As the host of the recently concluded series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey now available on home video, if you missed it Neil deGrasse Tyson became, along with Americas most prominent astrophysicist, the public face of science in its effort to recapture the public imagination. But although Tyson is an important author in his own right, he didnt conceive, write or produce Cosmos. He essentially served the role of an actor or a news anchor, a charismatic and credible figure reading someone elses words off a Teleprompter. Those words, and damn near everything else about the show, were the work of Ann Druyan, the writer and executive producer who also co-created the original Cosmos series with her late husband, Carl Sagan, more than 30 years ago.

Druyan does not personally seek the limelight and is not a celebrity, but in her own way shes a key cultural figure in the struggle against the popular antagonism to science and the spread of anti-scientific claptrap about climate change and evolution. Those on the creationist or anti-evolutionist fringe who understood the unstinting scientific arguments of Cosmos as a direct attack on their beliefs were entirely correct, but Druyans critique of religion goes well beyond the literal-minded idiocy of the Answers in Genesis crowd. She describes herself as an agnostic rather than an atheist based on the premise that science must withhold judgment on questions it cannot answer but she has also described religious faith as antithetical to the values of science and religion in general as a statement of contempt for nature and reality.

Druyan is well aware that many religious people would reject those characterizations, and those snippets may make her philosophical approach sound less generous and open-minded than it really is. While she is profoundly uncomfortable with the artificial wall between the domains of science and religion erected by Stephen Jay Goulds famous pronouncement that they are non-overlapping magisteria, she welcomes discussion of seemingly indefinable and unscientific concepts like sacredness and spirituality. Those things are to be found at a capacious and more evolved level, she argues, by leaving behind our infantile sense of centrality in the universe, in which we are the precious offspring of a benevolent protector, and instead shifting our focus to the profound and immense mysteries presented by 13 billion years of cosmic evolution and four and a half billion years of the story of life on this planet.

During my all-too-brief phone conversation with Druyan, we also discussed her brilliant rereading of the story of the Garden of Eden, which she sees as the story of humanitys escape from a maximum-security prison with 24-hour surveillance. Adam and Eves capital offense is that they seek knowledge and ask questions, precisely the qualities that define the human species. At least in that story, God appears to demand a subservient and doctrinaire incuriosity, and many of his followers continue to insist on that path to this day. There are certainly currents within the major religious traditions that resist such a simple-minded negation of science Buddhism, Judaism and the Catholic Church are now OK, generally speaking, with both evolution and cosmology but Druyans provocative critique of religion as a distorting social force is well worth considering even if you think her argument is too sweeping.

One mistake Druyan never makes, either in Cosmos or anywhere else, is the arrogant historicism sometimes displayed by Richard Dawkins and other prominent scientific atheists. By that I mean the quasi-religious assumption that we stand at a uniquely privileged position of near-perfect scientific knowledge, with just a few blanks to fill in before we understand everything about the universe. Im sure most of what we all hold dearest and cherish most, believing at this very moment, Druyan has said, will be revealed at some future time to be merely a product of our age and our history and our understanding of reality. Science as a process, as the never-ending search for truth, is sacred. But what we now know, or think we know, is always a matter for humility and doubt.

Ann, I know Im not the first person to bring this up, but youve done two versions of this show where, you know, a prominent male scientist was on-screen and you were behind the scenes. The first time around, of course, it was your husband, and this time its Neil Tyson. Because hes standing in front of the cameras, everybody thinks of him as the creator of the show. Whats going on with that?

That is a funny thing, isnt that? I am a little bit surprised when critics, who I think are more likely to read the credits with some degree of attention, talk about the show as if Neil has had something to do with its inception or its writing. In the case of Carl it was different. Obviously Carl was the senior partner in conceiving the show with me and [astronomer] Steven Soter. And so, I mean, I am kind of taken aback. But then I look at the brilliance of Neils performance, and how unexpectedly he has taken what I wrote and given it its best possible expression on the show. So I love the guy. I guess thats the plight of the writer. It is coming out of someone elses mouth; people think it must be theirs. Its a natural reaction.

Its funny, though. I mean, Im a movie critic, and I dont think people are confused when they go to see a movie and Johnny Depp is up there playing a character. They pretty much get the concept that somebody wrote those lines for him. But they dont seem to understand that in this case.

They dont, and thats because, you know, Neil is a scientist and a writer also. So its not that great a leap to think that this is his material. And of course, it was true for Carl too, in a much greater degree. So it all makes sense. Im happy. I mean, look, I cant get the fact that this show has played in something like 181 countries, and in the vast majority of them its been an off-the-scale success. For someone who started out on this road seven years ago, this is the best possible outcome I could have imagined.

How have you felt about the degree of pushback from religious folks? Youve been very clear about embracing the scientific consensus that climate change is the result of human activity, that evolution by natural selection is a fact, and that the age of the universe is not in dispute. Im sure you were expecting some resistance to all that.

Read the original here:
Why is God telling me to stop asking questions?: Meet the woman behind Neil deGrasse Tysons Cosmos

The 400th anniversary of the foundation of Heythrop College was marked yesterday by a prestigious international academic event presented in collaboration with the Institute of English Studies at the University of London. For the Greater Glory of God and the Common Good: the Jesuit educational tradition was hosted at the imposing Senate House formerly the Ministry of Information.

Fr Michael Holman SJ opened the conference, reminding delegates that the Jesuits operated arguably the largest education network worldwide. Heythrop itself is the longest established Jesuit education institute in the word.

The first lecture was given by Prof Maurice Whitehead of Swansea University and described the history of the college from its establishment in Louvain 1614, to its flight to Stonyhurst in 1794 before the advancing armies of the French revolution. It was English Jesuit Robert Jones who persuaded Superior General Acquaviva that an English College should be established. After 10 years in Louvain the College moved to the politically more secure principality of Liege under the generous patronage of the Wittelsbach family. Over the next 170 years the College became a renowned centre of culture and learning, with a resident community of up to 90 Jesuits, providing formation not just for English Jesuits, but also for lay students and secular clergy.

When the Society of Jesus was finally supressed in 1773, the English College survived at Liege under the remarkable Fr John Howard SJ the only Jesuit institution to do so. After a negotiation Fr Howard agreed that his clergy would adopt the dress and practice of secular priests, but would retain their corporate identity. The College was awarded the status of an enduring pontifical college. So it was not strictly a Jesuit College which fled from the French invasion in 1794. But the Jesuit ethos of Ignatian spirituality had been carefully nurtured. Thanks to the vision and generosity of Thomas Weld, and after a dangerous journey, the ex-Jesuits took up residence at Stonyhurst in Lancashire and re-opened for business barely three months after abandoning Liege and most of its contents to the French.

The durability and relevance through the centuries of the Jesuit ethos of educating the whole person was a recurring theme in the days other lectures.

Professor Kathleen Comerford of Georgia Southern University discussed how Heythrops library (known as the finest theological library in the UK with 180,000 volumes) developed from the sixteenth century and how it compared to other Jesuit libraries around the world.

Dr Robert Maryks of Boston College discussed the impact of classical literature on Jesuit education. He argued that as itinerant preachers and confessors, the first companions were not primarily concerned with education and establishing institutions. But within a generation this had changed as the Society went where the need was greatest and adopted education as its principal ministry. Jesuits began to absorb and then to lead Renaissance humanist values, and reappraise pagan classical texts. In particular Ciceros emphasis on the need for education to be purposeful and task-orientated became very important to the Jesuit curriculum. Rhetoric as a tool for success in almost any field civic, political, military, and evangelisation was a foundation stone of Jesuit education borrowed from Cicero. Jesuits became among the most accomplished Latinists in Europe.

This theme was developed by Professor Nicholas Sagovsky of Roehampton University, who entranced the delegates with his accomplished readings of the complex meter of Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ, Heythrops most famous alumnus, and an accomplished classical scholar. His theme was the poet as theologian, and he explained how Manley-Hopkins theology was as advanced for its time, as his poetry.

Dr Guy Consolmagno SJ of the Vatican Observatory gave an overview of the Jesuits and Science, through four centuries and across all continents. Jesuits shone in the field of scientific exploration because of their comprehensive liberal education, because of their training in rhetoric and communication, because they travelled the globe before anyone else did, and because they had an international network of collaborators. Achievements which stood out were developments of methodologies for measurement of the earths core (James Macelwane SJ) and space! (Angelo Secchi SJ)

Read more:
London: Heythrop's 400th Anniversary Conference - 1

For many, the notion of mindfulness conjures up images of yoga teachers, Tibetan monks and eccentric celebrities.

But the concept also has close ties with the business world.

Business leaders are starting to blend the rich tradition of spirituality with the research of psychology and neuroscience to create a simple, yet powerful way for business leaders to enhance their effectiveness.

Some top business schools, including Columbia Business School, have integrated the teaching of mindfulness into their curriculum. Hitendra Wadhwa, a professor of practice at the school and founder of the Institute for Personal Leadership, says that before you can master your business, you need to first master yourself and mindfulness is a path to such mastery.

At its essence, mindfulness is the art and practice of being fully present and focused on the moment. Mindfulness begins by cultivating awareness of your thoughts, feelings, values and motivations, to help bring clarity to your thinking. Some of the more popular forms of mindfulness include meditation and focused-breathing exercises. Typically, these techniques are designed to clear the mind and help you stay focused in the present.

Wadhwa explains that even though the inner-life issues that drive who you are tend get lost in the shuffle during a busy work day, they always play a role in our decisions and interactions. The challenge is being aware of these beliefs and emotions so as to harness them for positive purpose.

From a scientific perspective Dr. Romie Mushtaq, a neurologist with expertise in mind-body medicine, explains that advances in neuroimaging techniques have taught us how these mindfulness-based techniques affect neuroplasticity. In other words, the practice of mindfulness can enhance our ability to learn as well as how we manage stress.

Heres how mindfulness can benefit the business world:

Enhanced Focus

The true enemy of focus is multitasking. According to Mushtaq, multitasking depresses the brains memory and analytical functions, and it reduces blood flow to the part of the right temporal lobe, which contributes to our creative thinking.

See the article here:
Mindfulness Isn't Just for the Yoga Studio

Feature Article of Wednesday, 18 June 2014

Columnist: Kwarteng, Francis

It is Nkrumah the theoretician and practitioner of Pan-Africanism who continues to provide interest and respect (Kofi Hadjor).

The above quote is undeniably a statement of fact. Several international scholars, scientists, historians, postcolonial theorists, political scientists, economists, and critical race theorists interested in the African world, human dignity, globalization, as well as human and race relations have come to the same conclusion as Kofi Hadjors. Indeed, Nkrumahs unquestionable erudition, academic credentials, professional associations, politico-economic prudence, and analytic sophistication, otherwise represented by such thoughtfully creative works as Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for Decolonization, Africa Must Unite, and Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, are part of his magnetic appeal to the world. No Ghanaian or African, dead or living, for that matter, remotely comes close measuring by the standards of his achievements. Once again we cannot overemphasize this indispensable point.

This defines the intellectual intersection where the unparalleled scientific scholarship of Dr. Kofi Kissi Dompere, a formidable US-based Ghanaian mathematician, statistician, economist, cultural theorist, philosopher, historian, cultural theorist, logician, operations researcher, business analyst, and prolific writer, reigns supreme. Among other notable achievements, Dr. Dompere has been acknowledged as one of the central thinkers in the American Academy known for blending the rigid frontiers of the humanities/liberal arts and science. Then, having said that, scholarship on Nkrumah and his signal contributions to human civilization transcends the emotional particularities of race, ethnicity, geography, ideology, language, and culture. In fact, the sublime example of Nkrumah is exactly what the youth of today should emulate while still acknowledging his salient foibles and shortcomings, granted that no true, genuine, influential, patriotic, outstanding, productive, and progressive leader is perfect. No human being is, can, or must.

Certainly, great and exceedingly gifted, intelligent leaders like Nkrumah should not be uncritically apotheosized, as it were, but rather should be constructively criticized within the proper contexts. Namely, from the holistic perspectives bordering on the circumstances of his rich, varied education, of the intellectual and political inferiority of some of his detractors and enemies, as well as of history, global station among exceptional leaders and strategic thinkers, force of personality, time and place, intellectual brilliance, spirituality, prescience, friendships, local and international politics (Cold War, etc), moral and political strengths and weaknesses, among others. Thus, a critical integral approach to an unemotional or non-partisan assessment of his legacy is certainly bound to turn out more credits than debits in the balance sheet of his political and intellectual bequests.

Yet we cannot also avoid the rich backgrounds of those who have been influenced by or constructively commented on Nkrumahs legacy, politics, economic policies, and scholarly works, particularly. However, this is to implicitly say Nkrumah was not influenced by others, as his mentors are proverbially known. In fact, a new book by Dr. Belete Belachew Yihun, Black Ethiopia: A Glimpse into African Diplomacy, 1956-1991, for instance, sheds new light on the diplomacy Haile Selassie exerted on fractious elements within Africas Founding Fathers to sign up in respect of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). In other words, Selassies collaborative role in actualizing the official founding of the OAU by diplomatically bringing everyone onboard is not an extraneous fact of Africas political history. This singular statement of fact can neither be ignored nor its historical import minimized.

Once again, as we cursorily mentioned before in Dr. Kofi Dompere On Nkrumahs Scientific Thinking 2, we shall chip in here that, most of those who have either come under the direct influence of Nkrumahs innovative ideas or have exerted commentarial critiques on Nkrumahs scholarly works as well as expatiated upon his ideas, represent some of the worlds notable thinkers, though some of us may not necessarily have to agree with their controversial views. We have already mentioned Ali Mazrui, Edward W. Said, Ama Mazama, Kofi Kissi Dompere, Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Paulin Hountondji, Jean-Paul Satre, David Birmingham, Kwame Botwe-Asamoah, Noam Chomsky, John H. McClendon, Molefi Kete Asante, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Anthony Appiah, among others.

For instance, Paulin Hountondji and Jean-Paul Satre are products of cole Normale Suprieure, one of Frances elite research universities as well as the pre-eminent seat of her so-called French Mathematical School and French Physics. This educational institution has produced Nobel Laureates, Fields Medalists (Field Medal is the Nobel equivalent in mathematics), numerous Prime Ministers and several other French ministers outside the office of premiership. It also has produced some of the worlds best pre-eminent thinkers in the human sciences, especially, scholars such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Louis Althusser, Alain Badiou, and Pierre Bourdieu. Finally, cole Normale Suprieure has been ranked the best higher-education institution in Continental Europe in 2006 and 2007, and has remained among the top three in the same category since then.

What's more, Jean-Paul Satres was a nephew of Albert Schweitzer, his maternal uncle, and a thinker whose philosophical masterpiece Reverence for Life, an influential ethical invention, would win him a Nobel Prize in 1952. Jean-Paul Satre was a heavyweight in the fields of existentialism and phenomenology as well. We have already noted that Nkrumah is generally associated with the conceptual neology of neocolonialism in 1963, which he further theoretically developed in his influential 1965 text, Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, with Noam Chomsky and Jean-Pau Satre contributing to its theoretical development, as in The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism, 1979, and Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism, 1964, respectively. Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon. Therefore, we shall not belabor his legacy here. On the other hand, Jean-Paul Satre, like Kwame Nkrumah, stood tall as one of Frantz Fanons important colleagues and friends.

Continued here:
Dr. Kofi Dompere On Nkrumahs Scientific Thinking 3

TIME Opinion psychology Matt HindGetty Images/OJO Images RF

Ive posted before about research into the most important life lessons we can learn from older people, taken from Karl Pillemers excellent book, 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.

Heres another take on the same subject:

Before the 50th reunion of Harvard Business Schools class of 1963 they asked them what lessons they would pass on to younger people.

This isnt firm scientific research but we ignore it at our peril. We can learn much about life from those who have seen it to the end.

The site has a lot of content but Ive gone through and curated the bits that I felt were most useful and insightful. Hat tip to my friend Nick for the pointer.

ANONYMOUS:

I would have been a better leader if I had been less cocky in my early career, and more confident in my middle career.

Continued here:
10 Life Lessons You Can Learn From the Smartest Older People

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PkgAZxjuE

Scientific Spirituality (All World Gayatri Pariwar) Coimbatore 27th April 2008

By: shantikunjvideo

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Scientific Spirituality (All World Gayatri Pariwar) Coimbatore 27th April 2008 - Video

RICHMOND -- Minister Monique Tarver looked out over the crowd gathered in a conference room near City Hall. A white tent card on the table in front of her labeled her role on the panel as "LIVED EXPERIENCE." With a tight smile, she started her story.

"I recognized early on that I did not process things the way everybody else did," she said. "It seemed like I was living in a different world than everybody else was, and I didn't know what to call it."

Years later, Tarver would learn the medical term for "it": depression. She said that during the hardest times, soon after she was diagnosed, she felt shut out of her faith community because of her illness and shut out of the mental health community because of her faith. It took persistence in both worlds, but eventually she came to a new understanding about how the two communities could be reconciled, she said.

"Mental health and faith communities are not this divorced couple," she told the crowd. "They're really this couple that needs some intense counseling so that they can start to talk to each other."

Thursday's panel was part of the second public event in Contra Costa County this summer to bring together faith and community leaders, and the public, to talk about how to overcome stigma and get help for African-Americans suffering from mental health challenges.

Tarver is now a leader in a new statewide initiative focused on overturning stigma around mental illness in the African-American community by leveraging the power of faith to spread a scientific message: People suffering from mental health challenges need to seek professional assistance.

The California Mental Health Services Authority, with funding through the Mental Health Services Act, supports the initiative, This Way to a Healthy Community.

African-Americans are underserved by the nation's mental health system, with only 1 in 3 receiving treatment, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. They're also far more likely than the general population to stop treatment early and less likely to receive follow-up care.

Focusing on religious institutions, and faith, may be a way to bridge that chasm.

"Spirituality is important to us; we get our messaging from our faith leaders, and when we're having a difficult time, we go to our faith leaders to get the support," said Gigi Crowder, Tarver's colleague and a mental wellness and spirituality specialist.

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Richmond event tackles mental health in African-American community

Santa Fe, NM (PRWEB) June 04, 2014

If Swedish scientist Dr. Carl Calleman is right, the scientific community has been wrong about the nature and origin of the human mind for a long time.

Rather than being a product of the brain, the mind has now been proven to originate in the earth.

The mind is created through the brains resonance with the earths inner core. For the first time, an explanation now exists for the contrast between Eastern and Western civilizations, and for some of todays global conflicts.

Calleman theorizes that each mind is part of a global mind, which is proven using numerous examples from ancient cultures as well as from brain wave frequencies corresponding to the earths interior. Calleman refers to the mind as a receiver of collective consciousness, stating that the global mind is independent of the individual mind. The global mind and the human mind are divine creations which suggests there is a larger evolving context that we are a part of and may contribute to.

The scientific community reminds those who are skeptical that theories should be evaluated on the same criteria and evidence as empirical research, and not on whether theories are consistent with prevailing biases and scientific trends.

Dr. Carl Johan Calleman gained his PhD in Physical Biology from a member of the Nobel Committees at Stockholm University. He later served as Senior Researcher of Environmental Health at the University of Washington and as a cancer expert for the World Health Organization. Dr. Calleman has lectured worldwide and his books have been translated into 14 languages. His articles have been quoted in scientific literature over 1500 times.

Dr. Callemans newest book is the first release in The Paradigm Shift trilogy on the human mind.

Volume 1: (2014) The Global Mind and the Rise of Civilization: A Novel Theory of our Origins Volume 2: (Available 2015) Spirituality, Altered States of Consciousness and the Shadows of the Mind Volume 3: (Available 2016) the Future of the Human Mind: Digitalization and Unity with the Divine

Dr. Callemans previous books include

Read more here:
Bestselling Author Endorses Scientist's Paradigm-Shifting Theory Differentiating Mind from Brain

Read article below my enlarged comments before reading my comments!

IF BELIEVERS TRULY ACCEPT AND UNDERSTAND THE GOD REVEALED IN THE FLESH BY JESUS CHRIST 2000 YEARS AGO, SCIENCE WOULD NOT BE AN ENEMY TO ATTACK BUT A "GIFT" OF GOD THAT PROVES THE ABSOLUTE INERRANT TRUTH IN THE BIBLE. THE ONLY RECOURSE THEY HAVE IS TO REPLACE SCIENCE WITH PSEUDO-SCIENCE. THE RESULT OF THIS IS THAT IT REQUIRES "BLIND FAITH." JESUS SAID WE SHOULD HAVE THE "FAITH OF A CHILD", NOT "BLIND FAITH." ONE THING I LEARNED RAISING 2 DAUGHTERS IS THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE "BLIND FAITH" IN ME AND THEIR MOM...THEY HAD "TRUSTING FAITH" WHICH WAS BASED ON "KNOWING" WHO MOM AND DAD WERE! PEOPLE ABANDON THE BIBLE BECAUSE OF SCIENCE IGNORANCE.....NOT BECAUSE OF UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE. IRONICALLY, SCIENCE REJECTS THE BIBLE FOR THE SAME REASON..."IGNORANCE" OF GOD AND THE BIBLE.

How evolution is driving the clergy to atheism

Abandoning the Bible for science

by Warren Nunn

Published: 24 April 2014 (GMT+10)

caughtinthepulpit

Atheists have fired another salvo in their ongoing assault on the Bible and, in particular, the truth of Genesis and its importance in the creation-evolution debate.

This time it involves the recent publication of Caught In The Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind1 by Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola.

And it should dispel any doubts in the minds of Christians about how focused atheists are on highlighting how accepting the evolutionary view of the world is a major factor in people abandoning their faith in the God of the Bible.

See more here:
The Doubting Thomas "A Journey in Scientific Spirituality ...

As the fundamental basis of modern science, Naturalism is a very powerful paradigm. In its strong form, the central belief of Naturalism is very simple and basic:

Everything that we are and do is fully encompassed in Nature - there are no supernatural beings, forces or realms. There are phenomena that we do not yet understand, but that doesnt mean they are supernatural.

Naturalism has been a philosophical movement as well as an axiom underlying the scientific method. But could there also be a naturalistic religion or naturalistic spirituality - focused entirely on the natural world, without belief in any supernatural beings, realms or forces? A religion of science, a religion of reason, fully compatible with science, evidence and logic?

Strong Naturalism is at the heart of World Pantheisms outlook which we call Naturalistic Pantheism or Scientific Pantheism. World Pantheism offers a completely naturalistic spirituality. We direct our deepest feelings towards Nature, just as it is presented to us by our senses and explored by science. Nature alone is powerful, beautiful and mysterious enough to be the object of our deepest reverence, and Nature provides us with realistic ways of coping with stress, anxiety and bereavement.

Our forms of celebration are also completely naturalistic, focused on this life on this earth, not on supernatural realms or beings. They may involve nature hikes and appreciation of natural objects and photographs; natural sports such as surfing, skiing, mountaineering or whitewater rafting; or simply the quiet contemplation of nature. Some pantheists enjoy symbolic rituals but these are done for fun or self-expression, not because we think we can control the elements and magically manipulate natural laws.

Part of naturalistic spirituality is an acceptance of natural death as the end of the separate individual person. The only forms of afterlife are natural ones such as the persistence of our creations, actions, memories and genes, and the recycling of our elements into new living forms.

Natural death also involves nature-friendly funerals, such as burials in woodlands or orchards using biodegradable materials and without embalming.

Most atheist and humanist organizations have a strong naturalistic point of view, and we agree with them fully on this. Like them, we have no belief in a thinking, creator or personal God. Like them we believe that humans are the source of human ethical codes.

We add to humanism and atheism a strong affirmation of this life, in these our bodies, on this our beautiful planet. This is the only life and the only paradise we will ever know, so we had better take good care of them.

We also believe that there are naturalistic ways to satisfy those needs that traditional religions target - for community, purpose, therapy, remedies for grief and fear of death.

Excerpt from:
Naturalism and Naturalistic Pantheism: can there be a ...