Herd mentality versus spirituality
By: Joey Morris
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Herd mentality versus spirituality
By: Joey Morris
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Alien ET UFO Truth Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Eleven) What Is Your Preparation For?
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...
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Marianne Williamson Talks Spirituality and Politics
Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer. Her newest book, "A Year of Miracles," was released in December 2013. Six ...
By: The Aspen Institute
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Interview with Father Mark Rotsaert, Superior of the Center of Ignatian Spirituality and Professor at the Gregorian University of Rome Rome, March 14, 2014 (Zenit.org) H. Sergio Mora | 378 hits
Pope Francis yesterday observed the first anniversary of his pontificate in the silence of a spiritual retreat, accompanied by Cardinals, Bishops and priests of the Roman Curia.
Were they taking part in an Saint Ignatius Spiritual Exercises on the six-day retreat which ends today? What are these Exercises, written by the Spanish Saint? What meaning do they have for someone who has already chosen his state, such as a Religious? What is the role of conscience? Are the Exercises brainwashing? As a Jesuit, how has Bergoglio been able to accept the papacy? And, in the Ignatian agree contra, is there not a certain risk of Pelagianism?
To understand Pope Francis and this subject better, ZENIT interviewed a specialist, Belgian Father Mark Rotsaert, SJ, Superior of the Center of Ignatian Spirituality and Professor of the Gregorian University of Rome, as well as author of several books including Spiritual Discernment in the Texts of Saint Ignatius.
* * *
ZENIT: What is a spiritual retreat? Were such retreats born with Saint Ignatius or did they exist before?
--Father Rotsaert: What at present are called Spiritual Exercises were born with Saint Ignatius, although retreats existed before, as did moments of spirituality, but they were not structured as those of Saint Ignatius. He wrote the Spiritual Exercises as the result of a twofold experience: a personal one of God, after his conversion in Loyola, while reading the life of Jesus and of the Saints, etc.; and the second while he was in Manresa, a Spanish locality where he stayed for some eleven months, an experience to help souls. Ignatius was still a layman, no longer a military man of the King of Spain, but in search of Jesus. So he went on to Barcelona and from there to the Holy Land. He wrote the Spiritual Exercises for preachers, not for those who heard them, because the Ignatian Exercises need the guidance of the preacher. They were not written to be done individually.
ZENIT: So, what are the Exercises?
--Father Rotsaert: They were something new that appeared in the 16th century. I have studied the topic and have not found any other works that do something of this sort. They last one month, four hours a day plus another hour at night. The originality lies in the pedagogical course, because this four-week prayer helps one to take a decision about ones life, the best for each one.
The novelty is the rereading of the prayer. After having prayed for an hour, one must do a rereading of what happened during ones prayer. Has it touched me? Has it given me joy? What emotion has it aroused in me? Because this interior motion is the way in which God speaks to us and the way to listen to Him. That is why the guide has to help one doing the Exercises to interpret positive moments of consolation and joy, which at the end of the retreat will suggest the direction to follow.
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The Pope's Retreat with the Curia, St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises and Conscience
What is Enlightenment in 60 Seconds
What is Enlightenment, What is Awakened? Being Enlightened or Being Awakened is a special state of mind where you see things clearly. This Episode of Buddhis...
By: The Lions Ground Entertainment Group
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In the most ancient civilisations of the world one finds great truths discovered by sages through meditation. Religions talk freely of what their Prophets discovered but cannot offer anything to anyone. Before proceeding any further, it is important to understand two things: 1) what is meditation? and 2) what is meditation for?
There is a very old statement which says that meditation starts when thought stops and there can be many different forms of meditation. But the subject of meditation I am talking about has nothing to do with any religion, any form of religion or any denomination of religion. Its about expanding a persons awareness, increasing their identity, their sense of self, and ultimately, it is expanded to infinity or Enlightenment, which is what lies behind everything and makes the universe possible. Now, that can sound very big, and to some people out there, it might even sound scary. But the reason a man lives a life of fear and anxiety, in fact, it can be said that a man is frightened to live and scared to die, its because living down here, he is as far away from the Cause of infinite love as he can actually get. So, as we get closer and closer to the source of everything, the energy and bliss and the love we experience gets greater and greater and greater.
For thousands of years mankind has been baffled by the question as to what is the purpose of human life, why am I born? Where have I come from? And where will I go when I die? Such questions remain un-answered, questions such as what does spirituality really involve, and is it possible to answer this for ourselves? The answer is yes. We are neither here by chance nor by accident, but there is a definite purpose to our life on this physical plane.
The very reason for the purpose of this life is to discover for ourselves the inseparability of man from God through the Grace of an Enlightened Teacher.
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Spiritual enlightenment is a concept mostly associated with Buddhism and Hinduism. Enlightenment implies complete perfection, which involves qualities such as detachment and awareness. This spiritual belief purports that life is full of suffering produced by desire and other emotions that attach the soul to worldly things; suffering is the inevitable result of attachment to these necessarily transitory things. A soul thus becomes enlightened when it remains in the world yet becomes free of attachment to it. Enlightenment is considered the end of a being's spiritual journey, be it within one life or across many.
In Buddhism, enlightenment is called nirvana. Nirvana is believed to be a state of peace and unity with the cosmos. Different forms of Buddhism teach different techniques for achieving nirvana. Orthodox Buddhists, for example, try to directly follow Buddha's teachings: in particular, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Others, such as Zen Buddhists, may use challenging mental exercises, such as koans. Most forms of Buddhism also use regular meditation as a central element of the path to spiritual enlightenment.
Hinduism also uses the concept of nirvana, considering it a representation of freedom from desire and other worldly passions. Spiritual enlightenment is also part of the conclusion to the Hindu cycle of reincarnation. In this belief, souls enter many different bodies through the course of their existence. In each of the lives they lead, they develop spiritually. The ultimate goal of this spiritual development is moksha, a liberation from the system of earthly suffering, which includes the idea of spiritual enlightenment.
Enlightenment is generally considered a mystical concept. That is, it contains the promise of a spiritual clarity lying beyond description by words and attainment by action. For example, one cannot become enlightened by reading, even if one can recite the words of every sage. Enlightenment is a potentially universal experience, but each being comes to it through a unique path. Teachers may provide assistance and provocation along the way, but they cannot impose enlightenment on their pupils; one becomes enlightened alone.
The concept of spiritual enlightenment in Buddhism and Hinduism is related to but distinct from ideas such as salvation and transcendence associated with Christianity. Whereas most versions of Christianity emphasize love of Jesus Christ as a prerequisite to spiritual completeness, enlightenment usually implies liberation from teachers and doctrineone famous Zen koan suggests: "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!" Enlightenment also does not involve the existence of a heaven distinct from earth. It places more emphasis on a transformation of the soul's relationship to the world of objects. The enlightened being continues a corporeal existence after having gained awareness of the illusory nature of reality. There is no separate space to which one ascends.
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JEHANABAD: Spiritual guru and founder of the Art of Living(AOL) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Wednesday said corruption has assumed alarming proportions in the country during the past five years eating into the vitals of the body politic. More than 30 scams have taken place during the said period.
An astronomical 1.4 trillion dollars of black money stashed in the European banks is, in fact, a sad reflection on the deep-rooted corruption embedded in our political system, he said adding in a lighter vein, "Our Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) is fair-complexioned in our land but how come she becomes black after reaching the foreign shores?"
Addressing a 10,000 strong congregation at the historic Gandhi Maidan here, Sri Sri exhorted the voters to ensure hundred percent participation in the electoral process. Asserting that coalition (khichdi) governments are detrimental to the health of the nation, the spritual leader said past experience of coalition governments in India has not been pleasant. He said the national economy is on the brink of a precipice. The industrial production in the country has nosedived to minus 2.5 % and any further spell of coalition government at the Centre is likely to sound the death knell for the national economy. Advocating for a decisive mandate this time, he called upon the people to elect a strong and stable government.
Replying to a question, the spritual guru said, "I cannot say who to vote for. Being a spritual leader, I cannot campaign for or against any particular political party in the elections. I can only make a fervent appeal to elect candidates with clean, spotless image to help overcome the hydra-headed monster of corruption."
Describing Magadh as a land of enlightenment, the spritual leader said the hoary past of Magadh always beckons me to my ashram at Bodh Gaya. He informed that AoL plans to set up a training centre for priests at the Bodh Gaya ashram and a few skill development centres for youths in Aurangabad and Jehanabad. Referring to his emotional attachment with Bihar, he said, "40 % of the employees working at our headquarters ashram in Bangalore hail from Bihar. We have also provided for reservation of 20 seats each for students of Magadh and Mithila regions for admission to management courses at our university in Odisha," he added.
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Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 14, 2014
According to bullyingstatistics.org, 77 percent of all students reported being verbally bullied while at school in the year 2013. Recently, 49 states have passed anti-bullying laws in the hopes of seeing that percentage decrease; however, as far as author Linda Bartlett is concerned, the damage is already done.
In her new book, Never Alone, Bartlett looks back on her journey of raising a child with disabilities and the intense battle against bullies her family faced. This heartbreaking and inspiring story is a true account of her sons powerful determination to live against all medical odds and other obstacles he faced on his way to spiritual enlightenment.
I wrote this book to provide hope to people who have experienced, or are currently experiencing, overwhelming challenges in life, as well as to bring more awareness of the everlasting effects of severe bullying that is occurring in todays society, Bartlett said.
Never Alone will inspire readers to overcome any obstacle. It provides hope and encouragement, especially to those dealing with the effects of bullying as a result of a disability.
Never Alone By: Linda Bartlett ISBN: 978-1-4525-8628-1 (sc); 978-1-4525-8630-4 (hc); 978-1-4525-8629-8 (e) Softcover: $11.99 Hardcover: $28.95 Ebook: $6.99 Available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Balboa Press
About the Author
Bartlett grew up in a central Texas town and has always had a passion for travel. After traveling through Europe, she moved back to Texas to raise her family. Today, she works as an operating principal at a real estate franchise in Austin, Texas. She enjoys spending time with her children Jeffrey and Stephanie, traveling and sharing the message of her book.
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International Space Station Astronauts Do An Experiment for #39;Cosmos #39; TV Show
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 38 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio ...
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International Space Station Astronauts Do An Experiment for 'Cosmos' TV Show - Video
Karaganda welcomes crew of global space station
Today Karaganda welcomed the crew of the Global Space Station. The crew members feel good and according to physicians their general condition is satisfactory...
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ksp season 1 ep.9 (docking with space station part 3)
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ksp season 1 ep.9 (docking with space station part 3) - Video
Space Station Live: Protein Crystallization Experiment Launching on SpaceX
Space Station Live commentator Amiko Kauderer interviews CASIS PCG HDPCG-2 Principal Investigator Dr. Stephen Aller regarding the Advancing Membrane Protein ...
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Space Station Live: Protein Crystallization Experiment Launching on SpaceX - Video
Constant C Official Launch Trailer | Xbox Live Arcade | Steam
Title: "Constant C" Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade | Steam Genre: Puzzle | Platform Release Date: March 10, 2014 ESRB: E10+ In the not-too-distant future... The...
By: Strangely Compelling
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Constant C Official Launch Trailer | Xbox Live Arcade | Steam - Video
The planned Sunday launch of a commercial Dragon space capsule packed with food and supplies for astronauts in orbit has been delayed until at least March 30, its SpaceX builders said Thursday.
SpaceX planned to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the robotic Dragon spacecraft toward the International Space Station early Sunday, March 16, from Florida to mark the firm's third delivery mission for NASA under a $1.6 billion contract. But due to "remaining open items," SpaceX is now targeting a launch on March 30, with April 2 as a backup day.
"Both Falcon 9 and Dragon are in good health," SpaceX officials said in a statement announcing the delay. "Given the critical payloads on board and significant upgrades to Dragon, the additional time will ensure SpaceX does everything possible on the ground to prepare for a successful launch." [See photos from SpaceX's latest Dragon spacecraft mission]
SpaceX launches its Dragon missions to the space station from a pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It launched the first Dragon mission in 2010, and has flown two of 12 cargo missions under its NASA deal since then.
Sunday's mission, called the Commercial Resupply Services 3 (CRS-3) flight, was slated to launch at 4:41 a.m. EDT (0841 GMT) to begin a four-week trip to the International Space Station. The capsule was slated to return to Earth on April 17, if all went well.
The CRS-3 Dragon spacecraft is packed with about 4,600 lbs. of supplies and gear. That haul includes equipment for more than 150 experiments scheduled for the station's current Expedition 39 crew and its follow-on Expedition 40 increment.
The spacecraft is also expected to carry a prototype laser communications experiment, a new spacesuit to replace a leaky suit on the station, as well as prehensile legs for NASA's Robonaut 2 robot aboard the orbiting lab. Four tiny "cubesat" satellites will also launch as piggyback payloads on the mission.
The Dragon capsule, which is equipped with a heat shield, is expected to return about 3,600 lbs. of cargo, experiments and other gear back to Earth, SpaceX officials said.
SpaceX is one of two U.S. spaceflight companies currently launching delivery flights to the space station for NASA. The U.S. space agency also flies cargo to the space station on vehicles built by Russia, Europe and Japan.
The other U.S. firm with a NASA cargo delivery deal is the Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp., which launched its first cargo mission to the International Space Station in January. Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract for eight delivery flights using its own Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rockets, which launch from Wallops Island, Va.
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SpaceX delays Dragon cargo launch to space station until March 30
Scientists at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Ca, USA, have developed a new method of transmitting video and large volumes of data from the International Space Station back to Earth.
A team of 20 researchers working on the labs Phaeton program, have developed the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) investigation, which is being prepared for a March 16 launch to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX-3 mission. Their goal is to achieve NASAs first optical communication experiment on the orbital laboratory.
Scientific instruments used in space missions increasingly require higher communication rates to transmit data back to Earth or to support high-data-rate applications, such as high-definition video streams.
"Optical communications has the potential to be a game-changer," said mission manager Matt Abrahamson. "Right now, many of our deep space missions communicate at 200 to 400 kilobits per second. OPALS will initially demonstrate up to 50 Mbit/s and future deep space optical communication systems will provide over 1 Gbit/s from Mars, he added.
"It will be like upgrading from dial-up to DSL," added project systems engineer Bogdan Oaida. "Our ability to generate data has greatly outpaced our ability to downlink it. Imagine trying to download a movie at home over dial-up. Its essentially the same problem in space, whether were talking about low-Earth orbit or deep space."
After the Dragon capsule docks with the station, OPALS will be robotically extracted from the trunk of the Dragon, and then manipulated by a robotic arm for positioning on the stations exterior. It is the first investigation developed at JPL to launch on SpaceX's Falcon rocket.
As the space station orbits Earth, a ground telescope tracks it and transmits a laser beacon to the OPALS. While maintaining lock on the uplink beacon, the orbiting instruments flight system will downlink a modulated laser beam with a formatted video. Each demonstration, or test, will last approximately 100 seconds as the station instrument and ground telescope maintain line of sight.
It will be used to study pointing, acquisition and tracking of the very tightly focused laser beams, taking into account the movement of the space station, and to study the characteristics of optical links through Earths atmosphere. NASA will also use OPALS to educate and train personnel in the operation of optical communication systems.
About OPALS
OPALS is a partnership between NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.; the International Space Station Program based at Johnson Space Center in Houston; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Advanced Exploration Systems Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
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Experiments with rocketry progressed through the early 20th century. The first rockets to reach space were the German V-2 rockets of World War II. The first artificial satellite (Sputnik) was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, followed by the US Explorer I in 1958.
The first manned flight was the Earth orbit by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on Apil 12, 1961. Manned flights by the US were by Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom, followed by the three-orbit flight of John Glenn on February 20, 1962.
The US space program under NASA culminated in six manned Moon landings between July 20, 1969 and December 14, 1972. Space exploration since that time has been almost entirely by unmanned probes, such as the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions to the outer planets from 1977 to 1989, and the Viking mission (and subsequent rovers) sent to Mars in 1975.
Manned space flight continued with Mir, Skylab, and the International Space Station. The Russian Soyuz flights are continuing, both manned and unmanned, while the US fleet of Space Shuttle orbiters (1977-2011) has now been retired.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (March 14, 2014) Today, aerospace company Swiss Space Systems (S3) inaugurates its new U.S. subsidiary, S3 USA Operations (Florida) Inc., at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). S3 has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Space Florida for future utilization the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and associated infrastructure for its flight operations, which are slated to begin in 2015 with zero gravity flights. S3 will also evaluate the SLF as a main site for satellite launches beginning in 2018.
Swiss Space Systems currently has more than 60 employees in Switzerland, Spain and the U.S. S3s engineering team, supported by its industrial and academic partners, is steadily progressing on the research & development phase of an innovative small satellite launching system, the SOAR, based on an Airbus aircraft lofting the sub-orbital reusable shuttle on its back. S3 has already established an initial footprint at the Kennedy Space Center, leasing offices at Space Floridas Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL) in Exploration Park. The establishment of this new subsidiary further reinforces S3s presence in the United States, after the creation of the S3 USA office in Washington DC.
Frank DiBello, CEO and President of Space Florida stated, We are pleased to welcome Swiss Space Systems to Florida. We believe strongly in the enormous potential of the markets they are pursuing including small satellites and suborbital operations. We look forward to working with S3 to enable their growth and expansion in our state.
Space Florida has been working with KSC and Cape Canaveral Spaceport to repurpose excessed government infrastructure for commercial use, providing a significant time and cost saving advantage to commercial operators. In 2013, Space Florida was selected by NASA to maintain and operate the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) for commercial use, the historic 15,000 ft. launch and landing facility previously utilized for the Space Shuttle Program.
For S3, Florida offers several major advantages, including a strategic geographic location, as well as access to key infrastructure and human resources, which will help to enable our success, stated Pascal Jaussi, Founder and CEO of Swiss Space Systems.
The Kennedy Space Center is one of the locations S3 will evaluate as a main site of operations for small satellite launches, starting in 2018. In the near term, S3 will propose zero gravity (Zero G) flights onboard its latest-generation Airbus carrier aircraft in Florida starting in 2015. These flights will enable passengers and payloads to experience weightlessness like astronauts do in space, during approximately 20 seconds per parabolic flight, with a basic flight mission consisting of approximately 15 parabolas during a 2-hour flight. Throughout 2015, S3 will conduct a world tour of Zero G flights, operating in more than 15 locations around the world, including the Kennedy Space Center.
Zero G flights will enable S3 to offer research institutes and universities, partners or clients the possibility to conduct extremely precise and demanding missions in various microgravity environments. However, we will also let the public live this one-of-a-kind experience through our online ticketing system for our flight campaigns around the world, as a way for us to democratize access to space, outlines Robert Feierbach, Head of S3 USA. We look forward to working with Space Florida as we establish our initial flight operations and evaluate opportunities for future expansion in the state, added Feierbach.
To learn more about S3 Zero G flights, visitzerog.s-3.ch
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Our first response to this question is the same things anyone else does, but maybe we dont get out enough. As long as seasteads have an Internet connection, it might take us a while to notice that we are on a small, isolated platform in the middle of the ocean. To be fair, not everyone plugs in this way.
Our the next-simplest response is to point out lifestyles similar to those found on land that would be compatible with life aboard a seastead. For example, vacationers will be able to do pretty much anything they can do on a cruise ship in addition to whatever unique activities might be offered aboard the seastead. Resort employees on a seastead will find it much like working on a cruise ship.
In terms of permanent residents, the seasteading experience will be more like that of people who live in isolated, rural areas, or live-aboard boaters. While such a life does not appeal to everyone, the people who like it rarely seem to be bored. Furthermore, permanent residents can always take a vacation on land if they crave a setting with more people. The closer a seastead is to land, the easier it becomes to visit to a nearby major city for a day or weekend. This opportunity makes seasteading even more like just living in the outback, and is one of many reasons a coaststead seems like a good place to start.
The key to success will be to leverage the uniqueness of seasteads. If that only appeals to a tiny fraction of the world, thats still plenty of people. Seasteads and islands will each have their own kind of romance. Each will appeal to a different set of peopleas long as we can find enough people who think seasteads are romantic, it doesnt matter if some prefer islands. Niche markets are not necessarily a bad thing in business, particularly if they arent served well by other options have a large enough customer base.
Also, since modular seasteads will be able to float and move, dynamic geography will be possible. Our central thesis about why societies on the ocean will work better than those on land is that freedom of movement of individual modules allows for the separation and merging of seasteading clusters, creating a process of continual improvement.
Finally, political and social institutions matter. There is a reason that most people who can afford it choose to live in the first world, even though oceanfront property in the third world, where institutions suffer many problems, is both cheaper and more beautiful. If we can provide an innovative society with efficient government services, productive people will flock to it as a place to live and work.
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