Black holes are considered cosmic gluttons, from which not even light can escape. That is also why the images of black holes at the center of the galaxy M87 and our Milky Way, published a few years ago by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, broke new ground.
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“Strive always to be the best in your calling, whatever it may be, and let not your energy be consumed in the envy of another’s achievements. Strive always to improve your own abilities, so that you may
take your place among the masters of your craft.
“Seek not to take advantage of your competitor by any underhanded methods, but overcome his opposition only through your own superiority. Thus, even though you fail, nevertheless the blow will be softened by the retention of your honor.
“Success is good and desirable, but of itself, it plays little part in the development of the soul. It is the manner, in which success or failure is met that leaves its impress there.
“Consider carefully the causes of success in others; what they can attain is not beyond your reach. Be not one of those who marvel not when others remove mountains but consider it beyond themselves to carry a pebble.
“Diligence will always be duly rewarded by the wise master.”
-The Kolbrin Bible (MPR:23:14-18)
The quote suggests that we should strive to be the best in our chosen field, whatever that may be. That is both unrealistic and not beneficial, especially with goals that are not spiritual. Not everyone can be the best in an earthly profession, and trying to do so can lead to frustration and disappointment. In addition, it has us competing against each other when we accomplish much more by working together towards goals that benefit all. Instead of competing against others, we should strive to improve ourselves. When it comes to spiritual development, we want to continue to develop always, but we must each do so at our own pace and by helping others rather than competing with them.
The quote says success is good, but it doesn’t help develop the soul. That depends on what you are successful at. If your success is in spiritual growth and development, then it definitely helps the soul. Even earthly goals can benefit the soul if they are done with love and by always obeying the Law of God. The quote does say that it is the manner in which success or failure is met that leaves an impression on the soul, and that is true. If you realize that your success is not just because of your own efforts, but also because of your God given gifts, then you will have humility with your success, and that is good for the spirit. On the other hand, if you meet failure with anger, you harm your soul if you meet failure instead with the idea that you can succeed on another day, and don’t allow anger to take over, then your failure will not harm your spirit.
Jesus said that with faith the size of a mustard seed, a person could command a mountain to move, and it would move. While that is true, it is also true that the contrary thoughts of others prevent us from doing such things. Eventually, some of us will become Spiritual Masters and will be able to perform such deeds, although literally causing a mountain to move seems pointless to me. But it is known in spiritual circles that highly developed spiritual people have been able to turn away tornadoes and block wild fires. As we change and become more spiritual, the world around us is also changing in the same direction. We will reach a point where we will all be able to work what is now considered miracles, because there will be no materialistic people to counter those events. So while you probably can’t move mountains now, you should always try to do your best in whatever you do.
Quasars acting as strong gravitational lenses are among the rarest finds in astronomy. Out of nearly 300,000 quasars catalogued in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, only twelve candidates were identified, and just three confirmed. These systems are exceptionally valuable because they allow astronomers to precisely measure the mass of a quasar’s host galaxy, something that is normally impossible given that the overwhelming brightness of the quasar itself drowns out its surroundings.
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Our solar system was thought to be moving at about 515,000 mph (828,000 kph) through space as it orbits the center of our Milky Way galaxy. But a new study from researchers in Germany suggests the solar system is moving more than 3 times faster than that.
Lead author Lukas Böhme said: “Our analysis shows that the solar system is moving more than 3 times faster than current models predict.
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A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. And, as bizarre as these objects may seem, they are predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity. But black holes also feature in other competing theories of gravity, too.
And now, an intriguing new study says black holes could one day help us test – and likely disprove – these alternative theories.
The study focuses on a part of a black hole known as its shadow. This is a region around twice the size of the event horizon – the point of no return – where the black hole’s gravity pulls light in, making it appear dark to us.
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“The days that are past have gone forever, and those that sleep in the womb of the future may not be seen by you in your present state of being. Therefore, it is well to concern yourself wholly with the present, forgetting the past and not expecting too much from the future.
“The present alone is yours, and the fortunes of futurity will be dispensed according to the Law; therefore, you cannot know what the unborn days will bring forth. As to your own future state, subject to the Law, it is being conceived in your present thoughts and deeds.
“Idleness is the parent of poverty, but success and prosperity, attend upon the industrious and diligent.
“Waste not the early hours of the day. Serve your master with diligence, and promotion will be your reward. The man of affairs rises early to establish himself. Neglect not the affairs of the day, nor fill them with idle dreams of yourself when greater, for thus, you feed yourself on wind while your bread is eaten by another.
-The Kolbrin Bible (MPR:23:1-4)
While it is true that the past is gone, that doesn’t mean we should forget the lessons of the past, both negative and positive. If we forget the past, we would be like babies again, not knowing how to speak or walk. So it is not desirable to forget the past. I think the point the quote is trying to make is that we should not let the failures of the past prevent us from doing better in the present.
While it is largely true that we cannot know the future, we can predict many future events with accuracy. We can predict that the sun will rise in the morning and set in the evening and be nearly certain that it will happen. Likewise, we can predict that those of us who practice spiritual development techniques will advance spiritually, while those who do not will remain trapped in the material. So even though we can’t say how long it will take for each individual to achieve total enlightenment, we can say that those working towards that result will achieve it. As the quote admits, the future is being “conceived” by our thoughts and deeds, so by controlling our thoughts and deeds, we can control our future.
While it is true that we must work for what we want, there are exceptions, such as those individuals who inherit fortunes and never have to work at all. For us spiritual people, it is true that those who are spiritually idle, that is, who do not practice their spiritual growth techniques regularly, will achieve little and thus live in spiritual poverty.
Those of us in Cosolargy know how important it is to be up early, at least early enough to practice our spiritual techniques at sunrise. Some of us find that early morning is a good time to work on other things as well, such as writing these articles, which I am doing at 7:00 am. I find that I am less likely to get interrupted by phone calls, or noise in the early morning hours.
We also should not spend time on idle dreams of success without working to achieve it. As the quote says, that can result in others getting our share of “bread”. We in Cosolargy know that when talking about spiritual matters, “bread” as mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer, refers not to the baked good found in the physical realm, but to the Light that comes from God that nourishes the spirit. So rise early and do your spiritual development techniques so you will get the true Bread promised by God.
Three enormous and peculiar radio light rings were discovered far, far outside our own galaxy, shedding more light on one of the enigmas that have long perplexed astronomers.
The find was reported by the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory — a citizens science community that combines professional astronomers with amateur citizen volunteers who sift through vast radio sky surveys.
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Brown dwarfs are a growing area of focus for astronomers, thanks to improved instruments that have the necessary resolution to visualize them. The term describes substellar objects that are about 13 to 80 Jupiter masses, making them too small to become stars, but massive enough to experience some nuclear fusion in their cores and produce heat. Initially theorized in the 1960s, it was not until the mid-1990s that this class of stellar object was confirmed through direct observation. And thanks to next-generation telescopes and improved data-sharing techniques, there are growing opportunities to study these objects.
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When the Sun reaches the end of its main sequence, approximately 5 billion years from now, it will enter what is known as its Red Giant Branch (RGB) phase, during which it will expand and potentially consume Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth. Not long after, it will undergo gravitational collapse and blow off its outer layers, leaving behind a dense remnant known as a white dwarf.
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“Joy and contentment come from something a man has within himself, not from things without. Solitude is a torment to the uneasy heart but balm to the contented one.
“A man who can be satisfied with little is the possessor of wisdom. He who desires no more than sufficient will always have enough; his cares will be few.
“Riches do not bring peace to the soul. The greatest treasure of all is a contented heart.
“The coming of riches is not a misfortune; the inheritance of estates is not a calamity to the wise man, for he will utilize them with temperance and discretion.
“The cup of gladness may be sipped by man, but to drain it is too much for the constitution of mortals.
“Contentment is the goal of life, but first the race has to be run. None can receive the crown of the victor until the course is finished and he takes his place among the competitors in the Halls of Eternity.
-The Kolbrin Bible (MPR:22:7-12)
Joy and contentment do come mostly from within a man or woman. While it is true that some external things can affect our contentment, such as music, it is still coming from within because different people can feel differently when listening to the same song.
Solitude is difficult for materialistic people, so they will change sides and join movements they really don’t believe in just to be part of a group. While the spiritual person is also happy to be part of groups, they can handle solitude as well. They would rather be on their own than compromise the truth to belong to a group.
The wise person is content with few possessions. One reason for that is they know that possessions tend to increase our attachments to the physical world, and those attachments can be used by the dark beings to trick them into doing things they shouldn’t. That doesn’t mean that spiritual people must live in poverty. They can live in reasonable comfort as God does not want any of us to suffer, but they must avoid becoming too attached to those material comforts. Also, the person who is content with only what is necessary will not be wasting time pursuing more and more material wealth, as we see so many materialists doing.
Where the quote says the greatest treasure is a contented heart, it really means a contented spirit. An awakened and developed spirit is the greatest treasure a person can have. But we must all make an effort to awaken and develop our spiritual faculties that lie dormant when we enter the physical realm.
A spiritual person who inherits wealth will not be harmed by that inheritance. They will use that wealth for their own spiritual development and to aid the spiritual community they belong to. If they don’t belong to a spiritual community, they will donate much of it to worthy charities.
What the quote calls “the crown of the victor” means developing the spirit to the point where it reaches the highest level of consciousness and becomes One with God and the Angels in heaven. It is extremely rare for someone to achieve that level while still in the physical realm. But if we do as much as we can while alive in this world, the process of spiritual development will continue in the afterlife that the quote calls “the Halls of Eternity”.