May 26, 2016
Human Beings have a natural need to improve and grow. Certain moments in our lives are decisive where we feel we made a breakthrough and in hindsight we may recognize the inspiration and experiences that guided us in those moments. Often we find that in such moments we are more goal-oriented and focussed, thereby able [...]May 26, 2016
O Mother, Thou who art present everywhere, Thou who art the embodiment of Power and Energy, I Bow to Thee! I Bow to Thee! I Bow to Thee! – Invocation to Shakti, the Feminine Principle The universe is a place of balance…Yin and Yang, night and day, summer and winter, masculine and feminine. A balance [...]May 26, 2016
The year is 1936. The Olympic Games in Munich are underway and Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany, publicly comments, “The sportive, knightly battle awakens the best human characteristics. It doesn’t separate, but unites, the combatants in understanding and respect. It also helps to connect the countries in the spirit of peace. That’s why the Olympic [...]May 20, 2016
This May, there will be celebrations across small villages in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire and many other places around England, with folk dances, local food, communities coming together, marking the time of spring being established and moving into summer. Most of the May Day celebrations in England have their roots in Celtic traditions. Maypole dancing is [...]May 17, 2016
In our culture the word ‘invisible’ is often taken to mean ‘non-existent’. But for the ancient Egyptians, the invisible was the cause of the visible and therefore, in a sense, more important. They realised that the form of a person, what they wear and how they appear is only a reflection of something internal which [...]May 17, 2016
This is one of those philosophical questions that will probably always exist. There are no doubt many possible answers, but perhaps the best place to start is with the philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). Kant’s position on this question was unequivocal. In a world of relativities, there is only one thing that can be considered [...]May 15, 2016
“Nature is enough for everything she asks of us. Luxury has turned her back on nature (… ) pressing man’s intelligence into the development of vices. First she began to hanker after things that were inessential, and then after things that were harmful, and finally she handed the mind over to the body and commanded [...]May 13, 2016
Though some people are aware that Mozart was a Freemason and many know that his opera The Magic Flute is a Masonic allegory, it is less well known what Freemasonry is and how central it was to Mozart’s life and work. According to the great Mozartean scholar Alfred Einstein, however, “the consciousness of his membership [...]May 13, 2016
After a long dark night and a very deep sleep a sound like a ray of light ignited a dense inertia. The movement started and there was time and the beginning of the universe. And so the cosmic dance started, moving galaxies, stars, planets and our souls. Shiva Nataraja. Shiva’s dance is life and death, [...]May 11, 2016
Last summer we were privileged to host a talk at our centre on the subject of ‘Soul’ by Matthew Del Nevo, a visiting philosopher from Australia. Matthew is Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, where he lectures mainly in the area of the history of ideas and modern continental philosophy. He [...]April 19, 2016
Many hundreds of years ago when the Romans ruled over vast territories in Europe, a man from Treveri (Trier, Germany) named Peregrinus embarked on a long journey to Aquae Sulis (Bath). The gods were merciful to him and, upon arrival, thankful Peregrinus erected an altar stone to Nemetona and Loucetius Mars, to the Mistress of a [...]April 19, 2016
Alchemy has a reputation from the Middle Ages. We can imagine obscure medieval laboratories with alchemists driving themselves to madness by spending years trying to achieve the impossible – the transmutation of lead into gold. This is one side of the story… In fact, alchemy has been around for thousands of years. It was not [...]