If the Age of Reason was the masculine Yang, then it can be said Romanticism, invariably, was its creative feminine counterpoint, the Yin. Plato’s argumentative philosophical essays in The... More > Republic on the dynamism and contrast between sense (the head) and sensibility (the heart) was Kant’s discourse on phenomenon and its antipode, noumenon. Mathematics is abstract form but it is not beauty. A rose is beauty but it is not abstract form. The language of mathematics in scientific realism became a central component of the Age of Reason. In contrast, the language of the rose expressing abstract sentiment became a central component of Romanticism. Blake’s tyger is seen as raging and burning bright while Poe’s dreams come quietly in the dark of night. Both poets used Romantic language and allegories to convey different aspects of reason, sentiment, and intuition. The poet could not live his experience with his audience symbiotically but they could share in his experience empathically through his gift of words.< Less
When the language was young and full of wonder, it crafted illustrious tales of beauty about once unimaginable immortal loves that unexpectedly lost their ardor across the battlefield of time, human... More > frailties, and broken hopes. A thousand loves were born in the bosom of every legend and a thousand more died under bated breath in the feeble arms of aging myths. Like the mercurial forces of nature and man’s own mortality, every auspicious thought of human imagination was subjected to the same cycle of love, beauty, decay, ruin and death. And from this spinning wheel of creation, bliss, and chaos, emotions and words were delicately weaved into poetry.< Less
Our world is mired in chaos, disorder, and endless conflict. We have depleted the planet’s natural resources to a point of scarcity. Wars now threaten to erupt over Earth's last dwindling ... More > natural resources: fossil fuel, water, arable land, and rare-earth minerals. We have used the fear of mutual assured annihilation by destructive weapons to achieve a tenuous and shaky peace in the world. Our financial institutions are imploding, as nations sink beneath oceans of debt. It is becoming clear that the entire model human civilization was built upon is flawed and destined to soon catastrophically unravel. Is this humanity’s destiny or did we lose our way in a maze of material distractions? We needn’t languish in the shadows of despair, failure, and mediocrity. We can achieve greatness, and bring harmony back to the world by emulating the patterns God has woven into nature. Nature’s patterns are rooted in the science of compassion. We can triumph in life’s darkest and most trying hour. We, too, can sparkle.< Less
"Major disasters like the Japanese earthquake, the Joplin tornadoes, and Sandy are likely to become more frequent, and global governments must prepare for an uncertain future," said the... More > 2011 report issued by the International Development Ministry in Britain. Scientists, in the report, said recent natural disasters are “the beginnings of a new kind of future in which mega-disasters are going to be more frequent. The scale, frequency and severity of rapid onset humanitarian disasters will continue to grow in the coming years, and at an accelerating pace.” What would you do if you were faced with the imminent threat of a mega-earthquake or tsunami, the threat of a thermo-nuclear war, a nuclear plant melt-down, a volcanic eruption, a chemical or biological terror attack or a global pandemic? How do you protect yourself and your family from the ever-increasing set of calamitous hazards facing our modern world? What are the planet's low risk zones and where do you find them?< Less
