When you hear “the Pope,” you probably picture a saintly figure waving from a balcony in Rome, preaching peace and love to the masses. But what if I told you that behind the holy facade, the Vatican hides a dark, twisted history? Forget everything you thought you knew about the Roman Catholic Church. Deep in the annals of history lies a chilling tradition: some of the most powerful men to ever sit on the Throne of St. Peter weren’t holy men at all - they were practicing sorcerers who allegedly summoned demonic forces to seize ultimate power. Get ready to uncover the shocking truth about the seven deadliest sinners to ever wear the papal crown.

Papal Politics

Before one looks at the lives of the seven biggest sinners ever to wear the papal crown, one first needs to set the scene for what one sees in the present Papacy is only a relatively recent iteration. For example, for the best part of 1,000 years – and only ending in 1870 with the Reunification of Italy – the Papacy was also a significant temporal power ruling a large part of the Italian Peninsular. And, before that, the popes spent several hundred years embroiled in doctrinal disputes within the Christian Church, deciding which were orthodox teachings and which were unorthodox heresies.

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Throughout the history of religion, many of its most notable figures were either prophets who preached to large groups of people and kings who constructed beautiful temples and reformers who took on empires. However, among these, one of the greatest spiritual thinkers of 16th-century Europe would be an Italian philosopher, a mystic and a cosmologist named Giordano Bruno. Although he existed at a time in history where the world was still bound by Church doctrine and the Earth-centric cosmology of Aristotle, Bruno’s understanding of our universe was so radically different than anything that had come before him, that he was unable to accept the Church’s explanations for the universe. He did not just seek to explain the physical world around him (the stars, for example), but rather to uncover mankind’s place in the universe (what role do we play?) and provide a means to find that answer (how do we know?).

As a result of this quest, Bruno produced some of the most innovative ideas in human history, in connecting the ancient mystical view of the universe and the emerging scientific worldview. This week we will travel back in time to 16th Century Europe, where we will meet Bruno and learn about his philosophy of the universe, which was based on his observations of the stars, and the search for man’s place in it. Through this process of careful observation and thought of the cosmos, Bruno came to know God, and from this knowledge came the possibility of intellectual and spiritual freedom.

The Problem Bruno Didn’t Want to Ignore

Most of the spiritual leaders of Bruno’s time viewed God as being far away, like a king who ruled over a closed universe and Heaven as a physical location outside of the stars. Bruno began with a vastly larger subject than what most people during his time were willing to address. One that most of Bruno’s contemporaries spent most of their lives avoiding: that of the incomprehensible beauty and terror of the concept of infinity.

It gives us comfort to believe that the Earth is at the centre of the universe, that we, as humans, are the primary reason for the creation of the universe, and that the universe has a definite boundary. We crave security, safety, and a feeling of being special. We want to limit the universe’s size so that we can comprehend and control it. People educated in Bruno’s time still believed that the stars were lights that were glued to a crystal sphere and turned around our privileged planet.

It is therefore not surprising that in his cosmology, Bruno begins by asserting that the universe is infinite, and that the Earth is only one of countless planets in the universe.

At first glance, his philosophy may seem quite unsettling. Bruno did not intend to make humanity feel insignificant; he simply stated the facts.

Bruno is not saying that life cannot be meaningful. He is saying that the meaning of life cannot be found in the illusion of being at the centre of a small, closed container. The limits we set for ourselves, whether they are cosmological, religious, or personal, are only an illusion. The universe will not conform to our desire for an orderly and logical structure. The Earth is constantly moving, the sun is merely another star, and the cosmos is without an ending and without any centre.

Life is not objective. It is the product of our subjective view of a constantly changing, infinite universe. Yet our need for stability and a position of authority continues to deprive us of enlightenment and cause us to suffer. Bruno did not create the theory of the infinite universe; he simply accepted that there is such a thing as infinity and he just dealt with it ...

Bruno’s Three Liberating Ideas: A Radical Diagnosis

Bruno’s cosmological philosophy, sometimes referred to as Bruno’s great discovery, is a means of identifying our ignorance, as well as explaining how we can free our minds from ignorance.

The first concept is The Infinite Universe.

The traditional view of the universe before Bruno held that the universe was bounded by an edge, the sphere of fixed stars. Bruno contended that God created the universe, and therefore the universe must also be infinite, with neither a centre nor an outer ring. God, being infinite in nature, means the universe He created will also be without limits. As Bruno explained, there are no “up” or “down” directions in space. Neither is Earth in the centre of the universe, nor is the sun. Every point in space, therefore, is the centre of the universe.

The second concept is Cosmic Pluralism.

Looking at the stars through the lens of infinity, Bruno discovered that the stars are, in fact, other suns, just like our sun. Since our sun has planets orbiting it, Bruno concluded that these stars must also have planets orbiting them. Additionally, Bruno proposed the hypothesis that many of these other worlds may also contain forms of life. Thus, we are not alone in this vast universe, nor is our planet the only one that can support living beings.

The third concept is The Divine in All Things (Pantheism).

Bruno’s greatest insight regards God’s immanence in our universe. He does not teach us of a God that is separate from us or aloof and judgemental. Rather, he offers a view of an animated, dynamic Universe. The Universe is immortal; therefore, God cannot be outside of it. God is the Universe, the vital force that gives life to all existence. The Divine is part of the Universe and all of its contents. The Divine has been animated into the very fabric of creation (including you).

Why Bruno’s Teaching Still Feels So Modern

In the past, how people viewed the stars was greatly affected by modern civilization. People are now confronted with feelings of insignificance, existential dread and cultural conflict at far greater levels than any other civilization in recorded history. Crowning the evolution of modern civilization, society teaches individuals that only through strict adherence to rigid dogmas, tribal identities or control can one have “certainty” within themselves.

Yet it is apparent that individuals’ minds are constantly searching for something complete and thus never at peace in an ever-changing universe.

The way people continue to relate to the teachings of Bruno is an example of how universality and interconnectedness of existence affect how people experience suffering from life’s struggles. This is especially true when we observe how people respond when confronted with a different worldview; they defend their own beliefs aggressively in an attempt to establish their worldview as the absolute “centre” of truth.

This response is typically triggered by the vastness and complexity of the present-day world, where people become overwhelmed with feelings of insignificance and revert to narrow-minded, tribal thinking.

People establish a rigid identity for themselves as being “special” or “chosen” only to discover that the reality of diversity and complexity of the world challenges this illusion.

Bruno recognised this pattern. Individuals do not just live through life; they cling to, distance themselves from and require that the universe conforms to their small human-centric expectations.

Thus, Bruno’s teachings have not only cosmological implications but also psychological, practical and contemporary relevance.

Three Practices for an Infinite Mind

Bruno’s philosophy is powerful not because of the things that a practitioner believes but because of the things that they practice. If Bruno were alive today he would encourage everyone to not only view his infinite universe, but also act on his observations. Here are three suggestions that you may find useful in starting to put these concepts into practice:

1. The “No Centre” Reflection

Everyday, you should try and notice when it is assumed that you are the one that has the only correct perspective. This can happen during a disagreement with someone else, when you are judging another culture, as well as believing what should happen in your life.

Whenever you want to say out loud that you are in the middle of everything, stop yourself before responding and consider a very easy question to answer: “If the universe doesn’t have a centre, how can I say my perspective is the middle of everything, when I have an infinite number of possible valid perspectives?”

By taking time to think like this, you emulate Bruno’s cosmological transformation; you “de-centre” your ego and permit the existence of many true perspectives. The purpose of this practice is not to discredit or devalue your experiences; it is to increase your knowledge base. When the illusion of centrality is visible, it loses a degree of its power over you.

2. The Plurality of Worlds Practice

Everyday spend some time thinking about the large range of experiences of people in the world. The reality of Bruno’s “worlds” is not only limited to the physical planets, but also includes the inner realities (worlds) of the different types of people with whom you interact.

Regardless of which person you meet on any given day, take a moment and consider the following question, “Am I willing to recognize that this person has their own unique and equally complex ‘world’ (inner reality), just as mine is?”

Acknowledging the reality that there are so many unique “worlds” around us is one of Bruno’s most insightful teachings: humanity experiences conflict with itself, and with others, when we refuse to acknowledge the existence of many “worlds.” When we take the time to acknowledge and contemplate the countless “worlds” around us, we will begin to diminish the illusion that our “world” is the only “world” that exists, and therefore we will be able to respond to others with greater equanimity, less reactivity, and more compassion.

3. Seeing the Divine in the Ordinary

Bruno’s search is an exploration and insight not only about the way in which we view our life from an intellectual perspective, but also our view of the physical world.

This week, when you perform your daily tasks, select a single moment when you are experiencing boredom or disconnection from your surroundings. Attempt to observe the tree, stone, or even the most mundane object before you, with the understanding that the object is in truth the same infinite energy from where the stars receive their power.

Let go of the habit of thinking that you must only find what is “sacred” to you in designated “sacred” spaces. This is a Bruno’s perspective because we are all a part of an infinite living universe and so the divinity of our world is overflowing into every aspect of our immediate world, all around us and in the present.

So, every time you make the conscious effort to break away from your mundane thought processes and begin to express your awe and respect for the “ordinary” this is how we come into contact with the infinite, and this is a key element of Bruno’s pantheism. To acknowledge reverence is not simply a “feeling” but it is a disciplined, conscious act of seeing the “sacred” in everything.

The Freedom Bruno Achieved

While Bruno does indeed have many promises to offer, like a universe of infinite wonder, he does not make this promise to be safe (as his own life proved).

What he does offer, however, is an opportunity for the mind to experience total liberation. You will continue to be challenged due to your increased understanding, however you will no longer have to go through life under the oppression of closed-mindedness.

You may even have times in your life when you feel insignificant; in the same sense, it does not mean you must create an identity out of that fear. You will continue to be a part of a culture that demands conformity to its norms, therefore, you do not need to succumb to the intellectual slavery represented by that culture.

You will also exist within a constantly changing universe; therefore, there is no need for you to wait for everyone else to accept your opinion before you allow yourself to think independently.

It has been more than four centuries since Bruno was executed in Campo de’ Fiori, and yet there are elements in his philosophy that are still relevant today. Humans continue to experience closed-mindedness; however, the structure of the universe and all things within it will always be an endless and expanding thing.

The man who died for being too wise did not die due to being obstinate; he recognized that the security provided by a closed universe had no power over the innate nature of humankind to pursue infinite truth.

The true challenge of Bruno’s thought and philosophy lies therein, and therein also lies the promise.

The philosophy of Giordano Bruno begins with the incredibly vast concept of infinity yet it does not stop there. The ultimate goal is for an individual to possess the ability to live a life filled with the intellectual courage required to use the universe’s endless capability to be remarkably connected to it. In an age where most of society seeks to build walls to segment themselves and their surroundings, Bruno has provided an opportunity that is worth far more than walls:

The freedom to not rely on any structure in order to find a connection to your place in the cosmos.

Therefore, if you can achieve a sense of freedom from the need for a structure, then you will create an endless kingdom of your own.

By Dr Ioannis Syrigos

Recommended Reading

Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition by Frances A. Yates

Cause, Principle and Unity: And Essays on Magic by Giordano Bruno

Have you ever wondered if the ancient myths we dismiss as mere fairy tales actually hide profound scientific truths? For centuries, the story of Cuzco’s founding by the Inca Empire was considered just another fascinating legend. According to the myth, the sun god Inti handed his son a “golden stick” to locate the perfect spot for their new capital. But what if this wasn’t just a magical wand? What if it was an ancient detection tool responding to powerful terrestrial magnetic fields? Recent geological discoveries suggest that the “myth” of the golden stick might actually be a record of advanced scientific knowledge, revealing a civilization far more sophisticated than we ever imagined. Dive into the mystery of Cuzco’s divine foundation and uncover the startling scientific connections that could rewrite history.

Tahuantinsuyo, in ancient Quechua language, is the name indicating the Inca Empire, one of the largest of the South American continent, much more than the Aztec and Maya Empire. In 1532 BC, the Inca Kings ruled over a geographical region including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. It was an extensive territory inhabited by different communities. Among them, the national group Q’eros had a very special role, because of the characteristics of their mythological traditions. One of the most fascinating tales refers to the myth of Cuzco’s founding, the majestic capital of the great Inca Empire, with its mysterious buildings.

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After the revelations surrounding the Watchers, the Nephilim, and the true reason for the Flood, a darker question emerges: if the rebellion of the ancient world was judged, what became of its dead?

In the previous articles on the Watchers, the Nephilim, and the world that perished beneath the Flood, the central pattern was clear: the biblical story becomes far stranger once the rebellion of Genesis 6 is taken seriously. The ancient world was not just violent. It was corrupted. It was penetrated by a revolt that crossed boundaries, altered the order of creation, and produced the Nephilim. But once that framework is accepted, another question rises immediately from the ruins of the old world. If the Nephilim died, what happened to them afterward?

For many readers, the answer seems obvious. Demons are simply fallen angels. That is the common assumption, repeated so often that it feels settled. Yet one of the most unsettling traditions in ancient Jewish thought says something very different. According to that older view, fallen angels and demons are not the same thing. The Watchers were the heavenly rebels. The demons were the restless spirits left behind when their giant offspring were destroyed.

That distinction means the supernatural evil described in later tradition was not only the result of angelic rebellion above, but also the lingering aftermath of a hybrid corruption below. In that telling, demons are the wandering remains of a forbidden world that was judged, drowned, and yet not fully erased.

The difference can be stated simply. In the common assumption, demons and fallen angels are treated as the same beings, and evil is explained almost entirely as a rebellion descending from heaven. In the forbidden tradition, however, the fallen angels are the Watchers themselves, while demons are something else entirely: the disembodied spirits of the dead Nephilim. That shift is important because it turns evil from a purely heavenly revolt into the lingering residue of a corrupted pre-Flood world.

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For millennia, the lost city of Atlantis has captivated the human imagination, inspiring countless expeditions, theories, and debates. Was it a mere philosophical allegory crafted by Plato, or a genuine historical superpower swallowed by the sea? While previous searches have scoured the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean, and even the Americas, a groundbreaking new hypothesis suggests we’ve been looking in the wrong place all along. Prepare to have your understanding of ancient history challenged: compelling geographical, geological, and climatic evidence now points to a completely unexpected location—the volcanic Afar Depression in Ethiopia. Could the cradle of humanity also be the resting place of its most legendary lost civilization?

Plato’s dialogues Timaeus and Critias, composed around 360 BCE, present Atlantis not merely as myth but as a purported historical account transmitted from Athenian statesman Solon (c. 638-558 BCE), who learned it from the priests of Neith in Sais, Egypt. These priests described Atlantis as a formidable naval power situated beyond the Pillars of Heracles, which had dominated parts of Europe and Africa before perishing in a single day and night of extraordinary earthquakes and floods circa 9,600 BCE. The extraordinary level of geographical, architectural, and cultural detail has convinced many scholars that the narrative contains a kernel of historical truth preserved through Egyptian scribal traditions.

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The most famous figures in religious history are often prophets who spoke to multitudes, kings who built great temples, or reformers who challenged empires. However, there was a great mind in spirituality in the sixteenth century that died at thirty-eight years old, did not write much, and spent the majority of his life teaching a small number of scholars in the remote Galilee Mountains of Modern Day Israel. He was Rabbi Isaac Luria also known to history as the Ari, (the Lion). Luria was a mystic, visionary, and spiritual revolutionary living in Safed (Modern Israel) in the 1570’s. During his lifetime, the Jewish people were reeling from the trauma of being expelled from Spain and were attempting to comprehend how a just God could allow for such an immense amount of suffering and dislocation. The standard explanations offered by the religious authorities were inadequate, and Luria developed a completely different view of the cosmos and the Creator.

Luria sought a way to explain the suffering of his people, but he also sought a way to help his people heal from their trauma. The results of Luria’s inquiry have become among the most important teachings in the history of mysticism, and he is considered the father of the Lurianic Kabbalah.

This week we will take a journey back to the mountains of the sixteenth century in Galilee to meet the mystic who reformulated the creation of the Universe in his search for answers to the most fundamental questions regarding human suffering. Luria ultimately discovered these truths through careful observation and contemplation of the divine structure and has provided us with a pathway to the attainment of spiritual restoration..

The Problem Luria Refused to Ignore

While many spiritual leaders focus on God, transcendent reality, or the ideal realm, Luria was the first to deal with a subject so fundamental most humans avoid addressing it: the basic brokenness of our world.

The pain of losing a loved one, the pain of the body changing from life to death, the pain of wanting something we cannot obtain, and ultimately, the pain we feel from a broken world that is evident in our everyday lives. Everything we enjoy is temporary; nothing we have will give us lasting joy; everything we enjoy will eventually disappear, change, or we will become bored with that.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Luria’s first statement in his Kabbalistic writings is that the universe is “in a condition of exile and fragmentation.”

The beginning of the writings sounds hopeless and despairing. However, it is important to remember that Luria was not being cynical, he was being honest.

He did not deny the presence of beauty or love or even happiness in our lives; rather he was pointing out that everything in our lives is merely a collection of broken pieces from a larger whole. Our youth will fade; our health will one day turn to sickness; our relationships will end; our possessions will one day become worthless or useless. The same people who praise you today will disparage you tomorrow; fame will eventually pass away; success will fade.

Life is subjective. We are living in a world that continually changes; therefore, we expect that our lives should not change and this is what causes our suffering.

Luria did not create suffering; he simply acknowledged that suffering exists and dealt with it.

The Three Mysteries: Kabbalah’s Radical Diagnosis

Luria’s major discovery is referred to as the three central concepts of his Kabbalah. These concepts are a diagnosis of the state of humanity, and a route out of our spiritual shackles.

The first concept is Tzimtzum (Contraction).

There was only God’s infinite light (called Ein Sof). In order to allow for the existence of something besides himself, God would need to withdraw himself, thus creating an absence (a void) within His infinite being. During the act of creation, God contracted His being into a space where the universe could come into being.

The second concept is Shevirat Ha-Kelim (The Shattering of the Vessels).

The second major principle conveyed in Luria’s teachings is called Shevirat Ha-Kelim (”The Shattering of the Vessels”). When God created the void mentioned above, He sent a ray of His divine light into the void to create the physical universe. The ray of divine light was designed to be encapsulated in 10 spiritual vessels, called the Sephirot, but the heat or energy contained in the divine light was too great for the vessels to contain, and thus they fractured or shattered, and as a direct result of their breaking, their pieces (called “shards”) fell down to the lower worlds and created all of the “brokenness” we witness today in the world.

The third concept is Tikkun Olam (The Repair of the World).

Luria’s teachings on Kabbalah makes it clear that Kabbalah does not teach about despair, but rather liberation. Since the world is broken, due to the Shevirat Ha-Kelim, it is possible for it to be repaired through actions taken by humans. Since the sparks of divinity were trapped in the material world, it is our responsibility to free them through living ethically, praying and actively participating in the world. Through these three practices, we will gather the scattered shards of divinity and restore creation to its original harmonious state. To illustrate the three major concepts in Luria’s Kabbalah regarding how God created the world, the following visual representation of Luria’s creation map shows God’s act of creation and Tikkun Olam.

Why Luria’s Teaching Still Feels So Modern

The modern way of life has caused an enormous amount of change and transformation on nearly every aspect of the human experience except for one, which is how human beings experience suffering. As technology continues to advance, entertainment becomes more available, conveniences, and stimulation continue to increase, we have become so inundated with feelings of anxiety, discontent, jealousy, loneliness, burnout, and emotional turmoil than any previous culture documented.

Through continuous confirmation by society that an individual will achieve success by making the next purchase, attaining the next accomplishment, building the next relationship, or simply creating the next version of themselves.

However, it has been proven true that the individual’s mind will always desire to cling to something and will therefore be denied peace.

Because of the above phenomenon, even today, the teachings of Luria resonate with us, as his teachings are insightful and illustrate that although suffering is derived from the adversities and struggles experienced through life, a large portion of it is also caused by the fundamental brokenness of the world in which we inhabit.

This can be illustrated through everyday life. For example, if an individual has achieved a promotion that he/she has desired for a long time, it is not uncommon for that individual to begin to be consumed with fear of losing that position and status.

If an individual finally enters a romantic relationship that he/she has longed for, the individual may quickly become fearful of change, rejection, and abandonment.

If an individual is able to purchase an item that the person believes will bring the individual happiness, once that item is purchased, the individual will quickly realise that the happiness that was expected from the purchase is temporary and that the individual will now have a new desire that will replace the temporary happiness.

Luria identified this pattern. Human beings do not merely go through the experiences of life; they cling to, push away, and demand that the events in their lives satisfy those needs that they were never created to satisfy.

Therefore, Luria’s teachings provide more than just religion or spirituality; they also provide a foundation for everyday psychological needs, they are practical, and they are very much in line with contemporary views.

Three Kabbalistic Practices for Repairing the World

While a Kabbalist’s beliefs are important, Kabbalah represents a way of Acting. In today’s world, If Luria were alive, he would want us not only to see his cosmic map as an impressive diagram that he made, but to actually follow and apply it.

So, here are three ways to Apply these Insights:

1. The Practice of Tzimtzum (Making Space)

Consider how much space you take up during the course of a day. Observe the ways you use your space, how much you dominate in conversations, how many demands you place on other people, and how much you try to control a given situation.

When you are tempted to take charge of a situation, stop for a second and ask yourself this question: “Am I allowing others the opportunity to exist and thrive here, or am I taking everything for myself?”

You are acting like God during creation when you allow people to have their own space and to express themselves freely. You will help create an environment where people can grow, speak and be themselves, without constant intervention from you.

The goal of the Tzimtzum Practice is to increase your awareness, not to minimize your influence. By actively making space for others, you help empower them to be who they are, without your constant intervention and domination.

2. Finding the Sparks in the Shattered Vessels

At the end of the day, take a few minutes to think about a particular challenge or difficult person you encountered that day, a frustrating task, a conflict, or a moment of disappointment, all share the same purpose.

Think about this challenge or difficult person and ask yourself this simple question: “Where is the hidden Spark or Truth in this challenge?”

This question is based upon one of Luria’s greatest insights: we do not see the whole of ourselves (the broken shards) when we are suffering. The more often you seek out the hidden values, lessons, and opportunities that lie within our difficulties, the less you will view them as obstacles, and the more calmly, less reactively, and with greater awareness of reality, you will respond to the situation.

3. The Act of Tikkun (Intentional Repair)

The Path of Luria is not only an insight into how to treat yourself and others; it also shows you how to treat yourself in relation to the world around you.

During the course of your daily routines over the next week, select one moment when you would typically respond with mindlessness or arrogance. In this moment, try to stop and offer that action in the healing or order of the brokenness. If possible, try to speak softer than you feel, and listen longer than you want; release the urge to win.

The Kabbalistic response is to take the brokenness that all of us have and show compassion and patience towards one another. Therefore, each time you respond to others with understanding and compassion; you collect a Divine Spark of Creation, and Tikkun Olam will continue to grow and unite people in repairing the world once again through the Intentional act of Repair. Repair is more than just an “emotion,” it is the product of Discerned Consciousness, through a disciplined approach to our Inner Work; we now have the ability to create a harmonious quality of life, in our own homes, Families and Communities.

The Freedom Luria Achieved

Luria has many promises to share, including those related to the restoration of the universe; however, he does not promise wisdom (as this would not be true), but rather a reality beyond fantasy: that your actions have meaning throughout the universe.

Even though you will have feelings of grief for the loss of something you’ve lost, these feelings of loss won’t destroy you because you understand that the world and its ultimate “brokenness” exist due to the actions of individuals.

You still have feelings of suffering and/or pain; however, you don’t have to create your identity based on your suffering; in addition, you still have the same basic desires; thus, you have the opportunity to resist every individual desire.

You still live in an ever-changing universe; therefore, you don’t have to wait until your universe has changed before you experience a state of peace of mind.

It is over 400 years since Luria taught; however, Luria’s teachings remain true for people today. Human beings face struggles in their lives; and there are still fundamental similarities between Luria’s teachings and the experience of living today.

The Mystic who pioneered the concept of mapping the soul did not discover the world lacked value; he discovered that the brokenness of the world can only be restored by the conscious actions of an individual. Thus, for Kabbalah and its practitioners, the greatest challenge lies in the same promise offered by the original teachings of Isaac Luria.

The teachings of Isaac Luria begin with a broken world, but they do not stop there; the lasting lesson of Luria’s teachings acknowledges the ever-present possibility of living a life with clarity, restraint, compassion, and peace.

In a world filled with individuals seeking to acquire “more” of whatever material goods, wisdom, and/or power, Luria provided something of greater worth and greater scarcity than “more”; the ability to be whole without needing anything to be “whole” because you are actively healing that which is broken. Thus, in finding this ability to heal the brokenness of our world, you have found your own personal kingdom.

By Dr Ioannis Syrigos

Recommended Reading

Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and his Kabbalistic Fellowship by Lawrence Fine

Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism by Gershom Scholem

There are ancient ruins that impress through sheer scale. Puma Punku does something more unsettling. Scattered across the Bolivian Altiplano are stone blocks so sharply cut, so geometrically controlled, and so mechanically suggestive that they can feel less like the remains of a ruined monument than the dismantled components of a system whose purpose has never been fully explained.

That is why Puma Punku continues to fascinate readers. The site is not just old, mysterious, or remote. Its real power lies in the unnerving precision of its stonework: interlocking forms, clamp sockets, flat planes, and repeated geometries that seem to invite structural analysis rather than romantic speculation.

This article approaches that mystery through a viral but disciplined question: what if Puma Punku’s most controversial features are worth examining not as decorative oddities, but as engineering clues? Read that way, the site becomes more than an archaeological curiosity. It becomes a testable architectural puzzle and perhaps one of the ancient world’s strangest.

The Puzzle in the Stone

The blocks at Puma Punku are not carved in the way most ancient stonework is carved. They are machined. Flat faces meet at perfect angles. Channels run with uniform depth and width. Interlocking geometries repeat with a precision that suggests templates, not improvisation.

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King John is usually remembered as the villain of Magna Carta, a ruler associated with failure, rebellion, and the collapse of royal authority. Yet behind that familiar image lies a stranger and far more intriguing story: John appears to have placed extraordinary value on jewels and gemstones, not simply as marks of wealth, but as objects bound up with protection, healing, kingship, and power.

That is what makes his treasure hoards so revealing. In the medieval world, precious stones were never merely decorative. They could carry political meaning, spiritual resonance, and, in some circles, very real protective or medicinal significance. Seen in that light, John’s fascination with gemstones was not just a royal indulgence. It was part of how he understood authority, security, and even survival.

Rethinking King John

1066 and All That, written by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatsman brilliantly satirises the then still highly influential Victorian and Edwardian approach to the writing of history and the skewering of the popular conflation of history and memory. 1066 playfully exaggerates the conceits and conventions of the histories its authors read as schoolboys while somehow still capturing the soul of these works.

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Archaeologists in Upper Egypt have uncovered Old Kingdom tombs containing around 160 inscribed vessels, along with mirrors, kohl containers, bead necklaces, and amulets, an object mix that hints at something larger than burial alone. Found at Qubbet el-Hawa near Aswan, the tombs were also reused in later periods, suggesting that the site retained ritual power long after the first dead were laid inside.

What makes the discovery especially compelling is the possibility that these tombs preserve evidence of a forgotten ritual world. The vessels are thought to have held liquids and grains, implying that the dead were provisioned rather than abandoned, while the adornment and protective objects suggest continued concern with identity, wholeness, and care in the afterlife. Taken together, the finds point toward a funerary system in which memory, protection, and ritual maintenance mattered as much as interment itself.

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The modern world is overwhelming, and, unfortunately, that stress is being passed on to everyone. We all have moments where we feel like we are unable to do anything right, and when our goals seem unreachable, we give up. However, what many people do not realize is that when they are feeling this way, they are actually exerting themselves far more than they should. The reason is that many of us are trying so hard to achieve every outcome. We have developed an obsessive tendency to control the outcomes of our lives by forcing them into some sort of predetermined path. In fact, as most people find out very quickly at work, the more you push, the more resistance you will meet, and in the end, you will find yourself fighting against things that you should not have had to fight against in the first place.

The ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi could very well have been one of the first people in history to offer a new perspective to those who are struggling. Laozi was living at a time when the world was politically and intellectually unstable; however, he offered a very different perspective than anyone else of his time. Instead of continuing to fight against reality, and instead of believing that the only way to be productive is to force everything into a particular direction, he suggested that we should instead discover the art of alignment.

The way that he explained alignment was through the term “wu wei.” It is a term that has often been inaccurately translated as “non-action,” because the interpretation of that term has the potential to be extremely misleading. Laozi was not encouraging people to be lazy, apathetic, or disengaged from their own lives; he was attempting to encourage all people to open their eyes and see a completely different way to be successful; he was encouraging a different way of approaching and relating to the world. The art of alignment is about “going with the flow” of the universe; to be in complete harmony with the natural laws of the universe, to have focus, to be relaxed, to be effortless, to be powerful without being aggressive; it is about doing what is necessary to achieve a goal, in an intelligent manner.

This week’s Ancient Wisdom is about one of the most needed lessons of our age: not everything improves when you push harder.

Who Was Laozi?

In world history, Laozi has an intriguing and unique role. According to traditional Chinese history, he was possibly a contemporary of Confucius and may have been a wise sage who wrote a brief but valuable work known as Daodejing (or the Classic of the Way and Virtue). In modern times, scholars have varying opinions about him. Some see Laozi as at least partially legendary; others believe that many authors contributed over time to the work attributed to Laozi.

Regardless of whether Laozi was an individual or not, the teachings attributed to him hold great significance today. The Dao became one of the pivotal texts of Daoism, and for hundreds of years has influenced China’s religious and philosophical beliefs, ethical principles, and political philosophies.

At the core of Laozi’s teachings lies the Dao (or “the Way”). The Dao isn’t a straightforward definition and this ambiguity is actually part of the overall teaching. It is essentially the unifying structure, pattern, and path of reality. As summarized by the National Geographic, Daoism teaches “to help each person find and cultivate a connection with the universe.” Therefore, the Dao begins with Laozi’s premise that there is a “flow” in life. When we go against the flow or do not align with it, there tends to be a heightened level of suffering.

The Wisdom of Wu Wei

The Dao is a set of rules for living, and wu wei is the technique to move with the Dao. Wu wei does not mean do nothing. It means do not move with unnecessary force or effort. Wu wei also means not moving from a mindless place of fear; it helps remove the frantic compulsiveness that makes us clumsy, rigid, and blind.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Daodejing links virtue and naturalness and nonaction; thus, a way of being in which action emerges with less self-assertion and less friction.

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Consider water (a classic image of Taoism). Water does not punch through all things that block it; rather, it flows around all rocks, crushes rocks down after many years, fills low places, and continues to be useful by being flexible. Water is gentle but not weak. Water submits and then persists.

Much of what we call strength is really panic that has armor on it; Laozi states that when we grip too tightly, it is because we fear. When we try to manage everything, it is because we have no trust. When we feel the need to speak before we know what we are going to say, it is because to wait and remain silent feels out of control. We work past wisdom because stopping feels irresponsible.

Wu wei presents the question: what if the problem is not your propensity to be passive but your propensity to use excessive force for things that would work just as well with increased alertness?

That is one reason why Laozi seems to mix so well with modern thought. Our current civilization has begun to gravitate toward rapidly increasing speed, that puts pressure on us to maximize production (productivity theatre) and continue to assert authority over ourselves.

We are socialized to think that when something doesn’t work, we need to apply more effort, exert more control, or increase the intensity in order to get it to work.

Occasionally, this is true; however, more often than not, we are not failing due to a lack of discipline but due to a lifestyle that imposes upon us a sense of internal resistance. We try to think about and solve our current exhaustion using the same mentality and resources that caused the exhaustion. We are approaching every challenge like a locked door that must be kicked open.

Laozi suggests that the image of mastery is rather different from how people view it in modern times. Often, real power is not highly visible; often, it appears rather calm, utilizing careful timing, patient attention, gentle application, and perceiving when using excessive force might exacerbate the problem.

In practical terms, wu wei defines the distinction between effort and friction; effort is necessary, whereas friction is created by the ego within us that adds struggle, drama, and compulsion to the a request of reality.

Force vs. Flow

The contrast at the centre of Taoism becomes clearer when translated into modern life.

To become less active, most individuals do not have to drastically reduce their level of activity. What most people require is to reduce the level of internal conflict they experience. People must learn to recognize that all ordinary challenges are not a personal emergency.

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That is the secret behind wu wei. It is not passivity but an unclenched effectiveness.

Three Taoist Practices for Living in Flow

The question raised by every article in the Ancient Wisdom series is:

What will you do with this teaching this week?

Laozi responds: Instead of escaping to the mountain top, focus on identifying areas of your life crowded with unnecessary energy and find ways to eliminate them. Below you will find three different ways to accomplish this task.

1. Conduct The Friction Audit

Choose an area in your life that feels too heavy, such as work, marriage or your health routine, and ask yourself:

What parts of the area are real efforts; what parts are self-created sources of friction?

A real effort is the work itself; self-created sources of friction arise from the anxiety, need for over-control, perfectionism, resentfulness, or wanting to dominate the results of an action you take.

Once you’ve completed your audit, it is common to find out that what you perceive to be the most difficult part of the area is not really the area itself but rather the way you brace for it.

For one week, focus on removing the unnecessary pressure you’ve added. Continue your work as usual, but eliminate the drama associated with it.

2. Practice The Empty Space Practice

Modern life distorts our responses. We respond too quickly, react too quickly, decide too quickly and speak too quickly. In Taoist terms, we do not create opportunity to allow the Dao to determine the path of the moment.

Therefore, practice creating “spaciousness”.

Before responding to an email, give yourself at least a few minutes to really think through your response. If you feel you need to immediately respond, stop, take a breath and give yourself a moment of silence. If you find yourself in a disagreement, allow yourself time to contemplate the direction of the conversation before taking it further. If someone asks for your assistance, take at least one hour before providing any response.

This is not an avoidance technique as much as it is an opportunity for thoughtful, and intelligent, “empty” space. An empty cup can be filled; a cup that is already full will overflow. Many times, the wise course of action presents itself after we stop rushing to produce any response.

3. Adapt to Resistance (Water Response)

When facing resistance this week, instead of immediately asking, “How can I exert more force?” ask yourself, “How can I work with this resistance as a stream of water would, and adapt without losing my direction?”

Water always follows its intended path; however, it is able to adjust when obstacles present themselves. In conversations, this “adaptability” may take the form of listening instead of insisting. In the case of work or tasks, it may look like simplifying an approach instead of intensifying it. In the case of personal change, it may consist of focusing on your consistency rather than your sporadic bursts of effort.

It is not about being “weak”; it is more of “being flexible”. Rigidity breaks, while flexibility lasts.

The Deeper Promise

The wisdom of Laozi is not a productivity tool; however, practicing his principles will result in greater effectiveness. More specifically, his teachings serve as spiritual guideposts in our lives.

Laozi’s teachings remind us that the challenge of life is not about laying one failure on top of another in an effort to conquer it. Rather, it is about the space that we create for certain things to come into existence – such as sleep, love, creativity, trust, insight, healing, authority, and peace.

In many ways, the teachings of Laozi on wu wei would seem to be quite radical in our society today. Wu wei represents the idea that we do not have to rely solely on our own strength in order to accomplish all that we want. The mind that works tirelessly often finds itself providing an unreasonable level of pressure to itself by creating unrealistic timeframes, proving its worth to others, and creating an endless cycle of stress for itself. A person who is ambitious may also believe that one of the highest levels of mastery is simply to be able to let go of everything that they have imposed on themselves.

Laozi did not guarantee us that life would become easy. However, he did give us a greater level of understanding of the natural rhythm of our lives and how to live in harmony with it. The committed student of Laozi should seek to live with this greater understanding.

During the upcoming week, take note of yourself, where you find yourself clenching your muscles. Pay close attention to the places in your life where you are racing around, clenching tightly, trying to prove yourself, and pushing your way through life. Begin to release the pressure you are creating for yourself, even if you are only doing it slightly. Allow one of your actions to flow based on timing rather than tension. Use listening rather than control in one of your conversations. Approach one of your most difficult situations with flexibility rather than force.

That is how the process of flow begins.

By Dr Ioannis Syrigos

Recommended Reading

Tao Te Ching: An Illustrated Journey by Stephen Mitchell (Translator)

Compiled from Field Reports, Laboratory Analyses, Eyewitness Testimonies, Digital Media Archives, and Archival Sources, April 2026

What if the strangest stories coming out of the Ozarks are not folklore, hoaxes, or internet hysteria, but the opening signs of something growing in plain sight? Across isolated Arkansas fields, witnesses describe crop circles that appear overnight, stalks twisted into impossible patterns, and biological samples that allegedly contain traces of human genetic material. Add in whispers of embryo-like growths found inside corn, shadowy footage from local creators, and decades-old legends about the region’s hidden “Little People,” and the result is a mystery built for the age of viral obsession.

This investigation follows the evidence, the testimony, and the mythology surrounding one of the most disturbing regional narratives now circulating online. From documented Arkansas crop formations to claims of hybridized plant tissue and sightings of the so-called Bobbys, the Ozarks have become the center of a story that feels too bizarre to ignore and too unsettling to dismiss. Whether these events point to elaborate deception, misunderstood anomalies, or something far darker, one fact remains: the fields are no longer being viewed as empty ground, but as a place where something may be taking root.

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In the previous article, “The Watchers, the Nephilim, and the True Reason for the Great Flood: The Forbidden History of Fallen Angels,” we explored the ancient tradition that links the Flood to a world corrupted by the rebellion of the Watchers and the rise of the Nephilim. If that reading is true, then the Flood was not just a response to human wickedness in general, but a direct judgment on a world that had been defiled at a far deeper level.

But if the Flood was meant to wipe out that corruption, one question becomes impossible to ignore: why do giants appear again after the Flood? Why do the Anakim, Og of Bashan, and later Goliath still stand in the biblical story like shadows of a world that was supposed to have been buried beneath the waters?

That is the mystery this article follows. Because if the Nephilim were part of the reason the old world was destroyed, then their story should have ended in Genesis 6. Yet the biblical record refuses to let the problem disappear so easily. The Judgement and the Flood came, and yet, giant traditions returned.

This is one of the most unsettling tensions in biblical interpretation. Either something of the old corruption survived, the same kind of rebellion happened again, or the later giant traditions preserve the memory of that earlier horror in ways most readers have never fully considered. Whatever the answer, the post-Flood world may not be as cleansed as it first appears.

Gustave Doré’s The Deluge captures the totality of the Flood judgment, which makes the later reappearance of giant traditions all the more unsettling. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

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Do you want to find out the reason why you suffer, and is there an end to suffering? What you may not have realized is that the definition of “suffering” is a very broad term, encompassing a range of things, such as emotional pain, anxiety, and more.

Historically, Siddhartha Gautama was a privileged Indian prince who did not grow up with financial issues; he was born into a wealthy family with lots of luxuries available to him. In fact, according to tradition, he grew up in a palace, where he had all the luxuries of life with a great deal of security. His father wanted him to be protected from the struggles of life and prepared for a life of power, luxury, and success. As a result, he was given comfort and protection in his upbringing; therefore, Siddhartha had all the comforts anyone could hope to have.

However, while Siddhartha had all of these comforts, he was not truly content with his life.

At the end, Siddhartha left the palace. He encountered the Four Noble Truths: the first truth is that everyone ages, gets sick, and dies; the second truth is that no matter how wealthy you are, you cannot escape pain; the third truth is that there is a way to cope with pain; and lastly, the fourth truth is that the Four Noble Truths were created to give people the opportunity to be free from their suffering.

Siddhartha was not only looking for a way to eliminate his own suffering, but he was searching for a means to help others as well. What he ultimately created as a result of this journey has become one of the most important teachings in the history of mankind as the founding principle of Buddhism.

This week, we will travel to ancient India and meet the prince who renounced all of his worldly possessions and power in pursuit of the answers to the fundamental questions of human existence. He ultimately discovered these truths through careful observation and contemplation of the Four Noble Truths and has provided us with a pathway to the attainment of spiritual freedom.

The Problem the Buddha Refused to Ignore

Most spiritual teachers will focus on heaven, transcendent worlds, or God or the divine. The Buddha began with a subject so banal that most of us live our lives avoiding addressing it altogether - that is, suffering.

There is pain in the loss of loved ones, in the transition of our physical bodies, in not having the things that we want, and ultimately in experiencing momentary pleasure from having the things we want and then being left wanting more when that pleasure dissipates. Even the pleasurable things we experience are fleeting; they no longer bring pleasure; they will fade, they will transform, and we will want more of them.

So, it is no surprise that the first statement made in Buddhism is, “Life, as we know it, is full of suffering.”

As you can see, the beginning of Buddhism sounds very bleak. However, the Buddha was not being cynical; he was just truthful.

He was not saying life does not have beauty, love, and happiness, but rather that all things that make up our identity (youth, health, relationships, possessions, praise, fame, and success) are all subject to change. Youth will pass, health inevitably will be subject to change - relationships can change; material possessions will become obsolete. The praise you are receiving today will one day turn to scorn. Fame can be short-lived; success is often fleeting.

The Buddha did not invent suffering; he chose to acknowledge the fact that there is such a thing as suffering and therefore dealt with it.

The Four Noble Truths: Buddhism’s Radical Diagnosis

The Buddha’s major discovery is referred to as the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are a diagnosis of the state of humanity, and a route out of our emotional shackles.

The First Noble Truth is that there is suffering.

Suffering is not just the pain, grief, illness, disappointment and loss that clearly exist in our world, but also something far more subtle: our own dissatisfaction with life. While we may appear outwardly to be successful, we feel restless, fearful, incomplete, or anxious about the future, and how long our present happiness will last. The Buddha saw that ordinary human life is shaped by this hidden instability of dissatisfaction.

The Second Noble Truth is that suffering has a root cause.

This is commonly referred to as craving. We crave for pleasure, for certainty, for security, for connection with others, and for control over our environment. We want things to stay the same when they bring us pleasure, and, conversely, we want them to disappear when they bring us pain. This deeper issue surrounding craving is not just the craving itself, but the fact that we cling to the things we crave, attempting to create a permanent self out of temporary emotions.

The Third Noble Truth is that like the cause of suffering, it can be removed.

The most important aspect of the teachings of Buddha is this. Buddhism does not teach us about despair. It teaches us about liberation. If suffering has a root cause, then it can be transformed through our understanding it. If something is ever-changing, it can be released.

The Fourth Noble Truth is that the path to release from suffering does exist.

The Buddha not only taught us about the state of humanity, but also provided a method for us to change our relationship to that state. The method is through ethical living, mental discipline and wisdom, or as stated above, freedom from suffering cannot be imagined into existence, but can occur when we train our minds to see things as they are, and respond differently than we currently do.

Why the Buddha’s Teaching Still Feels So Modern

Today’s changing civilization affected all parts of human experience besides the way human beings suffer.

The increase in technology, entertainment, convenience and stimulation has resulted in being more inundated by feelings of anxiety, dissatisfaction, jealousy, loneliness, burnout, and emotional turmoil than any culture in recorded history. Society continues to assure its members that success will only be achieved through the next purchase, accomplishment, relationship, or simply the next version of oneself.

However, it has proven to be true that an individual’s mind always desires to grasp something and is therefore never allowed to be at peace.

This phenomenon is why, even today, individuals relate so closely to the teachings of the Buddha, whose teachings provided the insight that while suffering comes from hardships and struggles that occur in life, it can also be caused in large part by how individuals habitually respond to it internally (e.g., craving, resistance, self-ego, fear, jealousy, and attachment).

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This can be evidenced in daily life.

For example, when an individual receives a promotion that he/she has long sought, he/she quickly becomes concerned about losing that position and status.

When an individual is finally able to enter a long-desired romantic relationship, he/she often becomes fearful of change, abandonment, and rejection.

An individual purchases something that he/she believes will make him/her happy, only to find that the pleasure associated with it is fleeting and that a new desire replaces the previous pleasure.

Buddha identified this pattern. Human beings do not merely go through the experiences of life; they cling to, push away, and demand that the events in their lives satisfy those needs that they were never created to satisfy.

Thus, the Buddha’s teachings are not solely religious. They are also psychological, practical, and incredibly current.

The Middle Way: The Path Beyond Extremes

Prior to attaining his enlightenment, Siddhartha Gautama explored both ends of the spectrum regarding how he lived his life. On one end, he experienced the pleasures of living in luxury in a palace where he was provided every comfort and indulgence he desired. On the opposite side of the spectrum, he became an ascetic, fasting and denying himself all the comforts and physical pleasure he could experience because he believed suffering through physical means and starving himself would lead him to gain spiritual enlightenment.

Siddhartha discovered neither of these two extremes would give him the enlightenment he was seeking; therefore, that discovery became the foundation for the teachings of Buddhism and led to the development of the Middle Way which is the philosophy of balancing between indulgence and non-Indulgence/Asceticism.

The Middle Way is often misunderstood; it does not mean to be indifferent or take a passive approach to life. It means not being ruled by the extremes of either Indulgence or Non-Indulgence but rather to understand that pleasure will not bring happiness and the suffering of others is not to be embraced as holy.

In modern society, this teaching could not be more relevant. There exists a continuum of the life cycle that swings from overindulgence to burnout, over-stimulation to exhaustion, obsession to collapse. The Buddha taught that to attain peace one cannot feed every desire or strike down every desire forcefully, rather he taught us that the attainment of peace requires one’s understanding of desire and once one comprehends their desires they are no longer ruled by them.

Three Buddhist Practices for Ending Suffering

Buddhism is powerful not because of the things that a practitioner believes but because of the things that they practice. If the Buddha lived in today’s world, he would encourage all of us to not only admire the Four Noble Truths, but to put them into practice. Here are three suggestions for how to begin putting the four noble truths into practice:

1. The Craving Pause

Throughout your day, notice what you reach for automatically. This could be your smartphone; it could be the approval of others; it could be some way of distracting yourself from your negative feelings; it could be food or other forms of stimulus; or it could be trying to control your own experience in some way.

When you feel like reaching for something automatically, take a moment to pause before acting, and ask yourself a simple question: “What am I trying to take away from or keep away from myself?” By doing this, you will begin to see more clearly the workings of your own suffering and the ways in which the actions you take are often not really “freely chosen” actions, but rather reflexive (”reactive”) actions based on an underlying experience of some sort (e.g., discomfort, restlessness, or fear).

The intention for this practice is not to create another means of judgment upon yourself; rather, it is intended to create awareness. When the craving is visible, it loses a degree of its power over you.

2. The Impermanence Reflection

Every day, take a moment to contemplate a particular change that has taken place in your day. The change may be in your mood, energy level, something that you have said or done, something that you have planned for success, or something that you have planned for disappointment.

Regardless of the particular change in your day, contemplate the following question: “Did I suffer as a result of the change itself, or did I suffer because I wanted the change to remain different from what it was?”

This question is at the heart of one of the deepest insights of the Buddha: we experience suffering whenever there are changes, when we experience change and we resist it. If you regularly contemplate the impermanence of your life, it will begin to loosen the illusion of a stable point of reference, thus enabling you to respond with greater calmness, less reactivity, and greater awareness of reality as it actually is, rather than how it is idealized or imagined to be in your mind.

3. The Compassionate Response

The Buddha’s path is not only about insight but also about how you treat others.

When you are frustrated, hurt, or disappointed this week, choose one moment in which you would normally react with irritation, defensiveness, or coldness. Instead, pause and respond with patience. If possible, speak more gently than you feel and listen longer than you want to. Let go of the need to win the moment.

This response is a Buddhist view because we are all human beings who experience suffering, and that suffering does not stay contained within us. It spills into our words, into our relationships, and into how we interact with one another in action. Thus, every time you break the chain of that suffering and begin to respond with patience and compassion, you weaken the hold of suffering over you, and that is how Buddhism works. Compassion is not just a “feeling”; compassion is the disciplined, conscious decision to stop multiplying suffering for others.

The Freedom the Buddha Actually Offers

While the Buddha does indeed have many promises to offer, like “A life free of grief, disappointment, and pain”, he does not make this promise to be wise (as this would be false). The reality is that he offers something greater than fantasy, which is to no longer be a slave to their own reactions. You will still have feelings of loss, however, as a result of attachment to something, you will no longer be destroyed by that attachment. You will still have feelings of pain; yet, as such, you do not have to create an identity out of that pain. You will still have desires; therefore, you do not have to give in to each individual desire.

You will still live in an ever-changing world; thus, you do not have to wait for your changed world to be permanent before you experience peace of mind.

It has been over 2000 years since the Buddha first taught and his teachings continue to be true today. Human beings continue to suffer in different forms, but the basic pattern of the mind continues to look dramatically similar to what it was at the time of the original teachings.

The Prince who gave up the Kingdom did not do so because he found nothing of value in the world; he found that the Kingdom of the world could not conquer the inner suffering of a person.

Therein lies the true challenge of Buddhism, and there lies its promise.

The Four Noble Truths begin with suffering, but they do not end there. The Four Noble Truths end with the understanding that there is a possibility for a person to live life with clarity, restraint, compassion, and peace. In a world filled with people looking to acquire “more”, the Buddha has offered something much more valuable and much more rare than “more”:

The freedom from the need for something “more” in order to be whole.

Therefore, if you are able to find this freedom from the need for something more, then you have found a kingdom of your own.

By Dr Ioannis Syrigos

Recommended Reading

What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula and Paul Demieville

The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin

Could the biblical figure of Adam actually be also a description of a massive celestial object? Nick reveals how ancient texts from around the world describe a recurring 1,500-year cycle of cosmic trauma, known to modern science as “Bond Events.” From the catastrophic 5.9 kiloyear event that created the Sahara Desert, to the fiery destruction linked to the prophet Elijah, and the true identity of Noah’s Flood, we explore how meteor impacts and airbursts have repeatedly reset human civilization.

Nick connects these cyclical cataclysms to modern geopolitical unrest and the chilling prophecies surrounding the year 2029, when the massive asteroid Apophis will make a dangerously close approach to Earth. Are we on the brink of the next great reset? Join us as we decode the ancient warnings and discover why our ancestors might have understood the cosmos far better than we do today.

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Long before the Inca Empire rose to power, the scorching deserts of northern Peru were ruled by a civilization whose artistic brilliance was matched only by its appetite for human blood. The Moche culture, thriving between 100 and 800 AD, left behind no written records, yet their story is vividly, and violently, etched into their art. For decades, archaeologists dismissed the gruesome scenes painted on their pottery and temple walls as mere mythological metaphors. The idea of powerful priestesses drinking the blood of dismembered captives seemed too macabre to be real. But as the sands of time shifted, unearthing mass graves, severed heads, and the opulent tombs of real-life warrior-priests, a chilling truth emerged: the Moche Sacrifice Ceremony was not a myth. It was a terrifying reality, a desperate and bloody pact with the gods that ultimately could not save them from their own apocalyptic collapse.

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The most important people in religion could be named Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Moses or the Buddha. But there is an important religious thinker from a very remote time who appears to have had a profound influence on the fundamental beliefs of both the major western religions. This is Zarathustra (Zoroaster to the Greeks). He was a mystic, poet, and revolutionary living in ancient Persia (modern Iran) between 1500-1000 BC. When he lived there was much chaos in the world, with many gods (polytheism), and many sacrifices made to these gods as well as by humans due to the fate of existence being controlled by the god of fate. The world being created and controlled by many gods and randomness was not what Zoroaster was talking about, and he came up with an incredibly different view of the world.

He was able to describe a single Supreme God who had created everything, and Zoroaster offered the existence of a cosmic war between good and evil. He also discussed a place for the good in heaven and the bad in hell. He spoke about a future time when all mankind would be judged and punished for their actions, a messiah would come to save mankind, and there would be a resurrection from the dead.

The ideas of Zoroaster had strong parallels to what were to become the core beliefs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The staggering number of similarities, which can be found in the Gathas (Zoroastrian hymns) and those that developed in the Abrahamic religions, illustrate the emergence of universal spiritual truths throughout time and across cultures.

This week you will leave Greece and travel to Persia, the home of the most powerful religious thinker of all time, to discover his revolutionary ideas. His central idea (the absolute requirement of personal moral responsibility) is a very viable practical philosophy and will be examined in detail this week.

The Vision of the One and the Two

Prior to Zoroaster’s time, the ancient Iranian religion was closely aligned with the Vedic religion found in India (that was discussed in Week 10). The ancient Iranian religion represented a world filled with gods (daevas), complex rituals, and a belief that the universe operated based solely on the forces of nature, rather than upon moral forces.

According to legend, at age 30 Zoroaster experienced a mystical experience when he was taken into the presence of Ahura Mazda, the “Lord of All Wisdom.” During this experience, Zoroaster came to understand that Ahura Mazda was not simply another god among many; rather, he was the only uncreated, ultimate Creator of the universe. He was completely good, completely just, and completely light-giving.

However, this led to another philosophical problem: If the Creator was wholly good, what is the origin of evil? Zoroaster’s response to this question was profound and revolutionary. He developed the idea of cosmic dualism. The opposite of Ahura Mazda, he taught, was an independent, destructive being called Angra Mainyu (later called Ahriman). Angra Mainyu was the catalyst behind darkness, decay, disease, and deception.

Thus, evil was born. For the first time in history, evil has been identified as an immensely intelligent force acting to destroy God’s creation, not just a natural force, nor just a manifestation of a whimsical god’s emotions.

The Cosmic Battle and the Power of Choice

According to Zoroaster’s vision, the universe as a whole is in a continuous battle between Light (Ahura Mazda) and Darkness (Angra Mainyu). But Zoroaster’s belief is that, since Ahura Mazda created us, we are not to be passive victims of this battle; rather, we are to be active partners with Ahura Mazda.

Zoroaster taught that all human beings possess free will and therefore are not beholden to predestined fate or to the whims of the gods. Every day, every hour, every minute, and every second, we are confronted with the choice to support either the forces of Light or the forces of Darkness. Simply stated, the most basic idea of Zoroastrianism is that we must always choose:

“Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds”

(Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta)

This creates an opportunity for humans to elevate their lives to a level of universal significance. Each human being’s choice is of great importance, as their moral choices are connected to their assistive participation in redeeming the universe.

The Babylonian Connection: A Convergence of Ideas

How was it possible for the teachings of an ancient Persian prophet to have so much in common with the teachings of both Judaism and Christianity? One of the major historical times when these two disparate cultures crossed paths was when a new nation arose in Babylon: the Babylonian exile. During the Babylonian Exile in 586 B.C.E., the Babylonians were victorious over the city of Jerusalem (destroying the First Temple) and took many of the Jewish leaders into captivity in Babylon. Fifty years later, the Persian King Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and released the Jews at that time by permitting them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple.

When Jewish scholars and priests lived within the borders of the Persian Empire, they were also living very close to the Persian people and their Zoroastrian beliefs and practices. Prior to the Babylonian exile, most of what we define as early Jewish texts/Scriptures were not preoccupied with cosmic adversary or fiery hell, but rather viewed the afterlife as an unknown and therefore, a lowly space, called Sheol, a shadowy realm.

Following the Babylonian Exile, during the Second Temple Period, Jews became increasingly concerned with the theological tenets that would have parallels to those of Zoroastrianism. Satan’s role in Jewish theology changed from being a prosecutor in the heavenly court (Book of Job) to serving as a cosmic adversary of God. Many of the major theological themes (final judgment, resurrection from death, separation of souls into heaven and hell) became core to the Jewish understanding during this time.

Many scholars do not see these theological developments as a simple process of copying from one culture to another, but rather as a profound convergence. The presence of Zoroastrianism may have acted as a catalyst or common language that allowed Jewish thinkers at that time to better understand/clarify and adapt their present understanding of spiritual truths that were already emerging within their own tradition. These important concepts of moral choice, divine justice and ultimate redemption have found their fullest development in Christianity and Islam.

Three Zoroastrian Practices for Modern Life

Zoroaster’s teachings offer a powerful, action-oriented philosophy for living with purpose and integrity today. Here are three ways to apply his wisdom:

1. The Daily Alignment (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds):

When you wake up in the morning, make an effort to create a mental connection with the forces of Creation. Then make a commitment to yourself that you will do your best to have good thoughts, good words, and good deeds today. When you have to make a decision, think about how this will affect your life and ask yourself if it is constructive or destructive. Ask yourself if it is true or false. By focusing on these three basic forms of morality, you establish a set of guidelines for how to live during the day.

2. The Rejection of Fate:

When Zoroaster refused to accept the determinism of the world, he declared that people are not at the mercy of fate. Therefore, he believed in free will and that every person has the power to control their own life. While we cannot control events in our lives, we can control how we respond to them. Many of us live our lives as passive participants. To live your life as an active participant, reclaim your power and become an active creator of your own life.

3. The Practice of Light:

Fire and light are the ultimate symbols of purity and wisdom from Ahura Mazda. You can use fire and light to create a small home ritual. When you use a candle to help light your way in the dark, you are not just creating a visual effect. It is also a reminder of the presence of truth and goodness. You can also use the candle to reflect on the moral choices you have made during the day and as a commitment to make more moral choices tomorrow.

The Ultimate Triumph

According to Zoroaster, while there will be a cosmic conflict that lasts until the end of time; he also predicted that there would be a time when the Light would prevail over Evil (Angra Mainyu) and all darkness would cease to exist, and the world would one day return to its original state which is known as Frashokereti (making wonderful). The victory of the Forces of Light does not rest solely on God’s promises but is dependent upon the participation of mankind through courage and action.

For over three thousand years, Zoroaster has offered mankind his teachings and a challenge to each individual. His teachings serve as both a historical record and an appeal for all individuals to accept the responsibility of fighting evil and doing their part in bringing heaven to earth. The battle between good and evil exists in every human being as a battle for the heart, and as every decision affects this battle, each person has the power to contribute to bring about the victory of good over evil.

By Dr Ioannis Syrigos

Recommended Reading

The Hymns of Zoroaster, translated by M.L. West

Zoroastrians by Mary Boyce

There is a passage hidden in plain sight within the Book of Genesis that is so strange, so profoundly unsettling, that for centuries theologians have quietly glossed over it. It speaks of a terrifying era before the Great Flood, a time when the boundaries between the divine and the mortal were violently shattered. Apparently, based on these accounts, it wasn’t just human wickedness that brought about the end of the world. It was a cosmic rebellion, a forbidden transfer of celestial technology, and the birth of a monstrous, bloodthirsty race of giants.

“When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose... The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” (Genesis 6:1-4)

But, who were these mysterious “sons of God”? And who were the Nephilim, the towering “men of renown” whose existence demanded a global apocalypse to wipe them out?

To uncover the truth, we must look beyond the sanitized modern Bible. We need to delve into the ancient apocryphal texts that the early Church Fathers read, debated, and ultimately excluded from the canon. This includes the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Enoch, and the disturbing account of the fallen angels known as the Watchers, a forbidden history that bears an alarming relevance to the world situation today.

Read more

For over three decades, the world pictured Ötzi the Iceman as a rugged, fair-skinned, and hairy prehistoric hunter braving the freezing Alpine winds. Discovered by chance in 1991 by two German hikers, his 5,300-year-old mummified body became an instant global sensation, offering an unprecedented window into the Copper Age. But what if everything we thought we knew about his appearance and ancestry was a lie?

Groundbreaking new DNA analyses have just shattered our long-held assumptions, revealing a startling new reality: Ötzi was actually dark-skinned, dark-eyed, and balding. Even more astonishing, his genetic code proves he was a profound outlier—a man whose bloodline has completely vanished from the earth. As the ice continues to melt, the true story of Europe’s most famous mummy is finally coming to light, and it is far more mysterious than anyone ever imagined.

The most recent revelations come from two groundbreaking studies that have fundamentally altered our understanding of the Iceman. The first, published in Cell Genomics in 2023, employed advanced sequencing technology to generate a high-coverage genome that corrected previous misconceptions about Ötzi’s ancestry and appearance (Wang et al., 2023). The second, a 2025 Nature Communications study, placed Ötzi within the broader genetic landscape of his Alpine homeland by analyzing 47 individuals who lived in the same region between 6400 and 1300 BCE (Croze et al., 2025). Together, these studies paint a portrait of a man who was both part of his world and strangely apart from it—a genetic anomaly in a population that had remained remarkably stable for millennia.

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“For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth…

everything that is on the earth shall die…For forty days,

the flood kept coming…The waters flooded the earth

for a hundred and fifty days…the Ark came to

rest on the mountains of Ararat.”

— Genesis 6:14 to 7:4.

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what

isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

— Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher.

For centuries, Mount Ararat has stood at the center of one of history’s greatest mysteries. Rising above eastern Turkey near the borders of Armenia and Iran, this snow-covered volcanic giant has long been linked to the Biblical account of Noah’s Ark. But in the last century, the story has moved beyond scripture and legend. Pilots, soldiers, explorers, and satellite analysts have all claimed to see something high on Ararat’s frozen slopes: a large, strange object that does not seem to belong there.

During my 21-year U.S. Air Force career, I was stationed at Incirlik Air Base in south-central Turkey from 1994 to 1996. While assigned there, I read a fascinating and provocative book, The Incredible Discovery of Noah’s Ark, by Charles E. Sellier and David W. Balsiger (1995), which presented scientific claims, eyewitness testimony, and military reports suggesting that the Biblical Noah’s Ark may still exist high upon the glacial slopes of Mount Ararat.

That claim may sound extraordinary. But Ararat is no ordinary mountain. With its massive ice cap, brutal weather, dangerous terrain, and extreme isolation, it would be one of the most difficult places on earth to investigate thoroughly. If a great wooden vessel had indeed come to rest there in antiquity, there are few places better suited to keeping it hidden.

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It is one of the most enigmatic and influential documents in the history of human thought. Alchemical in nature, the Emerald Tablet contains thirteen lines of text and is said to contain wisdom and understanding from the time of Hermes Trismegistus, one of the most significant sages of antiquity. For over a thousand years, this document has been influencing the thoughts of many great minds, including Isaac Newton. Its primary tenet is: “As above, so below,“ and is widely considered one of the primary teachings of the modern spiritual movement, yet its true meaning and application are of far greater significance than has been commonly understood and accepted.

This week, you’ll journey back to Hellenistic Egypt to decode this ancient document and discover not only its esoteric truths, but a powerful formula for personal transformation, a secret science of the soul that is now becoming increasingly evident in advanced theories of modern physics.

The Mystery of the Tablet

Though the beginnings of the Emerald Tablet are wrapped in mystique, it is said that the Scripture was first found in a concealed place, clenched tightly in the skeletal fingers of Hermes Trismegistus. This may be a fable but it is also equally captivating how far the Emerald Tablet has travelled as a text. The earliest version we know about is from an Arabic book called the Kitab Sirr al-Asrar (The Secret of Secrets) from the 8th Century and that Arabic version became Latin-text in the twelfth-century, which then sparked the alchemical movement across medieval Europe.

For hundreds of years, the alchemists believed that the Emerald Tablet gave them the tools to change lead to gold. However, while the greatest of them realised that “lead” and “gold” were simply metaphors for the relationship between the unconscious and the enlightened state of consciousness, the Emerald Tablet serves as a manual for each practitioner of the Great Work.

Here is the full text, from the celebrated translation by Isaac Newton himself, who was a dedicated alchemist as well as a physicist:

1. Tis true without lying, certain & most true.

2. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.

3. And as all things have been & arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.

4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,

5. the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.

6. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.

7. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.

8. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.

9. It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior & inferior.

10. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.

11. Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing.

12. So was the world created.

13. From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this.

— Isaac Newton’s translation, c. 1680

As Above, So Below: The Master Key

The second line of the Emerald Tablet of Thoth (the Emerald Tablet) is “That which is below corresponds to that which is above, just as that which is above corresponds to that which is below”; this quote sums up all the teachings of Hermeticism. According to Hermetics, the universe is governed by the same laws and principles as man. If one knows the workings of the universe, they will also know themselves.

This teaching has recently gained attention in modern physics through the development of what David Bohm has termed the “Holographic Universe Principle.” The idea of a holographic universe states that the entire universe is one gigantic holograph or hologram; every single living being contains all the necessary information to create the entire universe. It states that if a holographic plate is broken in two and each individual piece is examined, both pieces of holograms will show the same complete image, just at a smaller scale. The science of this principle restates the idea that “As above, so below.” That is, every point in time and space embodies the essence of the universe, including each one of us.

The Alchemy of Inner Transformation

The Tablet is a set of instructions for a powerful alchemical process. Let us decode some of its key steps.

“Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.” (Line 8) This is the very essence of inner alchemy. The earth represents our dense, gross unconscious nature which includes such things as fear and trauma and conditioned patterns (CG). The “fire” represents our spirit, or our pure divinity; meaning that you must be able to separate the two by becoming aware of your unconscious patterns without identifying with them through the process of “great industry”, which is nothing more than watching yourself very carefully, and being patient and observant, something closely related to what today is termed “metacognition”.

“It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior & inferior.” (Line 9) This is an illustration of the circulatory pattern of consciousness (i.e., ascending to a higher state, and bringing down that higher state into one’s current experience, resulting in the ability to view one’s experiences in a different light, i.e., integrating the spirit (superior) and material (inferior) sides of one’s self.

“By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.” (Line 10) The outcome of this inner process is enlightenment, therefore, the “glory of the world” is not having material wealth, but instead being filled with the radiant energy of consciousness which is able to see itself within everything. When you realise that your nature is one with the nature of everything in the universe, you will eliminate any sense of separation (obscurity) and have no more fear or doubt.

Three Alchemical Practices for Modern Life

The Great Work of the alchemists is as relevant today as it was a thousand years ago. Here are three ways to begin applying the wisdom of the Emerald Tablet to your own life.

1. The Microcosm/Macrocosm Meditation: Find a peaceful moment, meditate on the phrase “As above, so below.” Now observe your hands. All of the particles contained within them were formed in the core of a dying star billions of years ago. The electrical signals travelling through your nervous system are produced by the same forces that create lightning; while the regular beating of your heart mirrors the rhythm of the movement of celestial bodies. Take time to feel this and understand that you are not an individual separated from others, but an individual universe, a

2. The Practice of Separation (The Subtle from the Gross): Throughout your day, make an effort to become aware of your own inner state without forming judgments about what you observe. When you find yourself feeling a strong emotion (such as anger or fear), instead of letting it consume you, simply observe it. For example, you might say to yourself, “I feel angry.” By making this simple observation, you will create a separation between your awareness (the subtle) and the emotion itself (the gross). This begins the process of separating the building blocks of the universe, which are composed of fire (energy) and earth (matter).

3. The Circulation of Consciousness: At the end of each day, set aside a few moments to meditate and reflect on a particular challenge you faced that day. Now, visualize yourself looking down on the situation from above, as though you are rising into the sky to see the bigger picture (ascending). What new information or insights do you discover from this new perspective (the higher perspective)? What advice would you give to your higher self? Once you have this insight, bring it back down into your body (descend to Earth). How does this new perspective change the way you feel about your challenge? This way of being is an integration of your spiritual wisdom into your daily life.

The Secret in Plain Sight

The Emerald Tablet’s final line is a powerful reminder: “That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.” The “operation of the Sun” is the Great Work, the creation of the golden, solar consciousness. The knowledge contained within this text has been revealed to us through Hermes.

The Emerald Tablet teaches us that we, as human beings, possess within us the tools and potential to create our reality. Through understanding the relationships between the inner (spiritual) and outer (physical) worlds, disconnecting our pure awareness from our past conditioning, and balancing our consciousness between the spiritual and physical, we are able to accomplish the ultimate objective of the Alchemist. And this is not to transform lead into gold, but to achieve for ourselves the same glorious state of being (a shining star) that we will ultimately attain as part of our evolution.

By Dr Ioannis Syrigos

Suggested Books

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes by Hermes Trismegistus

The Secrets of Alchemy Paperback, by Lawrence M. Principe