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Below are links to internet fora on a range of philosophical and related questions; they are not an exhaustive tour d’horizon and offer a way in to the topics
Academy of Ideas, The
Intelligent, open-minded public debates that explore current events and new ideas.
Alan Watts
Alan Watts lectures on mystical vision via art, aesthetics, and Buddhist and Daoist philosophy. He advocates the stripping away of unnecessary illusions about who and what we are, in accordance with Buddhist principles. “You and I have all conspired with ourselves to pretend that we are not really God, but of course we are. That is perfectly obvious. We are all apertures through which the universe is looking at itself. Only it is so arranged that we don’t know that in exactly the same way as we don’t look at our own eyes.” One needs to understand what one needs to do in order to attain liberation but the method must be free of self-delusion. Even if one is trying to be passive, one is still striving to do something: one must understand clearly what is going on in the mind. Our self-consciousness can cause a problem: spontaneous and unpremeditated thinking forestalls unnecessary worrying and responsibility.
Alevis
Alevis have no binding religious dogmas, and teachings are passed on by a spiritual leader. Alevis believe in the immortality of the soul the literal existence of supernatural beings, including good and bad angels. There are two sides to creation, one from a spiritual center to plurality, another from plurality to the spiritual center. Plurality is the separation of pure consciousness from the divine source. Linked to the concept of the Prototypical Human is that of the “Perfect Human Being”. Alevi saints are seen as manifestations of the perfect human being, which is identified with our true identity as pure consciousness. Alevi worship takes place in assembly houses rather than mosques.
Andes Summit, The
Andrew Newberg – Where Religion and Science Collide
Andrew Newberg in Principles of Neurotheology evaluates what happens in people’s brains in a deep spiritual practice like meditation or prayer. Scans show how religious practices, like meditation, can help shape a brain. He uses the advances in science such as functional brain imaging, cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and genetics. Scholarship should also engage with theological issues. –
Thoughts produce chemical reactions in the brain that affect mood and, by extension, decisions. Nerve cells are ‘wired’ together from repetition. In corroboration of the proverb ‘like attracts like’, two things vibrating at the same frequency will be pulled together. With every repetition of a thought and of how it triggers an emotion a neural pathway is reinforced. These small changes, frequently enough repeated, lead to changes in how brains work. Neuroplasticity is the ‘muscle building’ part of the brain; the things we do often we become stronger at, and what we don’t use fades away. That is the physical basis of why the repetition of a thought or an action over and over again increases its power.
Anton Zeilinger in ‘The Dance of the Photons: From Einstein to Quantum Teleportation’
Anton Zeilinger in ‘The Dance of the Photons: From Einstein to Quantum Teleportation’ and other works describes how he teleported a photon from one side of the Danube river 600 meters to the other side instantly, not limited by light speed via a process of quantum entanglement and over 143 kilometres between the Canary Islands. These experiments were inspired by John Bell’s inequality theorem which shows that instant connections over distance are possible mathematically.
Banjamin Casteillo
BENJAMIN CASTEILLO is one of the foremost Thinkers in the world today about the challenges confronting mankind. A click on this link will take the visitor to his website.
Barbara Larrivee
Barbara Larrivee, teaches Reflective Practice at the Department of Learning, University of California, has written particularly about the use of Reflective Practice in classroom teaching, notably ‘Transforming Teaching Practice: Becoming the critically reflective teacher‘ (2000) and ‘Authentic classroom management: Creating a learning community and building reflective practice‘ (2005).
Professor Larrivee agrees that insightful experience can trigger changes in outlook, necessary for critical Reflective Practice.
Reflecting on action gives us time to look back at what happened in a more measured and objective way. This builds on Dewey’s concept of a purposeful reasoned process, delaying impulsive action to allow reflective judgement for action (1933).
Barry Long
Barry Long makes a distinction between ‘I am’ and ‘me’. He speaks of ‘me’ as our ego and ‘I am’ as the living master of the here and now. This ‘I am’, which was also the one in the flyers, he told us, refers to each of our ‘I ams’, not just rather exclusively to his own. The ego, as ‘me’, is ok once it has surrendered to ‘I am’ as its master. He also referred to our false personality as ‘the tenant’. The purpose of evolution according to Barry Long is to make life on earth more conscious. The Origins of Man and the Universe is the account of a spiritual enquiry into evolution, civilisation, our place in the universe and the structure of reality itself. It is a cosmology which relates to present science but takes us beyond the Big Bang. Charting the evolutionary work of consciousness on earth, it takes us back through man’s psyche to our original state in eternity or God’s mind. Life, death and the whole of existence is seen as a great mythic design. The amazing complexity of life on earth is related to the reality behind everything. The evolution of consciousness is our human story and when we hear it told we can connect with our own reality more consciously. For there is a profound connection between man’s discovery of the universe and self-discovery, between scientific knowledge and self-knowledge.
Barry Long – A Portrait
A pen portrait of Barry Long and his teachings by a pilgrim can be read here.
Bernardo Kastrup
Bernardo Kastrup has been leading the renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He is the executive director of Essentia Foundation and specializes in artificial intelligence and reconfigurable computing. He has been a scientist in some of the leading research laboratories, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and Philips Research Laboratories.
Bielefeld Academic Search Engine
BASE is one of the world’s most voluminous search engines especially for academic web resources. BASE provides more than 240 million documents from more than 8,000 content providers.
Biophysical Journal
Biophysical Journal brings research to the biophysics community while promising scientific excellence, integrity, and transparency. It spans a wide range of subjects and disciplines that provide quantitative insight into fundamental problems at the molecular, cellular, systems, and whole-organism levels.
Brian Mayne
Brian Mayne has made an odyssey into thinking about who he really is and so who all of us are. He explains his findings in cogent, easy-to-understand terms in ‘Who Am I?’
Bruce Lipton
Bruce Lipton says that ‘the brain generates electric signals, and if I put EEG wires on your head, you can see the brain activity printing out. There is another device called a Magneto Encephalograph, where the probe doesn’t touch the head. That device reads your brain activity with a probe outside of your head. You might say, “Wait! Then my thoughts are not contained in my head?” and I’d say, “That’s right!” The concept is, your brain is acting as a tuning fork and the broadcast from your brain is not located in your head, so you’re like a radio station. In effect, you’re broadcasting. Everything vibrates—energy vibrates and matter vibrates. This is where the concept of constructive interference comes in, where two vibrations can tangle with each other, and both add up and both gain more power than either one alone. The phrase that we humans use when entanglement occurs in a constructive way, is “good vibes.” The extreme opposite is two vibrations that are resonant, meaning that they have the same waves, but they are out of phase. It is a connection, but the frequencies are canceling each other out. It’s called destructive, because the power is now canceled for both people involved. And that’s called “bad vibes.” This means that wherever you are, the energy is antagonistic to you, and you feel weaker.’
Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers was an American psychotherapist and author. His books include ‘Client centered Therapy’ (1951), and ‘Becoming a Person‘ (1961).
Carl Rogers asserted that self-awareness is crucial for personal growth. He regarded critical reflection as vital for promoting learning and self-assessment, enabling us to identify and evaluate our skills and development needs. This leads to more proactive personal and professional development planning and continuing professional development (CPD). Self-reflection helps us to develop problem solving skills and find solutions in planning action for behaviour change. In reflecting on experiences, we can understand how we learn, start to observe our own progress in learning, limits of understanding, and develop more effective critical thinking skills by questioning and analysing our own and others’ behaviour. In this way, we can begin to understand ourselves and be more self-critical in a positive way.
Rogers was a particular expert on empathy (understanding other people’s feelings) and a great advocate of the importance of empathy in objective thinking, which is explained later in Reflective Practice objectivity.
Center for Quantum Activism
Amit Goswami develops a theory of survival after death and reincarnation. In The Quantum Doctor, he seeks to integrate both conventional and alternative medicine. In Creative Evolution, Goswami presents a resolution between Darwinism and the intelligent design of life. In God is Not Dead, Goswami demonstrates that not only are science and religion compatible but that quantum physics proves the existence of God. In Quantum Creativity: Think Quantum, Be Creative, Goswami explains all facets of creativity – its definition, the quantum thinking it entails, and what is required to be creative. Goswami says, “Every human being has creative potential, and grasping the quantum process will help everyone to explore his or her creative potential.” In Quantum Economics: Unleashing the Power of an Economics of Consciousness. Goswami focuses on critical issues for a new paradigm in economics and business for the twenty-first century, touching upon the stability and sustainability of the economy and leadership, as well as creativity and ethics in business.
Chopra Foundation, The
Robert Thurman of shows that many Buddhist concepts go hand in hand with understandings from physics, biology, and psychology. No theory about reality is ‘ultimate’. Quantum theory demonstrates that matter is not primary. We are in a non-dual world. The ordinary person does not perceive the world objectively. One cannot say that ‘reality’ fundamentally is either consciousness or matter. This has a bearing on beliefs about an immortal self. The Self is not a fixed point. Blind faith is not a reliable thing; except perhaps for the idea of causation. The question is posed: ‘How can there be one truth?’
Chopra Foundation, The
Robert Thurman shows that many Buddhist concepts go hand in hand with understandings from physics, biology, and psychology. No theory about reality is ‘ultimate’. Quantum theory demonstrates that matter is not primary. We are in a non-dual world. One cannot say that ‘reality’ fundamentally is either consciousness or matter. This has a bearing on beliefs about an immortal self.
Christophe Allain
Christophe Allain considers the spiritual dimension of Meditation and identifies differences of technique between Eastern and Western practices, such as the correct alignment of chakras comes more easily to someone from the East when sitting still and to someone from the West when in action or movement.
College of Psychic Studies, The
The College of Psychic Studies works with trusted experts who specialize in psychic and mediumship, healing and palmistry, shamanism and more
Corine Sombrun
Corine Sombrun is one of the leading lights of Transcience. Frederic Lenoir and Wolfgang Pauli, a Nobel prize winning founder of Quantic Physics, are among those who adhere to Jung’s view that Shamanism and appreciation of nature was man’s earliest religion. (See for instance Page 102, the French magazine Elle 7th July 2022 edition). In its modern application, a modified state of consciousness can come about when someone is in a trance and this is linked with the ‘invisible’ world, viz shamanism, clairvoyance, the paranormal. The right side of the brain – the intuitive, creative side – is activated. This has been underpinned by the findings of neuro-scientists, and physicians observe particular molecules see that the look of the observer can influence the experience and change the nature of the result. Traditional shamanism is at the service of the community. Nowadays there is an emphasis on enlarging the sphere of the individual with a strong psychological dimension. It is a spiritual quest. There are synchronicities between the spirit of the observer and material matter, further demonstration of the existence of an invisible reality. Numerous scientists refuse to accept an invisible reality, seeing it at odds with a Cartesian view of the world. The argument to some extent revolves around the new understandings of the Eco-sphere, It has recently been discovered for instance that trees communicate with one another. If one is close to nature there is a greater understanding of the telluruic state, the flow of electricity in nature and so forth, consciousness of which allows people to link to their unconscious and listen to its message.
Critical Reflection
The National School for Healthcare Competence describes Critical Reflection in the following terms:
It is highly relevant as you transition from training into practice. It is particularly valuable during periods of unusual/rapid change to maintain safe clinical practice; will help with ensuring that you enter future practice with insight of what will be required of you and from you and foresight on how you will manage those expectations; will help you realise where you need to focus your energies as you continue to develop in your role as a Clinical Scientist
Daniel Goleman
Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist, author and science journalist, wrote the best-selling 1996 book ‘Emotional Intelligence‘ and is jointly acknowledged as originating and defining the EQ concept. (Emotional Intelligence is popularly abbreviated to EQ) EQ significantly alludes to and contrasts with IQ (Intelligence Quotient), because EQ theory tends to regard IQ as a highly limiting way to measure human intelligence, and especially to judge broader human capability.
• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Self-management
• Relationship Management
The use of self-reflection should be regulated by the situation, which acknowledges the potential of reflective techniques to open deep personal issues, which may not be appropriate. For example, in the context of work-based management training, EQ-driven self-awareness should be explored safely within agreed professional boundaries, so as to avoid being too personal or introspective.
David Perroud
David Perroud applies Archaeology and quantum energy to questions about human consciousness. What are the non-ordinary capacities of our consciousness? What do we know about the hidden structure of the Universe, including ‘Akashic memories’? Is there a connection between the two? Does our conscience have the key to consulting them?
DNA Field and the Law of Resonance: Creating Reality through Conscious Thought
Groundbreaking experiments on the influence of DNA on photons and on the interactions between emotions and DNA, Franckh explains how our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, whether positive or negative, build a field of resonance around us. Through this quantum field our DNA is continuously communicating our unique vibration to those around us and receiving their unique oscillations in return. By focusing our intentions and removing negativity from our beliefs about ourselves, our past, and our future, we can use our DNA to communicate our thoughts and desires to the universe.
Donald Schön
Donald Schön an American philosopher, author, and Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, produced a series of books on learning, Reflective Practice, and significantly, the development of reflective practitioners.
Schön distinguishes between reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.
Reflection-in-action is reflection during the ‘doing’ stage. It allows one to deal with surprising incidents that may happen in a learning environment, encouraging responsibility and resource, and the drawing on one’s own knowledge partly so as to apply it to new experiences. It allows for personalised learning as – rather than using preconceived ideas about what should be done in a particular situation – one decides what works best at that time for that unique experience. Reflection-on-action involves reflecting on how practice can be developed after the lesson has been taught. Schön recognises the importance of reflecting back ‘in order to discover how our knowing-in-action may have contributed to an unexpected outcome’. Reflection-on-action means to reflect after the event on how knowledge may direct one to the experience one had. Reflection-on-action should encourage ideas on what needs to be change in future.
His seminal work ‘The Reflective Practitioner‘ (1983) focused on professional Reflective Practice and the role of the reflective practitioner. In his model, learning to reflect in action (RIA) and look back on action (ROA) together form a reflective process for decision-making and professional growth. Experiencing surprise or uncertainty during reflection in action could be described as ‘light bulb’ moments, as in Köhler’s earlier insight studies.
Dr Karen Kitchener
Dr Karen Kitchener is an American Counselling Psychologist, author, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Denver, having directed its counselling program for 25 years. Dr Kitchener is among several modern experts whose work extends the potential for Reflective Practice into societal consequences.
Dr Kitchener is internationally renowned for her work on adolescent development and reflective judgment, and ethics in psychology. In her article ‘Cognition, metacognition and Epistemic Cognition in Human Development‘ she describes and defines the reflexive process of metacognition, as being: “…To monitor our own learning, to become aware of the limits of our knowledge, and to become aware of our own values, assumptions, and expectations, and how they affect our behaviour and relationships…“
Dr Leaf on Neurocycle
Dr Leaf on Neurocycle, as well mind-management tools. Studies by Dr Leaf show how the brain can change with direct mind-management.
Dr Stephen Brookfield
Dr Stephen Brookfield is an English educationalist, at the School of Education, University of St Thomas, Minneapolis. In ‘Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher‘ he takes a wider view of critical reflection. Within his ‘lens’ theory, he suggests we reflect on our practice [work/life experiences] through other lenses, not only from our own perspective but from multiple perspectives; and including reflecting on theory. For example; seeing another person’s point of view (colleagues, manager, customer) and reflecting through the lens of theory (books, internet, TV, training and development). This can enable us to find a more objective and less subjective picture of ourselves.
Dr. Candace Pert
Dr. Candace Pert considers the emergence of Mind-Body Medicine as an area of legitimate scientific research. Her site inter alia features discovery of the opiate receptor and medicine and the role of the emotions in health and consciousness.
The first neuropeptide to be identified was substance P, discovered by von Euler and Gaddum in 1931. However, the chemical composition of substance P was not described until 1971, when Susan Leeman and her collaborators showed that substance P is a C‐terminal amidated, 11 amino‐acid residue peptide
Einstein and the Quantum: Entanglement and Emergence
Emergent Knowledge
The language used is for facilitation. Solutions come from within a client. The client uses the space around them. There are three sets of inner worlds/realities. There is a core-self or ‘Pristine’ state that is accessible and attainable. Our worlds are held within sets of boundaries
Emergent Knowledge Concept, The
The Emergent Knowledge concept: a person’s location can have a dramatic effect on thinking, and aid the stimulation of different attitudes or unlock feelings. This might be simply standing rather than sitting, or moving to a different part of the room, or relocating greater distances.
Activities such as walking, swimming, yoga, and exercising can also produce dramatic shifts in thought patterns. For example, taking exercise is proven to reduce stress levels, especially in countryside or green spaces, and this is certainly beneficial for reflection. So reflection techniques are not restricted to the process of reflection itself – they extend to managing the situations, locations, and the mind/body condition in which you reflect. Both learners and practitioners alike need to make an effort to keep up to date with new developments. Reflective practice done well is an easy and effective way to do this. The concept (see Jootun and Mcgarry) has been well documented as a strategy for personal and professional growth. In its simplest form, reflective practice is the ability to reflect on your actions and engage in a process of continuous learning. For nurses and midwives, it’s also a necessary activity to fulfil the requirements of periodic re-validation.
The language used is ‘Clean’; The language used is for facilitation; Solutions come from within the client; The client uses the space around them; There are three sets of inner worlds/realities; There is a core-self or ‘Pristine’ state that is accessible and attainable Our worlds are held within sets of boundaries.
Explore your Mind
Explore your Mind has a range of in-depth discursive articles and lectures or how understanding how science affects our thinking.
Fabrice Midal
Fabrice Midal offers a path to finding your own spirituality. Midal says that Philosophy challenges us, awakens us and opens our minds. He follows Buddhist teachings but encourages us to look within and think for ourselves. In doing so, we can find solutions to even our most confusing dilemmas.
Fabrice Midal
Fabrice Midal offers a path to finding your own spirituality. He says that Philosophy takes us by surprise. It challenges us, awakens us and opens our minds. He follows Buddhist teachings but encourages us to look within and think for ourselves. In doing so, we can find solutions to even our most confusing dilemmas. The 5 Doors offers a path to your own spirituality. The five doors, briefly, are: The joy of doing, The joy of clarity; The joy of connecting; The joy of being fulfilled; The joy of being at peace. He guides us through the inspirational ideas of forty writers, artists, thinkers and seers from Baudelaire to Wittgenstein, Emily Dickinson to Toni Morrison, Pablo Picasso to James Baldwin. We are overwhelmed with all sorts of commands, and we often torture ourselves to ‘try harder’. It’s time we stop pushing ourselves to do what we think we’re supposed to do, and instead simply allow ourselves to be angry, be tired, be silly, be passionate–to stop giving a shit, and just be. The French Art of Not Giving a Sh*t explains why the key to true mindfulness is freeing ourselves from social and often self-imposed stresses. It highlights how we can embrace life more fully by giving ourselves a break and gives readers permission to: Stop obeying — you are intelligent; Stop being calm — be at peace; Stop wanting to be perfect — accept life’s storms; Stop rationalizing — let things be; Stop comparing — be you; Stop being ashamed — be vulnerable; Stop tormenting yourself — become your own best friend’ Stop wanting to love — be benevolent; Be calm… Stop stressing… Embrace the universe…!
Federico Faggin
Federico Faggin developed a theory of physics which posits that consciousness, not matter, is the ground of being. He developed the silicon chip, the microprocessor at the heart of all electronic devices today such as your computer. He led the 4004 (MCS-4) project and the design group during the first five years of Intel‘s microprocessor effort. He created the self-aligned metal–oxide–semiconductor(MOS) silicon-gate technology (SGT), which made possible MOS semiconductor memory chips, CCD image sensors, and the microprocessor.
Federico Faggin
A theory of physics which posits that consciousness, not matter, is the ground of being.
Fred Alan Wolf
Fred Alan Wolf on what quantum physics tells us about the nature of reality
Fred Alan Wolf, PhD
Fred Alan Wolf, PhD looks into what quantum physics tells us about the nature of reality, specifically the parts of reality we do not directly perceive, so-called called ‘hidden variables’? It shows that what we observe can actually change depending on what else is revealed along with it. This contrasts strongly with what we experience in our everyday lives. Quantum correlations cannot be explained assuming that the result of a test C is independent of whether C is performed together with a compatible test B or with a compatible test A (which may be incompatible with B). Thus, quantum physics shows that our common sense notion that what we observe does not depend on what else we observe along with it is wrong. Contrarily, change the “what else” e.g., the context, and the observation itself changes. Many experiments have been performed confirming that, indeed, observations can and do change depending on what else is observed along with them. This result might have been expected since the uncertainty principle tells us that we cannot observe certain pairs of observables, such as momentum and position, of an object simultaneously. But these contextual considerations go much farther than that, for they consider observation of things that normally can be observed simultaneously without changing. Such observations do not follow as our classically intuitive consideration would dictate – they are dependent on what other observations are made with them. What we see may not at all be what is “really out there,” but instead may be dependent on what else has been observed, even if not by us. We conclude that if quantum physics applies to real-world observations, the world cannot be a classical one – what we expect to see in it can, and does, depend ultimately on what context one includes in one’s observations as well as one’s expectations and worldview. I believe this adds credence to the notion that it would be more fruitful to consider the “out there” as a product of the “in here.” In other words, quantum physics is telling us that the universe is a mental construction after all.
Frederic Lenoir
Frederic Lenoir , a French philosopher. offers a perspective on spirituality from a Christian standpoint. He analyses the work of Jung and the scientific basis of Spiritualism in for instance A Voyage Towards Oneself. a presentation and a deep analysis on the life and work of Jung and its impact on the individual.
Frederic Lenoir
Frederic Lenoir is not in favour of denying emotions; imagine, he suggests, theatre without comedy and tragedy! How arid a life without emotions! An intelligent connection with what one goes through in life and a trust in oneself is what makes one free. He advocates getting to the truth of how we feel, and why we feel, not assume a false positiveness or trying to discard our feelings. Feeling is what makes us human. Even trying to be aware of being aware detract from a core feeling. He looks from a Jungian and a Catholic perspective at how religions should be reinterpreted in the light of modern needs. He writes: ‘I am indeed convinced that we are going in the long term towards a certain interpenetration of Christianity and Buddhism, towards a synthesis between on the one hand the meaning of the person, which is the central message of Jesus, for whom every human being is unique, and on the other hand this work of interiorization.‘ and ‘When you are moved by your emotions, you can allow yourself to be manipulated, which is why you must be careful to keep your critical mind to protect yourself from false prophets. We can also delude ourselves, confuse the magical and the sacred. But that does not prevent reacting against contemporary materialism, against a mechanized world, controlled by technology and by money. That’s the positive side of all this New Age-type alternative religiosity, whatever its excesses.’
Gaia
Gaia has a large library of films discussions relating to all manner of topics that might broadly be described as relating to the Unseen World. Many witnesses and researchers speak of their experiences and experiments to test where possible what might be the truth of such phenomena as life after death. The research takes in nanotechnology, aerospace exploration, exotic propulsion systems and more.
Gaia
Gaia has a large library of films discussions relating to all manner of topics that might broadly be described as relating to the Unseen World. Many witnesses and researchers speak of their experiences and experiments to test where possible what might be the truth of such phenomena as life after death. To take only example out of thousands of case studies: Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell is an American contemporary artist and investigative filmmaker who documents extraordinary individuals and their belief systems. The research takes in nanotechnology, aerospace exploration, exotic propulsion systems and more.
Galileo Commission
The Galileo Commission is to find ways to expand science so that it can accommodate and explore important human experiences and questions that science, in its present form, is unable to integrate.
Gifford lectures
The Gifford Lectures concentrate on Natural Theology.
Global Consciousness Project, The
The Global Consciousness Project uses electronic devices located around the globe that respond to fluctuations in mass attention during significant world events. Based on this and other experiments, Dr Dean Radin concludes that mind and matter are interwoven in fundamental ways as in Noetic studies. Statistical grounds to test the validity of viz Extrasensory Perception and related concepts is clear. The abstract on Measuring extraordinary experiences and beliefs gives further detail. Studies by Dr Shafica Karagulla and Dr Viola Neal about how the caudate nucleus in the brain could be a kind of antenna for clairvoyance tend to the same conclusions
This is a search engine
Graham Priest on Entanglement
Graham Priest on ‘Entanglement’ underscores the philosophical idea that everything depends on everything else. When trying to observe a position, you push it and disturb its position sending it elsewhere. It is ‘Everywhere and Nowhere’. A paper by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen showed that particles apart at great distances can yet signal instantaneously, something which the theoretician John Bell said was possible in the Bell Theorem. This blends in with Buddhist approach to Reality, nature of the Universe etc as regards the view that Nothing stands alone and Everything is dependent on all else (a case of all holding hands) – the Theory of Dependent Origination. The probability is that every particle – probably from the inception of the cosmos – is interconnected with every other particle. Each particle is paired and each has an equal and opposite pull. There is no geographic limit to the distance over which this takes place. The deciding point at any given instant at which an outcome – of the positive or negative charge, say – is realised is at the point that it is observed. Until that point, alternative outcomes of situations are possible.
Gregg Braden
Gregg Braden is a former Senior Computer Systems Designer for Martin Marietta Aerospace and a Computer geologist for Phillips Petroleum is known for his appearances in Ancient Aliens and his show Missing Links, and other publications linking science and spirituality. He claims that the magnetic polarity of the Earth is about to reverse and this may have effects on human DNA. He has also argued that human emotions affect DNA and that collective prayer may have healing physical effects. A growing body of scientific evidence is validating the ancient mystical understanding that one has the capability to accelerate growth through the use of consciousness-raising practices that can dramatically shift health, neurobiology, and even the genes affecting a lifespan. Braden says: ‘New scientific discoveries have the potential to change the way you think about yourself, your relationship to your body, to others, to the earth, and even to God.’
Gregory Kern
Gregory Kern is a structural engineer and discerns laws of spirituality that inform the laws of physics.
Harpers
Roundtable discussions of contemporary issues by the academics, writers, and thinkers who know them best.
How to Write a Reflection Paper – Trent University
Reflection offers you the opportunity to consider how your personal experiences and observations shape your thinking and your acceptance of new ideas. Professors often ask students to write reading reflections. They do this to encourage you to explore your own ideas about a text, to express your opinion rather than summarize the opinions of others. Reflective writing can help you to improve your analytical skills because it requires you to express what you think, and more significantly, how and why you think that way. In addition, reflective analysis asks you to acknowledge that your thoughts are shaped by your assumptions and preconceived ideas; in doing so, you can appreciate the ideas of others, notice how their assumptions and preconceived ideas may have shaped their thoughts, and perhaps recognize how your ideas support or oppose what you read.
HRzone in 2021
Karen Liebenguth Executive and Leadership Coach & Mindfulness Trainer & Co-founder of Parcival
Infinite Potential, The
The Infinite Potential by Paul Howard
Institute for Leadership and Management, The
The institute for Leadership and Management advocates Critical reflection. It means to contemplate with evaluation, through questioning and examining knowledge, beliefs and possible changes that need to be made. You think about your practice, for example in the workplace, and ask yourself probing questions about what has happened in the past, and/or what is happening now, about what worked well, and what did not work well. You are then able to draw conclusions and learn lessons about what might happen in the future, and how you might need to respond
Institute of education sciences
International Neurophysical Society
Promoting the interdisciplinary study of brain-behavioural relationships throughout a lifespan and emphasises the applications of scientific knowledge.
Itzhak Beery
Itzhak Beery, the College of Psychic Studies, bridges spiritual and practical wisdom with teachings of indigenous people. Yachaks (Bird Men and Women) transcend between the seen and unseen worlds – the Hana Pacha (Upper World) and Ukhu Pacha (Lower World) – to bring personal and community healing to Kay Pacha (our Middle World). It is often said that the so-called civilised world has lost touch with the deeper truths that were on the understandings of some native peoples. Beery is on a mission to rediscover them.
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget proposed the theory that children mature in their thinking through different stages of development. He asserted that experience, concept, reflection and action are the foundation by which adult thought is developed (1969). This suggests that reflection is needed for learning, and connects reflection with action, to underpin critically reflective thinking for new understanding and knowledge.
Jordon Peterson
Jordan Peterson does not expound his own religion but considers how we should live today in the context of faith and religions with a sociological perspective. He is one of the foremost interpreters of how to live a responsible life in accordance with principles best adapted to today’s needs. His best selling book 12 Rules for Life laid out his principles for living a worthwhile and meaningful life.
Journal of Consciousness, The
The Journal of Consciousness publishes research papers and articles related to the study of the consciousness. Its aim is to provide a forum for the unbiased publication of investigation and exchange of ideas associated with the analysis of the physical and non-physical attributes and abilities of the consciousness, and to deepen our understanding of its multidimensional nature.
JSTOR
JSTOR contains digitized back issues of academic journals books and other primary sources as well as current issues of journals in the humanities and social sciences. It provides full-text searches of almost 2,000 journals.
Jurgen Habermas
Jurgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1929) held a professorship at the University of Frankfurt, suggested that reflection does not sit easily within a modern Western culture based on scientific reasoning. From this perspective, reflective activities may be seen as too subjective and not sufficiently rooted in evidence, which is considered to be a more valid effective way to find truth.
The problem exists mainly because of two potentially different view of what is ‘true’:
• Truth seen as universal (objective and rooted in evidence)
versus
• Truth seen as relative to place, time and context (subjective and rooted in social relationships).
This has led to reflection being seen as either:
• A systematic process of enquiry and problem solving, or
• A subjective self-reflection based on perceptions (therefore flawed).
However, Schon and others have noted that even ‘objective’ evidence-based problem-solving methods can be flawed, if a habitual routine approach fails to question and challenge the status quo. For example, a reasonable evidence-based reflection made in the 1970s would have concluded that a lack of computer skills was unlikely ever to be a serious obstacle to professional development (other than for computer scientists and programmers), whereas by 2000 it had become virtually impossible to maintain a normal domestic existence, let alone develop a career, without a good command of IT and online technology. This is an extreme example of how reliance on ‘evidence’ or ‘facts’ can produce an unreliable reflection, and also highlights how subjective reflections based on feelings can change according to mood, circumstances, time, etc.
Justin Abrahams
Justin Abrahams ( Infused Knowledge | Beyond Human | Justin Paul Abraham – YouTube ) and author of viz ‘Beyond Human’ has a deep love for the teachings of Christianity. He is a science teacher. He draws on the latest scientific findings as well as mystic traditions and Eastern-inspired practices of Meditation. A recital of the holy name of ‘Jahweh’, for instance, can be like a mantra. The all-powerful white light and an encircling world spirit – to precis some among many of his beliefs which he finesses – come to practitioners with the force of revelation. A receptive state can be achieved after only a few weeks. He deduces updated proof of biblical truths from for instance brain scans before and after meditation and which demonstrate its efficacy. The bending of time-space, the theory of ‘entanglement’, the double-helix of DNA, and more, are prayed in aid to demonstrate his theories. In slumber the body and spirit are regenerated. Historical figures and fellow-travellers have had miracle-like knowledge including of scientific breakthroughs imparted to them in dreams. Angels and aliens then can be revealed to the believer. The Periodic Table and the double-helix spiral of DNA initially came to their discoverers as a result of dreams. There is a limitless understanding in all this which extends to any questions we wish to pose: a solution for clean energy by way of one example. The past and the future, the workings of the universe, the collusion between groups and between individuals, all are part of infusion of knowledge and light. The heart leads the way. The infusion of love imparts its knowledge from heart to brain; rapture can follow. This should be fun as a way of life rather than a slavish refusal to go outside anything that is traditional Holy Writ. There is no ‘big’ and ‘small’. it is all just as wonderful. We all manifest nature. Why limit yourself! You are the Oracle! You should transition to the New Age! Abrahams could be described as a latterday ‘Charismatic’.
Karl Friston’s Free Energy Principle
Karl Friston’s Free Energy Principle states that all life, at every scale of organization – from single cells to the human brain, with its billions of neurons – is driven by the same universal imperative, which can be reduced to a mathematical function. It shows how the brain operates in a self-organisational way to counter the dispersive action of entropy (the measurement of degree of randomness – the increase in the disorganization within a system.). Such a principle is necessary if we are to achieve an explanation for the way in which rational thought and memory bring about order, an essential component of consciousness. According to The Second law of Thermodynamics the universe tends toward entropy, toward dissolution; but living things resist it. We wake up every morning nearly the same person that we were the day before, with clear separations between our cells and organs, and between us and the world without. To be alive, Friston says, is ‘to act in ways that reduce the gulf between your expectations and your sensory inputs’.
Karl Pribram
Karl Pribram has conducted research into the functions of the brain’s limbic system, frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and their roles in decision making and emotion. His theory of memory and perception is the subject of numerous popular books, including Michael Talbot’s The Holographic Universe
Knowledge Media Institute
The Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) is an innovation lab at The Open University who are helping to create new technologies, programmes and services that impact our world. KMi’s leading academics and researchers are knowledge engineers and data architects who collaborate with partners across higher education, local government, business and industry.
Lamarckian Inheritance
Leonard Jacobson
Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology
Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili in Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology explores such questions as ‘Nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we missing a vital ingredient in its creation?
Living Matrix, The
Lord Oranmore
Lord Oranmore author of ‘Sparkling Fountain’
Lynne McTaggart – The Power of Eight
Lynne McTaggart in The Power of Eight makes the claim that when individuals in a group focus their intention together on a single target, a powerful collective dynamic emerges. She draws on the science behind this phenomenon, and includes examples from religious practices.
Lynne McTaggart’s The Field
It incorporates a mechanism whereby the components of the brain act in such a way that reality, or the true state of a particular phenomenon under consideration in nature, is capable of being very precisely duplicated in holographic form by the brain. These holographic Images are created from interference patterns created by the firings and motions of connections between synapses, neurons, dendrites and any other elements of the brain’s cognitive abilities. How, and why these images are created to be near perfect replicas of reality, and not necessarily in just external representation, depends on a conjectured application of quantum entanglement. It is the groundwork for a new approach to understanding spiritual and mystical experiences
Many Worlds of Quantum Mechanics, The
Sean Carroll in The Many Worlds of Quantum Mechanics explains why an increasing number of physicists are led to an astonishing conclusion: that the world we experience is constantly branching into different versions, representing the different possible outcomes of quantum measurements. This could have important consequences for quantum gravity and the emergence of spacetime. His research focuses on fundamental physics and cosmology, quantum gravity and spacetime, philosophy of science, and the evolution of entropy and complexity.
Melanie Jasper
Melanie Jasper, an expert on reflective practice within healthcare, defines reflection as “the way that we learn from an experience in order to understand and develop practice”. It is not a statement of events that have transpired, nor is it an account. Instead, reflecting on our experiences allows us to digest new information, to change our view of the world and how we interact with it.
Practitioners incorporate reflection throughout their lives. It is by incorporating small moments of reflection within day-to-day life that the most growth will occur. This principle is a variant of the ‘1% rule’: small compounded improvements (here, small experiences of reflection) lead to significant overall gains. It also allows the building of a healthy habit, which will serve well in the future. Reflection builds awareness of the self, which can inform later reflections.
Reflective practice is ‘learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and practice.’ Reflection is a basic part of teaching and learning and aims to make you more aware of your professional knowledge and action by ‘challenging assumptions of everyday practice and critically evaluating practitioners’ own responses to practice situations’ (Finlay, 2008). The reflective process encourages you to work with others as you can share best practice and draw on others for support. Reflective Practice is helpful for personal fulfilment and happiness. Being reflective will ensure you have a wider range of skills. This will develop your confidence as you find the best ways to deliver your knowledge of a subject. By reflecting, you will develop abilities to solve problems.
See: https://thenewhealthcarestudent.wordpress.com/2020/12/02/reflective-writing-for-reflective-students/
Reflection is a personal rather than prescriptive process. Before beginning to write and reflect on experiences, it is vital to understand what the reflective process entails. One should take a step back from a given thing that has happened, and instead, focus on what is to be done as a result.
Mereology – the study of parts and wholes
This looks inter alia at whether everything must be something, and at metaphysical questions such as ‘Everything and Nothing’. Heidegger talks about ‘nothing’ or ‘all’ in his philosophy. Nothing is contradictory, ineffable and the ground of everything. Husserl also had this way of looking at things. Anything can be a thing (anything) and it can be a quantifier or a substantive, or it can be both. Parts overlap. Some objects do not exist but are postulated. The mereological sum of a bunch of objects is you get when you put those things together
Metacognition
Metacognition: thinking about one’s thinking – the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical awareness of a) one’s thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and learner.
Microsoft Academic
Modification of DNA through remote Intention, The
The modification of DNA through remote Intention concludes that it is possible to interact at distance on the nucleus of cells – all the billions of cells in our bodies have DNA – whose activity depends on DNA.
Modulation of DNA Confirmation by Heart-Focused Intention
It shows that there is an increase in heart coherence when people are instructed to generate feelings of love and appreciation.
Next Century Foundation
The Next Century Foundation believes that meeting on a non-political level can lubricate the wheels of diplomacy. All who participate are determined to act through an unofficial network creating forums for people of opposing sides. The sole aim of the Foundation is to apply a solvent for the fear, insecurity and lack of trust that have so often bedevilled more public exchanges.
Nick Greaves
Nine Powers of Dreaming by Robert Moss
In ‘The Nine Powers of Dreaming’, Robert Moss contends that we solve problems in our sleep and gives nine main ways in which this happens. He writes: ‘While we often dismiss dreams, or fail to make room for them in the hurry of our daily lives, dreams can be a fabulous source of guidance, healing and juice for any day.
Nudge Theory
Nudge theory and the heuristics within it – especially the human tendency to place undue emphasis on ‘evidence’ – helps show why people can be misguided by apparent ‘facts’, and how this can have a huge effect on groups and society.
OpenAlex: The open catalog to the global research system
Inspired by the ancient Library of Alexandria, OpenAlex is an index of hundreds of millions of interconnected entities across the global research system.
Perfectlyatpeace.com
Perfectlyatpeace.com with Beau Norton is about spiritual transformation & personal growth for aspiring leaders and spiritual seekers.
Phenoscience Laboratories
Phenoscience Laboratories: The Emerging Field of Research on the Scientific Process served as a formative meeting for metascience as a discipline.
Physics of Consciousness, The
Ivan Antic discusses ‘The Physics of Consciousness: In the Quantum Field, Minerals, Plants, Animals and Human Souls. There is no multitude of consciousnesses; the consciousness is only one and the same in everything, it merely divides and utilizes itself in all of the aspects of existence. Consciousness and existence are one and the same, and together they comprise our essence, or the soul.
Pinterest is a commercial website with uplifting quotations about how to lead a good and fulfilled life. This approach is in vogue with a modern penchant for soundbites. In one sense, like Japanese haikus, they can encapsulate philosophical or beautiful ideas.
Polity
Polity as a strong list in many subjects in the social sciences and humanities, including politics, sociology, philosophy, history, media and communications, cultural studies, gender studies and literature.
Powers of Ten
Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames
Professor David Albert
Professor David Albert author of Quantum Mechanics and Time and Chance goes into inter alia the philosophical implications of physics. Are there objective matters of fact? The more science tells us about the world, the stranger it looks. Initial conditions can help explain different present results. Laws governing going backwards are the same as those governing going forwards. The whereabouts of subatomic particles has ramifications as regards the locations of tables and chairs and the contents of our thoughts.
Professor David Albert – Quantum Mechanics and Experience (book)
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeons Journey into the Afterlife, by Eben Alexander.
This is particularly interesting because at the back of the book Eben Alexander explains why mainstream neuroscience is wrong in dismissing so-called unscientific theories of near death experiences.
PSYCHOPHYSICS: An Answer from the Unconscious
E Green – Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine Journal Archives – journals.sfu.ca
Biopsychology, and more specifically psychophysics are explored in relationship to information obtained from the unconscious with a meditative practice. Problem-solving methods and related principles of living in harmony with the cosmos without trying to manipulate the future for physical, emotional, or mental gain are presented through the experiences of one meditator
The theory proposes the existence of a ‘world mind’ or the ‘Planetary Field of Mind’ called by Carl Jung the collective unconscious. The way. Fechner – a founding father of Psychophysics, thought of it is that our conscious mind is unaware of the general world mind.
Quantum Fields: The Real Building Blocks of the Universe – with David Tong
According to our best theories of physics, the fundamental building blocks of matter are not particles, but continuous fluid-like substances known as ‘quantum fields’. David Tong explains what we know about these fields, and how they fit into our understanding of the Universe.
Quora
A place to gain and share knowledge. It is a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers.
Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi believed that death and evil were illusion which could be dissipated by the practice of ‘Vichara’, by which the true self and the unity of all things would be discovered. Self-examination is the principal means to remove ignorance and abide in self-awareness together with bhakti (devotion) or surrender to the self. Among his sayings of note are:
“A man does not have to go and find where his eyes are in order to see.”
“We not only come into this world with our physical bodies as something of a spacesuit our soul puts on, but that all of ‘our’ changing worlds we perceive about us are just our own reflections on the mirror surface of our awareness.”
“Being is awareness. It cannot be experienced as an object, as a sensation, or mental state because it is non-dual. We can only BE it. It is always available if we drop all thinking, wanting or any form of mental activity for a moment and rest as IT.'”
An American news aggregation and discussion website covering news, politics, religion, science, movies, video games, music, books, sports, fitness, cooking, pets and image-sharing
Reflection: What is it and why is it useful?
Its power lies in being able to help you develop your understanding of the way you learn, the subjects you are studying and to define your longer-term goals. It can help to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills, both of which are key to academic success. But it has further uses that relate to life skills: it is an essential part of personal development and prepares you for the world of work, encouraging you to develop the habit of analysing your actions or events and considering the consequences. (Gillett, Hammond and Martala, 2009)
ResearchGate
Google Scholar has even adopted the phrase “Stand on the shoulders of giants” on its home page, paraphrasing Isaac Newton. But most research also involves data collection or analysis, and locating that supporting data
Researchgate
Researchgate is for those who have detailed questions that cover a range of different specialisms. With 135+ million publication pages, 20+ million researchers and 1+ million questions, everyone ‘can access science’ on this website/
Richard Lang – Seeing Who You Really Are
Richard Lang is a spirituality teacher who the guidance of Douglas Harding was astonished to discover that he actually saw his true Self – boundless, timeless and one with the world. He was so impressed with the effectiveness of Harding’s experiments that he became involved in the work of giving workshops and teaching these methods to a wide audience. He explores with you the meaning, applications and benefits of this awareness in ‘Seeing Who You Really Are’.
Richard Lang – Seeing Who You Really Are (video)
Robert Moss
Robert Moss is the pioneer of Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of shamanism and modern dreamwork. Born in Australia, he survived three near-death experiences in childhood. A former lecturer in ancient history at the Australian National University, he is a best-selling novelist, journalist and independent scholar. His many books on dreaming, shamanism and imagination include Conscious Dreaming, The Secret History of Dreaming, Dreamgates, Active Dreaming and his latest book is Sidewalk Oracles.
Roy Maunder
Roy Maunder: The aim of this work is to bring ageless, time tested teachings of Mindfulness, Destiny and the Art of Living in life, commerce, education and governance into the modern era, culture and language of today. Roy states that ‘the laws by which this moment is governed, in space and time and all it contains, is undeniable… it is the ‘Holy Ghost’ of the physical universe.’
Roy Maunder
The aim of Roy Maunder is to bring ageless, time tested teachings of Mindfulness, Destiny and the Art of Living in life, commerce, education and governance into the modern era, culture and language of today. As one among many of Roy’s tenets, he states that: ‘As a finely balanced clock with its parts, this infinite universe with galaxies, stars and planets down to the most microscopic elements, we are interdependent and at-one with everything – all governed by natural law. There are no miracles independent of the laws of nature. What may appear so is just ignorance. We can debate or deny God or Gods, ground Zero, the primordial source of creation and its manifestations, the children of the Gods. But the laws by which this moment is governed, in space and time and all it contains, is undeniable… it is the ‘Holy Ghost’ of the physical universe.’
Rupert Sheldrake
Rupert Sheldrake in ‘A New Science of Life: The Hypothesis of Morphic Resonance’ states that “The morphogenetic fields of all past systems become present to any subsequent similar system: the structures of past systems affect subsequent similar systems by a cumulative effect which acts across both time and space.” He qualifies his thesis by stating that this morphic resonance, for the sake of simplicity, takes place only from the past, and then uses his thesis to explain a large number of problems otherwise unanswered by current beliefs in the biological sciences, such as memory and the inheritance of form and inheritance. He proposed that various perceived phenomena, particularly biological ones, become more probable the more often they occur and that biological growth and behaviour thus becomes guided into patterns laid down by previous similar events. As a result, newly-acquired behaviours can be passed down the generations. It is a biological proposition akin to the Lamarckian inheritance theory.
Sadguru
Sadguru is an Indian yoga guru and author whose deep wisdom, common sense and, on occasion, wit has earned him a huge following.
Sadguru
Sadguru is a famous Indian yoga guru and author whose deep wisdom, common sense and, on occasion, wit has earned him a huge following.
Scamper Method, The
The Scamper method was proposed by Alex Osborne in 1953. In 1971, American psychologist Bob Elerle advocated the SCAMPER method in his book SCAMPER: “Games for Imagination Development.” It is a way to stimulate people’s creative thinking and it is one of the easiest graphic techniques of mind mapping for critical thinking and brainstorming ideas.
Science and Human Transformation
William Tiller in Science and Human Transformation: Subtle Energies, Intentionality and Consciousness reveals a framework for scientific description of nature and human evolvement. It shows people how to use their own intentionality to bring about beneficial changes… in their own bodies
Science section of WIRED
Scientific and Medical Network, The
The Scientific and Medical Network is a forum for transformative learning and change and part of a worldwide contemporary movement for spiritual emergence, bringing together scientists, doctors, psychologists, engineers, philosophers, complementary practitioners and other professionals in a spirit of open and critical enquiry to explore frontier issues at the interfaces between science, consciousness, wellbeing and spirituality.
Secret by Rhonda Byrne, The
The Law of Attraction is about Putative Universal Laws that can be tied to quantum physics, also known as Cosmic Laws, Cosmic Principles, or Natural Laws. They are an antidote to conditioning to disregard anything that is beyond the perception of the five senses. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is among the books that have popularised the concept.
Self Realisation Fellowship
A worldwide fellowship devoted to the discovery of peace, joy and prosperity in everyday life through communion with God.
Semantic Scholar
A research tool for scientific literature publishing abstracts on cutting edge scientific developments
Sesame
Following Fulfilment, MEDITATION ACTION FORUM and Sesame, a centre for Spiritual culture, advocates self-observation and listening to one’s inner voice with a minimum of interference from the ego. It lays stress on the idea that before acting one must first think for oneself correctly, justly and in keeping with the best dictates of the heart.
Spirit Machines
Spirit Machines by Robert Crawford
Spiritual Teachers
There are many different paths offering spirituality. SPIRITUAL TEACHERS accepts that judging the quality of spiritual teachers or courses or ways of life is subjective though pulls no punches when it comes to exposing what its curators see as suspect.
Stuart Hameroff
Conscious (eg Visual) perception involves three waves post-thalamus; the third wave corresponds with conscious perception which occurs hundreds of milliseconds after sensory input. Yet we respond to visual input after less than a hundred milliseconds, seemingly consciously. So begins the lecture which then, according to a summary on the website: ‘Consciousness/mind is the Power of the spirit / soul acting through the brain. Brain is the radio, Spirit is the signa. Or you could think of the brain as a mirror reflecting the powers of the Spirit as well. The Quantum is the world of the Spirit acting on Creation … Our minds and the Quantum is the bridge between the material reality and the reality of the Spirit/Kingdom…’
Tao of Physics, The
The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra
The Agora
The Agora is a French website which inter alia is designed to accompany changes and mutations which are taking place in human consciousness in our time. One of its ideals is to help develop a divine being in the individual.
The Art of Self-Scrutiny
The act of self-reflection is a ‘spiritual act’ by taking time out to connect the inner-self with the outer world. A view, Olsen suggests, that parallels Florence Nightingale’s thoughts that providing nursing care to others can be a spiritual act. More importantly, he highlights how reflection is essential to avoid burnout by helping nurses to stay connected with their passion for their profession. Yet, the reality for many nurses and midwives is that their working day is full of emotional extremes coupled with physical exhaustion. As Knight (2015) points out, working in highly pressurised clinical environments isn’t naturally conducive to the idea of pausing, engaging with feelings or staying with uncertainty.
Without some structured support, the focus on self-reflection can be viewed with suspicion and cynicism.
The Brookfield Model of Reflection
The Brookfield Model of Reflection is a tool that helps teachers discover the value of their lessons through critical self-reflection. Brookfield indicates that critically reflective teachers make excellent teachers that are able to convey their own voice to others in an authentic way. When teachers reflect more and better, they are better able to reliably and accurately judge the approach of education, evaluation, planning and design of learning plans and assessments.
The Learning Cycle of David Kolb
The Marrying of Quantum mechanics with General Relativity
Leonard Susskind discusses The marrying of Quantum mechanics with General Relativity. Quantum Mechanics is not mere theory; several practical inventions have flowed from its discovery. Among surprising findings of late is the Quantum Hologram. The information encoding an ‘object’ is not where one would suppose it to be but for instance on what might have been called its ‘circumference’. There can be a bridge between two very distant places, Entanglement and Worm holes may be connected just as Gravity and Quantum Mechanics may be more connected than has been supposed.
The Pari Center for New Learning
The Pari Center for New Learning is to advance the integration of knowledge, the arts, science, ethical values, community and spirituality. It specialises in promoting the work of David Bohm and C.G. Jung and builds on David Peat’s respect for Indigenous Knowledge.
The Reflective Cycle of Graham Gibbs
Time to reflect – why does it matter in the workplace?
Reflection can be a very empowering process. It can help you to make sense of your day, to come to decisions, to set a course of action, to step away from your habitual way of doing and thinking to discover new freedoms and opportunities.
Transduction of the Geomagnetic Field
Professor Shinsuke Shimoto, Connie Wang, and Isaac Hilburn show that some human brains can pick up on rotations of geomagnetic-strength fields as evidenced by drops in alpha wave power following stimulus. See abstract on ‘Transduction of the Geomagnetic Field as Evidenced from 2 Alpha-band Activity in the Human Brain‘
Transformative Learning
Jack Mezirow was an American sociologist and Emeritus Professor of Adult and Continuing Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is generally considered to be the founder of the Transformative Learning concept, which divides knowledge into three types: Instrumental, Communicative, and Emancipatory.
Mezirow asserts that examining our outlook on the world, and challenging the assumptions and preconceptions underlying our values and beliefs, can be emotionally threatening. Transformative learning “…Incorporating the examination of assumptions, to share ideas for insight, and to take action on individual and collective reflection…” Challenging the values and beliefs that form part of our self-identity can challenge the very core of who we are. Conversely Mezirow’s work suggests that self-reflection can empower us to be more open and emotionally capable of change and reflection: a liberating process of intellectual and emotional growth. In his 2000 collaborative book ‘Learning as Transformation – Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress‘, Mezirow defines Transformative Learning as incorporating the examination of assumptions, to share ideas for insight, and to take action on individual and collective reflection. Mezirow offered the following transformative learning structure:
1. Critical reflection on one’s assumptions
2. Discourse (communication) to validate insights from the critical reflection
3. Action
University of Edinburgh Parapsychology
A university with a strong department researching parapsychology is the University of Edinburgh.
Wendy Shutler
Wendy Shutler author of ‘Here We Go Round the Multiverse‘
What the Bleep do we Know
Why Woo Woo Works: Science Behind Alternative Thinking.
David Hamilton. His background is chemistry and has he written several books on the mind-body connection and the science behind it. It is very well researched. One of Hamilton’s chapters discusses consciousness
Wolfgang Köhler
Wolfgang Köhler, a German gestalt psychologist, conducted learning studies using animals, in which he created the term ‘insight learning’. He described his work in the 1917 book ‘The Mentality of Apes‘. Köhler expanded the notion of simple ‘trial and error’ to suggest a mental process which visualises a problem and considers a solution before taking action, triggering ‘aha’ or ‘light-bulb’ moments. For example, Köhler tells of observing an ape trying to retrieve a banana out of reach: the ape stops for a moment and then uses a nearby stick to pull the banana within reach. Köhler saw this as the ‘insight’ thought process leading to alternative action, i.e., visualising a problem and considering a solution before taking action. He presented this ‘insight’ as reflective thought, which equates to the ‘reflective observation’ stage in Kolb’s learning cycle.
World Science Festival, The
The World Science Festival is to cultivate a general public awareness informed by science
World Transformation Movement, The
The World Transformation Movement and the Foundation for human adulthood promotes the theories of biologist Jeremy Griffith. They concern the resolution of the underlying problem in all human affairs of the human condition, the goal being to end human conflict and suffering at its source. Among its claims is that humans act angrily because of a battle between instinct and intellect.
Yuval Noah Harari
YUVAL NOAH HARARI is one of the most profound and original thinkers in the world today. His philosophy embraces the choices before mankind and the practical paths that can be taken to set the world to rights. His books ‘Sapiens’, ‘Homo Deus’, ‘21 lessons for the 21st Century‘ and ‘Sapiens: A Graphic History‘ are modern classics of international repute.