New Age Thread

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One of the most important things to understand about Ayurveda is how it explains your body’s energy. The chakra system holds your body’s energy (or prana) and your actions can help keep it in balance.

The Sanskrit word chakra translates to a wheel or disk. In yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda, this term refers to wheels of energy throughout the body. There are seven main chakras that align along the spine, starting from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. The spheres run along the spine, but extend through and past the front, back, and both sides of your body. Chakras are a spinning vortex of energy that is not seen by the human eye but can be seen, felt, and sensed with intuition. This invisible healing energy, called prana, is a vital life force, which keeps us vibrant, healthy, and alive.

Chakras store the energy of thoughts, feelings, memories, experiences, and actions. They influence and direct our present and future mindset, behavior, emotional health, and actions. The life force in each chakra can be processed, transmuted and released so that we consciously manifest what we want to call in, rather than experience more of the same. Chakra healing is the intentional practice of connecting with our stored energy, so we may understand how our past is influencing the present and the future. Prana informs us, and influences our actions and behaviors, determining our health, career opportunities, relationships, and more. The subtle body depicts how our inner reality creates our outer reality.

These swirling wheels of energy correspond to massive nerve centers in the body. Each of the seven main chakras contains bundles of nerves and major organs as well as our psychological, emotional, and spiritual states of being. Since everything is moving, it’s essential that our seven main chakras stay open, aligned, and fluid. If there is a blockage, energy flows are restricted. Think of something as simple as your bathtub drain. If you allow too much hair to go into the drain, the bathtub will back up with water, stagnate, and eventually bacteria and mold will grow. So it is too with our bodies and the chakras. A bathtub is simple; it’s physical so the fix is easy. Keeping a chakra open is a bit more of a challenge, but not so difficult when you have awareness. Since mind, body, soul, and spirit are intimately connected, awareness of an imbalance in one area through chakra meditation will help bring the others back into balance. Take, for example, a wife who has recently lost her husband. She develops acute bronchitis, which remains in the chest, and then gets chest pains each time she coughs.

The whole heart chakra is affected in this case. If she realizes the connection between the loss and bronchitis, healing will occur much faster if she honors the grieving process and treats that as well as the physical ailment. You may experience your chakras, consciousness centers, in meditation, visualization, yoga, Reiki, crystal healing, sound healing, acupuncture, or a variety of different ways. Some people can see the swirling energy in their mind’s eye, or they can feel the vortex with their hands when they hover their hands over their bodies. Others feel sensations in their bodies or mental and emotional shifts that correlate with the chakras. You may also get in touch with the thoughts and emotions stored in each vortex with chakra journaling. As you begin to feel, sense, or see your chakras, their flow may feel underactive or overactive. It may feel deficient and contracted, or expansive and healthy. A healthy chakra system will include chakras that are bright in color, balanced in size, and flowing at a healthy speed.

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[Lily]

This seems like a thread for people like @Murdy.

Bump

 

[Murdy]

This seems like a thread for people like @Murdy.

Bump

Or for others who need to be punched in the throat chakra lol

 

[Lily]

Or for others who need to be punched in the throat chakra lol

Yes, isn't that for those that suffer from the lie through their teeth syndrome?

 

[Murdy]

Yes, isn't that for those that suffer from the lie through their teeth syndrome?

That’s NPD and there is no chakra realignment cure for that.

 

[Lily]

That’s NPD and there is no chakra realignment cure for that.

More's the pity.

 

[Murdy]

More's the pity.

You made me Google!

 

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By freeing your spirit from your physical body, this spell allows you to project an astral body onto another plane altogether.

You can bring the astral forms of other willing creatures with you, provided that these subjects are linked in a circle with you at the time of the casting. These fellow travelers are dependent upon you and must accompany you at all times. If something happens to you during the journey, your companions are stranded wherever you left them.

You project your astral self onto the Astral Plane, leaving your physical body behind on the Material Plane in a state of suspended animation. The spell projects an astral copy of you and all you wear or carry onto the Astral Plane. Since the Astral Plane touches upon other planes, you can travel astrally to any of these other planes as you will. To enter one, you leave the Astral Plane, forming a new physical body (and equipment) on the plane of existence you have chosen to enter.

While you are on the Astral Plane, your astral body is connected at all times to your physical body by a silvery cord. If the cord is broken, you are killed, astrally and physically. Luckily, very few things can destroy a silver cord. When a second body is formed on a different plane, the incorporeal silvery cord remains invisibly attached to the new body. If the second body or the astral form is slain, the cord simply returns to your body where it rests on the Material Plane, thereby reviving it from its state of suspended animation. Although astral projections are able to function on the Astral Plane, their actions affect only creatures existing on the Astral Plane; a physical body must be materialized on other planes.

You and your companions may travel through the Astral Plane indefinitely. Your bodies simply wait behind in a state of suspended animation until you choose to return your spirits to them. The spell lasts until you desire to end it, or until it is terminated by some outside means, such as dispel magic cast upon either the physical body or the astral form, the breaking of the silver cord, or the destruction of your body back on the Material Plane (which kills you).

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The popularity of New Age beliefs, yoga, mindfulness and alternative medicine over recent years has fueled a resurgence of interest in crystal healing. From crystal-infused water bottles and perfumes to gemstone healing necklaces, facials and massages, there’s no shortage of crystal applications.

Though crystal healing is still considered a pseudoscience, some sources estimate it existed as far back as 6,000 years ago with the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia. The amount of information available to the public on alternative medicines like crystal healing continues to grow, too. However, there aren’t any peer-reviewed studies that prove the efficacy of crystal healing. There isn’t any evidence to suggest that crystals do harm, either, so long as traditional treatments aren’t neglected. (For instance, crystals aren’t a replacement for prescription medications, cancer treatments or mental health therapy.)Crystals are stones with physical characteristics, such as a specific formation or ordering of atoms, that affect light refraction, electrical charge and more. Crystal healing emphasizes these qualities and how they might affect the human body’s vibration, electrical charge and functionality. “These vibrations and frequencies can also be understood as qi, or vital energy that makes up any living entity,” explains Jenelle Kim, a doctor of Chinese medicine and founder and formulator of JBK Wellness Labs. In the 1970s, IBM researcher Marcel Vogel coined the term “vibrational medicine,” referring to the belief that crystal healing alters the vibration of the body’s molecules to match the vibrational energy of whatever crystal is being used. “Crystals have a similar wavelength to the human body, which means they vibrate at the same tone as humans and can enhance the body’s natural healing [process],” says Dr. Kim.

Los Angeles-based holistic chiropractor Alexandra Trevisan further explains, “As humans, we have the ability to operate within this energy scale, either ascending or descending. Think love and enthusiasm at the top, and fear and hate at the bottom of the scale. Healing crystals typically hold one or more of the frequencies at the high end of the energetic scale (love, clarity and/or hope) or repel energy from the low end of the energetic scale (anger, jealousy and/or despair).”
Crystal healing can also harness the power of the mind in a way that’s perhaps even more potent than vibrational energy improvements. Throughout history, poets and religious leaders viewed crystals as symbols of purity, pleasure, faith and perfection. They used crystals as a source of inspiration, devotion and creativity.

Stanford researchers agree that mindset plays a significant role in health and healing. Practitioners believe the intention-based mindset of crystal healing—like what’s cultivated in mindfulness meditation—can help with immunity, focus, emotional processing, stress reduction and nervous system regulation. Holding or gazing at a crystal that represents a mantra, emotion or intention is a simple and effective way to return to your meditation practice when the mind wanders. “On a more practical level, they serve as a grounding tool,” says Trevisan. Many crystal healers recommend wearing crystals on your skin or in your clothes to benefit most from the vibrational medicine theory. Trevisan, for example, places crystals on her client’s body—“on a chakra, or energy center”—while she works with them.

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Some popular myths about the origin of the Tarot place the first deck in the hands of many different people throughout history. The speculations about the creators of Tarot cards include the Sufis, the Cathars, the Egyptians, Kabbalists, and more. However, all of the actual historical evidence points to northern Italy sometime in the early part of the 1400s. Contrary to what many have claimed, there is absolutely no proof of the Tarot having originated in any other time or place. The truth is that a few decades before the Tarot was born, ordinary playing cards came to Europe by way of Arabs, arriving in many different cities between 1375 and 1378. These cards were an adaptation of the Islamic Mamluk cards. They had suits of cups, swords, coins, and polo sticks, the latter of which were seen by Europeans as staves. Like common playing cards, the Tarot has four suits, which vary by region. Over time, this would include French suits in Northern Europe, Latin suits in Southern Europe, and German suits in Central Europe. The decks also included courts consisting of a king and two underlings. Later, the fool, the trumps, and a set of queens were added to the system.

Sometime before 1480, the French introduced cards with the now-familiar suits of hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds. It wasn’t until after much of this had occurred that, sometime in the first half of the 15th century, someone created the original deck of Tarot cards. A deck was commissioned by Duke Filippo Maria circa 1420. The painter Michelino da Besozzo was put to work making a 60-card deck with 16 cards having images of the Roman gods and suits depicting four kinds of birds. The 16 cards were triumphs regarded as “trumps”. The duke had invented a novum quoddam et exquisitum triumphorum genus, or “a new and exquisite kind of triumphs”. Of course, these were just for fun not for fortunetelling.

Currently, the Visconti-Sforza Tarot is used collectively to refer to incomplete sets of approximately 15 decks from circa 1460, now located in various museums, libraries, and private collections around the world. These Italian cards were initially used to play a new type of game. This was similar to the game bridge, however, there were 21 special cards that served as permanent trumps. These could be played regardless of the suit that was led, and they outranked all the ordinary cards. This was known as the “Game of Triumphs” and it became extraordinarily popular, particularly among the upper ruling class. Then, as the game spread throughout northern Italy and eastern France, changes were often made to the pictures and the ranking of the trumps. However, they usually bore no numbers on the cards themselves.
Around 1530, the word “tarocchi” first appeared.

The reason for such a name change is apparently because someone made the innovation that the game of triumphs could be played with ordinary cards by simply declaring a particular suit to be the trumps at the beginning of each hand. Hence, “triumphs” became an ambiguous term, and a new word was needed to refer to the traditional game of triumphs. Thus, the word tarocchi came into use, although its etymology still remains a subject of conjecture. The word Tarot is not Egyptian, Hebrew, or Latin. It is not an anagram, and it does not hold the key to the mystery of the cards. On the contrary, the earliest names for the Tarot are all Italian. The cards seem to have initially been known as the “carte da trionfi”, or “cards of triumphs”. Then, the word tarocchi began to be used in Italy, while the Germans used the word “tarock”, and the French enlisted the word “tarot”, or more properly “Tarot”.

In addition to this, early 16th century poets used trump cards to create verses called “tarocchi appropriate”, which described famous personage and ladies of the court. It became more and more popular to use the trumps to compose poems describing personality characteristics in a way that was far more flattering than that of contemporary psychological profiling. It wasn’t until much later that the cards became a popular means of predicting the future. In regards to this, a Tarot reading is technically a ritual even if regalia and paraphernalia are not employed. By the mutual agreement of their coming together for the express purpose, a sort of pact is formed between a querent and the interpreter of the oracle. The earliest printed treatise on Tarot cards used in this kind of way seems to have appeared in Italy around 1540 in the work Le Sorti by Marolino. However, the first unambiguous evidence of Tarot divination, as it is commonly understood, can be seen in Bologna sometime in the early 1700s. Of course, it is known that ordinary playing cards were connected with divination as early as 1487, so it is reasonable to conjecture that the Tarot might have been as well.

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Feng shui is an ancient Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, and space in an environment to achieve harmony and balance. Feng shui means “the way of wind and water.” It has roots in early Taoism but is still popular today, having spread throughout China and even to Western cultures.

Feng shui stems from the Taoist belief in chi, or the life force that inhabits everything. Chi is made up of yin and yang elements. These are opposing but complementary forces that cannot be separated. Taoists believed that by balancing yin and yang elements, people can improve the flow of positive chi in their lives and keep the negative chi away. Feng shui is a method of balancing yin and yang, and improving the flow of chi by arranging furniture, decorations, buildings, and even whole cities in a beneficial way. The ancient Chinese people believed that arranging things to create positive chi would ensure good health, improve interpersonal relationships, and bring luck and prosperity.

Though little is known about the origins of feng shui, there is evidence that the Chinese have been designing their homes and towns using its principles for over four thousand years. Some early examples of feng shui can be found in the placement of ancient Chinese grave sites—areas where bringing positive chi was very important. In modern times, people all over the world use feng shui rules to decorate their homes. Many feng shui rules are about what items to place near or far away from doors and windows, because chi can enter and leave through those openings. The easiest way to change feng shui in a room is to add or move one of the five elements, which are water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. All materials can be classified as one of these five types. According to practitioners, mixing, combining, or subtracting these items can quickly improve the flow of positive chi.

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There is perhaps no “game” that sparks as much curiosity and fear as a Ouija board. The flat board with numbers, letters, a few words, and a planchette (aka the board’s moving device) is generally synonymous with breaking the veil between the living and dead realms. Many see it as a tool to open horrifying portals while others use it to curiously commune with “the other side.”

It is also a staple in horror stories, pop culture, entertainment, and certain spiritual practices for many decades. But, despite being such a looming part of our culture, most people don’t know the complex history behind Ouija boards. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the Ouija board stems from Spiritualism, a belief that the dead can communicate with the living. Of course, this idea is something that has existed on a global scale for thousands of years. But, it became quite prominent in the United States during the 19th century when childbirth, war, and disease among other things led to shorter life spans and frequent deaths. Many people desired a pathway to connect with lost loved ones and get answers to unresolved issues and questions.

The concept of contacting the dead was seen as socially acceptable and even wholesome in many circles. Of course, this is likely because the faces of Spiritualism were white people. For example, in 1848, people became enraptured by Maggie and Kate Fox, two young sisters who claimed to get messages from spirits through taps on their walls. Their abilities made them household names and further sparked public interest in reaching out to deceased people. This lead to the birth of “talking boards,” the precursor to the Ouija board, in the late 1880s. It had letters, numbers, and a small cursor to point towards its script. It’s not clear who came up with the first talking board. But technically that person should get credit for laying the groundwork for Ouija boards. Today, Ouija board, talking board, and spirit board are all interchangeable terms to describe the same tool.

It wouldn’t be the American way if someone didn’t try to further capitalize on the popularity of séances and personal pain, right? And, like most American origin stories, there is a lot of messiness behind the Ouija board’s beginnings. Charles Kennard of Baltimore, Maryland didn’t care about the spiritualism movement but he did see a profitable business opportunity. The (allegedly) shady businessman teamed up with coffin maker/undertaker E.C. Reiche, a Prussian immigrant, to start producing their own wooden boards. But, when Kennard starting looking for investors, he took credit for the invention.

There’s some debate over Reiche’s actual involvement. As reported by MyEasternShoreMD, information about Reiche’s life is spotty at best with little official records and no real credit to him being the Ouija board creator. This makes sense if Kennard simply took credit for Reiche’s handiwork. But, if that is the case, then why didn’t Reiche at least try to put up a legal or verbal fight for his creation? However, leading talking board expert Robert Murch told Baltimore Magazine that Reiche was indeed involved with early productions only to be cut out by Kennard. Ouch.

After Kennard’s many failed attempts to secure funding, attorney Elijah Bond became interested. They formed Kennard Novelty Company in 1890 along with other investors like William H.A. Maupin, Colonel Washington Bowie, and John F. Green. Bond’s sister-in-law Helen Peters also played a key role in creating its handle and possibly the name. Kennard and his colleagues claimed that the board named itself after they asked it. The board said Ouija is an ancient Egyptian phrase which means “good luck.”

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[Garraty_47]

The only thing "new age" I've ever taken a real liking to is the musical genre of the same name.

There's some really good stuff in there.

 

[Admin.]

The only thing "new age" I've ever taken a real liking to is the musical genre of the same name.

There's some really good stuff in there.

My wife drug me to a George Winston concert back then, it was much better than I expected.

 

[Garraty_47]

My wife drug me to a George Winston concert back then, it was much better than I expected.

I discovered it in the era of Kitaro, Jean-Michael Jarre, Patrick O'Hearn, Gershon Kingsley, and although some might debate them being included Vangelis and Philip Glass.

Narada was (is?) a great label for that kind of music and NPR had (has?) a late night show called "Music From The Hearts of Space" that was always a good listen.

 

[Admin.]

I discovered it in the era of Kitaro, Jean-Michael Jarre, Patrick O'Hearn, Gershon Kingsley, and although some might debate them being included Vangelis and Philip Glass.

Narada was (is?) a great label for that kind of music and NPR had (has?) a late night show called "Music From The Hearts of Space" that was always a good listen.

I didn’t want to like New Age at the time in the 80’s, as I was deep into my Jazz snob phase

 

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Karma means action. Physics shows that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. Karma is energy, which in itself is neither good nor bad; these are just the labels people choose to attach to it. The energy created by an action has to be returned: “As yea sow so shall yea reap.” It cannot be avoided.

When you perform an action, it creates a memory, which in turn generates a desire, which leads you to perform another action. For example: You take your first yoga class (action), then you know what happens in a yoga class (memory), and if you enjoyed the class, you decide to go back the following week (desire), and that following week you turn up again with your mat (action). Karma creates memories and desires, which then determine how you live. Actions, memories, and desires are the Karmic software that run your life.

The subtle energy created by your actions is stored within your memories and desires and is activated—sometimes immediately, but more often at some future time. To use the earlier example, you took the yoga class and then forgot about it until months later when you’re walking through town and notice a yoga studio. You remember your past experience, which triggers the desire to take another class.

It’s not necessary to believe in reincarnation to understand Karma but, from the Vedantic perspective, you have lived for many previous lives and the situations and circumstances of your current life are the result of the actions performed during all lives. Believing in Karma and reincarnation makes it easier to understand why bad things happen to good people or why a young innocent child develops a life-threatening illness. Vedanta would say that everything in your life is the result of the energy created by actions in previous births. Every situation that happens to you and everyone you meet has a Karmic significance. Everything happens for a reason.

Whatever your belief, Karma implies that you have created and continue to create your life. Do you have free will? Unfortunately, many people have very little. Many people allow themselves to remain imprisoned in that Karmic software, conditioned by their memories and desires, performing the same habits over and over and wondering why their lives aren’t taking them anywhere. Many are like the hamster, running on its treadwheel, thinking it’s getting somewhere while in fact it’s just going round and round!

However, as you grow and evolve spiritually, you can break out of those cycles and consciously choose the life you want to lead. The Karmic curse causes you to forget who you really are, so your spiritual path involves releasing the Karma that is clouding your awareness, allowing you to remember who you really are. Of course, releasing Karma doesn’t mean you lose all your memories and desires; it means you lose your attachment to them and are no longer held under their influence. As the great seer Adi Shankara said, “I use memories but I don’t allow them to use me.

”In addition to the Karma created from your own actions, you are subjected to the Karmic influences of your family, religion, race, nationality, and more. Every situation you encounter in life is the result of some Karma. You constantly create Karma from your actions, thoughts, words, from the actions of others under your control, from your attitudes, expectations, and lifestyle. You create Karma from the intended actions you perform consciously and also from actions done unconsciously from ignorance. It is also possible to take on someone else’s Karma, which generally isn’t a good idea, because you have enough of your own. This can happen from stealing another’s belongings, gossiping, or fantasizing. It also happens in intimate relationships, but as long as the relationship is based in love, this is an acceptable part of a bonding exchange. Remember, the relationship itself is the result of Karma, and Vedanta says the purpose of every relationship should be enlightenment.

Vedanta says that all your Karma is stored in the Jiva, the individual soul, or the aspect of the soul conditioned by Karma. Vedanta describes three types of Karma: that which you have chosen to process during this particular birth, that which is stored for later births, and the new Karma you generate every moment of your existence. Chakras store the Karma for this lifetime. Chakras are your subtle energy centers through which consciousness transforms into matter. Karma distorts that flow of consciousness, causing you to experience an illusory world. Clearing Karma helps you to step out of the illusion.

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The word Tantra comes from the Sanskrit root tan, which means “to expand,” “to spread,” or “to stretch,” and tra, which means “instrument.” Therefore, Tantra literally means the “instrument to expand” the level of consciousness from ordinary to extraordinary, with Self-realization as its ultimate goal. Tantra also means a “loom” or “weaving,” which is related to the fact that Tantra teaches that the universe is a web in which everything is interrelated and interconnected. Although the word Tantra has many meanings, each with its own particular nuance depending on the context, its most significant definition remains: it is an instrument to expand the level of consciousness.

In one sentence, the philosophical and practical system of Tantra can be summed up as: “Nothing exists that isn’t divine.” This is the quintessence of Tantric philosophy. All the features of Tantra have their roots in this vision. In Tantra, the universe is alive, not illusory. It represents the manifestation of the joyous, free Divine Consciousness in a variety of forms. All manifestation is simply the interplay of Shiva and Shakti, the masculine and feminine. Thus, we can say that Tantra is a world-affirming and body-affirming spiritual tradition. A practical consequence of this view was that householders could aspire to spiritual liberation (moksha), which was not the case in Classical Yoga, where renunciation of worldly life was considered absolutely necessary for moksha.

Tantra dissolves the division of spiritual versus mundane. Every aspect of life is integrated as a tool for spiritual growth. Its practitioners aspire to transcendence in immanence (material existence). But pay attention! This does not mean ordinary indulgence in life. It implies a continuous focus on the divine vision so that life, with all its activities, becomes a launching pad to eternity.

In Tantra, the body is seen as a living temple and sexual energy is seen as divine energy. The body, with all its energies, is considered a divine instrument for spiritual transformation. We can say that the broad approach of Tantra consists in making all ordinary activities sacred. Tantra is a practical system. That’s why it’s called a sadhana shastra, which means it is a practice-oriented scripture. It is not an instant philosophical system. It is based on the direct experiences and realizations of Tantric sages and it consists in numerous methods to suit different types of followers.

Thus, it is a non-dogmatic system that adapts to the needs of the time. It is a dynamic system that has changed and developed for the benefit of its adepts. In the Western world, Tantra generally means sex. The term Tantra is strongly linked to superlative, ecstatic sex, even though the vast majority of Tantric teachings do not refer to sexuality. Indeed, in left-hand Tantra (the path that uses sexual energy), lovemaking rituals are used to go beyond the mind and enter higher states of consciousness. But, this does not define Tantra. Tantra is not concerned with sexuality or its suppression. Sexuality and lovemaking are seen as a divine means for spiritual growth. Tantra does not promote them for ordinary gratification.

So why, in the West, is Tantra commonly understood to mean great sex? The answer is simple: so-called Western Tantra was not introduced by Tantric sages, but by Western travelers who encountered Tantric practices on trips to India. Of course, after centuries of Christian domination and suppression of sexuality, encountering a system that perceives sexual energy to be as normal as any other energy and offers practices that enhance and harness this energy was something very precious and willingly grasped. Unfortunately, the sexual practices were removed from the devotional and ritualistic context of the Tantric tradition and they received the materialistic touch of the Western mind. However, Tantra has maintained the dignity that it deserves.

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How and when did Hinduism begin? While there is no shortage of historical scholars, sages, and teachers in Hinduism, there is no historical founder of the religion as a whole, no figure comparable to Jesus, the Buddha, Abraham, or Muhammad. As a consequence, there is no firm date of origin for Hinduism, either. The earliest known sacred texts of Hinduism, the Vedas, date back to at least 3000 BCE, but some date them back even further, to 8000-6000 BCE; and some Hindus themselves believe these texts to be of divine origin, and therefore timeless.

Related to this, it is worth mentioning here that there is no designated religious hierarchy that determines official Hindu doctrine or practice. Thus, there is no one who can speak for Hindus as a whole, and no single authority regarding what is “truly” Hindu or not. Nevertheless, below is a list of principles that, by practitioner consensus, characterize one as “Hindu.” There is no single, authoritative text in Hinduism that functions like the Bible for Christians, or the Qur’an for Muslims. Instead, there are several different collections of texts. The Vedas are the oldest Hindu sacred texts, and have the most wide-ranging authority. They are believed to have been written anywhere from 1800 to 1200 BCE.

The Upanishads describe a more philosophical and theoretical approach to the practice of Hinduism and were written roughly between 800 and 400 BCE, around the same time that the Buddha lived and taught. The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world, the most well-known portion of which is the Bhagavad-Gita, which is perhaps the best-known and widely cited book in all of Hinduism; the Ramayana is the other most important epic poem in Hinduism. Hinduism encompasses a lush, expansive understanding of the divine accommodating a vast assortment of dynamic and multifaceted concepts. Hinduism sees the divine as not either one or many, but both; not male or female, but both; not formless or embodied, but both. Some of the most important deities in Hinduism are Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Krishna, Sarasvati, Durga, and Kali.

As a result, there are dozens upon dozens of Hindu festivals honoring and celebrating these multitudinous divinities. Some are celebrated throughout India, and many more are primarily regional. They mark specific seasons, specific events in the lives of the different gods and goddesses, and specific concerns of life—wealth, health, fertility, etc. Two of the most well-known in the United States are Divali and Holi.

Divali, the festival of lights that falls somewhere in October or November, honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune, and lasts roughly four to five days. Families often visit the temple during this time and make offerings to Lakshmi there, but they also worship at home, perhaps even arranging a special place on their home altar for Lakshmi. Doors are left open to welcome her into the house, and the whole period of celebration is a time of great joy, in which Hindus fill their houses with light.

Holi is celebrated with great abandon and gusto all over India. It inaugurates the coming of spring and is celebrated primarily by throwing colored paste and water on anyone who happens to be out walking around. It, too, is celebrated over a period of days.For Hindus, there is no weekly worship service, no set day or time in which a community is called to gather publicly. Although most Hindus do visit temples regularly, or at least occasionally, to pray and make offerings, a “good” Hindu need never worship in public. Instead, all worship can be performed to icons in the home shrine, which is why the home is a very important place of worship in India.

The best word that describes and summarizes Hindu worship is puja, which means respect, homage, or worship. Most—if not all—Hindus have small altars at home on which they place pictures and/or statues representing different deities, including those to whom the family is particularly devoted. Each morning, one member of the family, usually the father or the mother, will perform a short puja at the altar. This may include saying prayers, lighting a lamp, burning incense, making offerings of fruit and flowers, and ringing a bell. The goal in this worship is to please the gods through all five senses.

Much the same thing happens in temple worship, though the rituals are much more elaborate there, since deities are believed to inhabit the temple images at all times, rather than just when invited, as in a home puja. In temple worship, the priest performs the puja, then on behalf of the god he returns to the people some of what they first brought as offerings—food, flowers, etc. This is called prasad, which means grace, goodwill, or blessing. In this way, the offerings are then received back by the devotees as a blessing. So, for example, small morsels of food are eaten, flowers are worn in the hair, incense is wafted around one’s body, holy water sipped, and colored powders are mixed with water and used to make a tilak, a mark in the center of the forehead above the eyes.

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Astrology is a pseudoscience that is based on the superstitious belief that the movement of the planets, sun, moon and constellations determines a person's fate. Astrology maintains that each person is born under a particular sign of the zodiac. A zodiac sign is based on the constellation that is most prominent in the night sky in any given month.

Astrologers use mathematics and other tools to calculate the course of various astronomical bodies and determine how these movements will affect a person's daily life and future. Even though astrologers use mathematics and astronomy to make their calculations, their work belongs to the same pseudoscientific fields as cryptozoology, phrenology and numerology. There is no evidence that astrological predictions are accurate. In fact, there is a great deal of evidence to the contrary.

A pseudoscience is a field that pretends to use scientific methodology to carry out research and reach conclusions. Pseudoscience can appear to have many of the same characteristics as real science, but practitioners of pseudoscience do not follow the scientific method. Their activities are guided by belief and even fraud.

Despite the pseudoscientific nature of astrology, many people make a living from this activity. Professional astrologers have even been invited to the White House in Washington, DC. No, astronomy is the science of space. It relies on the scientific method to carry our research and reach conclusions. It is true, however, that the science of astronomy grew out of astrology. Some of the methods used by early astrologers did accurately predict the movement of the planets, sun and moon. Additionally, the names of the constellations used in Western astrology are still commonly used by astronomers and laymen today. Therefore, astrology is commonly studied by historians of science.

Astronomy is one of the physical sciences and makes use of telescope and space probes to study space. There are a number of different branches of astronomy, including planetary science and astrophysics. Astrology is older than recorded history. There are many archaeological remains of astrological observatories, including the one at Stonehenge in England. Astrology was probably originally developed as a way to calculate the changing of the seasons, as well as determine the appropriate time to plant and harvest crops. Western astrology began with the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, as well as the ancient Egyptians. The zodiac symbols and names that we use today originated with the ancient Greeks. The Greeks also invented the science of astronomy.

One of the most famous astrologers in history was Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a French physician who dabbled in both astrology and other supernatural pseudoscience. He made a large number of predictions that some people believe predicated many of the major events of the past five centuries.

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It appears that everyone comes into this world capable of sensing beyond their traditional five senses. And thus, channeling has been recorded throughout written history, from the Delphi Oracle in Greece to various ancient traditions in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. But channeling practices are not just a thing of history.

A survey of 488 societies worldwide found that 90% had some channeling tradition (Bourguignon 1976). In modern times, we see channeling everywhere! You can easily find information about intuitives, psychics, channels, mediums, sensitives, and more. Typing “mediumship” into Google returns 2.8 million results, not to mention all the TV series and movies depicting characters with channeling capabilities. Channeling is a universal human experience.

So, why do these common experiences of accessing information beyond conventional notions of time and space remain so taboo? In the West, intuitive abilities have historically been associated with witchcraft — which was falsely associated with devil worship. It’s easy to see how channeling abilities have been misunderstood and misconstrued, especially where phenomena like trance channeling (that is sometimes referred to as spirit communication or even spirit possession) are concerned.

In addition to the religious condemnation, channeling faces scientific condemnation. Despite an overwhelming amount of evidence for psi phenomena, it remains taboo in mainstream science. Those of us who study it anyway stake our reputations and sometimes our livelihoods in the pursuit of the truth. By joining the Institute of Noetic Sciences, I sacrificed my academic career; but like others in the field of parapsychology, it was more important to me to have the freedom to research these topics, regardless of taboos.

In fact, parapsychology is an amazing field to be in because much of it operates on a new paradigm. Science currently operates on the materialist paradigm: Humans are machines made of meat, consciousness is a happy accident, and matter is fundamental. The post-materialist paradigm flips these long-held beliefs on their head: Consciousness is nonlocal and fundamental. Inevitably, there’s going to be push back. But for those of us who have had the direct experience of channeling, we know this paradigm shift is inevitable. That’s why IONS continues to explore this exciting new frontier through the lens of the scientific method.

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If ever you’ve studied spiritual Asian art, you’ve likely encountered a mandala. A mandala, which is Sanskrit for “circle” or “discoid object,” is a geometric design that holds a great deal of symbolism in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. Mandalas are believed to represent different aspects of the universe and are used as instruments of meditation and symbols of prayer most notably in China, Japan, and Tibet.

In their most basic form, mandalas are circles contained within a square and arranged into sections that are all organized around a single, central point. They’re typically produced on paper or cloth, drawn on a surface with threads, fashioned in bronze, or built in stone. While extraordinary as a standalone work of art, mandalas hold symbolic and meditative meaning beyond their vibrant appearance.

A mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Asian cultures. It can be understood in two different ways: externally as a visual representation of the universe or internally as a guide for several practices that take place in many Asian traditions, including meditation. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the belief is that by entering the mandala and proceeding towards its center, you are guided through the cosmic process of transforming the universe from one of suffering into one of joy and happiness.

Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born in the region now known as Nepal. Though there is no confirmed date of his birth, historians believe it to be around 560 B.C. It is understood that Gautama left his kingdom after becoming aware of human suffering, where he sought to attain enlightenment through meditation and thoughtful action. He began to preach his philosophy across parts of India, where he gained devout followers and eventually established the first sangha, Buddhist community of monks.

As these Buddhist monks travelled the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes that connected the East and West, they brought Buddhism to other lands. They carried mandalas with them and brought the practice of painting these spiritual compositions to other parts of Asia, appearing in regions such as Tibet, China, and Japan by the 4th century. Though rooted in Buddhism, mandalas soon became present in Hinduism and other religious practices. Painters of the spiritual craft were often pious laymen, who were commissioned by a patron. They worked seated on the floor with a painting propped in their laps or in front of their crossed legs.

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