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Once Every 2737 Years…

once every 2737 years

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The pyramids of Giza in Egypt are currently aligned in exactly the same manner as three of the planets in our solar system, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury are aligned as of 12/3/12, 18 days before the famous and popular 12/21/12 which is the end of the Mayan calendar.

(This has been calculated using specialized software like Stellarium).

The planetary alignment on December 3, 2012 with the pyramids of Giza, occurs only once every 2737 years.

For more interesting stuff about the conjunction of dates, stars and the ancient calendar, you can read a related story, “2112 Decoded” at World Mysteries.

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Russia diamonds: Source under Siberian asteroid crater could supply world markets for the next 3,000 years | Mail Online

Popigai diamonds

via Russia diamonds: Source under Siberian asteroid crater could supply world markets for the next 3,000 years | Mail Online.

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‘We are speaking about trillions of carats’: Russia reveals vast diamond source under 62-MILE-WIDE asteroid crater which could supply world markets for next 3,000 years. Supply under 35million-year-old impact zone is ten times bigger than global reserves. Kremlin discovered the site in the 1970s but kept it a secret until now to exploit tightly controlled market. Diamonds at Popigai Astroblem in Siberia are ‘twice as hard’ as normal, making them ideal for high-precision scientific instruments and industry

The news comes amid slumping prices for both rough and polished diamonds, and a fair amount of turmoil in the diamond market. Both BHP Billiton (LSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO) have said they are restructuring their diamond businesses. In August luxury retailer Harry Winston was rumored to be interested in purchasing the Ekati diamond mine in northern Canada from BHP. Harry Winston owns a 40 percent stake in the Diavik mine operated by Rio Tinto in the same region as Ekati.

By

Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED:

12:21 EST, 17 September 2012

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The Difference between Dark Night of the Soul and Dark Night of the Senses (according to St John of the Cross)…and Eckhart Tolle

re-posted from Dr. Taylor Marshall’s blog Canterbury Tales
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The Dark Night of the Soul

According to Saint Paul and Saint John of the Cross and the masters of Mystical Theology, such as John Tauler, the spiritual life consists in three ages:

Beginners (Purgative Way)
Proficients (Illuminative Way)
Perfect (Unitive Way)

Incidentally, by Perfect we mean not absolute perfection (like the saints in Heaven) but relative perfection. These three ages mirror natural human life: Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood.

Just as these three stages are transitioned by a crisis, so also progress in the spiritual life is marked by crisis.

St. Jean de la Croix

Saint John of the Cross, the Doctor of the Church with regard to Mystical Theology, teaches that the transition from the Purgative to the Illuminative is occasioned by the “Dark Night of the Senses” and the transition from the Illuminative to the Unitive is occasioned by the Dark Night of the Spirit.

Beginners (Purgative Way) Dark Night – Senses
Proficients (Illuminative Way) Dark Night – Spirit
Perfect (Unitive Way)

The Dark Night of the Senses is the crisis in which God purposefully withdraws consolations of the senses. Warm fuzzies in prayer. Discursive pictorial visions in the imagination, physical comfort, lack of external distraction.

This is very difficult because the Christian begins to worry that he is regressing or has done something to lose God’s favor. Instead, God is preparing him to enter more deeply in the love of God. The soul learns to seek the God of consolation, but not merely the consolations of God. Perhaps this Dark Night of the Senses is one of the most misunderstood elements of daily Christian living.

Padre Pio with stigmata

The Dark Night of the Soul is a crushing desolation where the soul learns to love the cross of Christ. With a desire to be more like Christ and to share in His life, the perfect learn to love persecution, humiliations, disgrace, and other problems in life since they see in them a perfect conformity to God. Two well known modern examples are Saint Pio and Saint Therese.

We also see this is a state of perfection in the Apostles:

“And calling in the apostles, after they had scourged them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the name of Jesus. And they dismissed them. And they indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.” (Acts 5:40–41, D-R)

Saints Peter and John rejoiced in their sufferings. This is not something naturally, but something utterly supernatural – it is a sign of the unitive way. The Apostles, we might say, went through the Dark Night of the Senses from Good Friday till Easter, [during which their Master Jesus was still with them in physical person, even though scourged and lying dead] and the Dark Night of the Spirit from the Ascension to Pentecost [after which Jesus physically left this earthly plane and only the Holy Spirit communicated through the disciples hearts and faith]. This, at least, is the position of Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange.

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I encourage anyone interested in learning more about these subjects, to check out the informative blog of Catholic author Dr. Taylor Marshall Canterbury Tales.

However, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the dialectical polemics, and to lose sight of the original heart of the issue, which is that deep pit of despair, which is often one of the experiences of the human condition.

Tour guide Mara Vaughan in Luxor, Egypt has shared her discovery of Eckhart Tolle’s words on “The Dark Night of the Soul”. Let me repeat them:

Eckhart Tolle on the Dark Night of the Soul

Q: Have you ever experienced the dark night of the soul?

A: The “dark night of the soul” is a term that goes back a long time. Yes, I have also experienced it. It is a term used to describe what one could call a collapse of a perceived meaning in life…an eruption into your life of a deep sense of meaninglessness. The inner state in some cases is very close to what is conventionally called depression. Nothing makes sense anymore, there’s no purpose to anything. Sometimes it’s triggered by some external event, some disaster perhaps, on an external level. The death of someone close to you could trigger it, especially premature death, for example if your child dies. Or you had built up your life, and given it meaning – and the meaning that you had given your life, your activities, your achievements, where you are going, what is considered important, and the meaning that you had given your life for some reason collapses.

It can happen if something happens that you can’t explain away anymore, some disaster which seems to invalidate the meaning that your life had before. Really what has collapsed then is the whole conceptual framework for your life, the meaning that your mind had given it. So that results in a dark place. But people have gone into that, and then there is the possibility that you emerge out of that into a transformed state of consciousness. Life has meaning again, but it’s no longer a conceptual meaning that you can necessarily explain. Quite often it’s from there that people awaken out of their conceptual sense of reality, which has collapsed.

They awaken into something deeper, which is no longer based on concepts in your mind. A deeper sense of purpose or connectedness with a greater life that is not dependent on explanations or anything conceptual any longer. It’s a kind of re-birth. The dark night of the soul is a kind of death that you die. What dies is the egoic sense of self. Of course, death is always painful, but nothing real has actually died there – only an illusory identity. Now it is probably the case that some people who have gone through this transformation realized that they had to go through that, in order to bring about a spiritual awakening. Often it is part of the awakening process, the death of the old self and the birth of the true self.

Theology can be exciting, eh?! lol.

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Andy Torres’ Sense of Style

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Andy Torres explains “ego blogging” her coined term for what now has become commonplace on the internet, but which she was one of the originators of, back in 2007. Undecided as to her career path, she dropped out of college at a certain point, to pursue her real dream of creating and developing fashion ideas. Taking her love of sewing and modifying outfits, she moved to New York to try to make it as a designer. But when she didn’t find the opportunity she desired at an existing fashion house, she went online. Andy marketed herself and her fashion ideas through her blog, Style Scrapbook, which has since garnered over 75,000 followers…an impressive feat for any company, let alone a single girl.

Andy’s advice to anyone starting their own ego blog is simple.
1. Offer great content, which is useful to the target audience.
2. Include good photos which depict the subject in the best context.
3. Post often, to maintain contact with an audience with short attention span.
4. Share your blog on as many strong social media sites as possible.
5. Above all be yourself, and keep your content genuine and accessible.

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Fruits with Function

1. Apricot. Apricots contain beta-carotene which stops radicals from damaging the inner structures of the organism and it is also very useful for our eyes. In our body, the beta-carotene form the A vitamin which prevent from developing a series of cancer diseases, especially the skin cancer. One fruit contain 17 calories 1 gram of carbohydrates and does
not contain any fats.

Apricots are an excellent source of beta-carotene and are useful in reducing infections or skin problems. They are a good source of iron and potassium. Fresh juice of apricot leaves is useful in skin diseases. It can be applied with beneficial results in scabies, eczema, sun burn and itching of the skin due to cold exposure. Apricots have an alkaline reaction in the system. They aid the digestion, if consumed before a meal. The fruit is highly valued as a gentle laxative and is beneficial in the treatment of constipation. The fresh juice of apricots, when mixed with glucose or honey forms a very cooling and soothing drink during fevers. Its many benefits include quenching the thirst, and eliminating waste products from the body. In addition, it tones up the eyes, stomach, liver, heart and nerves by supplying minerals and vitamins.

Advice: Try to buy apricots while there are still hard (green). When the apricots become soft, they begin to loose their nourishing properties.

2. Avocados. The oleic acid and the unsaturated fats containing in this fruit decrease the level of cholesterol and increase the quantity of high density lipoproteins. Beside that avocado contain a large quantity of cellulose, iron and vitamin C. One piece contains 81 calories, 8 grams of fats and 3 grams of carbohydrates. In order to fasten the ripping process put avocados in a closed plastic bag with an apple or a banana.

Advice: Try to replace the mayonnaise in your sandwiches with pieces of avocado.

3. Raspberries. Raspberries contain the ellagic acid which helps decrease the growth of cancer cells. These berries also contains the C vitamin, decrease the level of cholesterol and the probability of cardiovascular diseases. Rich in vitamin C, folate, iron and potassium, raspberries also provide high amounts of insoluble fiber (thanks to all those little seeds) as well as respectable amounts of the soluble fiber pectin, which helps control cholesterol levels.

Raspberries contain a large amount of cellulose. Since cooking does not destroy these compounds, raspberry jam may also be beneficial. Raspberry is one of the few fruits whose consumption would not have much effect on the body’s blood sugar levels. A glass of Raspberries contains 60 calories, 1 gram of fats and 8 grams of carbohydrates.

Advice: A natural face mask made raspberries helps protect against the suns rays. Vitamin C’s antioxidant powers help fade age spots and discoloration. It also rounds out the skin to fill in minor wrinkles.

4. Mango. A middle-sized mango fruit contains 57 milligrams of C vitamin which constitutes the daily norm for a human’ nourishment. This antioxidant helps to prevent the arthritis, is used in wounds recovery and enforces the immunity system. Pregnant women and people with anaemia are advised to eat this fruit regularly. It is also valuable to combat acidity and poor digestion. Mango also contains the A vitamin. One fruit of mango has 135 calories, 1 gram of fats and 4 grams of carbohydrates.

Advice: Some varieties do not turn red, orange or yellow. If buying these green varieties, look for other signs they are ripe such as a nice sweet fragrance. They should yield nicely to a light press with the fingertip. If they are brought unripe, they can be put in a paper bag in a warm place and they will ripen in a day or two.

5. Cantaloupe. Contain vitamin C (117 milligrams of C vitamin is contained in a half of cantaloupe – a double daily norm) and beta-carotene which stops the radicals from damaging the inner structures of the organism. It also contains 853 milligrams of potassium, which is twice more than in a banana. Potassium decreases the blood pressure. Cantaloupe has antioxidants that help us fight with heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, aging, etc. Cantaloupe is also a very good source of potassium, vitamin B6, dietary fiber and niacin (vitamin B3). A half of cantaloupe contains 97 calories 1 gram of fats, 2 grams of carbohydrates. Cantaloupe is beneficial for arthritis, obesity, fever, rheumatism, skin diseases, high blood pressure, abdominal and stomach gas and many other diseases.

Advice: When choosing cantaloupe, choose a fully ripened melon, because according to research as fruits fully ripen, almost to the point of spoilage their antioxidant levels actually increase.

6. Cranberries. Helps to combat the infections in the urinary bladder, stop the in growing number of bacteria. Cranberry juice can inhibit the aggregation of bacteria that cause dental plaque and based on evaluation of several vitro screening tests, it has been suggested that the proanthocyanidin compounds found in cranberry may exhibit some anti-carcinogenic activity. Some medical professionals and specialists believe that quinic acid abundant in cranberry may help to prevent the development of kidney stones. Recent scientific research shows that cranberries and cranberry products contain significant amounts of antioxidants and other phytonutrients that may help protect against heart disease, cancer and other diseases. In some people, regular cranberry juice consumption for months can kill the H. pylori bacteria, which can cause stomach cancer and ulcers. Drinking cranberry juice daily may increase levels of HDL, or good cholesterol and reduce levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol. A cup of cranberry juice contains 144 calories. There are no fats or carbohydrates.

Advice: Buy a 100% cranberry juice and add water without sugar.

7. Raisins: These little pearls- are the main resource of iron which helps to transmit the oxygen to tissues. The phytonutrients and olenolic acid present in raisins makes them beneficial for the health of teeth and gums. Having antioxidant properties, raisins help keep the blood clean and flowing, by getting rid of al the impurities. Raisins are believed to be good for bone density and have been associated with lower risk of osteoporosis in women. Studies claim that raisins contain additional nutritive compounds that can protect against heart disease and colon cancer. A half cup of Raisins contains 218 calories, 3 grams of carbohydrates. It does not contain fats.

Advice: Raisins are a good source of fiber and can help cure constipation. For the purpose, boil raisins in a saucepan of water, strain the liquid and drink it. Every morning try to add little raisins in your cereals.

8. Fig. The fig is a source of potassium and carbohydrates, it also contains the vitamin B6, which is responsible for the serotonyne – “hormone of pleasure”; it decreases the amount of cholesterol. One fig contains 37-48 calories, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 fats. Figs are high in natural and simple sugars, minerals and fiber. They contain good levels of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and manganese. Dried figs contain an impressive 250mg of calcium per 100g, compared to whole milk with only 118mg. Dried figs consist from about 60% of sugar, contain a lot of vitamins and it is said that humans could live on figs only.

Advice: Eat dries figs as a healthy energy snack. For extra flavor and nutrients, stuff them with nuts and a little honey.

9. Lemon. Lemon contains limonene and C vitamin which help to prevent cancer. It has a limited number of calories and does not contain carbohydrates or fats. You must know that citrus fruits in general may have a great benefit over our body; citruses are useful for your skin, bones and heart; it’s a well-known fact that citruses are great eyesight defenders and mood enhancers.

Advice: Add lemon juice in your food: salad, beans or vegetables.
via Nutritional-habits

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Haeckel’s Radiolaria

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Ernst Haeckel

Or, “Sacred Geometry in the Single Cells.” This video contains selections from the the film “Proteus”, a documentary concerning the life, work, and philosophy of naturalist Ernst Haeckel, (1834-1919). Haeckel was a German scientist who coined the phrase “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” and the terms “Darwinism” and “ecology.” He was first to postulate a “missing link” between ape and man and was proven correct when Java man was found in 1891. A staunch evolutionary biologist, Haeckel put Darwin on the world map. His books and monographs, placing Darwin in a broad social and philosophical context, were circulated internationally; they outsold On the Origin of Species by a large margin. Haeckel was commonly referred to as “the Darwin of Germany.”

Haeckel was also an accomplished artist. His idol was Goethe, who maintained that art as well as science could unearth the underlying truths of nature. For both Goethe and Haeckel, morphology had aesthetic roots. Haeckel traveled far and wide, from Sicily to Ceylon, to the North Sea, and beyond. Sketchpads and watercolors accompanied his microscope wherever he went. His on-the-spot drawings of deep-sea vegetation, aquatic creatures, frogs, birds, and higher animals were turned into more than 1000 engravings.

The film tells of the man’s character and influences while using his detailed engravings of Radiolaria, single celled marine organisms, which also illustrate many of the shapes common in sacred geometry. Fascinating and beautiful!

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Carbonaceous Coccolithophores

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Coccolithophores are microscopic algae that first appeared 220 million years ago, and flourished during the cretaceous period. They produce peculiar plates called cocoliths out of calcium carbonate, and incorporate them into an external shell. They constantly remove carbon from the atmosphere as they die and sink to the ocean floor, producing chalk. This is an important feedback system in the global carbon cycle.

I just think they look darn cool!

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words of wisdom!

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Spaceballs

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Well, this blog is called “Star in the Stone” and that’s exactly what a pallasite is! How beautiful to reveal translucent gemstones welded into a molten mass. Peridot crystals can only be formed in outer space, brought down to earth in meteors.

There are three main types of meteorites.
Those made entirely of iron alloy, are thought to be the cores of asteroids that melted early in their history. They consist mainly of iron-nickel metal with small amounts of sulphide and carbide minerals. Iridium, is brittle, with a high melting point, similar to silver or platinum, an element very rare on earth, but often found in meteors. Most iron meteorites have a distinctive crystalline structure with bands containing low and high levels of nickel, known as Widmanstatten texture, which is highlighted when acid-etched.
Second, there are those meteorites made of an iron-stone blend, called pallasites. These consist of almost equal amounts of iron-nickel metal and silicate minerals, and are amongst the most beautiful of meteorites, because of the gemstones they contain. Pallasites contain big, beautiful olive-green crystals, a form of magnesium-iron silicate called olivine, embedded entirely in metal. Pallasites can show big variations. Sometimes the olivine does not occur as a single crystal but as a cluster and elsewhere it can create a pattern of veins through solid metal.
Third, are the stoney concretions, or chondrites, which consist mainly of silicate materials, such as olivine or feldspar, in conglomeration with iron or carbon. They are the most primitive meteorites in their chemical development. Chondrites come from asteroids that did not melt when formed. Carbonaceous chondrites often contain water-bearing minerals and compounds including the organic molecules such as amino acids, the building blocks of life on earth. Chondrites are the materials from which the solar system formed and have been little changed compared with rocks from the larger planets, which have been subjected to billions of years of geological activity. They are very similar in composition to the sun and can tell us a lot about how the solar system itself was formed. A variant of chondrite, called Achondrites include meteorites from asteroids, Mars and the moon. They are igneous, meaning that at some point they melted into magma. When the magma cools and crystallises, it creates a concentric layered structure, usually with metallic center and silicon coated exterior. This process is known as igneous differentiation,
which gave rocky planets of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars them planetary crusts, mantles and cores. Achondrites can, therefore, tell us a lot about the internal structure and formation of the planets.

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