July 31, 2026
I was inspired to write this article after visiting an exhibition on the samurai at the British Museum. Paradoxically for an exhibition about warriors, and much to my surprise, I emerged with a strong feeling of joyful peace and serenity, effects which I attribute to the sheer beauty of some of the paintings and artefacts on display, along with the often heroic stories that accompanied them, [...]July 24, 2026
Pachatata and Pachamama These days, I often hear about the need to go back to our roots and reconnect with nature. It feels as though we have allowed speed and productivity to take over our daily lives. In recent years and knowing I grew up in a city, I have started to shift from simply observing nature’s beauty to feeling part of it, rather than standing outside of it. It makes a difference [...]July 24, 2026
Our questions and the answers we receive are dependent on one another. It is not possible to gain an answer to a question that we’ve never asked. We remain ignorant until we awaken to the possibility that our understanding is somewhat limited. Currently, definitive answers to the question ‘what is consciousness?’ are out of reach. Perhaps one day it will be possible for different theories [...]July 24, 2026
“Are you happy?” “Well, sort of happy.” “Would you like to be happier?” “Hm, I don't have time to ask myself this question. What does happiness mean anyway?” “Good question.” Do we mean by happiness this temporary moment of a pleasant day, a nice event or winning the lottery? Because even the happiness derived from gaining a large sum of money is temporary – [...]July 23, 2026
In 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the political philosopher Francis Fukuyama wrote a highly influential book, The End of History and The Last Man. He claimed that “what we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution [...]July 23, 2026
In Part 1 we saw the biography of this extraordinary but forgotten figure of Roman history. This article concludes with an examination of Julian’s philosophical ideas and inner life. A soul incapable of feeling fear Julian followed the great philosophical ideas under the guidance of his teachers, with a particular focus on ethical ideas. These taught him to completely control his body and [...]July 23, 2026
Emperor Julian The dust of oblivion has erased the memory of one of the greatest figures in European history, whose ideas and work left a profound mark on the world: the Roman Emperor Julian, named ‘the Apostate’ by the Christians to whom his memory was anathema. By the 4th century AD, Rome had almost completely exhausted its spiritual energy. That immense social body was no longer [...]July 22, 2026
Egypt. Say the name and a host of iconic images are brought forth in your mind’s eye: The Great Pyramids, The Sphinx, King Tutankhamun’s funeral mask, walls filled with hieroglyphs, to name but a few. All of these could be seen as expressions of Egyptian art and architecture, but really, they seem to go far beyond our modern conception of such things. For the Egyptians, art was always at the [...]July 15, 2026
On this 15th of July, New Acropolis sets out on the journey of its 70th year of life. As has often been said, 70 years can mean the entire life of a human being, but it is an insignificant number if we are talking about the existence of an Ideal on Earth. New Acropolis has been an Ideal that incarnated in the 20th century and aims to remain faithful to its principles until the last breath of [...]March 28, 2026
I have always been fascinated by the tradition of sacred masonry, which throughout the ages has left us many remarkable and inspiring buildings. I am thinking especially of those medieval builders who assumed the role of architect-priests, carrying on an ancient tradition that goes back to Imhotep himself (circa 2700 BCE) – the famous priest, vizier and architect of ancient Heliopolis. Our age [...]