Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the universe. We can’t see them with the eye alone, but if we could, we might see them popping off every now and then in our night sky. And they’re not nearby. Most originate in distant galaxies. Yet, they release such incredible amounts of light and energy that they can be seen far across vast distances. In September 2022, an international team of researchers said they’ve detected a gamma ray burst that left its source when the universe was in its infancy, at only 880 million years old.

The scientists, led by Andrea Rossi at the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), published their peer-reviewed paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics on September 21, 2022.

Read the entire article posted here.

link submitted by Gene Savoy Jr.

“If the Soul is freed from the bonds of the Devil, then it lives in meekness, and in great humility in the stillness of the Element without the soaring up of any works; it does no miracles, but humbles itself before God. Yet it is possible for the highly worthy champion-like Souls to do wonders; for they have great knowledge, and power, though they all appear (in the humble love) before the Countenance of God, and there is no grudging among them.

“Reason alone seeks for a Paradise, out of which it is gone forth and it says; Where is the place where the Souls go to rest? Whither flies it when it departs the body? Does it go far, or does it stay here?

“Although we may be hard to be understood in our High Knowledge; (because a Soul that desires to see it, must enter into the new Birth, or else it stands behind the Vail and asks continuously, Where is the place?) Therefore we will set it down for the sake of the Lily-Rose, where the Holy Ghost will open many doors in the Wonders, which men now hold impossible.” ~Jacob Boehme

Soul Freed from the Devil

When we come into the world of matter, our soul isn’t actually imprisoned by the Devil, but it is in a dormant state and must be awakened and developed. That might be considered being imprisoned by the Devil since the realm of matter is his realm, but the good news is that we have the ability to be “freed from the bonds” by awakening and developing the spirit and soul.

Lives in Meekness and Humility

This concept is misunderstood by many who wish to be spiritual. They think it means being weak and submissive and simply accepting all things as they are. That is not it at all. If Boehme had followed that formula for being meek, he would never have written his many books on spiritual growth and development. If St. Francis had been meek in that way, he would never have gone to the Pope to get permission to form a new order of monks. Yet both of them were practicing meekness and humility in the sense that it is meant in the quote. That sense is that one gives God credit for all the good they do. As spiritual people, we must all work for the fulfillment of God’s Great Plan to reclaim the fallen realm of matter, but we do that work in the name of God, not to boost our own egos.

No Miracles, but Wonders

Some might disagree with this statement by Boehme that the awakened Soul does no miracles, but does great wonders. He is making the distinction that miracles are done by God, whereas humans can only do wonders. You might ask, “what about the miracles done by Jesus, and other saints?” Boehme is saying that those great Souls are not doing the miracles themselves, but it is God working through them that does the miraculous. This may seem like an unnecessary distinction, but it goes back to the meekness and humility concept. If a person thinks he is doing miracles, it may cause an undesirable increase in ego, but if she gives od all the credit, she remains humble.

Reason Seeks Paradise

This is another statement by Boehme that can be easily misunderstood. The awakened Soul definitely seeks Paradise, but not in the same way as Reason. The awakened Soul knows Paradise (or Heaven) as it is. Many people who have not awakened their spiritual faculties seek to create a paradise in their own mind that meets their idea of what paradise is. We see this on social media a lot these days. People arriving in Heaven are greeted by their dead relatives or pets, and people posting memes like, “If there is no fishing in Heaven, I don’t want to go.” Those paradises exist only in the imaginations of people and have little to do with the reality of this, the highest domain of Spirit and Consciousness.

“The ultimate goal of the teaching of the Pure land is to understand the meaning of “Nembutsu,” whereby its followers will be admitted to the Pure Land. …

Numbutsu literally means ‘to think of Buddha.’ Nen (nien in Chinese and smriti in Sanscrit) is to ‘keep in memory.’ In Shin however it is more than a mere remembering of Buddha, it is thinking His Name, holding it in your mind. …

The interpretation the Shin people give to the ‘Namu-amida-butsu‘ is more than literal, though not at all mystical or esoteric. It is in fact philosophical. When Amida is regarded as the object of adoration, he is separated from the devotee standing. All by himself. But when Namu is added to the name the whole thing takes on a new meaning because it now symbolizes the unification of Amida and the devotee, wherein the duality no longer exists. This however does not indicate that the devotee is lost or absorbed in Amida so that his individuality is no longer tenable as such. The unity is therefore as ‘Namu’ plus ‘Amidabutsu,’ but the Namu has not vanished.” ~D. T. Suzuki

The Ultimate Goal

I cannot totally agree with Suzuki regarding the ultimate goal of spiritual studies and disciplines. One does have to learn to understand the meaning of “to think of Buddha,” or “to think of Christ,” but that is an intermediate goal, acting on that understanding and achieving what it implies is the ultimate goal.

The Pure Land

What is called the Pure Land in the Quote is Heaven to most of us, the Place where oneness with God, buddha, and Christ occurs. We cannot dwell in the Pure Land while living in a physical body, but we can make visits to it through the regular use of spiritual development techniques.

Keep in Memory

To keep Buddha or Christ in our memory is indeed a good thing, though not all that is necessary. In Cosolargy, we are taught to keep an image of the Cosolargy Cross, or Cross of Light, in memory at all times. This may be difficult to do in the beginning, but it can be done with practice.

Unification with God

The Shin people have interpreted the idea of understanding “Nembutsu” correctly. While thinking of Buddha or Christ is good, the ultimate goal is unification with God. This requires us to awaken our inner Buddha or Christ, which we do through the regular practice of spiritual development techniques, as well as practicing spiritual disciplines such as humility, generosity, and love for all (we can love the person or animal without loving the behavior by understanding that it is the work of the Demiurge and his demonic minions that lead people ad animals into bad behavior).

In Cosolargy, we use various Spiritual Sun Gazing techniques to get more energy into the body to aawaken and improve the energy flow in our physical energy centers. We then move on to bring energy into the Spiritual Centers and awaken the spirit to full consciousness. It is the fully conscious spirit that is called the Soul. Only the Soul can truly achieve unification with God. That is how to truly “think of Buddha” or Christ.

The giant Earth blobs baffling scientists

They’re among the largest physical structures on the planet – and they’re a total mystery.

In a strange corner of our solar system live two alien blobs.

With sprawling, amorphous bodies the size of continents, these oddities are thought to spend their time lying in wait for their food to rain down upon them – then simply absorbing it.

But their natural habitat is, if anything, even more unusual than their diet. It could be described as “rocky” – all around, there are exotic minerals in unknown shades and forms. Otherwise it’s fairly barren, except for a glittering sea in the far distance – one so large, it holds as much water as all of Earth’s oceans put together.

Every day the “weather” is the same: a balmy 1827C (3321F), with some areas of high pressure – equivalent to around 1.3 million times the amount at the Earth’s surface. In this crushing environment, atoms become warped and even the most familiar materials start to behave in eccentric ways – rock is flexible like plastic, while oxygen acts like a metal.

But this blistering wonderland is no extra-terrestrial planet – and the blobs aren’t strictly wildlife. It is, in fact, the Earth itself – just very, very deep underground.

Read the entire article online at bbc.com.

link submitted by Gene Savoy Jr.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wonders of the Universe

Measuring the expansion rate of the universe was one of the Hubble Space Telescope’s main goals when it was launched in 1990.

Over the past 30 years, the space observatory has helped scientists discover and refine that accelerating rate — as well as uncover a mysterious wrinkle that only brand-new physics may solve.

Hubble has observed more than 40 galaxies that include pulsating stars as well as exploding stars called supernovae to measure even greater cosmic distances. Both of these phenomena help astronomers to mark astronomical distances like mile markers, which have pointed to the expansion rate.

In the quest to understand how quickly our universe expands, astronomers already made one unexpected discovery in 1998: “dark energy.” This phenomenon acts as a mysterious repulsive force that accelerates the expansion rate.

And there is another twist: an unexplained difference between the expansion rate of the local universe versus that of the distant universe right after the big bang.
Scientists don’t understand the discrepancy, but acknowledge that it’s weird and could require new physics.

Read the entire article posted May 29, 2022 online at cnn.com.

link submitted by Gene Savoy Jr.

Inside every significant philosopher, astronomer or scientist is a geometer trying to get out. First principles of geometry taught atomic material is formed out of nested platonic solid spinning and that the spiral is a core structure. Witness the whirlpool—part of worldwide folklore and symbol for origins of life and energy.

For example, we observe octaves, as well as harmonies of sound abiding scalar laws. Wave nested within wave behavior is called a Dougherty set. In a universe of electromagnetic induction, could the Dougherty set be a master key to the EU Model?

Cartographer, Interdisciplinary Geometer, and EU advocate Buddy James presents a primer on how geometry is embedded within the EU Model of Cosmology.

Watch the video at youtube.com. (14:43)

link submitted by Robert Petrovich

Our Sun sits in the middle of an enormous void called the local bubble containing million degree, ionized hydrogen gas, surrounded by a wall of colder denser neutral gas. Mainstream astronomers keep describing it as neutral gas deficient rather than simply stating that it is highly ionized.

Galaxies are composed of a network of filaments that carry slow moving ions which form magnetic fields holding the structure together. Hannes Alfvén pointed out these structures are capable of transferring energy over vast distances and dissipating the energy across a double layer with a voltage drop.

Gareth Samuel, EU advocate and creator of “See the Pattern”, identifies and explains the Milky Way’s plasma bubble network in our local galactic neighborhood.

Watch the video at youtube.com. (10:13)

link submitted by Robert Petrovich

“He who has just begun to follow a holy way of life, and has received instruction about how to act righteously, devotes himself wholly to the practice of the virtues in all obedience and faith, nourishing himself, as if on meat, on their manifest aspects. The inner principles of the commandments, which constitute the knowledge of the perfect, in his faith he leaves to God, for he cannot yet embrace their full magnitude.

“The perfect person, who has passed beyond the category not only of beginners but also of those who are advanced, is not ignorant of the inner principles of the actions he performs. … On the contrary, he first spiritually imbibes those principles and then by means of his actions feeds upon the whole body of the virtues. In this way, he transposes to the plane of spiritual knowledge actions which take place in the sensible realm.

“The Lord said, ‘First seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33). That is, seek the knowledge of Truth before all things, and therefore seek training in appropriate methods of attaining it.” ~The Philokalia

The Beginner

One thing that some beginning spiritual students find difficult to accept, especially in this age of instant everything, is that spiritual truth and spiritual development techniques must be revealed to the student gradually. This is for the benefit of all, but especially for the benefit of the student. If you try to give a new student advanced teachings, they may be misunderstood and misused. The student may become disappointed and quit studying. So the teacher or master teaches only as much as the student is ready to understand, and can use safely.

Practice of Virtues

The practice of spiritual development methods is required for spiritual growth, but that involves more than just practicing the virtues. Most spiritual masters know this but are reluctant to say it in a publication available to the general public. Some spiritual knowledge must be protected from those who would misuse it and harm others or themselves. And some would try to use such knowledge for material purposes which can also cause serious problems. Hitler and the Roman Emperor Nero are examples of people who gained such knowledge and used it improperly. Eventually, they lost those powers, as always happens to those who misuse them.

Leaves it to God

While I can partially agree with the author that there are things we should leave to god and have faith that they will happen, I think that in most cases, if not all, God wants us to do what we can along with Him. We are, after all, meant to be co-creators with God.

Not Ignorant of Inner Principles

The Spiritual Master is indeed not ignorant of the inner principles and of the effects of their deeds and thoughts. The Master knows that his deeds affect not just himself and those in the immediate vicinity, but also the rest of the world. For example, what foods you buy helps determine what farmers will grow. But probably even more important is our thoughts. Thoughts are energy and energy does work. When you are filled with thoughts of hatred, jealousy, or fear, what work do you think those thoughts are doing? They affect the behavior of other people, animals, and even the weather. Most significantly, thoughts reach the sun and are reflected back to us amplified. If we are mainly sending negative thoughts, that is what will reflect back to us. So the Spiritual Master makes the effort to avoid negative thinking. It isn’t that difficult for such men and women since they understand what causes people to have angry and negative thoughts and animals to behave aggressively. They know that if all negative thoughts stopped, all animals would soon be friendly and there would be no poisonous plants.

Seek God, Seek Truth

The fact is, if you want to find Truth, you must seek to awaken and develop your connection with God and Heaven. And if you want to know God, you must seek universal Truth by going to the source, which is God. You won’t find God by clinging to beliefs that have been passed on for generations but nonetheless are either totally false or only partially true. And the lantern we hold to seek Truth is the Light of the Spiritual Sun that awakens our spirit and Soul.

A massive sunspot may be set to erupt, unleashing the most intense form of solar flares that may last for days.

Sunspot AR3089, which is facing Earth, has now acquired a delta-class magnetic field, indicating that it has accumulated enough energy to produce X-class solar flares.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the sunspot has a 5% chance of producing an X-class outburst. If that happens, the flare might cause a severe geomagnetic storm in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing damage to infrastructure and electromagnetic communication systems.

Read the entire article here.

link submitted by Harold Boulette

“Sweetly, it is true, the illuminated mystic may live; but not, as some think, placidly. Enlightenment is a symptom of growth; and growth is a living process, which knows no rest. The spirit, indeed, is invaded by a heavenly peace; but it is the peace, not of idleness, but of ordered activity. ‘A rest most busy,’ in Hilton’s words: a progressive appropriation of the Divine. The urgent push of an indwelling spirit, aspiring to its home in the heart of Reality, is felt more and more, as the invasion of the normal consciousness by the transcendental personality—the growth of the New Person—proceeds towards its term.

“Therefore, the great seekers for reality are not as a rule long delayed by the exalted joy of illumination. Intensely aware now of the Absolute Whom they adore, they are aware too that though known He is unachieved. Even while they enjoy the rapture of the Divine Presence—of life in a divine, ideal world—something, they feel makes default. Sol voglio Te, O dolce Amore. Hence for them that which they now enjoy, and which passes the understanding of other men, is not a static condition; often it coexists with the travail of the heart that Tauler has called ‘stormy love.’ The greater the mystic, the sooner they realize that the Heavenly Manna which has been administered to them, is not yet that with which the Angels are fully fed. Nothing less will do.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Enlightenment Requires Constant Growth

Spiritual Awakening and Enlightenment is not an instant affair. It takes time to achieve some level of consciousness that could be truly considered enlightenment. Yet even then, the job is not done. Nothing will suffice for the awakened Soul except complete unity with God and the All. That takes continuous effort to grow.

Heavenly Peace

As Ms. Underhill notes, the Heavenly peace achieved by the mystic or spiritual adept is not a peace of idleness but continuous activity. The mountain climber is happy upon reaching the top of the mountain, but next week will climb another, probably higher, or otherwise more difficult. To achieve real Spiritual Enlightenment, we must be like that mountain climber. We may be happy with what we have achieved, but we want to continue the process until we reach the ultimate: union with God.

Intensely Aware of the Absolute

Those who are truly awakened spiritually are intensely aware of the absolute. They don’t theorize about what it is. They don’t accept what is written in books as the final word on God, no matter how holy the book is. They know through a direct connection with the absolute, and therefore this awareness is Knowledge, not simply theory or belief.

Sol voglio Te, O dolce Amore

I cannot find a complete translation for this Latin phrase, but the latter half means “O sweet love”. So what Underhill is saying here, is that when one becomes in full contact with the All, with God, they feel an intense Love for God and an intense love coming from God. Love for all is the most important thing we all must learn. This doesn’t mean we have to accept all the horrors of the material world, as some would have you believe. It means we can love the spirit and soul created by God, while not liking the actions of the body and mind. But as Ms. Underhill reminds us, the spirit and soul are active also. We must engage in spiritual development techniques regularly, preferably, daily. We must act on the spiritual level to fix our fallen world, and that means loving it. O dolce amore.