by John Stewart A major evolutionary transition is beginning to unfold on earth.  Individuals are emerging who are choosing to dedicate their lives to consciously advancing the evolutionary process.  They see that their lives are an important part of the great evolutionary process that has produced the universe and the life within it.  They realise […]

Q. If God is omniscient and omnipresent, what does he lack? A. Limitation Not to blaspheme, but this means that life is quite dull. Without limitations there are no aspirations, no achievements and no surprises. God longs for limitation so that he/she might have something to overcome, to reach for. In a philosophical German film Wings

Part I: The Parable of The Workers in the Vineyard Rembrandt’s ‘The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard’, 1637, Oil on Panal A parable from the Bible keeps returning to my mind, most likely because I don’t fully understand it. It is Matthew chapter 20 verses 1-16, and it’s known as the Parable of

When Afro Celt Sound System burst onto the scene in 1995, there were many purists who criticised what they were trying to do. Like chilli and chocolate, the combination of traditional Irish and West African music doesn’t sound as if it would work. And then to compound that by chucking in a mix of electronic

One night at school, Messrs. Terry and Tim sneak downstairs to the school pantry and one of them, we know not yet which, steals a packet of biscuits. Naughty, naughty. Very pleased with themselves, they scuttle back up to their dormitory and have a midnight feast. Suddenly they hear a creak in the floorboards and

Here’s something that’s unlikely to feature on your average new year’s resolution list: this year, free yourself from the dictates of your evolutionary past. Most organisms don’t have desires and preferences. All their behaviour is determined by genetic predisposition. A bacterium does not seek out pastures with higher glucose concentrations because it likes the taste

As is the human body, so is the cosmic body As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm As is the atom, so is the universe – The Upanishads 4.1 billion years ago the first single celled life appeared on earth. After another 2 billion

A friend’s dad is a hereditary member of the House of Lords. I stayed the night at his house not long after he had been re-elected after a period of absence. Out of politeness I asked to read his maiden speech. He began with some platitudes, echoing the comments of a few previous speakers and

  Before the trade embargo was lifted, a US government agency tried to infiltrate the Cuban hip-hop scene in an effort to stir political unrest. They met with the politically vocal group Los Aldeanos, promoting them with their own TV channel and distributing their music on the black market to avoid government censorship. Los Aldeanos later went

When I was eighteen a conviction took shape within in me. Fired by imagination, fueled by optimism, its strength and certainty were out of all proportion considering the evidence I had at my fingertips. Now five years later I have stumbled across research, conducted separately by a handful of deep thinkers scattered through history, which