All you need is Awe and Humility – Finding the Right Attitude towards Life's Marvels
on Nov 15, 2009 in what is best rewarding attitude in life mystical gratefulness and attitude towards life's forces energy childish amazement and true happiness spiritual awe and wonders of life whole bigger than self On various occasions I cannot help but think that life is so much bigger than me. By life I mean all the marvelous things that surround us. The simple state of being, the act of thinking, the astonishment and gratefulness we feel when contemplating n...

You are what you wear: A Brief Look at Ancient Sumptuary Laws on Fashion
on Nov 6, 2009 in ancient Rome Greece rules laws for fashion fashion clothes statement of freedom lifestyle class status fashion as controlling limiting freedom choice uniform sign of belonging respect Nowadays, especially in the Western world, we take for granted the fact that we are free to wear what we like. It comes as an addition to the highly prized freedom of expression since people do not merely communicate with words but also through their...

The “Neck Verse” or Why Medieval Gangsters benefited from Literacy
on Oct 22, 2009 in how reading could save medieval criminals medieval monks and benefit of clergy poor people turning to monasticism for education and food medieval monks impunity reading During the Middle Ages, monks had a special status and with it came various privileges. For all the poor people who were struggling for survival (or those who were simply looking for a means of education), monasticism may have indeed been a good opti...

Humanity first - Rules and Regulations later
on Oct 15, 2009 in system dealing real humans as pawns rules to the exception on compassionate grounds people not mere number or statistics humanity and compassion in bureaucracy humanity health care compassion As a general rule I believe that compassion should be first and foremost - right before any rules and regulations. Although I appreciate and understand the necessity of bureaucracy, we should not bury our own humanity under it. Often I have had the c...

Balance and Equilibrium in the Ups and Downs of Life
on Oct 5, 2009 in body living in constant harmony balancing pain and suffering yin and yang ancient greek belief of harmony and balance neuralizing forces of life and fortune harmony cycle in life soul and body In my experience, life consists of a continuous cycle of ups and downs, the wheel of fortune, the goddess Fortuna herself in the driving seat. As in the saying “what goes up must come down” there always seems to be a neutralizing factor determine...

Being versus Acting:The Ethical Dilemma of Morality
on Sep 23, 2009 in being good and ethical intentions difference between ethics and morality Plato Socrates Aristotle on morals mystical union of moral body pretending being moral ethical behavior When we hear that so-and-so is a “good” person, we automatically assume that the person in question is a virtuous and moral being. But is it enough to simply "be" a good person? Can we simply equate being good with a moral being? Plato would prob...

Sophistry, Flattery, Art and Philosophy in a Commercial World
on Sep 13, 2009 in media feed pleasing people away actual truth philosophy noble art free of charge making money influence art philosophy art modern commercial profit-oriented world ancient Greek sophist money In the modern understanding of the word, “sophistry” has a decisively negative connotation. It refers to people who envelop, even purposely trick and deceive you with words. Nonetheless, the original sophists were a group of wandering philosopher...

An Ancient Greek Sense of Female Beauty: The Platonic Aspirations of an Aesthetic Lover
on Sep 1, 2009 in women love beauty ancient Greek philosophy emptying mind to see world beauty Greek philosophy beauty love possession sex in modern day life Buddhism non-attachment physical love attraction A true aesthete is concerned and fascinated by beauty itself, by beauty for its own sake. It could be nature, an object of art, a real person or even a life-style. It may have its roots in the eyes of a beholder yet mostly it manages to transcend the...

Why Submission - and Islamic Thought - seem so Foreign to Western Thinking
on Aug 25, 2009 in Submission in Islam contrary to Western mind Western obsession with wealth profit success the positive side of Submission and Islamic religion submitting to one's fate destint and providence Our Western world seems to be obsessed with winning. Try and be your best, we are told. Never give up. Fight for your dreams and ideals. There is an air of invincible force over the North American spirit that thrives on obstacles and competition; eve...

Adam in Paradise and Calling a Spade by its Correct Name
on Aug 15, 2009 in using language for clear communication Adam in Eden and giving names to animals reponsibility and pride of creating names and life language as communication bridge between two individual souls A name is important indeed. For better or worse, we identify with the name we are given by our parents. Few of us actually legally change it; it’s something that we have grown accustomed to, that has become a stable core of who we are, despite the...