Showing 99 articles

A Traditional Tale of India

Author: Anonymous

November 21, 2014

Once a greengrocer and a potter jointly hired a camel and each filled one side of the pannier with his goods. The camel as he went along the road took a mouthful every now and then, as he had a chance, from the greengrocer’s bag of vegetables. This provoked a laugh from the potter, who [...]

The Wounded Swan

Author: Anonymous

October 21, 2014

One day when Prince Siddhartha and his cousin Devadatta were walking in the woods, they saw a swan. Quickly, Devadatta drew his bow and shot the swan down. Siddhartha rushed to the wounded swan and pulled out the arrow. He held the bird in his arms and caressed it. Devadatta angrily shouted at Prince Siddhartha, [...]

What’s Easy and What’s Difficult?

Author: Delia Steinberg Guzmán

October 4, 2014

We usually follow what is easy for us or what we master. However, Seneca argues: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult”. In order to grow, we have to face the unknown. Why wait? Easiness per se does not [...]

Conviction and Fanaticism

Author: Delia Steinberg Guzmán

October 4, 2014

We are interested in clarifying the difference we see between conviction and fanaticism, so that each one can judge himself and others more clearly. Conviction is a high commitment – psychological, intellectual and moral – which arises from becoming progressively convinced, founded on good reasons, evidence, experience, supporting models and bases. A person with convictions [...]

Against Separation, We Need Trust

Author: Delia Steinberg Guzmán

October 4, 2014

The word “unify” comes from the Latin unus and facere, “to make one”, that is, to bring together various different parts that are coherent with another, and combine them in such a way that we can achieve a harmonious and homogeneous unity. It is an act of coming closer together, of connection, which, if it [...]

The Symbolism of the Egg

Author: M.A. Carrillo de Albornoz & M.A. Fernández

September 22, 2014

The egg is a universal and self-explanatory symbol because it holds the seed from which the whole of manifestation will spring. The idea that the universe was born from an egg is shared by nearly all ancient civilisations and cultures. The primordial man also originates from an egg, like Prajâpati. In general, the cosmic Egg, [...]

The Wolf and the Lamb

Author: Anonymous

September 22, 2014

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. “There’s my supper,” thought he, “if only I can find some excuse to seize it.” Then he called out to the Lamb, “How [...]

The Cock and the Pearl

Author: Aesop

September 21, 2014

A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw. “Ho! ho!” quoth he, “that’s for me,” and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had been lost [...]

The Power of Symbols

Author: Alex Warren

August 27, 2014

Symbols hold a powerful attraction for people. Even today, in an age in which materialistic perspectives rule human thought, many ancient symbols such as the ankh, the yin/yang, American Indian designs, pyramids, and many other symbols are quite popular in jewelry and in the home. Why do symbols of the ancient civilizations continue to be [...]

The Symbolism of the Lotus

Author: M.A. Carrillo de Albornoz & M.A. Fernández

August 26, 2014

In the Orient, this flower has various symbolic aspects but its main characteristics stem from the fact that it blossoms on stagnant waters. This is why the lotus is seen as a symbol of purity; although blossoming on murky waters it remains immaculate. Rising out of the darkness to blossom in full sunlight, this flower [...]

The Symbolism of Wings

Author: M.A. Carrillo de Albornoz & M.A. Fernández

August 22, 2014

Wings are the symbol of lightness, spirituality, the possibility of flying and rising up to heaven. Wings are the expression of the aspiration of the soul towards a higher than human condition, in other words the aspiration to transcend the human condition. Wings are related to the cognitive faculty, imagination, thought, freedom and victory. According [...]

The Symbolism of the Thread

Author: M.A. Carrillo de Albornoz & M.A. Fernández

August 22, 2014

The symbolism of thread is essentially that of the relation existing between all states of being and between the latter and their First Cause. This symbolism is clearly expressed in the Upanishads where thread links this world to the other world and to all beings. This thread is both Âtma and Prâna. Because it is [...]