In three wonderfully fascinating short videos Carl Jung, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer speak briefly on the topic of synchronicity. Following these is a round table discussion including several noted people with backgrounds in science, physics, quantum mechanics and quantum theory, Jungian analysis, rocket science, myth metaphor and science, and analytical psychology.
“A great symbol is not immediately exhaustible. In fact, it might not be even remotely exhaustible. It is something that continues to mean more as we become capable of understanding more.” – Manly P. Hall
Cryptic seventeenth-century alchemical engraving of the “Azoth of the Philosophers” used by the Golden Dawn in the Portal Ritual where it is called “The Great Hermetic Arcanum.” This diagram shows the massive amount of arcane symbolism that the alchemists packed into such illustrations.
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl – “Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitch while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl’s theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”)-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
At the time of Frankl’s death in 1997, Man’s Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a “book that made a difference in your life” found Man’s Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.
Beacon Press, the original English-language publisher of Man’s Search for Meaning, is issuing this new paperback edition with a new Foreword, biographical Afterword, jacket, price, and classroom materials to reach new generations of readers.” – Amazon
I believe it’s safe to say that most people would love to hit a home run once in awhile, and perhaps some of us fall into the trap of measuring our success based on the whether or not we hit that home run.
Stephen Dubner, in his talk Think Small To Solve Big Problems suggests, “There’s a lot of people out there thinking big. Maybe some of them will be successful. Probably not so many honestly. It’s very, very hard. Our argument is — you know what? Let the people who are gonna try to think big solve big problems — let them go. There’s enough people doing that. Why don’t you just try to think small. Why don’t you try to find one piece of the problem that you can identify and peel it off and try to solve that problem or answer that question.”
Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu – chapter 63
Practice non-action.
Work without doing.
Taste the tasteless.
Magnify the small, increase the few.
Reward the bitterness with care.
See simplicity in the complicated.
Achieve greatness in little things.
In the universe the difficult things are done as if they are easy.
In the universe great acts are made up of small deeds.
The sage does not attempt anything very big,
And thus achieves greatness.
Easy promises make for little trust.
Taking things lightly results in great difficulty.
Because the sage always confronts difficulties,
He never experiences them.
A sobering reminder, Lord of the Fliesexplores the dark side of humanity, the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human beings. William Golding intended this novel as a tragic parody of children’s adventure tales, illustrating humankind’s intrinsic evil nature. He presents the reader with a chronology of events leading a group of young boys from hope to disaster as they attempt to survive their uncivilized, unsupervised, isolated environment until rescued.
“We did everything just the way grownups would have. Why didn’t it work?” – Piggy
Aristotle laid out the philosophical foundation of friendship as the art of holding up a mirror to each other’s souls. Two millennia later, Emerson contemplated its two pillars of truth and tenderness. Another century later, C.S. Lewis wrote: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
In the Celtic tradition, there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship. One of the fascinating ideas here is the idea of soul-love; the old Gaelic term for this is anam cara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and cara is the word for friend. So anam cara in the Celtic world was the “soul friend.” In the early Celtic church, a person who acted as a teacher, companion, or spiritual guide was called an anam cara. It originally referred to someone to whom you confessed, revealing the hidden intimacies of your life. With the anam cara you could share your inner-most self, your mind and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an anam cara, your friendship cut across all convention, morality, and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of your soul.” The Celtic understanding did not set limitations of space or time on the soul. There is no cage for the soul. The soul is a divine light that flows into you and into your Other. This art of belonging awakened and fostered a deep and special companionship.John O’Donohue
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdomoffers an exploration of the secret universe we all carry inside us, the connections we forge with the worlds of our friends and loved ones, and the products of our worlds reflected in the things we create outside of ourselves. Anam Cara, Gaelic for “soul friend,” is an ancient journey down a nearly forgotten path of wisdom into what it means to be human. Drawing on this age-old perspective, John O’Donohue helps us to see ourselves as the Celts did: we’re more than just flesh, blood, and bone; we comprise individual worlds. The comprehension of the sublime architecture of the worlds we are born with will engender a new appreciation for the outside world and the way we contribute to its evolution.
Anam Cara , the Soul Friend – A short video clip perspective
“Celtic spiritualism. Living Anam Cara is exciting, fulfilling and a bit tense at times…. for our culture does not promote the true experience of kinship, even among mixed gender relationships, which Anam Cara brings forth. I’ve defied social conventions before and will probably do so until the last breath escapes my lungs. Choosing to live Anam Cara is not a decision I regret. Knowing I’m supported by others in that quest is very affirming.” – Gary Carlile
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“I would like to thank our soul friend Gary Carlile for bringing forth the idea of Anam Cara, soul friend. I see and feel the presence of many soul friends within our circle. Whether present and spiritually connected on a Monday night, or spiritually connected from afar, our energy bonds us at a sacred depth, and for this, I am grateful.” – Clay Boykin
“A friend … awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you.”
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In three wonderfully fascinating short videos Carl Jung, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer speak briefly on the topic of synchronicity. Following these is a round table discussion including several noted people with backgrounds in science, physics, quantum mechanics and quantum theory, Jungian analysis, rocket science, myth metaphor and science, and analytical psychology.
