Yesterday evening I saw a long documentary on Dutch television about a Frenchman called Philippe Petit who, after long and stealthy preparations, maneged, in the year 1974, to walk across a tight rope that was strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. In the face of...
Meditation is so important in spirituality, not because it gives us more knowledge of spiritual matters, but because it creates a better neurological basis for epistemic clarity and psychological health.
When the neuro-system of our body gradually loses its stress (its 'sins'), we begin to see...
Not necessarily. The same it is with being rich. It is no garantuee for being blissful. Some basic needs have to be met. But happiness depends on more than economy.
Our attachments makes us suffer. We feel there must be something in this life of us that makes it worthwhile to invest in it. There must be something in it for 'me'. But all the while the process of life is impersonal. It doesn't care much about us, the John and Mary we are, as long as our...
Fundamental principles build up a sort of tension blocking our enlightenment and happiness. It may be compared to risky behavior we are trying to avoid by responding to it with 'I'll never have sex again', or 'Ill never drink again' or 'I'll never eat American hamburgers again'. These...
“The 'Beyond-being' does not refer to a some-thing, since it doesn't posit any-thing. […] It merely indicates that It is 'not that'.” ~Plotinus Enneads V.5.6 11-17~
We cannot say about God that It is 'this or that'. It is not like anything we see or feel with our senses or understand with our...
When the mind is in pain and suffers, it seeks a solution to get out of its misery. It goes on a quest for happiness. This quest wearies the already weary mind even more. Happiness now becomes so crucial to us that we cannot relax anymore. We are now unable to sleep. We cannot sit still and do...
We men have a deep longing for women. This longing is of course sexual and biological. But would it be merely sexual, we would behave like the city pigeons I see mating below my window: we would climb on top of the female, do It, and then fly away as fast as we can.
No, there is something...
Note to the admin. This thread contains posts from the writer Jan F. Brouwer. All my posts are contained in this thread with the intent not to overcrowd the board with new threads.
The topics of this thread are diverse, but mainly concerned with religion, philosophy, science and spirituality.