The Long-Term Effects of Mystical Experiences

It’s difficult to define a mystical experience. What exactly does it involve? Do they all share some basic elements? It’s probably a good idea to broadly define mystical to include the different kinds of experiences that people report as being mystical. What’s also interesting is that it is common for mystical experiences to have lasting effects,…

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What is Life and How Did It Originate?

Abiogenesis is the process by which life arises from inorganic matter. Fossilised primitive bacteria have been found which are 3.5 billion years old, which means life could have existed for much longer. Although, given the age of the Earth at around 4.3 billion years, scientists estimate that life has probably been around for no more than…

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James Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis Offers a Revolutionary View of the Planet

James Lovelock (born 1919) is an independent scientist from Devon who, after developing his famous Gaia Hypothesis, gained a notorious status in the scientific community. Gaia is the name of the Greek goddess of the Earth or Mother Earth, as she is also called. This goddess is referenced to in The Homeric Hymns which date back…

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A Short Explanation of Theism, Atheism, and Agnosticism

Atheists often accuse theists of arrogance, since they claim to know, for certain, that God does not exist. Likewise, atheists are often accused of arrogance, since they claim with absolute certainty that God does not exist. Someone who does not want to get accused of arrogance might say that they are an agnostic – instead…

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Carl Jung and the Archetypes

An archetype is a universal symbol, which other more specific symbols are based on. The word archetype has its root in ancient Greek and roughly translates as an “original pattern.” Archetypes are understood differently from the point of view of different disciplines. In psychology, archetypes are understood to be models of the personality, whereas in philosophy…

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