Cosmology
-
Returning to the Shaman to Move Forward
In a taped lecture by Alan Watts, he discussed a 1957 paper by mythologist Joseph Campbell, “The Symbol Without Meaning” In it, Campbell explained the beginning, development, and dissolution of cosmologies or great…
-
-
Free Will vs. Spiritual Determinism
In my last article, linked here, I reviewed an internationally renowned expert on the Western tradition’s philosophical and mystical roots, Peter Kingsley, and his view of the “Spiritual Determinism” embodied in Empedocles’ stories of…
-
Empedocles and Spiritual Determinism
When I began writing this series on Peter Kingsley’s view of Empedocles, I thought it would be just one article. Now I am on my fifth article. Each time I think my next…
-
Empedocles and the Garden of Eden
This is my third article on Empedocles’ story of the cosmos and the soul. In the first one, I laid out the basics of the story. You can read it here. It is the…
-
Empedocles: Cosmologist and Magician
It’s interesting to look back in history some 2500 years and see how far we haven’t come. Empedocles was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived from 492 BCE to 432 BCE. He was a…
-
Evil and the Intelligent Universe
We must look at evil from a new paradigm to understand it—the old paradigm of seeing good and evil as absolutes no longer works. Humans are much too complex for that. The new…
-
Quantum Physics and Intelligent Design
In my last article I explored the philosopher and mystic, Alan Watts’ view of intelligence in the universe. He defined intelligence as patterning. claiming there were two types of patterning: Organic and Mechanical.…
-
The Universe is Intelligence Itself
I was listening to a talk by Alan Watts the other day and he asked the question, “How do we know if there is intelligence in the universe? What are its signs?” Watts…
-
The Wise Universe
When I refer to a “Wise Universe” I mean there is an intelligence that underlies the whole shebang. Our Modern Conditioning In our modern world, we are trained to see the universe has…
