The phrase Epic of Evolution represents an attempt to create a mythic narrative aimed at reconciling religious and scientific views of cosmic evolution, biological evolution, and sociocultural evolution. According to Taylor's Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, it is

the 14 billion year narrative of cosmic, planetary, life, and cultural evolutiontold in sacred ways. Not only does it bridge mainstream science and a diversity of religious traditions; if skillfully told, it makes the science story memorable and deeply meaningful, while enriching one's religious faith or secular outlook.[1]

The term "Epic of Evolution" seems to have been first used[2] by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson in 1978.[3] He was using 'myth' as a grand narrative that provides a people with a meaningful placement in time, not as a falsehood.[4] Wilson was not the first to use the term but his prominence prompted its usage as the morphed phrase 'epic of evolution'. In later years he also used the latter term.[5]

Naturalistic and liberal religious writers have picked up on Wilson's term and have used it in a number of texts. These authors however have at times used other terms to refer to the idea: Universe Story (Brian Swimme, John F. Haught), Great Story (Connie Barlow, Michael Dowd), Everybody's Story (Loyal Rue[6]), New Story (Thomas Berry, Al Gore, Brian Swimme) and Cosmic Evolution (Eric Chaisson[7]).[8][9][10][11]

Evolution generally refers to biological evolution, but here it means a process in which the whole universe is a progression of interrelated phenomena, a gradual process[12] in which something changes into a different and usually more complex form (emergence). It should not be 'biologized as it includes many areas of science.[13] In addition, outside of the scientific community, the term evolution is frequently used differently than scientists do. Even respected dictionaries may present questionable definitions that are not scientific or only address genetic changes. Unfortunately it is common for the general public to enter into a discussion about evolution with a wrong definition in mind. This often leads to misunderstanding since scientists are viewing evolution from a different perspective.[14] The same applies to the use of the term theory as used in the theory of evolution (see references for Evolution as theory and fact).

This epic is not a long narrative poem but a series of events that form the proper subject for a laudable kind of tale. It is mythic in that it is a story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a people and explains a natural phenomenon.[15] It is a form of myth that has an approach to investigation that is empirical or scientific.[16] According to Joseph Campbell myths serve two purposes provide meaning for a maturing individual (an individuate) and how to be part of a community. This Epic does both.[17]

The Epic of Evolution is a systematic story that helps make sense of humanitys place and purpose in the process that is the Universe. It marries objective scientific facts with the meanings provided by philosophy and the spirituality of religious belief. It is a vast topic and much has been written and debated about it. It offers two different but combined perspectives of the same reality. It tells the tale of the Cosmos in a methodical way but with a religious acceptance of it while addressing complexity, directionality, purpose, human psychology and survival of the most cooperative and compassionate beings. This epic tale helps some people to deepen their faith and to understand and appreciate other religions and philosophies. They may move from believing in God, to knowing God.[18]

Dr. William Grassie of Temple University writes that the word "myth" in common usage is usually misunderstood. In academia it defines "a story that serves to define the fundamental world view of a culture by explaining aspects of the natural world and delineating the psychological and social practices and ideals of a society." He suggests that the Greek term mythos would be a better term to apply to the Epic as it is more all-encompassing. He concluded that there is not yet an interpretive tradition within science and society about this Epic of Evolution. If anything, there is an anti-interpretation tradition. Consequently, this is dangerous as it is a powerful revelation at this time.[19] Grassie says the Epic is complex and multifaceted, not simple or easy to understand. It takes a romantic vision, philosophical rigor, and artistic interpretations. It requires a consilience of modern disciplines and acceptance of social diversity. The ancient wisdoms of the worlds spiritual traditions must be adapted to make the framework to weave the Epic.[20]

Epic of Evolution on Earth

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Think and Grow Rich is a 1937 motivational personal development and self-help book by Napoleon Hill [1] and inspired by a suggestion from Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie. While the title implies that this book deals with how to get rich, the author explains that the philosophy taught in the book can be used to help people succeed in all lines of work and to do or be almost anything they want.[2]Jim Murray (sportswriter) wrote that Think and Grow Rich was credited for Ken Norton's boxing upset of Muhammad Ali in 1973.[3][4] The Reverend Charles Stanley writes, "I began to apply the principles of (Think and Grow Rich) to my endeavors as a pastor, and I discovered they worked!" [5] The book was first published during the Great Depression.[6] At the time of Hill's death in 1970, Think and Grow Rich had sold more than 20 million copies and by 2011 over 70 million copies had been sold worldwide.[7][8] It remains the biggest seller of Napoleon Hill's books. BusinessWeek Magazine's Best-Seller List ranked it the sixth best-selling paperback business book 70 years after it was published.[9]Think and Grow Rich is listed in John C. Maxwell's A Lifetime "Must Read" Books List. [10]

The text of Think and Grow Rich is founded on Hill's earlier work The Law of Success, the result of more than twenty years of research based on Hill's close association with a large number of individuals who achieved great wealth during their lifetimes.[6]

At Andrew Carnegie's bidding, Hill studied the characteristics of these achievers and developed 16 "laws" of success meant to be applied by people to achieve success. Think and Grow Rich condenses these laws further and provides the reader with 13 principles in the form of a philosophy of personal achievement.[6] International Speaker Mark Victor Hansen says time has proven 2 of the laws/principles to be most important: 1) The MasterMind principle/process and 2) "Know very clearly where you want to go."

It is noted in the book that an individual with desire, faith and persistence can reach great heights by eliminating negative energy and thoughts and focusing on the greater goals in hand.

The 13 "steps" listed in the book are: 1. Desire 2. Faith 3. Autosuggestion 4. Specialized Knowledge 5. Imagination 6. Organized Planning 7. Decision 8. Persistence 9. Power of the Master Mind 10. The Mystery of Sex Transmutation 11. The Subconscious Mind 12. The Brain 13. The Sixth Sense

The first edition of Think and Grow Rich was released in March 1937. Despite limited promotion, mostly word of mouth, the original print run of 5,000 sold out in six weeks, at $2.50 a copy. Another 10,000 copies were printed, all of which also sold in six weeks. The third print totaled 20,000.[12]W. Clement Stone wrote: "One of the most important days in my life was the day I began to read Think and Grow Rich in 1937.[13]

Think and Grow Rich was revised in 1960. This version was originally published by Crest Book, Fawcett Publications. This revised edition includes the following testimonial from W. Clement Stone on the inside front cover page: More men and women have been motivated to achieve success because of reading Think and Grow Rich than by any other book written by a living author. [14] In 1987, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton hosted a TV infomercial that sold the 1960 version with an audio cassette version of the book (the audio cassettes contained an introduction and conclusion by Tarkenton and supplemental study guides).[15] In the introduction noted above, Tarkenton stated that he believed Think and Grow Rich to be "the greatest most honored formula for success that has ever been developed."[16]

In 2004 a revised text was published in a version titled Think and Grow Rich: The 21st-Century Edition: Revised and Updated. It was published by High Roads Media. In this version, author and editor Bill Hartley introduces modern examples of Hill's principles combined with editorial commentary throughout the book.

Indian Low Price Edition - Published In 2007 with title ' Think And Grow Rich Napoleon Hill '[17]

Among recent adaptations of the book are several illustrated versions. The most well known was a graphic novel produced by Smarter Comics. This version sticks to the original content but adds the element of visual presentation and modern exemplars of similar events discussed in original versions.[18]

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The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a book by Eckhart Tolle. The book is intended to be a self-help guide for day-to-day living and stresses the importance of living in the present moment and avoiding thoughts of the past or future.

Published in the late 1990s,[1] the book was recommended by Oprah Winfrey[2] and has been translated into 33 languages.[3] As of 2009, it was estimated that three million copies had been sold in North America.[4]

The book draws from a variety of "spiritual traditions",[5] and has been described by one reviewer as "Buddhism mixed with mysticism and a few references to Jesus Christ, a sort of New Age re-working of Zen."[6] It uses these traditions to describe a "belief system based on living in the present moment".[7] Its core message is that people's emotional problems are rooted in their identification with their minds as who they are.[8] The author writes that an individual should be aware of their "present moment" instead of losing themselves in worry and anxiety about the past or future.[2]

According to the book, only the present moment is important,[5] and both an individual's past and future is created by their thoughts.[6] The author maintains that people's insistence that they have control of their life is an illusion "that only brings pain".[5] The book also describes methods of relaxation and meditation to aid readers in anchoring themselves in the present.[5] These suggestions include slowing down life by avoiding multi-tasking, spending time in nature, and letting go of worries about the future.[9] Some of the concepts contained in The Power of Now, such as the human ego and its negative effects on happiness, are further elaborated in the author's later books, in particular A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2005).[7]

The chapters of the book are: "Introduction", "You Are Not Your Mind", "Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain", "Moving Deeply into the Now", "Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now", "The State of Presence", "The Inner Body", "Portals into the Unmanifested", "Enlightened Relationships", "Beyond Happiness and Unhappiness There Is Peace" and "The Meaning of Surrender".[10] Various chapters emphasize a "philosophy" of destroying the "destructive dominance of the mind and ego" in an effort to overcome "the pain body".[7] According to the author, his philosophy is directed towards people and their search for personal happiness and also has the potential to give insight into "historical disasters" like the justification of an "evil" political system such as Communism.[7]

In the book's introduction the author relates his past experiences of "continuous anxiety" with periods of "suicidal depression". Later, when he was 29 years old, he had a "personal epiphany" and writes: "I heard the words 'resist nothing' as if spoken inside my chest." He relates that he felt as if he were falling into a void and afterwards "there was no more fear."[11]

In chapter two, Tolle tells the reader that they must recognize their personal ego "without the ego creating an antagonistic response to its own denial or destruction" and explains the purposelessness of the "mental pain and anguish" that people hold on to.[12] According to the book: "The pain-body consists of trapped life-energy that has split off from your total energy field and has temporarily become autonomous through the unnatural process of mind identification."[8] In this chapter the author writes: "pain can only feed on pain. Pain cannot feed on joy. It finds it quite indigestible".[8] The author goes on to write that "many people live with a tormentor in their head that continuously attacks and punishes them and drains them of vital energy. It is the cause of untold misery and unhappiness."[5]

In chapter three, the author writes: "In the normal, mind-identified or unenlightened state of consciousness, the power and creative potential that lie concealed in the Now are completely obscured by psychological time. You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present. Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be."[8]

In chapter four, Tolle says that "tomorrow's bills are not the problem" and can be a "core delusion" that changes a "mere situation, event or emotion" into a reason for suffering and unhappiness.[13] The book also calls "waiting" a "state of mind" that we should snap ourselves out of.[13]

Chapter seven recaps the philosophy of becoming conscious and present in a theological context.[citation needed] These include awareness of the "inner body",'[14] being present in the Now,[15] the cessation of thinking,[16] and surrender.[17] The author writes that, "nothing can exist without no-thing, without the empty space that enables it to be."[18] According to the book, space and time "are the two essential attributes of God, infinity and eternity, perceived as if they had an external existence outside you." Within, "space is the still, infinitely deep realm of no-mind" while "the inner equivalent of time is presence, awareness of the eternal Now."[19]

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Thirty plus visits, but who is counting?? The management seems to have gone over to their new sushi restaurant at Polaris. Our server, at least, has been at Chi Thai for some time and she is very good. The new lunch special has replaced the "bail out special". Our food was good. The restroom was out of TP in one stall and the other hadn't been flushed. A partial roll of paper towels was on the counter. I thought about mentioning it but every last service person was on a hand held device, texting, playing or talking. The "manager"?? out front looked up from his handheld phone briefly to say, "thanks", as we were leaving. The TV was playing a rescue dog program without sound. I do wonder who chose the music for the day? There were three tables of diners. All seated right next to each other. The man in the booth backing up to us had several phone conversations - perhaps that is why he was alone??????? With not a lot of effort, Chi Thai could be an awesome restaurant.

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2 Posted By scool on 25/09/2011

I visited Wafi Pyramids on 20th January 2011 and gave the car for valet parking. We then entered Thai Chi restaurant at exactly 9:32 PM. As we approached, we were greeted by the host and welcomed in the restaurant. The host name was Wajee and she was wearing a colorful Thai traditional dress. She checked her reservation list and found our reservation. She then escorted us to our table which had a Reserved sign placed. The table was inside the restaurant which gave us a nice view of the kitchen as well as the outdoors. She gave us open menus and wished us for a pleasant evening. The first thing which we noticed is that the lighting at our table was too dim for us to read the menu comfortably. The music was filling the ambience very nicely but the dim lighting was a bit of a disappointment. We were then approached by our server whose name was Ashish. He brought the complimentary starter of Prawn Crackers with Chili Sauce and asked us for our drinks order. At 9:42 PM, we ordered a pint of Heineken Beer which was priced at 34 AED and 2 Lychee Punch which costed 26 AED each. At 9:46 PM, Ashish served us the beverages. He then asked us about the starters which we would like to have and himself recommended that we should go for the Thai Chi Sharing Platter. We enquired him about the Gai Hor Bai Toey which was a chicken dish priced at 59 AED. He told us that it was a Boneless chicken dish wrapped in Pandan Leaves and served with different Sauces. We liked the idea and ordered the same at 9:52 PM. At 9:58 PM, Ashish brought our starter. He also explained us that the chicken were wrapped in the Pandan leaves and had to be removed before eating. The chicken was cooked to perfection and the addition of the mango sauce to the chicken resulted in a delicious experience. At 10:06 PM, we decided on the main course which was a mix of Chinese and Thai, and gave the order. We selected Pad Thai Hor Kai worth 75 AED, Sweet and Sour Chicken with Lychee and Pepper for 80 AED, and the Thai Chi Supreme Fried Rice worth 59 AED. We told Ashish to exclude the Duck and Tofu from our order as we were not very fond of those. He agreed and repeated the order and went towards the kitchen. Our Main Course arrived at 10:24 PM. The Portions looked very appropriate and were enough for 2-3 people. The Phad Thai was very tempting and Ashish told us that it was made of rice noodles and was a Thai Specialty. The taste was perfectly balance and was very delicious. It was not very spicy as we expected from a Thai Dish. But thats the way we like it. The Sweet and Sour chicken was a big hit with all of us. It was extremely tasty and was sweetened and flavored in the right proportions. It was crispy enough to make the taste lurk in the mouth even more. The Fried Rice was also very tasty and complimented the chicken very well. As we were having the main Course, we were approached by the manager of the Restaurant. She was a lady dressed in Dark Blue colored Suit and was very well groomed. She seemed to be of Asian ethnicity. She asked us about the dinner and we said that it was very good. I enquired that they were serving both that and Chinese from the same kitchen. Did they have different cooks? She replied that the kitchen was divided in to two sections. She also told me that the Thai kitchen was run by all the female cooks and the Chinese, by the men. I thanked her for her time and so did she and wished us a pleasant evening. At 10:41 PM, we were finished with the dinner and at 10:43 PM, Ashish removed the plates from our table with our permission. After a while he gave us toothpicks and handed a refreshing Hot Towel which was very nicely warmed and soaked in scented water. Ashish then asked us if we would like to have any desserts and we asked him about the ice cream. He recommended that we go for the Pandan Ice cream worth 36 AED as it was their specialty. We accepted. At 10:48 PM, we received the Pandan ice-cream which was put in a bowl with lychees. The ice cream tasted different as it was not so sweet but tasted very nice. The manager again approached us and told us that the ice cream was home made with the same pandan leaved which were used to wrap the chicken in our starter. We finished the dessert and asked for the bill at 11:07 PM and got the bill at 11:10 PM. We gave the credit card and Ashish came back with the receipt and a stamped valet card at 11:13 PM and address by the name in the card. We then asked the manager about the washroom and she escorted me in that direction. I noticed that the mens washroom was located near the Vintage Bar. The washroom was extremely clean and an attendant was cleaning the washroom as and when required. At exactly 11:16 PM, We left the restaurant after a satisfactory dinner. We handed over the valet card and waited for 4 minutes for the car to arrive as there were many people waiting for their cars. The valet attended apologized for the wait and thanked us. We thanked him and left.

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Thai Chi Restaurant: Special offer 20% discount on food and ...