The ideal to which man strives can be depicted symbolically as the light that casts no shadow – the shadow here being falsehood. This is the overhead sun that beats down upon our heads. It is pure and sterile. There is a more sublime light when the sun is lower in the sky, casting a […more]
What we call ‘consciousness’ is an affiliation with the life principle at the exclusion of death. Consciousness is the desire to live, to stave off death for another day. It organizes its routines to avoid death, and procreates so that its young may continue its line. All living creatures show this instinct for life; they […more]
When a public figure is the object of mass derision, he can divert this stream of negative attention to his daemon, away from his biological self. When we loathe an evil character in a film, it does not adversely affect the actor. Instead it augments the magical charisma of the fictional character, empowering its daemon. […more]
We can look at the taboo as a vital, intelligent creature that we forged an alliance with over many millennia. It helped our ancestors survive, reinforcing in them love for their own kin compounded with a deep mistrust of outsiders. In return this beast was granted sanctuary in the dark recesses of the psyche. There […more]
What if stories and myths are neither literal nor allegorical? Traditional storytelling was an art wherein the orator reconstructed a scene or plot to make it feel as real as possible. The stories were entertaining and ‘magical’; the best stories delivered in such a way to charm and seduce the audience into the ‘story-space’ – […more]
A stage magician will have a specific set of props and costumes particular to his show, but his routine will inevitably follow the same basic format as other magicians. Each will by necessity follow an optimal sequence required for ‘magic’ to occur. If he does not do this then he will quickly find himself out […more]
The ocean is a vast expanse of unruly elements in which man finds himself an insignificant speck of floating driftwood. But if he hoists up a sail and holds it steady, he can navigate these treacherous seas until he reaches dry land. Such is the value of framing the unfathomable problem of his own existence; […more]
Among his other quirks, human has developed a natural affection for his paths. When passing through the undergrowth, it is better for him to ride a horse. And if there is no horse, he should follow a path to save him his troubles. We delight in nature, in its bounty and beauty, but without the […more]
The Human Faculty of Attention To assess the potential threat of human replication by artificial intelligence (AI), we should examine the differences between the respective brains. We understand a computer ‘brain’ better than we do our own, for we designed it. A computer basically processes digital information (numbers), and its role as a […more]
Introduction Why do the months of the year have different number of days? Why are there 28 days in February but January and March each have 31 days? It has been like this since 45 BC when the Julian calendar replaced the original Roman calendar. If there are 365 days in a year, is it […more]
