Issue 151 (Jan - Feb 2023)

Many athletes retire in their 20s or 30s. There are many good examples of athletes who have played into their late 30s, or even 40s, and continued to break records in their respective fields. When Lionel Messi finally raised the FIFA World Cup this past December 2022, he was 35—at the apex of his c…

From one perspective, some think, the entire world is in chaos—it is not possible to speak of any beauty or goodness, nor is there room for faith, divine knowledge, emotions, love, or enthusiasm. In this world, feelings are confused, thoughts are bizarre, and life overall is like hell. Voices are o…

A balanced lifestyle is a must for a healthy biological, mental, and spiritual life. We need balance in everything: eating, speaking, working, sleeping, discipline, and even in love. Working extra hours incessantly may cause a mental breakdown and weaken our family ties; sleeping too much (unless d…

It was discouragingly dark among the shrubs, and there was the rustle of dead leaves. A half-moon made mottled silver patterns on the higher branches of the trees. Walking through the park at night made the girl acutely aware of solitude. She saw the stoic swans on the lake but they were ghostly c…

“Medical education is the process for training doctors, subordinate to the dominant economic and social structures in societies in which it takes place.” [1] Over the last decades, we have witnessed increasing income inequality. The US is no exception. The discrepancy between upper-income and low-…

Sound is created by fluctuations in air pressure caused by a vibrating source that stimulates hearing in humans. We produce sound with the help of organs such as the vocal cords, lungs, and muscles. Humans speak using sounds at the limited frequencies they can perceive (20 Hz-20 kHz). Music is def…

Although we may not completely understand the meaning of gratitude when we’re young, it is one of the first things we are taught. As soon as we are able to speak, we are prompted to say please and thank you. What we do understand, at that point, is that these words have power. The word “please” wil…

Sincerity or purity of intention (ikhlas) and perfect goodness or excellence (ihsan) are the two bases and the most important sources of power for journeying and initiation. When the initiates’ heart beats with a feeling of sincerity and the consciousness of perfect goodness, they sometimes utter T…

At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, countries signed an agreement on a series of measures to address climate change. The agreement includes key decisions such as a commitment to phase out coal, regular reviews of emission reduction plans and more financial sup…

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center discovered that when we look at a written word, a special part of our brain perceives it “like a picture, not a group of letters needing to be processed” [1]. The researchers studied 25 participants through fMRI (functional magnetic resonance ima…

If there’s one thing I learned as a medical trainee who deals daily with death, it’s that humans want to be remembered. We want to survive the tides of the future. We want to survive death. All our lives are devoted to doing something, to leaving a mark on this earth. Too often, however, all we man…

The relationship between nature’s physical and metaphysical dimensions have been under debate since time immemorial. The nature we see as the deterministic functioning of the laws of physics and chemistry—which we call “causes”—include such phenomena as the rain falling, the sun’s warmth, plants ge…

Speaking of oneself all the time—in other words, doing things to attract attention to oneself and impress others—is a weakness in character. Of course, there are times when one needs to express himself or herself. For instance, prayer is a time when one stands before God and pours out their inner f…

Harvesting freshwater from ocean vapor at a global scale Rahman et al. Increasing freshwater supply to sustainably address global water security at scale. Scientific Reports, December 2022. Water covers 70% of our planet, but the freshwater that we use for drinking, bathing, and irrigation is inc…