Nature's Hidden Dimension


Book Description

The scientific point of view has gained dominance in our growing world culture by basing its authenticity on an empirical foundation. Yet mystics can point to a different test of authenticity: the broad agreement in subtle perceptions of reality across many cultures and stretches of history. We benefit from the knowledge of the universe and the fascinating intricacies of nature, and we benefit from knowledge of meaning and purpose in the greater life of the cosmos and its implications for meaning in our own lives. An understanding and appreciation of the inner life of the universe can offer an integration of the scientific story of the outer life with the insight of mystics into the inner story, distinguishing the realms appropriate for science and spirituality to explore, and offering hope that they can coexist in mutual respect and harmony, and that each could enrich the other.




Hidden Dimensions


Book Description

B. Alan Wallace introduces a natural theory of human consciousness that has its roots in contemporary physics and Buddhism. Wallace's "special theory of ontological relativity" suggests that mental phenomena are conditioned by the brain, but do not emerge from it. Rather, the entire natural world of mind and matter, subjects and objects, arises from a unitary dimension of reality. Wallace employs the Buddhist meditative practice of samatha to test his hypothesis, creating a kind of telescope to examine the space of the mind. He then proposes a more general theory in which the participatory nature of reality is envisioned as a self-excited circuit.In comparing these ideas to the Buddhist theory known as the Middle Way philosophy, Wallace explores further aspects of his "general theory of ontological relativity," which can be investigated through vipasyana, or insight, meditation. He then focuses on the theme of symmetry in quantum cosmology and the "problem of frozen time," relating these issues to the theory and practices of the Great Perfection school of Tibetan Buddhism. He concludes with a discussion of complementarity as it relates to science and religion.




Nature's Primal Self


Book Description

Nature’s Primal Self examines Corrington’s thought, called “ecstatic naturalism,” in juxtaposition to both C. S. Peirce’s pragmatic and semiotic concept of the self and Karl Jaspers’ existential elucidation of Existenz. Peirce’s and Jaspers’ anthropocentrism is thus corrected by Corrington’s ecstatic naturalism. Ecstatic naturalism, as a new movement, is both a semiotic theoretical method and a metaphysics that probes deeply into the ontological divide between nature naturing and nature natured. Author Nam T. Nguyen attempts to achieve three goals: first, to present and elucidate the underlying philosophical concepts of Charles Peirce, Karl Jaspers, and Robert Corrington; second, to critique the anthropocentric self of Peirce’s semiotic pragmatism and of Jaspers’ existential anthropology (periechontology) from the standpoint of ecstatic naturalism; and third, to introduce the concept of nature’s primal self, radically grounded in the perspective of ecstatic naturalism, as a judicious, more encompassing, and richer framework compared to Peirce’s semiotic construction of the self and Jaspers’ existential concept of Existenz.




Nature's Hidden Charms


Book Description

Featuring folklore, symbology and practical rituals alongside ancient crafts and modern techniques this beautifully illustrated book contains over 50 creative ways to use the gifts of the natural world to make charms, talismans, amulets, altars and much more. These natural offerings provide us with protection, good fortune and healing. Being in nature helps us to relax and connect with our innate knowing. When we're connected, we naturally want to collect: a pink shell, sycamore key, a pinecone, or a pure white pebble that calls to us. Nature's Hidden Charms is an invitation to reach into the natural world, understand folklore and to explore and discover the hidden symbols and gifts that even the tiniest twig or stone can bring. Inside this treasure trove you will learn how to: • Prepare to open the senses to intentionally connect with nature • Create and make amulets, charms, alters, talismans and natural mandalas • Work with plants, trees and herbs throughout the seasons • Understand the folklore, history and symbology surrounding the plants and practices featured • Recognise and explore symbols that speak to you in the natural world From making a healing lavender pouch to evoking the sacred power of the circle or arranging your charms as a mandala for meditation, this book is for anyone wanting to slow down, connect with nature and enjoy the simple pleasures of the natural world.




Natures Mirror of Symmetry


Book Description

This is a picture of myself along the Columbia River placed in symmetry. It shows the yielding receptive power of the yin aspect of the I-Ching which is the trigram number two “The Receptive”. In the center of this picture is a golden chalice. The top of the chalice looks like a blue butterfly. This is the transforming womb of Mother Wisdom, and her face is in the center of it. On each side, the fallopian tubes reach out towards my head, where the dancers are dancing life into being. The charioteer is poised above like “the creative heaven”, which is the first trigram of the I-Ching representing the yang aspect. He waits for the right time to move forward and as he sits in his chariot, he too meditates on the Holy Grail in front of him. In the hidden third he can bring it into motion through spirit in matter. For many decades my prayer has been for the renewing of my mind. This picture tells me that my prayer is in line with the process. I pray this for everyone. May we find our holy grail, land live our destiny.




Warped Passages


Book Description

The universe has many secrets. It may hide additional dimensions of space other than the familier three we recognize. There might even be another universe adjacent to ours, invisible and unattainable . . . for now. Warped Passages is a brilliantly readable and altogether exhilarating journey that tracks the arc of discovery from early twentieth-century physics to the razor's edge of modern scientific theory. One of the world's leading theoretical physicists, Lisa Randall provides astonishing scientific possibilities that, until recently, were restricted to the realm of science fiction. Unraveling the twisted threads of the most current debates on relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity, she explores some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature—taking us into the warped, hidden dimensions underpinning the universe we live in, demystifying the science of the myriad worlds that may exist just beyond our own.




Blindspots


Book Description

Sight can be so effortless, so useful, and so entertaining--the average human can distinguish several million colors; a falcon can see a fencepost from three thousand yards--that we never stop to think about how complex a process it is and how easily it can fail us. We never have as clear and complete a picture of the world around us as we think we do. The gaps between what our eyes take in and what is in our mind's eye provide the unifying theme in Bruno Breitmeyer's wide-ranging volume. In his fascinating account of the many ways that our eyes, and minds, both see and fail to see, Breitmeyer moves from cataracts and color blindness through blindsight, acquired dyslexia, and visual agnosias, including fascinating cases like the woman who did not know what she was seeing was a dog until it barked. He then uses what we've learned about the limits of our sight to illustrate the limits of our ability to mentally visualize and our ability to reason, covering everything from logical fallacies to how our motives and emotions relentlessly color the way we see the world. This book will intrigue anyone interested in how easily we can fail to capture the world around us without even realizing it.




Nature's Religion


Book Description

Corrington argues that signs and our various transference fields can and do connect us with fully natural religious powers that are not of our own making, thereby opening up a path past the Western monotheisms to a capacious religion of nature. With a foreword by Robert C. Neville, Nature's Religion is essential reading for philosophers of religion, scholars of the psychology of religion, and theologians.




Nature's Self


Book Description

The drama of the unfolding of the spirit, Corrington argues, is one of the most powerful struggles within the human process. The spirit is in and of nature and can never lift the self outside of nature. For Corrington's ecstatic naturalism, there is no realm of the supernatural, only dimensions and orders within nature.




Hidden Natures


Book Description