I gave a presentation at Auroville in Jan. 2006 exploring the possible relationship between recent published research on the neurophysiology of advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditators, new tunneling electron microscopic images revealing complex networks of nano-scale microtubules interpenetrating human neurons which may provide a substrate for room temperature quantum effects in the brain, and the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on the connections between the "Mind of the Cells" and an accelerated evolution of the human species. Examples were presented of a number of unanticipated positive events around the world during the last two decades and their possible relationship to the Mother's vision for Auroville and the Matrimandir. The event was sponsored by Auroville's Centre for International Research on Human Unity (CIRHU). Here are some photos and introductory text from the presentation which was attended by a standing room only audience at the Executive Conference Center of Auroville's Town Hall. ...   more »

"Although our society has learned to use the properties of the ionosphere in many beneficial ways over the last century, there is still a great deal to learn about its physics, its chemical makeup and its dynamic response to solar influence. The upper portions of the ionosphere can be studied to some extent with satellites but the lower levels are below orbital altitudes while still too high to be studied using instruments carried by balloons or high flying aircraft."   more »

"Media violence induces imitative violence. If true, this idea is dangerous for at least two main reasons. First, because its implications are highly relevant to the issue of freedom of speech. Second, because it suggests that our rational autonomy is much more limited than we like to think. This idea is especially dangerous now, because we have discovered a plausible neural mechanism that can explain why observing violence induces imitative violence. Moreover, the properties of this neural mechanism — the human mirror neuron system — suggest that imitative violence may not always be a consciously mediated process."   more »

"The genius of Jean Piaget (1960) showed us the degree to which it is the business of childhood to take the objects in the world and use how they "work" to construct theories-- of space, time, number, causality, life, and mind. Fifty years ago, when Piaget was formulating his theories, a child's world was full of things that could be understood in simple, mechanical ways."   more »

"I [believe] that the group is the art form of the future. ... {E}very great culture has created forms of sacred art that were needed in order to transmit and ... discover by experience the truths which were necessary to absorb into one's life. ... In our present culture, as I see it, the main need is for a form that can enable human beings to share their perception and attention and, through that sharing, to become a conduit for the appearance of spiritual intelligence."   more »

When things get tough, I personally find these words by Sri Aurobindo reassuring. If you have Real Audio Player, you can hear them in the Mother's voice. In the Mother's voice : an excerpt from 'The Hour Of God' File size : 770 KB Duration : 6 mins.16secs   more »

You would never guess it from the news, but we're living in a peculiarly tranquil world. The new edition of ''Peace and Conflict,'' a biennial global survey being published next week by the University of Maryland, shows that the number and intensity of wars and armed conflicts have fallen once again, continuing a steady 15-year decline that has halved the amount of organized violence around the world. By JOHN TIERNEY New York Times, May 28, 2005   more »

All forms of violence are headed down, and the crucial years are between 1985 and 1990, which is just the time when after a continual increase (see the first three charts), the number of democracies jump up. The way to understand this is that in the late 1980s, democracies achieved a critical mass in the international system, a tipping point for violence. ...   more »

In June 2005, Steve Jobs, the Founder and CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, was invited by Stanford University (one of America's top universities) to give the commencement address to the graduating class. As I read it, I was struck by Jobs' integrity and commitment to telling the truth of his personal experience, even though much of it was not at all what one would expect from the typical college commencement address. I hope you are as inspired by it as I was. ...   more »

Since my trip to Auroville & Pondicherry (more later on that) I am feeling a pressure behind me above the shoulders and head. It is as if a golden disc, much larger than the body, much larger than myself, is pressing down, forcing something out of the human that wishes to express or perhaps to co-evolve with it. The disc looks something like one of the discs used for the Matrimandir only its texture is ...   more »

After visiting the rooms of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry, we return in the afternoon to our Keet (thatch) hut in the community called Adventure (Auroville) for a rest and a change of clothes. As Ron is in the process of changing, a snake falls through the roof our our Keet hut, missing Ron’s head by about a foot.   more »

Nothing could have prepared us (Ron and me) for the impact of physically being in the rooms where the Double Avatar lived and breathed and worked ceaselessly to transform this plane of existence. Thanks to Aster Patel, this was made possible on Thursday, January 12, 2006. Our group was six and when we made our way slowly up the staircase to ...   more »

Twenty years ago I read Franklin Merrell-Wolff's spiritual chronicle, "Pathways Through to Space". As a fellow seeker, it impacted me greatly. Today I am reading about Sri Aurobindo's life with fascination and awe.  It has occurred to me, with some urging from Ron, to document here on SCIY some of what is in my own inner experience. To some this may seem arrogant, to others naive. The purpose is not to wallow in irrelevant diaristic ...   more »

A child born on the first day of the new Millennium will live an entire lifetime in a world undreamt of just a generation ago. As much as we might have tried to speculate upon the shape of things to come, the twenty-first century arrives just as unformed as a newborn. When a child enters the world, it knows nearly nothing of the universe beyond itself. With mouth, then eyes, and finally, hands, it reaches out to discover the character of the surrounding world.   more »

An ideal Society is a vehicle of the Divine, the Divine as the inner Soul of collective humanity. It is the Chariot of Jagannatha, the Lord of the World, and its four wheels are unity, freedom, knowledge and power.   more »

Praised by The Wall Street Journal as "The leading academic on the politics of technology", Mr. Winner was born and raised in San Luis Obispo, California. He received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley. He is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York where he serves as co-director of the newly founded Center for Cultural Design. His work focuses on the social and political implications of modern technological change.

In recent years the conventional understandings of progress have been challenged yet again, not in this instance by intellectuals concerned about inclusion and social justice, but by entrepreneurs who have discovered a fine new heir to the accumulation of useful knowledge. The writings of several prominent scientists, engineers, and businessmen brashly proclaim that, at the end of the day, the telos of science has nothing to do with serving human needs or alleviating humanity's age-old afflictions. For contemporary developments point to the emergence of a new beneficiary, one vastly modified and improved as compared to its anthropoid ancestors. Yes, human beings may pride themselves in thinking that their presence is required both to generate and enjoy the benefits of scientific advance, but this vain prejudice is false. According to the new prophets of perfectibility, the true inheritor of the legacy of science will be an entirely new creature, one variously named metaman, post-human, superhuman, robot, or cyborg. ...   more »

Paolo Soleri is best known for his concept of "arcology," which most people think of in terms of its surface meaning: “architecture plus ecology,” the design of car-less, ecologically sustainable cities. Many people have seen Soleri's beautiful renderings of arcologies - miniaturized three-dimensional structures that require less ground area than conventional cities and can therefore utilize the surrounding land for farming, habitat preservation, and enjoyment by the city's inhabitants..

Less well known is the fact that Soleri's architectural designs are only a small part of an overarching comprehensive philosophy he has developed.. For Soleri, true long-term well-being can only be realized in a cosmic end-state he calls the “Omega Seed,” and he sees arcologies as "instruments for the acceleration of the evolution of human culture" toward the achievement of this state. ...   more »

The following is a good overview of Roger Penrose & Stuart Hameroff's "Orch-OR" (Orchestrated Objective Reduction) theory of consciousness, as provided by Wikipedia.

Orch OR (“Orchestrated Objective Reduction”) is a theory of consciousness put forth in the mid-1990s by British physicist Sir Roger Penrose and American anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff. ...   more »

In 1968 The Mother founded Auroville, the international community of peace and spiritual growth. It's purpose is to be an experimental community where individuals can make the effort to evolve beyond their present limitations. Auroville has been established as an experiment in Human Unity where each individual is freed from bondage to moral and social conventions and the necessity of working for material possessions. There is no religion practiced there, nor is there ownership of property. ...   more »

The following article is, in my opinion, a nice summary of Sri Aurobindo's (& the Mother's) life and potential impact upon the world. ~ ron Sri Aurobindo is the author and sage who, along with his partner The Mother, dedicated their lives to bringing about the next stage of evolution of life on earth. Throughout his life Sri Aurobindo worked outwardly on his massive body of writings, and inwardly to connect to the divine consciousness, to bring down its properties into the world. The Mother followed a similar path, focusing on the transformation of her own physical body in order to become the forerunner of a new type of human being, what Sri Aurobindo calls the supramental being. ...   more »

Against the advice of friends and family, Julian and Wendy Lines headed off to South India as scheduled last January, ten days after the Tsunami struck the coast of Tamil Nadu..

Reflecting on the past year and the subsequent natural disasters around the globe, Julian and Wendy will make a presentation at Mirabai Books on December 27th, the day after the anniversary of the Tsunami and recall on the spontaneous outpouring of generosity and the lessons learned in the aftermath. ...   more »

Queen Elizabeth II named Jonathan Ive, the designer of Apple Computer’s iPod and iMac, to the Queen’s New Year’s Honors List.

The 38-year-old London-born Apple employee was named a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) on Saturday. ...   more »