TEXTS

A mother can but guide … then step aside (HAZEL DYER)

The following poem is written by Hazel Dyer , mother of Wayne Dyer , to her son WAYNE A mother can but guide ...

23 October, 2023

How Sun, Moon, and Wind went out to Dinner

ONE day Sun, Moon, and Wind went out to dine with their uncle and aunts Thunder and Lightning. Their mother (one of the most distant Stars you see far up in the sky) waited alone for her children's return. Now both Sun and Wind were greedy...

18 October, 2023

I recognize the lion by his claw …

In the late 17th century, Isaac Newton and Wilhelm Leibniz were easily the greatest mathematicians of the era, both developing calculus on their own, though the notation we currently use is actually from Leibniz. In June 1696, the Swiss mathematician Johannes Bernoulli sent a letter to...

17 October, 2023

Medusa, a symbol of power and protection

Medusa is one of the most recognizable pop culture and fashion icons! Her powerful image of a woman with a full head of snake hair is unforgettable. Her power to turn a mortal (or a man, depending on the myth) into stone by a single glance...

15 October, 2023

Croesus,bursting into tears, cried out loud:“O, Solon, you true seer! O Solon, Solon!”

Croesus was the last king of Lydia, proverbial for his enormous fortune; even nowadays, many Romance languages use the expression “as rich as Croesus” to describe a fabulously wealthy person. Solon, on the other hand, was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, the philosopher-statesman...

14 October, 2023

Would you plug in to a permanent pleasure machine? – Robert Nozick’s Experience Machine

The experience machine or pleasure machine is a thought experiment put forward by philosopher Robert Nozick in his 1974 book Anarchy, State and Utopia. It is an attempt to refute ethical hedonism by imagining a choice between everyday reality and an apparently preferable simulated reality. A primary thesis of...

12 October, 2023

When the mob accused Democritus of being insane

Democritus, known in antiquity as the ‘laughing philosopher’ because of his emphasis on the value of ‘cheerfulness,’ was one of the two founders of ancient atomist theory. He elaborated a system originated by his teacher Leucippus into a materialist account of the natural world. The...

11 October, 2023

A Lesson for Kings

ONCE upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, the future Buddha returned to life as his son and heir. And when the day came for choosing a name, they called him Prince Brahma-datta. He grew up in due course; and when he was...

07 October, 2023

Themistocles : “Miltiades’ trophy does not let me sleep”

Themistocles. A celebrated Athenian, the son of Neocles and Abrotonon, a Thracian woman, and born about B.C. 514. In his youth he had an impetuous character, and displayed great intellectual power combined with a [p. 1563] lofty ambition and a desire for political distinction. He...

06 October, 2023

The Gold-giving Serpent

NOW in a certain place there lived a Brahman named Haridatta. He was a farmer, but poor was the return his labour brought him. One day, at the end of the hot hours, the Brahman, overcome by the heat, lay down under the shadow of...

02 October, 2023