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"A fool sees himself as another, but a wise man sees others as himself."
~ Zen patriarch Dogen (1200-1253)

Dear fellow Questors

We live in such dissatisfying times. The markets swing up and down and no single statesperson emerges to truly lead the most powerful country in the world. The mediocrity and biases of the mainstream media mute individuals that strive to represent human or environmental interests. The world is more economically divided and the promise of the new technologies and new economies removing poverty, suffering and conflict seem more distant than ever. The sudden self-promotional altruism shown by new economy millionaires has practically disappeared, as their stock become worthless. It seems we now happily embrace a dysfunctional life as a normal way of being. We celebrate dysfunction and philosophical dissatisfaction on television, in our movies and in our culture. But we have so much to celebrate!

The discoveries of science, the new revelations of physics, genetics, anthropology and cosmology, all reveal a more complex universe than ever imagined and reveal that we are interconnected at a very deep level. The new technologies are about to unleash a broadband and communication revolution that could make true sharing of learning, knowledge and wisdom easier than ever. We all understand more about holistic living, about our origins and about the nature of our future as a planet and what we can do to heal it. We are more spiritual, realizing that by being compassionate and kind we gain so much more in our lives. We should celebrate our new consciousness. It is time for new philosophers, new stories and new ideas. I encourage each of you to embrace the future, stop seeing yourselves as others and make an effort to create some real inventive changes in your lives. Perhaps some of our quests will inspire you into action.

Universal Quest has been quiet for a couple of months as we were ironing out our business plans. If you would like to read them, let me know and I will send you a copy of our vision. In the meanwhile, enjoy this month's quests and do let all your friends know about the Universal Quest.

Raja Choudhury
Founder
Raja@universalquest.com

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Life on Earth triggered by Asteroids:

4 billion years ago a cataclysmic asteroid shower bombarded the planet triggering off a series of reactions that may have led to the beginning of life. The flurry of space rocks, which may have lasted from 20 million to 200 million years, could have had major consequences on early Earth evolution, whether smashing the building blocks of primordial life or delivering them to the planet in the first place, researchers said. The bombardments were large enough to create craters the size of continents and would have destroyed any life that may have existed before.These ancient meteorites or comets could have brought life, some scientists theorize. This theory is called "panspermia". Its proponents suggest that complex organic molecules or even primitive life forms seeded the Earth after riding aboard rocky or icy cosmic debris.

Recycling Computers:

In 1998 Americans dumped over 21 million personal computers. By 2004 that number is expected to soar up to 315 million computers. The nightmare of disposing of computers is now challenging environmentalists and waste disposal experts all over the world. CRT tubes contain lead and the plastic casings of most computers are non-degradable in nature. One of the innovative solutions being tested involves recycling the machines by repairing them and sending to developing economies such as China and India that are now embracing the technology revolution. The one advantage of this is that these countries will benefit immensely from access to low cost computers. The negative effect is that they will end up with their own environmental nightmares in a few years when they have to recycle these recycled computers.

Have a look at a two companies that are recycling computers today at http://www.enviroinc.com and http://www.a-brecycling.com/home.htm and for more information visit the Environmental Protection Agency at http://www.epa.gov

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Project Gutenberg: Every book ever written, for free.

If you have ever dreamt of reading or downloading every book ever written from the Internet, for free, then your dreams have now come true.

Welcome to Project Gutenberg, the brainchild of Michael Hart, who in 1971 decided that it would be a really good idea if lots of famous and important texts were freely available to everyone in the world. Since then, he has been joined by hundreds of volunteers who share his vision. Now, almost thirty years later, Project Gutenberg publishes an average of one e-text every day!

The premise on which Michael Hart based Project Gutenberg was: anything that can be entered into a computer can be reproduced indefinitely - what Michael termed "Replicator Technology." The concept of Replicator Technology is simple: once a book or any other item (including pictures, sounds, and even 3-D items can be stored in a computer), then any number of copies can and will be available. Everyone in the world, or even not in this world (given satellite transmission) can have a copy of a book that has been entered into a computer. Project Gutenberg's ambition is to make available all public domain books, that is all books that are not protected by Copyright laws which last for 25 years.

You may not be able to get the latest thrillers, self-help or computer books but if you want to read truly great literature for free, then this is the place to go.

Visit Project Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.net/

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The Third Eye

"That secret is hidden behind the third eye center of the Master. The secret of the Ascension of the Prophet should be seen at a spot in between the 2 eyes of the Master. Within the white and black of the third eye shines a star and within that star is the sun which is not easily understood. In the center between the two eyes appears a shining winged moth. In the middle of the wings is an entry point. When you pierce that veil and enter within you will have crossed over to the land of eternal awakening and freedom. This world will bother you no more. You are liberated. Only those can enter this gate who have become perfect and have overcome relativities and qualities. When they enter the world of the Absolute they will never be separated from the Lord ever. There is the seat of eternal music, the music of the spheres. One who practices this sound principle gains entry into this kingdom." ~ From the Dialogues of Kabir.

The son of a Moslem weaver, Kabir was born in Benares, India in 1440. A married householder, he earned his livelihood from weaving and became one of the most influential figures of northern India and has been hailed as the "Father of Hindi literature". His spiritual growth was equally guided by the Sufi poetry of the great Persian mystics (Rumi among them) and by the Hindu teacher Ramananda. While Kabir converted to Hinduism, all his life Kabir sought to unite the conflicting streams of Muslim and Hindu spirituality. He attracted both Muslim and Hindu disciples and referred to God as both Allah and Rama. He spoke the language of the ordinary people, infusing it with the brightness of his Realization. In many popular verses, Kabir extols the supreme help afforded by a true Master and praises the devotion in the disciple. His following today, called the Kabirpanthir, with over a million devotees all over the world. Hew was a mystic as well and practised advanced forms of meditation and Yoga. His philosophy was the forerunner of Sikhism, which was founded by Guru Nanak, one of his disciples. Sikhism is one of India's major religions today.

Read about Kabir's life and read his work at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Stage/5842/saints/bio-1.html and find out about Kbir's impact on Sikhism at http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/kabir.html

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The Seat of the Soul:
Third Eye Myths and the Pineal Gland.

The "Third Eye" of mythology, mysticism and transcendatal experience has long been believed to be the Pineal Gland. It was thought to have mystical powers. Located directly behind the eyes, attached to the third ventricle, the pineal gland secretes Melatonin and Seatonin during times of relaxation and visualization. Referred to as the 'third eye,' the pineal gland is the chief organ of spirituality in the human brain, and enables us release from the lower planes if we know how to use it. The pineal gland is about the size of a grain of rice. Therefore its initial discovery was difficult and late in coming. Galen (2nd Century) was probably the first to describe it in the West. He thought it might be a valve to regulate the flow of thought from the lateral ventricles--cavities on each side--of the brain. Rene Descartes, the French philosopher, who made a number of rather remarkable scientific discoveries wrote about the gland 1500 years after Galen. In Descartes opinion the pineal was the "seat of the soul". He also postulated a direct connection between the eyes and the pineal by means of "strings" in the brain. Also that the gland acted as an interpreter, indeed the chief interpreter of vision. Not only did the gland operate as an interpreter but it also directed the muscles to respond to objects in the visual field. This was done, Descartes believed, through the flow of humours passing through hollow tubes between the gland and the muscles.

The Pineal gland is the center for the production of the hormone Melatonin. It regulates daily body rhythms, most notably the day/night cycle (circadian rhythms). Melatonin is released in the dark, during sleep. It is claimed that this hormone slows the aging process, coordinates fertility, allows deep restful sleep patterns and in some studies has been shown to reduce the risk of various cancers. Melatonin helps us feel good, alive, in tune, connected rested, relaxed and aids in the feeling of well being. When not excreted, it can cause imbalance, navigational difficulty and halucinations in a human being.

While the physiological function of the pineal gland had not been known until recent times, mystical traditions and esoteric schools have long known this area in the middle of the brain to be the connecting link between the physical and spiritual worlds. Considered the most powerful and highest source of ethereal energy available to humans, the pineal gland has always been important in initiating supernatural powers. Development of psychic talents has been closely associated with this organ of higher vision.

To activate the 'third eye' and perceive higher dimensions, the pineal gland and the pituitary body must vibrate in unison, which is achieved through meditation or relaxation. When a correct relationship is established between personality, operating through the pituitary body, and the soul, operating through the pineal gland, a magnetic field is created. The negative and positive forces interact and become strong enough to create the 'light in the head.'

This light has been seen by mystics, initiates, prophets and shamans throughout the ages and has been called by many names. Many cultures and mystics have induced this experience through the use of hallucinogenic substances - Soma, mushrooms, Mescalin or LSD - though these experiences tend to be short-lived and require repeat usage to re-live the experience. Most mystics agree that natural methods, such as intense meditation or visualization combined with physical purity are the best way to induce third eye activation and can have life-transforming consquences and benefits. All metaphysical or mystical traditions refer to this light as the experience of God or of a universal intelligence.

The question then arises: Is God a construct of our hyper-activated biology, or is our biology designed to open a portal into a broader universal consciousness. The debate continues.

Find out all about Descartes philosophy at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy at http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/descarte.htm
A good explanation about the Pineal Gland is at this site: http://isd.saginaw.k12.mi.us/~mobility/pineal.htm
Read about the connection between the Pineal Gland and LSD at http://serendipity.magnet.ch/mcclay/pineal.html

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God is light - from Milton's Paradise Lost

Read the full poem at the Electronic Literature Foundation - the best online version I have seen.

John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost" is considered the greatest poem in the English language. Milton was born on December 9th 1608 in London to a family of English Protestants. He attended St. Paul's and later Cambridge earning his Masters Degree in 1632. He traveled through Europe after leaving Cambridge and visited Galileo. He was married in 1642 to 17 year old Mary Powell. The marriage was a disaster from the start and she left within a month of their wedding. After the execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell employed Milton as the Secretary of Foreign Tongues. Milton produced a mass of literature encouraging Britons to embrace republicanism and reject the monarchy. Following Cromwell's death and the restoration of the monarchy, Milton was forced into hiding. In1667 Milton, now blind, dictated the epic poem "Paradise Lost" to his daughters. This was the last great accomplishment of his life. Milton died on Nov. 8th of that year.

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What is Mysticism?

Mysticism is a belief in or the pursuit in the unification with the One or some other principle; the immediate consciousness of God; or the direct experience of religious truth. Mysticism is nearly universal and unites most religions in the quest for divinity. It can also be a sense of mystical knowledge. Dionysius the Areopagite was the first to introduce the concept "unknown knowing" to the Western World. In areas of the occult and psychic it denotes an additional domain of esoteric knowledge and paranormal communication. Even though it is thought that just monks and ascetics can become mystics, mysticism usually touches all people at least once in their lives.

The term "mysticism" comes from the classical Greco-Roman mystery cults. Perhaps it came from myein meaning "to close the lips and eyes, and refers to the sacred oath of the initiates, the mystes, to keep secret about the inner workings of the religion." In Neo-platonism "mysticism" came to be associated with secrecy of any kind. The term mystica appeared in the Christian treatise, Mystica Theologia, of an anonymous Syrian Neoplatonist monk of the late fifth or early sixth century, who was known pseudonymously as Dionysius the Areopagite. In this work mysticism was described as the secrecy of the mind.

Despite the various approaches to mysticism it seems to possess some common characteristics. Such were the findings of the philosopher W. T. Stace, who discovered seven common themes of mysticism when studying Roman Catholic, Protestant, ancient classical, Hindu, and American agnostic mystical experiences. They were (1) a unifying vision and perception of the One by the senses and through many objects; (2) the apprehension of the One as an inner life; (3) and objective and true sense of reality; (4) feelings of satisfaction, joy, and bliss; (5) a religious element that is a feeling of the holy and sacred; (6) a paradoxical feeling; (7) and inexpressible feelings. From the above is can easily be seen that mysticism is not the same to every person experiencing it. Therefore, there are various kinds or types. Various mystics subscribe to one of two theories of Divine Reality: emanation or immanence. In the emanation view, all things in the universe are overflowing from God. In the immanence view, the universe is not projected from God, but is immersed in God.

Read the full definition of Mysticism in the Encyclopedia Mythica.

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AT Mann: Miraculous Methods
An interview by Peter Barton

First Published in the December 2000 edition of The Artful Mind: Berkshires' Monthly Artzine

Peter Barton, for The Artful Mind, recently interviewed Universal Quest's cofounder Tad Mann. We give you an excerpt here and provide a link to the full article at our Web site. This will give you a good idea about some of the philosophies behind the Universal Quest. A.T. (Tad) Mann suggests that there are transcendent principles passed down from the higher ancient civilizations that harmonize the fundamental needs of mankind with the forces of the universe. He further proposes that demystifying secret teachings and advancing timeless methods through modernist discoveries in arts and sciences will organize a citizenry enlightened not to global awareness alone, but intimate individual experience with the central reality of the metaphysical universe. In more than twelve books, this author exposes the dangers of contemporary educational values that encourage false impressions of ancient teachings and practices because they conflict with present modes. His aim is to expose, to explore, and ultimately to refresh the thinking and application of these ancient methods in the clear light of modern living. Here is an extract from the interview:

PB: You left Cornell University with a degree in Architecture in 1966 and went to Manhattan to work with a prominent firm, but it didn’t take. You did design work on several important buildings, but soon left on a "journey to the East." What was that about?

ATM: Even while working in New York I spent a year in Italy in 1968 working for the Architect’s Collaborative, which was a firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, started by Walter Gropius. I really began to get the European tradition in my bones, in a way, and to enjoy the openness that existed there, vis a vis the way one could express ideas. A little later I became involved in the movement of the sixties, which caused dramatic reassessment of where I was going in terms of my career as an architect, but also on spiritual and esthetic grounds. I began being drawn more and more to the East and Eastern philosophy, which led me to read Jungian Psychology and Eastern Mysticism. This awakening sensibility culminated in the journey around 1970-72. I lived in Morocco and traveled overland to India.

PB: I recall you came to my farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts after your return. You had a glazed-over demeanor and lots of experiences to talk about concerning a personal cultural evolution of the self, you might say.

ATM: This was a very powerful experience for many reasons. In some ways I feel that for the last 28 years I’ve been working through the legacy of experiences I had from that time. Powerful in the sense that I realized I had been very much functioning from my head, which my Cornell education encouraged, if not required. I discovered that there were other levels of being which were just as important, if not more important, like higher intellectual, emotional, and spiritual domains. I began focusing a lot of energy in that direction. Indeed, as I traveled I began painting mandalas, which are circular diagrams, reflections of the psyche, which are instrumental in meditation and in Yoga. These are meant to function as a center for concentration. Simultaneously, of course, I was learning astrology. I spent a number of years living in very primitive places, and realized how powerful the movement of the planets and the stars actually is and began recognizing astrology as a psychic gradient between architecture and social integration; this because I had always been interested in proportion systems used in architecture. If you consider architecture as a three-dimensional object that you walk through in a fourth dimension of time, you can view astrology as a fourth and fifth dimensional pursuit. I merely began applying these same proportional systems, the Golden Section for one, to the development of time through people’s lives.

PB: Books like Sacred Architecture, Sacred Sexuality, The Round Art, Life Time Astrology, et al, probably a half-million books in print, not to mention your own Mandala Astrological Tarot and countless painting and print images of one sort or another. How personal were these pursuits–or were you just fiddling with the miraculous?

ATM: I’ve done 12 books over the past 26 years. I’ve been very lucky, particularly being in England through the early years, because I’ve been able to write and have books published about my ideas, about my philosophical, astrological, and architectural theories, which are quite radical, even outside of the mainstream in the alternative world. In many ways, I see these books as a kind of cosmology in a sense, of searching to find my roots and coming to the understanding that my roots are in the cosmos. Astrology was a way of locating myself in space and time and it served that purpose very admirably in all of the years since. Many of my early books talk specifically about a very unusual astrological system that I invented that has a biological dimension as well as a psychological and spiritual dimension. It’s also unique because it takes an individual back to when they were conceived. But these astrological ideas are still perceived as very much ahead of their time and quite radical. So I began writing books about other more adventurous subjects, the last two of these were Sacred Architecture and Sacred Sexuality.

Read the full interview with pictures at http://www.universalquest.com/atm.htm

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Thales: The father of Western Philosophy

In 625BC, a gentleman named Thales; one of the fathers of the Greek City of Miletus, legendary as a commercial power and a seat of great inventions and thinking, posed a unique question.

He wondered whether there was one thing that remains the same when everything else is different from one moment, or eon, to the next.

Thales became the first person to propose a single universal principle of the material universe. He thought it was water. He had begun to understand the world in a very new way and as a result can be described as the world's first philosopher. This question preccupied the great Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and was responsible partially for the renaisance and the birth of Science as we know it today.

Thales can claim the title of "first Philospher" for two reasons. Firstly, he had not resorted to animistic, supernatural or magical explanations for what happens in the world. Secondly he made the assumption that the world and even the universe was a thing whose workings a human mind could grasp, comprehend or even understand. This was the true beginning of Western Philosophy and the birth of the scientific way. John Burnett later described Science as "thinking about the world in the Greek way".

Today, we consider the difference between Eastern and Western philosophies as being two different ways of looking at the universe. Indeed. Western philosophy, as propounded by Thales in his question, sees the universe as made up of essential elements that can be reduced to reveal a hidden set of laws or elemental principles that govern the behavior of all things. Eastern mysticism suggests that the universe just is and is so everywhere, all of the time. All we have to do is realize that and become one with that consciousness. However, whether we reduce everything into smaller and smaller compartments; DNA, String theory, Quantum particles; or whether we stand away from it all and watch the universe as a wonderful dance - we are all beginning to realize the interconnectedness of all things and perhaps from this realization, great new creative ideas and philosophies will emerge.

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Election Fever & Its Strange Consequences
ATM

The ongoing Presidential election in the US has created a new industry of jokes, jibes and partisan infighting both within the US and abroad. At this date, a month after Election Night, we seem no closer to discovering who the next president will be, although it seems Dubya Bush is closer than Al Gore.

What is striking about the election is that many astrologers predicted accurately not only the result (which is outrageous), but described the circumstances very clearly. Among the most perceptive is the following article by Jeff Jawer, founder of StarIQ astrological web site. Following are Jeff’s words, written before the election.

"A general overview of November 7 shows the planet Mercury turning direct (forward) in the last degree of Libra, the sign of the scales. This represents the mixed emotions many people have about the candidates. The Moon in changeable Pisces on Election Day reinforces the general uncertainty the electorate is feeling. It is possible that a desire to keep power divided between the two parties will continue the split between Congress and the White House. This could be such a close election that the winner of the popular vote is not the winner of the electoral vote that determines the outcome of the race. Such an event could lead to a reconsideration of the Electoral College and a possible change of the Constitution."

To this I would add that throughout the entire process both Jupiter and Saturn, the pair of planets that govern (sic) the philosophy and structure of the world, have been retrograde, meaning that their movement is apparently backwards against the zodiac belt. In such times issues are raised but rarely reach acceptable conclusions (the Electoral College), businesses are started but experience early difficulties and delays (the profound downturn in the tech stocks), agreements are made but not resolved or kept (Israel and the Palestinians).

Indeed the two major planets will remain in their retrograde movement until they go direct, virtually together, Saturn on January 24^th 2001 and Jupiter on January 25^th. Until then we can expect more analysis, dissention and great difficulties manifesting even the slightest progress.

In another irony, American presidents elected with Jupiter and Saturn conjunct (in the same zodiac sign) happens every twenty years. Since 1860, every president with the exception of Ronald Reagan elected on a year divisible by 20 with Jupiter and Saturn conjunct in air signs (Gemini, Libra or Aquarius) died in office. Lincoln (1860), McKinley (1880), Garfield (1900), Wilson (1920), Roosevelt (1940) and Kennedy (1960). Reagan may have been an exception because the two planets moved very briefly back into an earth sign when he took office.

For more, see http://www.stariq.com and at
- StarIQ in CNN http://www.cnn.com/2000/CAREER/trends/10/10/star.iq/
- StarIQ in the LATimes http://www.stariq.com/publicity/latimes/

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Plan Ahead
The Galactic Times for December 6, 2000
by Philip Sedgwick

Meanwhile, back on Earth, solar emanations continue to blast our Chakras.

With unsettling energies, earthquakes occur all over with an "apparently" increasing frequency, an iceberg near Antarctica had two bergs split off from it (alert the "no such thing as global warming" folks) and the United States cannot pick a president. All this just in time for the holiday season and the turn over of the new year, which in fact, does start the New Millennium. So what?

Most people now complain of both an energy stimulation that jostles their body and a simultaneous tired feeling that won't go away. Perhaps the Aquarian agenda of Uranus and Neptune can create the energy feeling, but I think it's more the Solar activity cycle. And maybe the retrograding of Saturn in Taurus creates the tired, lagging sensation. Seems to me there's more to that as well.

The other morning while barely returning to consciousness through my Pisces ascendant I had a realization. In the past five years we have probably (and I'm really guessing here) doubled the EMF (electromagnetic flux) on the planet through the creation and use of computers, cellular phones, hand held devices and other wireless whatnots. In our airspace, whether you use them or not, drift the emanations of all these devices. Ultimately, there would be a physical effect upon our Chakras. It would seem that the disarray of these energies induces the sense of physical fatigue reported by many. Somehow, I don't think sleeping under the coils of an electric blanket will undo the effects.

In the interest of planning ahead (and if you haven't the approach of the holidays would be less fun that expected) imagine what you can do to sustain your energies better in an era where random EMF is guaranteed to increase. Since the Winter Solstice approaches how about beginning to plan a ceremony to honor the return of growing light? That way when the Solstice arrives you smoothly glide into ceremonial garb and rhythm.

Looking ahead even further to next year consider how you feel every January. Perhaps it would be a good thing to schedule a session with someone to set some guidance for your New Year. That way your seasonal adjustment disorders would be minimal.

Philip Sedgwick
galastro@aol.com

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ABOUT UNIVERSAL QUEST

Raja Choudhury : Founder
A T Mann : Cofounder/Contributing Editor

Visit our Web Site at http://www.universalquest.com

We would love your contributions, articles, thoughts, comments, suggestions and ideas. Please do write to us at news@universalquest.com

All rights reserved ©copyright May 2000
Raja Choudhury
Universal Quest,
560 W 43 Street - Suite 20G
New York, NY 10036
Tel: 917 769 7616

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