A Wisdom Archive on Trends

NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING: Looks at behavioural traits and bad habits. Treatment provides the patient with verbal instructions to reverse the trends.

 
(See also: NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul )

EVOLUTION
For the past hundred years or more a war has been going on in academic circles between the theory of evolution and the belief in Creation. Darwinian evolution, however, must not be applied to history. Nor must we think of Creation as anything less than ongoing at all times, including the present moment.
 
Every plant, every animal, even matter itself is conscious, not merely sentient. Consciousness, however, assumes many modalities, each having the same goal, which is self-transcendance. The difference between an elephant and a fly is not that the one is more conscious or transcending than the other, but that the fly''s attention is focused and fixed, whereas the elephant''s is generalized and reprogrammable for adapting to new circumstances. Everything is creatively evolving upward in an infinite spiral. All Being necessarily undergoes many transitions and existence must encompass all experience.
 
Ultra-Darwinist theories no longer see biological evolution as "survival of the fittest" nor as random happenstance. Alien cells tend, if given time, to merge cooperatively with their host. Variations of species are not preceded by steps, but by quantum "leaps" (punctuations) that suggest recognition of environmental exigencies and co-evolutionary trends. There is also macro-evolution. The entire world is approaching its own evolutionary acme (Moksha). When the Bodhi-culmination transpires, Nirvana will become available to all.
 

 
(See also: EVOLUTION , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)
 

Sankaracharya Sankaracarya (Sanskrit) [from Sankara a personal name + acarya teacher]
 
The beneficent teacher; one of the greatest initiates of India. The Upanishads, Gautama Buddha, and Sankaracharya are considered by many to be the three lights of the wisdom of India. In a very mystical way Sankaracharya was Buddha''s esoteric successor. He was an avatara, as was Jesus.
 
Sankaracharya set himself to preserve the wisdom previously lighted, or brought to men, by Gautama Buddha. By his pure living and high thinking, causing an outpouring of lofty spiritual and intellectual thought from his very soul-life, he kindled the truth in the hearts of many who had lost it through following dogmatic trends of religion, rather than holding to the inner spirit of the ancient teachings. Sankaracharya worked mostly with the Brahmin order -- the highest caste in India -- where the advantages of heredity, of ages of high ideals and rigid discipline, could most easily, if accepted, receive the pure truths, and also could best supply a body of men fitted by character and training to master the higher knowledge, sustain it, and pass it on.
 
Sankaracharya did this in three ways: first by writing commentaries on the great Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita which revealed the original message of these old writings; secondly, by himself composing a series of original works, such as Ata-bodha, Ananda-lahari, Jnana-bodhini, and Mani-ratna-mala, as well as catechisms and manuals for students wishing to follow the path of wisdom; thirdly, by a system of reform and discipline within the Brahmin order itself, which if accepted and faithfully followed would so purify and clarify the mind and body, that his disciples finally became fit to receive his precepts.
 
Sankaracharya was also the founder of the Advaita-vendanta school of philosophy. The story of his life is very remarkable. He was born according to tradition in the 6th century BC, probably about 510. He lived, to be only 32 years old, but owing to his extraordinary capacities he accomplished many great and spiritual works for humanity. Probably most of the marvelous episodes recorded about his life are allegories of certain of his spiritual experiences and conquests, written in this form -- as was the custom of students of the Mystery schools -- in order to veil the deep mysteries of his life.

 
(See also: Sankaracharya, Sankaracarya, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary )

Sufi, Sufi, Sufism [from Arab suf wool; sufi he who wears woolen garments]
 
A school of thought that emphasizes the superiority of the soul as opposed to the body. A Sufi wears harsh, raw woolen garments constantly irritating his skin to remind him that the body is the part which prevents the soul from attaining higher goals. The first public pronouncement of mysticism in Moslem lands is attributed to Rabi`a, who lived in the 1st century of the Hejira (622 AD) and expounded the theory of divine love: God is love, and everything on earth must be sacrificed in order eventually to attain union with God. However even before the time of Mohammed there were two principal schools of Arabic thought: the Meshaiuns (the walkers), who later became the metaphysicians after the appearance of the Koran, and the Ishrachiuns (the contemplators) who became affiliated with the Sufis. The Sufis, in fact, put an esoteric interpretation on the Koran, as well as the collected saying of Mohammed, the Sufi movement representing an infiltration into the rigidity of Islamic doctrine of the pre-Islamic mystical or quasi-occult stream of thought, especially from Persia. Blavatsky states that the Sufis acquired their "proficient knowledge in astrology, medicine, and the esoteric doctrine of the ages" from the descendants of the Magi" (IU 2:306).
 
By the year 200 of the Hejira a definite sect of mystics had arisen, and following the instructions of a prominent member, Abu Said, his disciples forsook the world and entered the mystic life with a view of pursuing contemplation and meditation. These disciples wore a garment of wool, and from this received their name. Sufiism spread rapidly in Persia, and all Moslem philosophers were attracted to this sect, as great latitude in the beliefs of its followers was at first permitted, until in the reign of Moktadir, a Persian Sufi named Hallaj was tortured and put to death for teaching publicly that every man is God. After this the Sufis veiled their teachings, and especially in their poetry used amorous language and sang of the delights of the wine cup. In spite of the amorous trend of poetry followed by the Sufis, to the observing eye there appears a beauty and a spirituality of thought which has found many devotees. Ideas of pantheism abound, for God is held to be immanent in all things, expresses itself through all things, and is the transcendent essence of every human soul. For a person to know God is to see that God is immanent in himself.
 
There are three synonymous words in modern Persian often interchangeably used -- Sufi, Aref, and Darvish -- each with its own nuance. Sufi represents the most institutionalized Islamic mysticism, while Aref and Erfan (school of thought-cognition) conveys cognitive aspects of mystic teachings and are more philosophic; Dervish and Darvishi (state of being Dervish) conveys freedom from attachments to worldly possessions. Hafi (the most loved and best known of the mystic poets) often refers to Sufis as those who rigidly adhere more to religious teachings than cognitive aspects of truth. These differences occurred when the mystics, due to religious persecution, had to veil their ancient beliefs with religious teachings. This made their teachings appear ambiguous, as a result of which, some confused esoteric mysticism with esoteric religion.

 
(See also: Sufi, Sufi, Sufism, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul )

Today patriotism is a much-debated value, the protagonists and antagonists resorting to their own narrow interpretations. Rabindra Nath Tagore had a more enlightened view of nationalism. His treatise on nationalism is being studied in British universities. Generally, nationalism is inextricably linked with patriotism.
 
''Nationalism is a great menace. It is the particular thing which for years has been at the bottom of India's troubles'', wrote Tagore, much before the country won independence; much before it witnessed partition and the ensuing bloodbath or the genesis of the Kashmir issue. Where the spirit of nationalism prevails the people are being taught from childhood to hate the 'enemy'."

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Take a Fresh Look At Patriotism

With technology and the Internet, it might just be possible to witness a lot more Buddhas and Sankaras taking shape. Recent scientific evidence suggests that human beings are wired to think about spiritual matters once their basic needs are met. Technology allows us to take care of our basic needs so that a large number of people can focus on higher, spiritual matters. It also allows rapid information dissemination and generates debate and discussion, thus facilitating communion with higher thought.
 
Technological progress also unravels a lot of hidden areas and shows how nature performs its miracles. In doing this, technology helps us understand the power and greatness of nature. For instance, we thought we'd invented and developed fibre optics. Scientists, however, find that the root systems of plants are excellent optical fibres - and they've existed in nature for millions of years.

 
(See also: Spirituality and technology  , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Spirituality and technology  : The Hi-tech Route To Reach Nirvana  

France has traditionally been the largest consumer of its own wines. However, wine consumption has been dropping in France for 40 years. During the decade of the 1990s, per capita consumption dropped by nearly 20 percent. Therefore, French wine producers must rely increasingly on foreign markets. However, consumption has also been dropping in other potential markets such as Italy, Spain and Portugal. At the same time, many rapidly growing New World producers are geared almost entirely to the export market. For example, Australia's Yel ...

Read more here: » French Wine: Encyclopedia II - French Wine - Trends

Ironically, what is "cool" is not considered cool when it becomes too mainstream. Hipsters, emo, electroclash kids, goth, hippy, club, and party culture are all known for their active involvement in technology, drugs and media at large. ...

Read more here: » Youth culture: Encyclopedia II - Youth culture - Trends

U.S. residents spent $469.5 million on online dating and personals in 2004, the largest segment of “paid content” on the web, according to a study conducted by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and comScore Networks. At the end of November 2004, there were 844 lifestyle and dating sites, a 38 percent increase since the start of the year, according to Hitwise Inc. However, market share was increasingly being dominated by several large services, including Yahoo Personals, Match.com, American Singles, and eHarmony. eHarmony CEO ...

Read more here: » Online dating service: Encyclopedia II - Online dating service - Trends

The World Tourism Organization forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4 percent [1]. By 2020 Europe will remain the most popular destination, but its share will drop from 60 percent in 1995 to 46 percent. Long-haul will grow slightly faster than intraregional travel and by 2020 its share will increase from 18 percent in 1995 to 24 percent. Since e-commerce has taken off on the internet, tourism products have become one of the most traded items on the net. Tourism products and services have be ...

Read more here: » Tourism: Encyclopedia II - Tourism - Trends

Analytical chemistry research is largely driven by performance (sensitivity, selectivity, robustness, linear range, accuracy, precission, and speed), and cost (purchase, operation, training, time, and space). A lot of effort is put in shrinking the analysis techniques to chip size. Although there are few examples of such systems competitive with traditional analysis techniques, potential advantages include size/portability, speed, and ...

Read more here: » Analytical chemistry: Encyclopedia II - Analytical chemistry - Trends

Trance [from Latin transpire to cross, pass over]
 
A state in which the soul seems to have passed out of the body into another state of being, a rapture, an ecstasy. In a general way, the entranced conditions thus defined are divided into varying degrees of a negative, unconscious state, and into progressive gradations of a positive, conscious, illumining condition. Examples of all degrees of these conditions have occurred among peoples in all ages, and the two conditions may exist coordinately, or either may exist as an active factor to the virtual exclusion of the other.
 
Although in both kinds of entranced cases there is a more or less temporary dissociation of the human soul -- a disruption of the normal relations of the personality -- the resulting psychological conditions in typical cases of the two classes are distinctly opposite. In the unconscious state, the person''s mental-psychological or intermediate nature is in a subnormal and unnatural condition, even if he is seeing and reporting clairvoyant visions of unknown past events and of as yet unknown future. While his dislocated intermediate nature is thus functioning upon the chaotic astral plane, he is devoid of the judgment and will power of his higher mind, and is as helpless as in a nightmare or disorderly dream.
 
This subnormal state may result from self-psychologization or from the hypnotic or psychological influence of another person; the person may be the unconscious victim of primitive nature forces; or he may be controlled by some disembodied human elementary, as sometimes happens in cases of mediumship. In any one of the above unconscious "absences," no memory of the experience is self-consciously retained afterwards.
 
In cases of ecstasy, on the other hand -- or of the true seer -- there is supernormal activity of the mental-spiritual nature of the person whose human soul in being freed or absent from its kama-manasic desires and consciousness, becomes allied with his higher mind. Thus he becomes intellectually highly lucid, spiritually conscious, and illumined. His now quiescent personal self offers no bar to the reality of the light of truth flowing into him from his own higher nature. His condition, whether a spontaneous exaltation, a state self-induced, or invoked at will, is a direct contrast with the mediumistic state. He is vividly self-conscious of his experience, and he retains the memory of it. Such an exalted state of entrancement is only possible for those individuals who are prepared by great purity of life and a trained will, which are also prerequisites for the mystic rites of the higher initiations.
 
A person is entranced in various minor degrees when he is temporarily absent-minded, or is absorbed in a brown study, and even in a certain sense when he is asleep. Many persons of mediumistic or psychic constitution become negatively absent from their ordinary senses, or they cultivate such a state for the purpose of becoming conscious on the astral plane. These unfortunates, who yield to the psychic lure of the unknown, receive nothing but a confused and unreliable vision. Worse yet, they thus open their own natures to the invasion and possible possession by astral entities of all kinds, even by excarnate actively evil beings -- the elementaries -- seeking physical satisfaction of unexpended intense desires. Not a few of such victims become such from their craving to get out in the astral, and to cultivate powers for the controlling of others, as taught by various pseudo-occultists who brazenly advertise their appeals to selfish human nature.
 
Any phase of negative trance state is therefore unnatural and often highly dangerous, because the whole trend of nature is towards an ever greater self-consciousness and a stronger spiritual will and nobler intellectual activity.

 
(See also: Trance, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul )