william

  • Ants Contemplating Einstein

    Ants Contemplating Einstein

    “We have art so that we shall not die of reality.”  —  Friedrich Nietzsche

    The book of Genesis in the Bible famously says that God created humanity “in our own image.” We’ve returned the favor – creating Gods in OUR own image. That is, human-like, only really really big. For example, the God of the Bible may not have a physical body, but certainly behaves in all too human ways: He loves and hates: “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” (Mal. 1:2-3). He exacts revenge: “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.” (Deut. 32:35). He regrets: “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth.” (Gen. 6:6). He is jealous: “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Ex. 34:14). Examples abound.

    It’s called “anthropomorphism” – “anthropos” = human beings and ‘morphos’ = the form of something. So anthropomorphism is projecting human traits and actions onto things and situations that aren’t human, such as pets, or “an angry storm,” or “my phone died.” (more…)

  • Rengetsu — a Nun Poet Who Brought a Civil War to a Peaceful End

    Rengetsu — a Nun Poet Who Brought a Civil War to a Peaceful End

    I recently encountered the story of Rengetsu (1791-1875) — a Japanese Buddhist nun with an extraordinary story.

    She was the love child of a geisha and a high ranking samurai. At 10 days old she was adopted by new parents. As a teen she was called to serve as an attendant at Kameoka Castle, and during her 9-year stay she received a samurai education in deportment, calligraphy, painting, poetry, tea ceremony, flower arranging, dancing, and a thorough grounding in the martial arts. At age 16 her troubles began — she married, then her husband died, she married again — he died too. So did her brothers and all five of her children, about which she wrote a poem: (more…)

  • Sacred Geometry: The Language of the Cosmos

    Sacred Geometry: The Language of the Cosmos

    Mighty is geometry — joined with art, irresistible.
    — Euripides (480-406 BCE)

    The idea of ‘Sacred Geometry’ is that mathematics can be beautiful. For example, here’s one of the most famously beautiful equations in mathematics:

    eiπ + 1 = 0

    It’s called “Euler’s Identity,” after the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707-1783, pronounced “OIL-er”) who first discovered it. You have to be far into math for this equation just to make sense, much less to find it beautiful.

    Geometry is another story. Here’s a geometrically generated image: (more…)

  • What Is ‘Spiritual Alchemy’?

    What Is ‘Spiritual Alchemy’?

    Introduction

    Spiritual alchemy uses the quest for turning physical base metals into gold as a metaphor for the path of transforming the ‘base’ human soul into the ‘gold’ of enlightenment and our best/highest selves. Rooted in mystical and philosophical teachings, it is the art of transmuting the soul, leading to spiritual enlightenment and inner transformation.

    Historical Background

    The origins of alchemy date back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Islamic world, where it was practiced as both a proto-scientific and spiritual discipline. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, alchemy flourished in Europe, often interwoven with Christian mysticism, Jewish Kabbalistic teachings, and Islamic alchemical texts. (more…)