"The truly sacred attitude toward life is in no sense an escape from the sense of nothingness that assails us when we are left alone with ourselves...the sacred attitude is one which does not recoil from our own inner emptiness, but rather penetrates into it with awe and reverence, and with the awareness of mystery. … Continue reading The Awareness of Mystery
"The individual who is not anchored in God can offer no resistance on the strength of his own resources, to the physical and moral sway of the world. For this man needs the evidence of his own inner, transcendent experience..." --Carl Gustav Jung from one of his last major works, "The Undiscovered Self: Present and … Continue reading Soul, Spirit, Heart, and Mind
In our fast-paced, technologically-driven, and supposedly "hyper-connected" existence in the 21st century, we often do not recognize or appreciate fully the depth of our interconnectedness to all the other living entities, and at times, even less to the natural environment in which we exist, and upon which we are so dependent for our existence. The … Continue reading Empathy and Intimacy
Freedom of the Human Spirit, is a 28-foot-tall bronze figurative sculpture that sits just to the east of Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was created by Marshall M. Fredericks for the 1964 World's Fair. "The development of science and of the creative activities of the spirit in general requires still another kind of freedom, which may … Continue reading Freedom of the Spirit
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness." -- Einstein A recent conversation with a dear friend with an extraordinary gift for … Continue reading The Intimacy of Consciousness
There's almost no telling how love will unfold in our personal lives or as we move through the world-at-large. As we progress through our lives, we all seem to arrive at our own understanding of what it means to love someone. We learn first about love from our parents or primary caretakers whoever they end … Continue reading Reflections from Within
Recent travels to a variety of outdoor locations in pursuit of appreciation for the ever-changing hues of autumn have stirred my heart and mind in all the ways one might expect; viewing the subtle and not-so-subtle transformation from the lush greenery of summer to the vibrant colors of autumn reminds us simultaneously of life's impermanence … Continue reading Memory and Emotion
As I was stirring slowly to consciousness this morning, reluctant to relinquish sleep as the light peeked through the curtains, I wandered in and out of awareness for some time, drifting between a lucid dream and my resistance to let it go. The image above which I took some years ago while on a camping … Continue reading When A Tree Falls In The Forest…
"Brightly colored brain scans are a media favorite as they are both attractive to the eye and apparently easy to understand, but in reality they represent some of the most complex scientific information we have. They are not maps of activity, but maps of the outcome of complex statistical comparisons of blood flow that unevenly … Continue reading Coming To Grips With Consciousness
"If we turn our contemplation away from our outer world and to the inner one, as the sages advise, a different reality becomes evident. Like light, consciousness has no place, and no shape. It is invisible, yet illuminates everything. It is unimpeded by time and space...While the physiological basis of consciousness is not yet understood, … Continue reading Philosophy of Consciousness
John's Consciousness 