Medley

Kathleen Hall – Canada

My fascination with Egypt began in my childhood. We had a wonderful old set of the Books of Knowledge, and I would often sit curled up in a big, overstuffed chair in my family’s study pouring through these books and looking at all the magnificent places on our planet. When I came to the section on the Seven Wonders of the World, I was in complete awe of the grandeur and mystery of these sites and, in particular, the pyramids. Sharing this information one day to an older, blind gentleman at one of our family dinners he told me I must be sure to travel to Egypt one day and see these wonders for myself.

New research led by the University of Oxford has found that perceptions of globally shared life experiences and globally shared biology can strengthen psychological bonding with humanity at large, which can motivate prosocial action on a global scale and help to tackle global problems. The findings have been published today in Royal Society Open Science.

It appears that excessive positivity is bad for one’s health and mental well-being. It is beneficial to have a positive mindset, but the idea that we should always look on the bright side has gone too far. People struggling with low self-esteem are being asked these days to repeat self-affirmations such as, “I am a lovable person,” which could boost a person’s moods and feelings of worth. Psychologists studying self-affirmation found that as the participants feeling low did not believe in what they were saying, they ended up feeling worse. It has been termed “toxic positivity.” It is “the idea that a forced optimistic interpretation of our experiences alongside the suppression of the negative emotions can do real damage.”

Tim Wyatt – England

Tim Wyatt, the storyteller

Just like you, I’m formulating my next life right here and now. Each one of us can choose to do this consciously as I’m trying to do. Or we can leave it to something we call chance or fate. But one way or another, what we’ve done in this life will shape subsequent appearances in human form anyway whether we like it or not. This is, of course, that unbreakable law of cause and effect – the law of karma – at work. This is a ubiquitous but deeply misunderstood principle.

Barbara Hebert – USA

Compassion for the personality is something that is rarely discussed in theosophical circles. As seekers on the spiritual path, the personality is typically ignored because of its temporality, yet the personality is the vehicle for traveling this path. It plays an essential role in our spiritual growth. We discuss compassion for all living beings, yet we are rarely compassionate with ourselves. It may be helpful to explore the concept of self-compassion, compassion for the vehicle through which we walk the spiritual path. It is useful to note that self-compassion does not preclude our constant self-examination and effort to walk this path; rather, self-compassion  supports our efforts as we undertake this difficult task. 

Marly Winckler – Brazil

 
The word yoga (Yoga) comes from the Sanskrit Yuj, which means ‘to join’. According to Hindu philosophy, the human soul, or Jivatma, is a partial facet or expression of the Over-Soul, or Paramatma, the Divine Reality, the source of the manifested Universe. Although in essence the two are the same and indivisible, yet Jivatma has become subjectively separated from Paramatma and is destined, after going through an evolutionary cycle in the manifested Universe, to again unite with Him in consciousness. This state of unification of the two in consciousness as well as the mental process and discipline by means of which this union is reached, are both called Yoga¹.

Patanjali was the great compiler of the ancient tradition of yoga - and did so masterly. The system outlined by Patanjali consists of eight parts, being called Ashtanga Yoga. The system contemplates eight angas or limbs, designed as stages that follow one another in a natural sequence. They are: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi.

Image © Michael S. Helfenbein

The nature of Mars' mantle and crust is revealed in its volcanic rocks 

Mars has a distinct structure in its mantle and crust with discernible reservoirs, and this is known thanks to meteorites that scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and colleagues have analyzed on Earth.