The Library
Philosophy, Society, Science
Credos
belief, thinkers, perspectives
Sanctuary
Music, audio, a place to be still
“Two men looked out of prison bars — one saw mud, the other stars.”
Frederick Langbridge
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Socrates
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
Aristotle
Four Pieces to Begin With
Recommended from this room
You can find quiet by yourself and the peace that accompanies it. It is a reason for the appeal of ‘Meditation’. ...
You are an observer, whatever else you are. If you encourage the tendency to observe there is no limit to what ...
This virtual institute is about how the facility and ability, reflection, that each of us has to greater or lesser ...
For millennia humans have solved extraordinary problems as well as taken advantage of great opportunities through ...
Credos 1
Modern Thinkers about the human condition
Marvellous discoveries have been made since Great Thinkers first contemplated the stars! You have the benefit of ...
Contentment is a tremendous boon. It is a springboard for those extra-special moments of bliss which we cannot ...
Reflection is a tool of the mind helping better decision-making. It can affect your everyday thinking and attitude ...
Credos 11
Mysticism & The Unseen World
The theory behind the Institute of Reflection is expounded in this essay.
Socrates thought he could accomplish this worthwhile goal. It is a cornerstone of our way of thinking. To reverse the message in dated phraseology of Dante’s The Divine Comedy: ‘Prepare to meet thy salvation all ye who enter here!’ The carving for The Thinker by Rodin is no longer associated with The Gates of Hell of Dante’s original concept and today is a symbol of philosophy and knowledge.
Reflection is an Activity that does not own up to the name. It is aligned with a horizontal True North of ourselves. It is a cylinder too often uninspected under the bonnet in the engine that drives people forward into life’s choices. It is time in our speeded-up world that it has a more recognised niche in our communal psyche. Reflection impacts positively on us and on our societies. We are what we have thought. We should think again.
I shall be ambitious to have it said of me that I brought philosophy out of the closets and libraries, schools ...
of this
Virtual Agora for Occidental Meditation (VAOM)
THE THINKER by Auguste Rodin
Why should a ...
There is a different but allied sense of the word "reflection". If you look in the mirror you will see a reflection of yourself. Here are the thoughts on this topic of Tessa Rawcliffe.
Credos 111
What is Important to You?
Marvellous discoveries have been made since Great Thinkers first contemplated the stars! You have the benefit of ...
Contentment is a tremendous boon. It is a springboard for those extra-special moments of bliss which we cannot ...
Reflection is a tool of the mind helping better decision-making. It can affect your everyday thinking and attitude ...
Credos 1V
Spiritual Matters
Marvellous discoveries have been made since Great Thinkers first contemplated the stars! You have the benefit of ...
Contentment is a tremendous boon. It is a springboard for those extra-special moments of bliss which we cannot ...
Reflection is a tool of the mind helping better decision-making. It can affect your everyday thinking and attitude ...
Credos V
Poet’s Corner
You dance and dance
Then the Dance dances You
Somewhat out and away
From your I. The Self
You used to know
Is ...
An opaque silver grey
A running ball, a liquid metal
Not solid, Not organic
So metallic, yet unlike
A ...
A wild orchid, a tulip, a rose
They possess the quality of Beauty
A part of it, a clear variant,
Yet not the ...
Your Turn
What is important to you?
This room is not just a reading room — it is an invitation. The Institute welcomes contributions from those who have thought carefully about what they believe and why. If you have something to say, we would like to read it.