portrays him as a transmitter of social, political and intellectual change, as much informed by the many changes surrounding him as he, in turn, shaped them.

Nora is a graduate of Columbia University's Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies department and she will begin her doctoral studies at UCLA in the fall of 2020. Her thesis at Columbia was titled, "Beyond the Iron Ladle: Education, Gender and Economic Independence in the Work of Mkrtich Khrimean Hayrik. She also spent several years living and working in Armenia.

Read more:
The Legacy of Khrimian Hayrik: Education and Enlightenment - Armenian Weekly

Captain James Cook arrived in the Pacific 250 years ago, triggering British colonisation of the region. Were asking researchers to reflect on what happened and how it shapes us today. You can see other stories in the series here and an interactive here.

James Cook and his companions aboard the Endeavour landed at a harbour on Australias southeast coast in April of 1770. Cook named the place Botany Bay for the great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found in this place.

Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander were aboard the Endeavour as gentleman botanists, collecting specimens and applying names in Latin to plants Europeans had not previously seen. The place name hints at the importance of plants to Britains Empire, and to botanys pivotal place in Europes Enlightenment and Australias early colonisation.

Cook has always loomed large in Australias colonial history. White Australians have long commemorated and celebrated him as the symbolic link to the civilisation of Enlightenment and Empire. The two botanists have been less well remembered, yet Banks in particular was an influential figure in Australias early colonisation.

When Banks and his friend Solander went ashore on April 29, 1770 to collect plants for naming and classification, the Englishman recollected they saw nothing like people. Banks knew that the land on which he and Solander sought plants was inhabited (and in fact, as we now know, had been so for at least 65,000 years). Yet the two botanists were engaged in an activity that implied the land was blank and unknown.

They were both botanical adventurers. Solander was among the first and most favoured of the students of Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist and colonial traveller who devised the method still used today for naming species. Both Solander and Banks were advocates for the Linnaean method of taxonomy: a systematic classification of newly named plants and animals.

When they stepped ashore at Botany Bay in 1770, the pair saw themselves as pioneers in a double sense: as Linnaean botanists in a new land, its places and plants unnamed by any other; as if they were in a veritable terra nullius.

Terra nullius, meaning nobodys land, refers to a legal doctrine derived from European traditions stretching back to the ancient Romans. The idea was that land could be declared empty and unowned if there were no signs of occupation such as cultivation of the soil, towns, cities, or sacred temples.

As a legal doctrine it was not applied in Australia until the late 1880s, and there is dispute about its effects in law until its final elimination by the High Court in Mabo v Queensland (No. II) in 1992.

Read more: Terra nullius interruptus: Captain James Cook and absent presence in First Nations art

Cook never used this formulation, nor did Banks or Solander. Yet each in their way acted as if it were true. That the land, its plants, and animals, and even its peoples, were theirs to name and classify according to their own standards of scientific knowledge.

In the late eighteenth century, no form of scientific knowledge was more useful to empire than botany. It was the science par excellence of colonisation and empire. Botany promised a way to transform the waste of nature into economic productivity on a global scale.

Wealth and power in Britains eighteenth century empire came from harnessing economically useful crops: tobacco, sugar, tea, coffee, rice, potatoes, flax. Hence Banks and Solanders avid botanical activity was not merely a manifestation of Enlightenment science. It was an integral feature of Britains colonial and imperial ambitions.

Throughout the Endeavours voyage, Banks, Solander, and their assistants collected more than 30,000 plant specimens, naming more than 1,400 species.

By doing so, they were claiming new ground for European knowledge, just as Cook meticulously charted the coastlines of territories he claimed for His Majesty, King George III. Together they extended a new dispensation, inscribed in new names for places and for plants written over the ones that were already there.

Long after the Endeavour returned to Britain, Banks testified before two House of Commons committees in 1779 and 1785 that Botany Bay would be an advantageous site for a new penal colony. Among his reasons for this conclusion were not only its botanical qualities fertile soils, abundant trees and grasses but its virtual emptiness.

Read more: From Captain Cook to the First Fleet: how Botany Bay was chosen over Africa as a new British penal colony

When Banks described in his own Endeavour journal the land Cook had named New South Wales, he recalled: This immense tract of Land is thinly inhabited even to admiration . It was the science of botany that connected emptiness and empire to the Enlightened pursuit of knowledge.

One of Bankss correspondents was the Scottish botanist and professor of natural history, John Walker. Botany, Walker wrote, was one of the few Sciences that can promise any discovery or improvement. Botany was the scientific means to master the global emporium of commodities on which empire grew.

Botany was also the reason why it had not been necessary for Banks or Solander to affirm the land on which they trod was empty. For in a very real sense, their science presupposed it. The land, its plants and its people were theirs to name and thereby claim by discovery.

When Walker reflected on his own botanical expeditions in the Scottish Highlands, he described them as akin to voyages of discovery to lands as inanimate & unfrequented as any in the Terra australis.

As we reflect on the 250-year commemoration of Cooks landing in Australia, we ought also to consider his companions Banks and Solander, and their science of turning supposed emptiness to empire.

See the original post:
Botany and the colonisation of Australia in 1770 - The Conversation AU

The current situation in the world has caused many people to feel lost, anxious, and rethinking their purpose in life. The quarantine situation amidst the Covid-19 crisis may leave an individual overwhelmed with their emotions which is why it becomes important to surround your mind with positive thoughts. This can be achieved by reading, watching, and listening to any good stuff. Conscious Moon Podcast is one such source, that may allow the listener to get out of such emotional turmoil and see things from a higher perspective. This podcast is designed to bring spiritual enlightenment to the listeners through a variety of topics like alternative ways of healing, astrology, concepts of chakras, 5D consciousness, and more.

Conscious Moon Podcast helps the listeners inspire and guide through their lifes transformational experiences, by enabling them to learn about consciousness and spirituality based topics that strive to improve the overall well-being of mind, body, and soul. The podcast is created by Keyera, a person of color to build a community of people who are or wish to walk on the path to spirituality and enlightenment. She created this podcast after having multiple experiences with spiritual awakening. She always found herself curious to learn more about lifes true purpose, existence, and things that mainstream science wont talk about.

Keyera frequently invites several guests on her podcasts, mostly experts in different fields of spirituality and alternative healing. Her podcast on Sound Healing features Dante Baker, a throat singing sound healer based in the DC area, and for her podcast on Astrology, she sits with renowned astrologer Shakirah Tabourn to talk about her entrepreneurial journey, transits in 2020 and working with the moon's energy. In some of her other podcasts, Keyera discusses topics like root Chakra, and UFO, Vortex, and 5D Consciousness.

Conscious Moon Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts.

More information can be found on theconsciousmoon.com.

Instagram: @Iamconsciousmoon @Thekeyerag

Twitter: @moon_conscious

Media Contact Company Name: Conscious Moon Podcast Contact Person: Press Executive Email: Send Email Country: United States Website: http://www.theconsciousmoon.com

See the article here:
Conscious Moon Podcast is spreading spiritual enlightenment through topics like alternative healing, 5D consciousness and more - Press Release -...

Written by Brian Boucher, CNN

What was the Buddha's great wisdom, and how do the artworks of the Buddhist tradition convey it to us today?

Buddhist art has been created over two millennia across India, China, Japan and throughout Asia, and takes some distinctive forms in various regions, but generally speaking it was created to guide followers of the Buddha, known as "the Awakened One," in their religious practice.

Whether they depict the Buddha himself, episodes from his life, or boddhisattvas (those who have taken a vow to seek enlightenment), this art was meant to inspire the Buddha's devotees and remind them of his teachings, whose core message is about compassion and the path to relieving suffering.

One thing Jeff Durham, associate curator of Himalayan art at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, stresses is that the very role of Buddhist art is fundamentally different from that of art in the Western world.

"Buddhist art isn't just a picture of anything," he said over the phone. "It's active art designed to reflect and project a certain mental state. These works are meant to change the mind from a state of obsession to one of friendliness."

The Buddha triumphing over Mara, a statue in stone from Bihar state, India (approximately 800-900). Part of the Avery Brundage Collection at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco Credit: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Despite the broad geographic reach of Buddhism and its centuries-long history, the teachings are consistent. Our actions, or karma, define our destiny. The Buddha, who was born as the Prince Siddhartha into a royal family in Lumbini, close to the border with India in what is now Nepal, taught that the cycle of death and rebirth, called samsara, is caused by our mental attachment to earthly concerns, and that a mind disciplined by meditation can release us from this endless cycle of suffering.

How can photographers capture human connection in the age of coronavirus?

One classic representation of the Buddha, depicting a key moment in his life, is the museum's "The Buddha triumphing over Mara," a ninth-century Indian stone sculpture. In it, the Buddha is seated in meditation at the very moment of his awakening, or enlightenment, when he realized the causes of suffering in human life, and understood that meditation could release humankind from such suffering. The Buddha went into Vipassana meditation, a technique practiced throughout the world today, Durham explained, after making the resolution that, "My bones may break, my blood may dry up, but I will not move from this position until I have solved the mystery of the universe."

He would not rise, he determined, until he had divined a means to banish suffering.

A basalt statue: "Standing crowned Buddha with four scenes of his life," approx. 1050--1100. southern Magadha region, Bihar state, India. Part of the Brundage Collection at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Credit: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

There is a way to read what these sculptures are saying, Durham explained. Here, the clue that the sculpture shows the moment of Buddha's awakening is the gesture he is making with his right hand. When the demon Mara -- who in Buddhist cosmology is associated with desire -- tried to challenge the Buddha by demanding a witness to his awakening, the Buddha touched the Earth itself, calling upon it to testify to his enlightenment. When the Earth testified, "I am your witness," it drove the demon away.

Another exceptionally fine representation is the brass "Buddha Shakyamuni" from the twelfth or thirteenth century in central Tibet, explained John Guy, curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. This particular sculpture is rare since it avoided destruction in a historical purge: "It's one of the rare survivors of Tibetan art to have come down to us from this very early period," he said over the phone. "They survived in greater numbers until the 1950s, when the Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet and destroyed so much art."

It's not only gestures that clue viewers in to the fact that a sculpture represents the Buddha and conveys his teachings, but also distinctive physical attributes. One common feature of the Buddha among Tibetan renditions, Guy explained, is the fire atop his head, seen in this work. "Kings and rulers are understood to have distinguishing body marks, of which this is one," he said.

Buddha Shakyamuni, 12th century, central Tibet. Credit: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Another telltale mark is the profile of the Buddha's cranium. That's not a headdress you see creating a conical shape on top of the Buddha's skull -- it's actually a bodily attribute called the ushnisha (cranial protuberance), which signifies great wisdom.

Other identifying marks of the Buddha are long earlobes (a relic of his earlier, wealthier life, when he wore earrings), flat soles of the feet, and fingers all the same length. ("That continues to this day," Guy added. "The Dalai Lama, too, was chosen because of the body marks on the infant.")

Famous shoe designer Christian Louboutin explores the world's treasures

The Met's seventh-century Indian bronze sculpture "Buddha Offering Protection," meanwhile, shows how some of the earliest artists to depict the Buddha combined attributes that were unique to Buddhist teachings, with those associated with regal figures in other art historical traditions, such as the raised right hand, palm outward, which extends protection to his followers. They also used umbrellas, fans, and thrones, which were meant to help followers of other traditions shift their loyalties to the Awakened One, said Guy.

"The Buddha triumphing over Mara" provides a great example of an artwork that doesn't just remind you of an episode from the Buddha's life, but also includes the Awakened One's teachings too," Durham said. The writing around the Buddha's head reads, "Everything has a cause." The Buddha realized at his moment of enlightenment that nothing in the world is disconnected from anything else; samsara, remember, is caused by our own minds.

Buddha Offering Protection, Late 6th-early 7th century, India. Credit: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"You can actually read off the sculpture that it's the enlightenment experience," Durham said. "And you can understand what the Buddha actually understood that woke him up."

If you're not quite ready to accept that your own mind causes the endless cycle of death, rebirth and suffering, there's still plenty to be gleaned from this ancient tradition and its artworks.

"The Buddha's teachings can be read on many levels," Guy said. "But at a fundamental level, all the storytelling was a way of conveying ethical values. One of them is the peaceful coexistence of all life forms, which is very germane today. We've wandered dangerously far from that principle in the era of climate change."

Yayoi Kusama orders coronavirus to 'Disappear from this earth' in a new poem

Referring to the seated Buddha sculpture in San Francisco, which is inscribed with the message that all things are connected by causality (in contrast with the deterministic belief that our fate is out of our hands), Durham, too, brings matters from the time of the Awakened One to today.

"What he saw when he woke up is that things don't happen by chance, that everything is connected by causality," he said. "And if nothing else, Covid-19 is waking us up to the fact that we are all connected."

Note: This story has been updated to correct the Buddha's birthplace.

Go here to see the original:
Buddhist art: These ancient images are more timely than you think - CNN

"The Conversion of St. Augustine," by Fra Angelico. (Wikimedia Commons)

In his latest book On the Road with St. Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts (Brazos Press, $19), James K.A. Smith offers a multifaceted reflection that intertwines his own life and the life of the African bishop from Hippo to illuminate the human experience.

This book is a journey with Augustine as a journey into oneself. Its a travelogue of the heart. Its a road trip with a prodigal whos already been where you think you need to go. Smith offers a fresh and compelling portrait of St. Augustine, centered on the Confessions but informed by his letters, preaching, and other works, perhaps especially On Christian Teaching.

Interspersed are references from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, the novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac, the memoir of Jay-Z, and the everyday life of Smiths own family.

Augustines Confessions, in Smiths understanding, is a retelling of the parable of the prodigal son who departs from his fathers house and who is welcomed home by the same father, who was keeping watch for him and who greets him with merciful love (Luke 15:1132). The story of St. Augustine is also the story of every human person who searches for an identity, for freedom, for accomplishment, for enlightenment, and for true love with family and friends. We are already Augustinian, writes Smith, we just didnt know it.

Perhaps nothing is more Augustinian than addiction. Smith articulates St. Augustines experience, which is an experience reenacted in countless troubled lives: Insofar as I keep choosing to try to find that satisfaction in finite, created things whether its sex or adoration or beauty or power Im going to be caught in a cycle where Im more and more disappointed in those things and more and more dependent on those things. Disordered use of freedom, the abuse of freedom, leads into the claustrophobic crawl space of the self, as Leslie Jamison puts it.

St. Augustines story also teaches us about evangelization. Smith writes, Illumination depends upon trust: enlightenment is communal. Its not that Augustine immediately comes to affirm the Catholic faith; rather, Ambroses kindness and hospitality to a precocious outsider was the affective condition for him to reconsider the faith hes spurned. I fell in love with him, as it were, not at first as a teacher of the truth as I had no hope for that whatsoever in your church but simply as a person who was kind to me. You can feel in this encounter something of the gratitude of the African outsider not being marginalized by an intellectual at the center of power.

Love is a necessary condition for the possibility of evangelization. The words of faith become plausible after reception of the deeds of love. Its not just that reason needs love in order to know, writes Smith. I need to be loved into such knowing, welcomed into such believing, embraced for such hoping. If the arguments are going to change your mind, its only because an Ambrose welcomes you home.

Perhaps the most deeply moving part of the book comes in its penultimate chapter. To be comforted by the word of Gods grace, writes Augustine, is to return after a long journey to obtain from a father the kiss of love. St. Augustines father, Patrick, was abusive, adulterous, and absent.

Smith writes, Maybe this is what has drawn me to Augustine on an unconscious level: a shared longing for a father Ive never known. I suspect Im not alone in this. I know Im not the only one whose father has left, whose stepfather left, whos been left bereft of fathers despite their multiplication in serial marriages. Smith hasnt seen or heard from his father or his stepfather in decades.

At the heart of the madness of the gospel is an almost unbelievable mystery that speaks to a deep human hunger only intensified by a generation of broken homes: to be seen and known and loved by a father. The Christian story is meeting a Father who adopts you, who chooses you, who sees you a long way off and comes running, and says, Ive been waiting for you. Smith sees in the Church, at its best, a family of brothers and sisters in Christ adopted by a loving Father.

But the journey does not end with adoption. We have not come to our final home as long as we walk on earth. This incompleteness is felt even by a saint. As Smith notes, This is why book 10 of Augustines Confessions is such a gift: it is the testimony of a broken bishop in the present. You realize Augustine isnt just narrating past temptations he has escaped: hes confessing all the ways hes still tempted to camp out in alcoves of creation as if they were home. I struggle every day, he admits, and I love him for doing so.

If you love St. Augustine, if you love learning about the human condition, youll love this elegantly written book.

Original post:
Augustines restless heart, and our own - Angelus News

Kevin Walthall, Columnist Published 11:32 a.m. PT April 26, 2020

Can we trust the media? The World Health Organization? The Centers for Disease Control? Dr. Fauci? Whos fact-checking the fact-checkers? How do we know the earth isn'tflat?

It seems the line between free-thinking and conspiracy theorizing has been blurring. A seemingly healthy distrust of authority has bled over into an unhealthy distrust of authoritative fact, with little room for nuance. The governor and the state legislature, informed by the most qualified medical experts in the nation, have decided on a path that isnt happy, easy or prosperous for anyone. Its bitter medicine we have to take to prevent loss of life. And yet, Im taken aback by the insanity of the quarantine protests, the random individualistic belligerence, and the conspiracy theories Im seeing. How did we get to the point where the average person feels qualified to rebuke and disregard actual experts? And why do average people feel compelled to do so?

In my own lifetime, it seems weve gone from qualifying our opinions with "I'm no expert, but it seems to me like..." to cavalierly dismissing actual experts. The same general sentiments are more irreverent and destructive now that accountability to authoritative truth has been abolished. This hyper-vigilance against institutional bias smells like personal bias -- the desire for control, for answers, and for woke status. Its more comforting to believe seismic forces are under the control of some shadowy cabal than it is to believe the terrifying truth that nobody controls this thing. Conspiracy theories are comforting because they offer the illusion of order where there is none.

Im comforted by some sober truths of human nature: If youve done what it takes to become powerful, you have powerful enemies waiting to protect and publicize any whistleblower with the information to bring you down. Thats a guarantee. And if Bush did 9/11 or Democrats are destroying the economy to make Trump look bad, youd better believe there would be powerful players on the other side of the aisle actively seeking to reveal concrete proof. The fact is, there is none.

The media (which is apparently monolithic) makes its money off scandals. The media outlet that covers up a political or corporate scandal goes bankrupt. You dont have to trust in altruism to trust the media. You can trust self-interest.

When it comes to anecdotes of authorities getting information wrong, our response should be analogous to Russell Wilson throwing an interception -- sure, the person in the spotlight made a mistake, but that doesnt mean someone can come in off the couch and do a better job. The solution to media bias seems to be The media is biased, therefore Im going to believe whatever I want. I think we lose faith in institutions when we expect those institutions to somehow be perfect, but thats unrealistic. Journalism has always been a very human, flawed thing. It historically goes through cycles from muckraking on one end, to borderline propaganda on the other. Its reporting has always referenced an assumed common lexicon of values, but that commonality is disintegrating, and the media is left trying to deliver public health announcements to Babel.

The CDC, WHO and Dr. Fauci represents the worlds most qualified medical expertise -- but if youre willing to second-guess the credentials of the worlds leading experts, youre probably willing to second-guess the people who determine those credentials in the first place. In fact, youre probably willing to second guess everything -- everything except yourself. And thats at the root of the problem. Well go through extremely inconvenient mental gymnastics to arrive at convenient conclusions.

Ive never seen deep-dives into fringe sources result in a more nuanced worldview. Ive never seen a Republican gain respect for a Democrat, or vice-versa through secret revelations for the faithful. Ive never seen a paranoid, distrustful person enter the wormhole of selective fact-finding and emerge with faith in an imperfect system held together by checks and balances. I fear the sum effect of the Information Age has been the ability to find the facts we want to believe. Weve been empowered to launder opinions through a network of shell sources and truths presented with falsified contexts.

To be clear, Im not asking anyone to slide into any one entrenched position, nor am I advocating for total agnosticism. By all means, fact-check and think critically, but embrace some humility before the face of messy reality and absolute -- but often obscured -- truth. Im asking us to address the fact that real life is not a comic book filled with heroes and villains, and if were going to live in real life, were going to live with unresolved tensions. Were going to live with a lack of answers. Were going to live with some frustrations. But hopefully we can all be frustrated and humble together, seeing the human tensions within one another.

The older I get, the more I want to be simple. The word integrity derives from integer, a whole number. This word, often thrown around as a synonym for morality, means a lack of duplicity. It means wholeness and consistency within oneself. I am not a bastion of integrity, but I want to be.

I want to recognize a good idea when I hear it, regardless of who it comes from. I want to be the same person in front of my Bible that I am on social media. I want to be the same person with my daughter that I am with people who annoy me. I want her to master this ethos better than I have.

The Enlightenment places a high value on individualism, the mind, and questioning traditions and institutions. I find it ironic that the Enlightenment is, itself, a tradition institutionalized in our Constitution that often goes unquestioned. While the Enlightenment produced our constitution, it also produced the French Reign of Terror. Many Enlightenment thinkers, James Madison and several notable founding fathers included, were concerned that the American system was too populist an interpretation of these ideals, enabling our basest desires to be preyed upon and politicized in a system that would eventually devolve through sensationalism into mob rule.

As individuals, the Enlightenment creates its own system of honor and shame. How do we prove our intelligence to the world, and thus win honor? I submit that its through expressing opinions. This is where I find the Dunning-Kruger Effect to be fascinating. The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a cognitive bias where people of low ability in a task often overestimate their competency because they dont fully understand what competency looks like. Basically, they dont know what they dont know. Those who have the strongest opinions on a subject often have strong opinions because they dont fully understand the subject - confidence in an opinion is usually a symptom of ignorance.

Believe me, the irony of this coming from an opinion columnist is not lost on me. Wise King Solomon says it better:

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. -Proverbs 18:2

Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. - Proverbs 17:28

Side note: Whatever happened to philosopher-kings?

Theres integrity in the simple words I dont know. Theres integrity in qualifying opinions with based on what Ive learned, this is what I think - but I may be wrong. I have a Bachelors in American History. I know more than the average bear in that department, but if I encounter someone more educated, Im going to listen more than I speak. I might know something they dont. They might be wrong about something. Were all human. But spending several years studying under true experts has taught me that theres a lot I dont know. At this time when knowledge can literally mean life or death, if you are not a qualified medical expert, the time has come to listen to qualified medical experts.

The simple can have honor. It is a moral and honorable thing to exercise self-restraint and humility of thought. It is a moral and honorable thing to examine ones own soul with a scalpel before lazily applying the scalpel to others. It is a moral and honorable thing to topple the tyrant of pride within before assailing tyrants without.

Kevin Walthall is a Bremerton resident and a regular contributor tothe Kitsap Sun. He also writes for the blog Urban Bremerton. Contact him atkswalthall@gmail.com.

Kevin Walthall(Photo: Contributed image)

Read or Share this story: https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/opinion/columnists/2020/04/26/integrity-saying-i-dont-know/3022602001/

Visit link:
The integrity of saying 'I don't know' - Kitsap Sun

A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery, by Joseph Wright of Derby 1766 Derby Museum of Art, Derby, England

Gospel of 29th April 2020 - Matthew 11:25-30

The reading today is one that over the years has always somewhat puzzled me. He prays to His father and says: 'I bless you, Father, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children'. At first glance we may think that Jesus is thanking His Father because he hid the Gospel from the wise and intelligent, but revealed it instead to uneducated fishermen like Peter. Does this therefore mean that it is wrong to be intellectual? Does this mean that God does not care for the educated? Of course not. But the problem lays within the attitude such people can display towards the Gospels.

Having an overly scientific approach to the Christian faith would lead to the danger of wanting to prove the existence of God using scientific methods. Or such an approach could trivialise God's greatest miracles and fail to see the divine nature in the. Unfortunately, science can be used only to explore creation. It cannot explore the Creator. So Jesus presents us with the need for us to have a childlike faith. This isn't a childish faith, but a childlike faith. A child is completely dependent on adults for safety, love, nurturing, education and knowledge. Similarly, a faithful person depends on God in a way that is absolutely dependent.

Reflection on the Painting

The painting by Joseph Wright of Derby was painted in 1766, in the midst of the Age of Enlightenment, when science took centre stage and was widely celebrated. It is then that in a way our 21st Century phenomenon of Scientism (excessive belief in the power of scientific knowledge to provide the only genuine knowledge of reality) started. The painting shows a philosopher giving a lecture on the Orrery in which a lamp is put symbolising the Sun, and explaining how the Planets revolve around the sun. Wright's depiction of the wonder produced by scientific research, marked a break with previous painting traditions in which the artistic depiction of such wonder was reserved mainly for religious events. It is a very striking painting though. The single light-source is masterfully lighting the faces. To Wright, the marvels of the scientific age were as awe-inspiring as the subjects of the great religious paintings

But Scripture cannot be approached just with the mind. The word of God also speaks to the heart and only then fully comes to life!

LINKS

Today's story - https://christianart.today/reading.php?id=406

Christian Art Today - https://christianart.today

and Holy Week through 100 paintings - http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/39289

Tags: Christian Art Today, Patrick van de Vorst, Joseph Wright of Derby

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

Please support our journalism by donating today.

Read this article:
Today's Gospel in Art - You have hidden these things from the wise - Independent Catholic News

Everything is One - A New Documentary Film that Decodes the Mystery of Life, Released by Center for Introspection & Enlightenment Initiatives for a Utopian world based on Science & Technology GlobeNewswire April 23, 2020

SURREY, British Columbia, April 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Center for Introspection & Enlightenment, Canada has released a new documentary film called Everything is One as a part of its outreach program.

The documentary film meant for scientists & technologists is available worldwide on Vimeo.

Everything is One has 2 parts, each with duration of 90 min.

Origin, Evolution & Nature of life describes the design & architecture of the human system. It is the journey of life as it evolved through time.

Purpose of life. Connecting the dots describes the functional specifications & application axiom of the human system.

The Center's initiatives are aimed at enlarging the human vision, redefining the purpose of life and evolving into an advanced species.

The Center aims to bring scientists & technologists together on the same page.

Ramesh Kulkarni, the author of these films, has worked in IT industry for 25 years.

According to Mr Kulkarni, Understanding the schematics of the complete human system would make it easier to identify problems, segregate issues and troubleshoot the subsystems without adversely affecting and harming the whole.

The author expects that the film Everything is One will help scientists & technologists in the areas of Cellular Development, Bio Technology, Embryo Science, Medical Oncology, Human Biology, Bioinformatics, Medical Engineering, Genomics Science, Immunology, Neuro-Sciences, Humanities & Artificial Intelligence, and especially in Medical & Healthcare.

Mr Kulkarni feels the film would provide new insights and open up new areas for research & development in these disciplines.

In 2006, the Center had launched The American Way. Connecting the dots,a film for eradicating global poverty.

The American Way explores how the US creates & distributes material wealth.

It provides a road-map for poor & developing countries for eradicating poverty through systemic changes.

The American Way was screened to the Planning Commission & Govt of India in 2006.

All 3 documentary films are available worldwide on Vimeo.

The Center is a non-profit foundation based in British Columbia, Canada.

Website is http://www.ci-e.com

Email- rk@ci-e.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3cad6966-e5ff-40c1-95d3-7f7f1552bb22

More here:
Everything is One - A New Documentary Film that Decodes the Mystery of Life, Released by Center for Introspection & Enlightenment - AsiaOne