Alpha to Omega

Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris, biologist, ecologist, futurist and author, examines why scientists should be skeptical of their assumption that the universe is non-living: "… the fundamental belief in Western science is that this is a non-living universe. No one has ever proved this. I don’t think anyone could prove it. It is an assumption. If I say I want to build a science based on the assumption this is a living universe scientists will say – prove it. But, they don’t have to prove their fundamental assumption that this is a non-living universe. Western science has developed the only culture in history, I think, that has developed the concept of non-life." Dr. Sahtouris also explains how our outdated hierarchical models of biology have given way to holarchical models, and how the same transformation is occurring in many of our social and political systems. Resist the Non-Living Universe Assumption Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris is an evolution biologist, futurist, author, an...

by Brian Swimme, Ph. D.M In the Merck Family Fund’s Yearning for Balance national survey, 86 percent of people agreed or strongly agreed that "today’s youth are too focused on buying and consuming things." This is a touchstone issue for children and the future. The following book excerpt deals with how children today discover what it means to be human. How are we initiated into the universe? To answer we need to reflect on what our children experience over and over again, at night, in a setting similar to those children in the past who gathered in the caves and listened to the chant of the elders. If we think in terms of pure quantities of time the answer is immediate: the cave has been replaced with the television room and the chant with the advertisement. One could say that the chant has been replaced with the television show, but at the core of each show, driving the action, and determining whether or not the show will survive the season, is the advertisement. ...

In  Mastery by George Leonard ,  the author describes 5 keys to long-term success and fulfillment as: Instruction Practice Surrender Intentionality The Edge – Push the envelope and Mastery is: The process where what was difficult becomes both easier and more pleasurable Long-term dedication to the journey – not the bottom line Gaining mental discipline to travel further on your journey Being goalless Realizing that the pleasure of practice is intensified Creating deep roots Knowing that you will never reach a final destination Being diligent with the process of mastery Your commitment to hone your skills After you have reached the top of the mountain, climb another one Being willing to practice, even when you seem to be getting no where Making this a life process Being patient, while you apply long-term efforts Appreciating and even enjoying the plateau, as much as you do the progress Practicing for the sake of practice Winning graciously, and l...

When I was in college and Alan Watts was hot, I thought enlightenment was a sudden flash. Bang–Nirvana–I'm now an enlightened being. That's like thinking God literally created the universe and then rested in seven 24-hour days. Enlightenment is more like the creation: it can start with a big bang of insight, an epiphany, but it is a progressive, constantly evolving process of awareness. The creator is reflected in creation. We reflect the creator and recapitulate creation in our own lives–we start with a big bang and evolve over time. Time magazine arranged a debate [ 9/30/2006 ] between the scientist Richard Dawkins, author of the recent book, The God Delusion , and Francis Collins, a Christian biologist. In the very last sentence in the debate, Dawkins, a self-proclaimed atheist, states: If there is a God, it's going to be a whole lot bigger and a whole lot more incomprehensible than anything any theologian has ever proposed. I think this statement stirs t...

I’m sure you’ve seen this before: Namaste’ is an ancient Sanskrit word that means… I honor the place in you where the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of truth, of light, of peace, and love, And when we communicate with that level of awareness, WE ARE ONE! I saw this tonight and thought how complicated it is; it is so rational brain. Doesn’t “We are one” cover it all? Isn’t that enough to ponder. This strikes me as what we do in Western thinking; we try to define it, to bring in the scalpel of reason and break it into its parts. But that’s the whole problem. My creed: I believe in God, the rest are details that separate us. All-One (a daily reminder being on the Dr. Bonner soap I use) is enough to spend a lifetime trying to integrate into who I am/we are .

Microsoft Word is dying. It is dying in personal, educational, and online business computing (it will take longer in the established business realm). In education, young Turk's are moving us to an online world of Unix (OS X /Linux). In this world the cost of the software to run the computer, whether it's a server or a person's computer, is virtually free–and it doesn't use Microsoft. And you don't need Microsoft Office, especially Word. Why? Because application software, such as Microsoft Office, is virtually free on Linux or OS X (I can get iLife and iWorks for $78). It doesn't use Microsoft. (School administrators take note; are you using or moving to Linux or OS X?) But Word is dying regardless of low cost or free alternatives. Word, and really all of Microsoft (except server stuff), are dying because Web 2.0 is killing it. ( Check out this article   by the Al Gore of Web 2.0 for a really interesting and thought-provoking article generating a vocabul...

I wanted our 8th grade students to write using a blog. I envisioned it as some type of journal writing assignment. Then I wanted the English teacher to give a topic and have the students respond to it. My Spanish teacher wants online portfolios for the kids (eFolios). I found a number of tools to do each; but I was looking for a solution that solved blog+portfolio+discussion board. I got Movable Type, but it’s pretty limited for aggregation. (I also had a hell of a time getting it to run on Windows Server 2003 and IIS; then once working, it kept mysteriously breaking). Then I found   Drupal . It is an amazing open-source “… dynamic web site platform which allows an individual or community of users to publish, manage and organize a variety of content, Drupal integrates many popular features of content management systems, weblogs, collaborative tools and discussion-based community software into one easy-to-use package.” If your in education and looking like I am, you owe it to ...