Ursi's Eso Garden

The parting of the Red Sea, the feeding of the five thousand, the turning of water into wine - miracles. Miracles?

Yet Miracles have been part of human culture for thousands of years. From beliefs about the shin bone of a saint to ideas about the nature of creation and the laws of nature, miracles have been a measure of disputes within religion and between religion and rationality from St Augustine in the 4th century to David Hume in the 18th. They have also been used by the corrupt and the powerful to gain their perverse ends.

Miracles have been derided and proved to be fraudulent and yet, for many, the miraculous maintain a grip on our imagination, our language and our belief to this day.


Three Miracles of Saint Zenobius, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Melvyn Bragg asks: Miracles - will they never cease?
He is joined by:

• Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture
  
• Janet Soskice, Reader in Philosophical Theology at Cambridge University
  
• Justin Champion, Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London

Listen to this programme in full here (42 minutes):



Broadcast was on 25 September 2008 at BBC 4, 'In Our Time'.
Also available for RealPlayer.


See also:
Miracles by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

The chinese eye exercises are based on accu-pressure points and have been practised regularly in China to help reduce the rate of eye disorders. In Chinese medicines, if the eyesight is failing, it could mean that the liver is not functioning optimally. In this situation, the liver can gradually improve through dietary changes, daily Taijiquan, qigong, yoga, meditation and reflexology. Chinese Eye Exercises

You can also perform some simple foot reflexology: Just roll a wooden foot roller or rolling pin beneath the feet from the toes to the heels for 5 minutes, concentrating more on the the areas between the second and third toes on both feet (ie. th reflex areas for the eyes). Then concentrate on the liver reflex area, which is on the right foot below the ball of the foot, in line with the third, fourth and fifth toes. If the liver or gall bladder is not functioning properly, this area will feel very tender.

Traditional Chinese Medicine are useful in treating many eye disorders, such as chronic red eyes and conjunctivitis. Traditional Chinese Medicine Other Eye Exercices and all about Eye Health: Eye Exercises for better vision (English)

Since the invasion of Tibet over 50 years ago, China has systematically destroyed the Tibetan culture. One of the most profound losses is the tradition of the great master yogis. The entire system which supported these fascinating mind masters has been inexorably eliminated.

In order to record these mystical practitioners for posterity, the filmmakers were given permission to film heretofore secret demonstrations and to conduct interviews on subject matter rarely discussed.

This profound historical, spiritual and educational film will someday be the last remnant of these amazing practitioners

'The Yogis of Tibet', 2003
Directed by Phil and Jo Borack, JEHM Films
Duration: 77 minutes



See also:
The official website: The Yogis of Tibet
Article: Filming The Yogis of Tibet by Jo Borack

Im Wesentlichen enthält das Stundenbuch zwölf Monatsbilder mit gegenüberliegenden Kalenderblättern (römisch).

Über jedem Monatsbild wölbt sich ein tiefblauer Himmel mit einer Darstellung des Weltenherrschers mit Sonnenwagen, dem jeweiligen Tierkreiszeichen und astronomischen Daten. Letztes Bild im Zyklus ist eine geheimnisvolle Darstellung des "astronomischen Menschen". Diese männlich-weibliche Doppelgestalt voller abergläubischer Symbole ist eine Allegorie, sie zeigt den Menschen als Teil einer kosmischen Ordnung. Der zweite Teil behandelt das Leben Jesu. Von Adam und Eva bis zum Ende der Welt reichen die schillernd-aufwändigen Darstellungen, in dem - wie Lilan Schacherl schreibt - manches Schloss dem Teufel die Schau stiehlt und die Stadtvignetten aus den Monatsbildern weiter in den sakralen Zyklus wandern - gleich stolzen Zeugen der biblischen Wunder.

Click the picture for a larger view

Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (German version)

Unbedingt auch die englische Version anschauen, dort hat es noch viel mehr Bilder vom Herzog von Berry

The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is probably the most important illuminated manuscript of the 15th century. It is a very richly decorated Book of Hours, containing prayers to be said by the lay faithful at each liturgical hour of the day. The Très Riches Heures consists of 416 pages, of which about half are full page illustrations that are among the high points of International Gothic painting in spite of their small size.

Click the picture for a larger view

It was natural for a book of hours to contain a calendar, and the illustrations of months in the Très Riches Heures are filled with details of the delights and labors of the year, from the Duke's court to his peasants, a counterpart to the prayers of the hours. Each illustration is surmounted with its appropriate astrological hemisphere. Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (English version) Alternative Link

Let’s face it - most people probably think of forgiveness as the last resort of losers. It’s what you’re left with after you’ve been victimized and can’t figure out a way to inflict revenge. If there’s no way to even the score, then you might as well settle for feeling a little better about yourself by becoming noble. And if you forgive what happened to you, maybe someday you can forget all about it. Or, maybe whoever hurt you will eventually feel guilty about what they did, and come begging for your forgiveness. Then you get to decide whether they deserve it. (Probably not!)

However much lip service is paid to the religious ideal of forgiveness, my guess is that this is how the majority of people think about it. And that’s a shame, because real forgiveness is the key not only to healing victimization, but to actually preventing attacks while reducing anxiety, increasing intelligence, and maximizing creativity. In a time when our politics is obsessed with the fear of terrorists, real forgiveness is the best tool we have for fighting terror where it actually starts: in our own minds.

I keep saying “real” forgiveness because I am not referring to the occasional, reactive response of resignation that I described above. What I’m talking about is a daily, ongoing discipline of releasing one’s fears and resentments despite all the temptations to hold onto them. This is a spiritual discipline that can be practiced without any religious affiliation or even a belief in God. I know this because I used to be an anxious, seriously confused cynic who actually believed the stuff I wrote in the first paragraph. But I got over it. I had to suffer through seven years of serious illness and self-confrontation to change the way I thought and felt, but when I came out on the other side I had begun to tap the potential of forgiveness, and I remain amazed at the changes it has wrought in my life. Besides overcoming my illness, I went from being a frustrated writer to widely published and productive author; I went from someone incapable of maintaining an intimate relationship to a happily married man; and I went from someone who believed vengeance was sometimes a good idea to someone who knows that forgiveness always works.

One doesn’t have to be an acute observer of the political scene since September 11, 2001 to understand that fear makes people stupid. What’s less obvious is that forgiveness makes people smarter -- and thus better able to deal with whatever misfortune, attack, or outright evil they may encounter. That’s because forgiveness teaches you how fear, resentment, and terror work by progressively revealing these states of mind within yourself. When you successfully release a little grudge or fear (and guess what: fears and grudges are the same thing), you’ll see the next, bigger fear that was hiding behind the little guy. When you comprehend that bigger fear, you’ll begin to perceive the generalized anxiety behind it; as you begin to pierce the cloudy veils of anxiety and resentment in your mind, you may begin to see how you’ve been subtly terrorizing yourself for years. And you can rest assured that if you’ve ever terrorized yourself, you’ve intimidated someone else whether you meant to or not.

What we think of as terrorism for political purposes arises from exactly the same roots deep within the human mind; the symptoms are more violent, but the sickness is the same. When you personally understand how terror arises, grows, and feeds on itself within you, then you will understand how it works in other people, and you will be better able to spot where it’s taking root and help undo it without creating victims in the process. That’s why I don’t think we need a Patriot Act so much as we need a Forgiveness Act, but I’m no fool: that kind of legislation ain’t gonna get pushed through Congress anytime soon. That’s all right because forgiveness is ultimately democratic: it’s up to each of us to transform our hearts and minds, and then forgiveness will spread on its own.

Now I’m a provocateur at heart, so I wouldn’t leave you without a plan of action. Although you will soon discover that daily, ongoing forgiveness is an incredibly complicated process of unexpected revelation and personal revolution, the way into it is relatively simple. Over the years I have condensed my own discipline into seven steps that can be adapted to your own use, and they go like this:

1. Select a bitter sorrow, a serious grievance against someone, or a punishing charge against yourself, and review it in complete detail.

2. Hold in your mind the image of whatever is to be forgiven -­ yourself, another person, a past event ­- and say, “I release you from the grip of my sadness, disapproval, or condemnation.” Concentrate quietly on this intention.

3. Imagine for a while what your life will be like without the sorrow or grievance that has been haunting you.

4. Make amends with someone you’ve hurt or someone who has hurt you; tell a friend about your self-forgiveness; or otherwise bring your inner work to your relationships.

5. Ask for God’s help to overcome fear or resistance at any step. If you do not believe in God, ask for help from nature, humanity, and the mysteries of your own mind. These are the channels through which aid is sent -­ and aid is always sent.

6. Have patience. Forgiveness induces healing which follows its own order and timing. Whether you think you have accomplished anything thus far is less important than the fact that you have attempted a radical act that will call forth change likely to exceed your expectations. Go about your daily business, but stay alert to unexpected shifts in your thinking, feeling, and relationships.

7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 as often as necessary, for life.

That’s it! You can fight terror today by forgiving the next little thing that bugs you ­- and then forgive whatever comes next. Rest assured that on your way to greater peace, sharper intelligence, and a true fearlessness, you’ll always find plenty of opportunities to forgive.


Source:
Exerpt from A Little Book of Forgiveness by D. Patrick Miller.
Available direct from the publisher at http://www.fearlessbooks.com
or at Amazon.

Listen also this 2 minute audio sample:

Each of the then known planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, together with the Sun and the Moon, which were also regarded as planets) were believed to rotate round the earth, each within their separate spheres. Beyond this was the sphere of fixed stars and then the outermost sphere. This outer sphere is mentioned several times in the manuscript as the darkest heaven or crystalline sphere. From the sphere of fixed stars we see, to the right, the constellation of Ursa Major. The stars are shown as golden dots. Nujum al-'Ulum (Stars of Sciences): Narrowband version Broadband version Non-Shockwave version

Each of the seven planets is accorded attributes - including zodiacal signs and lunar mansions - representing the rotation of the sun and the moon round the earth. (Called nakshatra in India, the lunar mansions are 28 divisions of the sky, presumably selected as approximate ’Moon stations’ on successive nights.) The Sun (regarded as a planet), portrayed as a human figure with four hands sitting cross-legged on a throne. His face is surrounded by two nimbi, penetrated by two layers of rays. The two lower hands, with their palms turned outwards, rest upon the heads of two lions sitting on either side of the throne. (The Sun is often painted with one or two lions, Leo being the zodiacal sign associated with the Sun.) The two upper hands of the Sun are raised. The right holds a shell and the left a mace, both symbols of authority.

One of the many treasures from the Wellcome Library’s celebrated Asian Collections is a rare example of an astrological work entitled Nujum al-'Ulum 'Stars of Sciences'. The Wellcome manuscript is a fragment copied from an earlier work (dated AD 1575), which was probably commissioned by ‘Ali’ Adil Shah II of Bijapur in India. Among the illustrations in this text are representations of planets, some of which are shown as personifications. The planet Mercury, for example, is represented as a scribe. Particularly striking are the tiny miniatures, encapsulated in medallions, representing the thirty degrees of each of the zodiacal signs. Illustrated texts – such as the ‘Stars of Sciences’ – were produced as manuals that set out the cosmological order of the heavens and explained their astrological significance.

In 2001 a big fire destructed part of the Saint John the Divine Cathedral in Manhatten and especially the smoke damaged the indoor walls and the pipe organ. Now all the cleaning, including the pipes of the organ, is nearing its end and on Sunday, November 30th a Service of Rededication is planned. The Great Organ will again be heard, the legendary Bernini and Mortlake tapestries will be in place and the Great Rose Window will sparkle from above. Enjoy this short feature on one of the most beautiful churches of New York. The soundtrack is by Parichayaka Hammerl.

Enjoy this video by Kedar.

Mudra: Cymbals mudra (rol mo bkrol ba'i phyag rgya)

Mudras is a selection of photos of "mudras" (Buddhist hand gestures) taken by photographer Dennis Cordell.

These portraits, shot in black and white, are of young monks at Gyud Zin monastery in Ladakh, India taken during the summer of 2006. Each monk is presenting a "mudra" which represents an offering to the Buddha. The delightful juxtaposition of the religious iconography with the boyishness of the young monks makes the portraits in this project wondrously expressive and heart-warming.


Mudra: Annointing with Perfume mudra (dri byugs pa'i phyag rgya)

Bible Cross-References


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Visualizing the Bible, awarded an Honorable Mention in Illustration, depicts all 1189 chapters of the Bible as a bar graph with the length of each bar proportional to the number of verses in the chapter. Above this, arcs represent 63,779 cross references between chapters; different colours denote varying distances between connected chapters.

Visualizing the Bible by Chris Harrison of Carnegie Mellon University and Christoph Römhild of North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church.


Biblical Social Network (People and Places)


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Alien Planet is a special on Discovery Channel about two internationally built robot probes investigating for alien life on the fictional planet Darwin IV. It was based on the book Expedition, by sci-fi/fantasy artist and writer Wayne Douglas Barlowe, who was also executive producer on the special. It premiered on May 14, 2005.

The show uses sophisticated computer-generated imagery, which is interspersed with interviews from such notables as Stephen Hawking, George Lucas, Michio Kaku, and Jack Horner. The show was filmed in Iceland and Mono Lake in California. -- wiki


'Alien Planet' by Discovery Channel, 2005
Duration: 93 minutes



See also:
Discovery Channel: Alien Planet I | Alien Planet II | Virtual Voyage

The quartz crystal is the connection between the physical dimension and the dimensions of the mind. It can be used to communicate with minerals, plants, animals, and intelligent forces outside the physical dimension. In early times, when all things were thought to be parts of a greater living consciousness, the quartz crystal was believed to synchronize the individual and total consciousness with that of the heavens and advanced life-forms. Crystal Healing and Quartz Crystal Properties by Kacha Stones (English only) The gemstone properties listed here are for rounded, highest quality gemstones. Non-rounded gem stones may have different effects. Healing Properties of Gemstones and Crystals by Jewelry Mall (English only)

A lot of Crystals Articles, e.g. The Three Steps to Crystal Healing, Ten Healing Crystals for Stress, Ten Healing Crystals for Children, Ten Healing Crystals for Men, Ten Healing Crystals for Woman, Healing Crystals for Pets and Animals ... by Karen Ryan. (English only)

Alles redet von Edelsteinen mit geradezu sensationellen Heilwirkungen. Und doch versteht jeder etwas anderes darunter. Daher möchte ich zunächst einmal die verschiedenen Anwendungsbereiche darstellen. Und weil Steine etwas sehr sinnliches sind, machen wir es gleich konkret – anhand des Citrins. Der Citrin ist ein kräftiger Heilstein, wie der Name nahelegt von gelber Farbe, ein enger Verwandter des Bergkristalls. Edelstein - Heilkunde und Heilsteine A-Z von Walter von Holst (German only)

Kristall-Praxis von Erika Hausen (German only)

Geheimnis der Kristalle und Edelsteine Farb-Codes von Paranormal Deutschland e.V. (German only)

Alle Seiten sind wie Edelsteine.

Ambient Nights is a unique collection of music gathered from Ambient and New Age genres and presented in a "non-stop" listening form. All the songs were mixed by Alex Hephaestion.

Ambient Nights - a really unique collection of music to make you feel good and peace. CD Listing: - Ambient Nights CD1 - Ambient Nights CD2 - Ambient Nights CD3 - Ambient Nights CD4 - Ambient Nights CD5 - Ambient Nights CD6 - Ambient Nights CD7 - Ambient Nights CD8 - Ambient Nights CD9 - Red God, Yellow God - Brighton Beach - A Present for a Friend - Life As is Is - Ambiotic Dreams - My Dreams of Tengerines - Picking up Where Schiller Left   Off - Closed Eyes Open Doors - Plastic Flowers Didn't Change   The World - The Missionary Position - The Chill Surrounding the   Promise of Snow

And check also the other sections: Sol System, Ethni-City, Club Nights.
All files can be downloaded for free. Online Listening is also available.
xxx hours of pure musical bliss!!!

Best ever within the range of the Thangkas is the Website of the Dharmapala Thangka Centre - School of Thangka Painting. All about Tibetan Iconography, the creation of a masterpiece Thangka, summary of all 77 Medical Thangkas and of course a large picture gallery. (English version) A large and beautiful gallery: The Buddhist Art of Thanka by Nick Dudka. Another one: Thangka Paintings created by monks in Kathmandu (Nepal) and Tibet by Exotic India.

Allen tibetischen Rollbildern (thang ka) ist eigen, dass sie dem Gläubigen Hilfsmittel sind auf seinem Weg zur Befreiung von Übel und Leiden, die ihn bedrängen. Thang kas werden deshalb auch "mthong grol", Befreiung durch Sehen genannt. Thangka - eine gute Übersicht von TibetFocus. (German) Der absolute Hammer im Bereich der Thangkas ist die Website des Dharmapala Thangka Centre - School of Thangka Painting. Hier erfährt man alles! Die ikono-grafischen Grundlagen, wie ein Thangka entsteht, die 77 Medizin Thangkas und natürlich hat es auch eine riesige Galerie. (German version)

This puzzle game is about harmony. Rotate pieces by clicking on them. When no more loose ends remain, you will enter a new realm of consciousness. That realm is a new level of Loops of Zen. There are 50 levels, but is it necessary to experience them all? That depends on you. Did you know that the game is different every time you play? The best thing about Loops of Zen may be the loops. Or the zen. Enjoy!

Loops of Zen

On a winter night in 373 BC, the classical Greek city of Helike was destroyed by a massive earthquake and tidal wave. The entire city and all its inhabitants were lost beneath the sea. What has bewitched archaeologists about Helike is that it was engulfed just when ancient Greece was reaching its height; when the philosophy and art that inspired the western world for thousands of years were invented.

Inspiring the myth

Its destruction was one of the most appalling tragedies of the classical world and most probably the reality behind the myth of Atlantis. But now, unlike Atlantis, a team of archaeologists may have found Helike - a lost city from the heyday of Greek civilisation. If it is as well preserved as everyone hopes, Helike could be a time capsule from this crucial time in human development.

For centuries there had been just no sign of it. All archaeologists had to guide them were obscure and often contradictory ancient texts. So, despite numerous expeditions trawling the waters off the coast of Greece and vast amounts of money and technology thrown at the problem, no one could find anything except two small coins, unearthed over a hundred years ago.

Not drowned but buried

Then, in 1988 Dora Katsonopoulou and Steven Soter took up the challenge. Dora had grown up with the legend from childhood and was determined to find the archaeological treasure on her doorstep. Together they went back to basics and re-examined the ancient texts. These said that Helike had sunk into a poros, which everyone had taken to mean Gulf of Corinthe. But Dora thought that a poros could also be an inland lagoon. If she was right, the lost city which had inspired Atlantis might not be under the sea, as everyone thought, but somewhere inland.

A landscape on the move

Studying the geology of the region, earthquake expert Iain Stewart argues that a large earthquake could well cause an inland lagoon. Small recent earthquakes in the region have caused ground liquefaction - a terrifying phenomenon where the ground literally turns to water beneath your feet. If the same had happened on a much larger scale then the whole city could have been plunged downwards, taking much of the city below sea level. But the earthquake in 373 BC could also have had a second more devastating effect. As well as liquifaction recent earthquakes have caused chunks of coastline to fall into the sea. If this happened on a large scale underwater landslides could cause a large wave, or tsunami. This would race across the Gulf of Corinthe, ricochet off the opposite bank and come charging back again, to crash over the sunken plain and fill in the lagoon.

Dora's theory makes sense, except for one thing. There is no lagoon in the region today. There is, though, a trail of clues that explains what could have happened. An ancient bridge that is strangely nowhere near water shows how river sediment coming down from the mountains changes the shape of the plain - over hundreds of years the lagoon would have silted up, hiding the lost city beneath solid ground. A host of boreholes drilled into the plain and a remote cave with the legend attached to it have helped pinpoint where the now underground city might lie.

Glimpses of Ancient Greece

Slowly Dora and Steven have pieced it all together, but there have been several false starts along the way. The first lot of ruins they found were Roman - a settlement built hundreds of years after Helike's disappearance to honour the famous lost city. Next they found ruins that turned out to be prehistoric - an early bronze age settlement built 2,500 years before Helike. It wasn't until 2001 that Dora and Steven at last got their breakthrough.

Whilst Horizon was filming, the team uncovered ruins from classical Greece. Securely dated by coins and pottery, the team are convinced they have at last found the city they've been looking for. It will take years to uncover Helike's riches, but for the first time in thousands of years, we have glimpses of the lost city that inspired Atlantis.

Source: BBC 2


'Helike - The Real Atlantis' by BBC Horizon, 2002

Duration: 48 minutes



You may also like to read The Transcript.

See also:
In Echoes of Atlantis, Dr Iain Stewart, who appears in the Horizon programme, explains more about Helike, Plato and the search for Atlantis.

And The Lost Cities of Helike by Helike Foundation.