The Truth of Myth
An interview with Anthropologist and Associate Professor, Tok Thompson.
‘Mythos’ is the Greek word for story-of-the-people, and ‘logos’ stands for word or speech. Myth, or Mythology, is the spoken story of a people and has played an integral part in every civilization throughout the world.
Pre-historic cave paintings, etchings in stone, tombs, and monuments all suggest that, long before human beings set down their myths in words, they had already developed a belief structure corresponding to the definition of `myth’.
Studying mythology is the interpretation of traditional and sacred tales of a culture known as myths or the collection of such stories which deal with various aspects of the human condition. For instance good and evil… the origin of place-names, animals, cultural values, and traditions. But also, the meaning of life and death, the afterlife and the gods or a god.
Myths… they express the beliefs and values about these subjects held by a certain culture. So, what one calls “mythology” in the present day, was the religion of the ancient past. But what it the truth behind these ancient stories?
Click here to be directed to Prof. Thompson’s book (Amazon)
Will a Collective and Directed Consciousness Let Us Evolve Into a Type III Civilization?
With radio host, UFO investigator and author, Philip Kinsella
Imagine what we can accomplish if we all focus our consciousness toward creating more sustainable ways of generating energy, cleaning the earth, reducing hunger or, finding solutions for interstellar travel, and educating. Focusing your motive power on one goal, towards the right direction of movement, will accelerate the velocity and will move you closer to your goal.
According to the great mind of Nikola Tesla, that is the secret formula for increasing the collective human energy, how we raise our intelligence and evolve as a species.
But all this energy emanates from one single center, one single source what maintains all human life and supplies all human energy…the sun!
Can we, with a collective and directed consciousness, address this eternal energy in the Universe? Bundle it and build advanced technologies like a biological Dyson sphere, in order to save the Earth and evolve into a type III civilization?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel… and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet”… and this week I am welcoming back clairvoyant medium, UFO researcher and co-host of the radio show “Twin Souls”, Philip Kinsella…and discuss with him if building up the human energy means higher levels of operating power for our consciousness what, eventually, might let us evolve into a type III civilization.
[Top]STE(A)M Is For All!!
Regardless if it is an online (news) article that triggered our curiosity or, a document sent by email, we click the link and start reading. This is a skill many of us take for granted without thinking twice. But there are a myriad people in the world who cannot rely on their vision fully or partly. They are, for instance, born blind or, have lost their vision after an accident.
For parents whose children are blind or, those mentors, teachers, who are working with children whose eyesight is visually impaired, below you find 3 STEM articles which can be downloaded as a PDF. Just hit the ‘read-out-loud’ function on your computer/laptop after downloading the PDF’s, for your children and/or students to listen to the articles.
The Very First Letter of STEM is ‘Science’
By Maria Anna van Driel, www.medium.com
“The earliest roots of science can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes.” Source: Wikipedia
Nowadays, young people have an almost free access to an interactive world we have become to know as ‘The Internet’. Wikipedia in this, is a frequently visited site for them to upgrade their already possessing knowledge.
But how reliable is the written knowledge we can find on the internet? I mean, are we in the position of adding a form of creative an critical thinking to this avalanche of information? Are we allowed to take this information, discuss it , break the taboo and convert it all into a new evolution in science?
“My research field does not quite fall within the framework of the standard model of STEM subjects.” Too often I hear this and similar comments from people experiencing this feeling of dissatisfaction what is, in my opinion, not something that should be screaming in the background of anyone’s passion for researching the myriad possibilities all sciences has to offer in the modern era we have counted to be the twenty-first century. This is not the true meaning of science. Science, regardless which field is firing up your curiosity, should start with exploring the question asked! Even if this questions falls slightly outside the frameworks of ‘accepted’ science.
So, are we allowed of breaking this problem, this taboo, and widen the boundaries that indicate the, in this line of thought, tunnel vision what seems to be taught so abundant since the removal of, for instance, Plato’s teachings?
It seems that here we are addressing that one particular sore spot in what the general public, as well as some scientists, think to understand about science. Unfortunately, this also leads to young people being taught that STEM subjects are those sciences which fall within the, by the majority, acceptable boundaries of what science is standing for.
Why is creativity necessary to science and art?
Personally, I am of the opinion that STEM (STEAM) should speak of young people gaining the opportunity to explore all corners of science without this fear of being ridiculed. Young people should have this freedom of expressing their creativity in what we have become to understand as the standard model for science. This creativity is necessary in all sciences because it involves imagination, and imagination equals visualization. In other words, creativity in itself has ‘created’ the world we live in today.
Think about it, would a mathematician really be able to solve the problem in the moment he or she is focusing on the flat numbers only? Visualizing the numbers, use them as coordinates and connect them and, convert it all into multidimensional objects floating in a Euclidean space, seems to be a much easier way to solve a math problem.
Did you know that mathematics can be discerned in arts such as music, dance, painting, architecture, sculpture, and textiles? And did you also know that these are considered to be the first ‘technologies’ used in cultures and societies? I wonder how a skyscraper would look like when this creative visualization (thinking outside the box) is not taught to, for instance, an engineer.
How it all connects
Even though Science is with humanity for centuries, it is still in its infant moment but that does not mean that as soon as you find yourself not agreeing with someone’s research results you should sweep it under the carpet and label it is as pseudo-science or, ‘hypothetical nonsense’.
You know that, at one point in time, the pony express was thought of being the fastest way to transport messages but, in that same period the Romans already had the intelligence to think of VLC (visible light communication) what most likely was copied from their Egyptians neighbors who understood the effect in charging light even more by using ‘mirrors’. Today we understand this as photon trapping which is something that is accepted by the majority.
Centauries later this term VLC, as well as its engineering, went beyond its own borders due to the curiosity of those who applied critical thinking to their scientific research. And if they did not had done so, none of us would have touch screens, internet, cell phones, electricity, a car… and physicists would not had the possibility to discover the Higgs Boson. Never forget, once upon at time there were scientific adventurist, visionaries, pioneers, who thought up an apparatus you know today as an accelerator.
So, for all who are convinced that their research field is a bit outside the remit of any STEM subject, this thought falls within the range of being incorrect and seems to be based on a behavior of the majority accepting knowledge in a democratic manner. I wonder, how would the world today look like if Leonardo DaVinci, Nicolai Tesla, Albert Einstein, Carl Gustav Jung, Erwin Schödinger, just to name a few, had not applied this way of thinking to their research? Would we had the opportunity to speak with each other through this medium we call “Internet” and read the psychology between the lines of an email?
Remember that the very first letter of STEM is Science which is from the Latin word scientia, meaning “knowledge” what can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject and can be acquired in many different ways and from many different sources, including but not limited to perception, reason, memory, testimony, scientific inquiry, education, and practice.
According to Wikipedia, “The philosopher Plato famously pointed out the need for a distinction between knowledge and true belief in the Theaetetus, leading many to attribute to him a definition of knowledge as “justified true belief”. The difficulties with this definition raised by the Gettier problem have been the subject of extensive debate in epistemology (the philosophical study of knowledge) for more than half a century.”
On the latter, do I have to say more?
[Top]The Physical and Biological Sciences Which Could Explain the Origin and Nature of Life in the Universe
An interview with SETI’s Senior Director of Education and STEM Programs, Dr. Simon Steel
Ever wondered what life on other planets would look like from a scientific perspective? Well, if you lived on a planet with twice the gravity of Earth, you would come crashing down twice as hard if you fell. So, some creatures would perhaps be stronger, stockier and with legs close to the ground.
And what if there really were Martians? Well, Mars is a planet with low gravity so, think of creatures with thin, spindly legs. And if life evolved on a dense soupy planet then you could perhaps see creatures as big as whales or elephants flying not through air but, through a liquid atmosphere.
The humans species is not at the top of the evolutionary ladder. We are not the end point or the goal of evolution. Odd as it might sound to some but we where accidents. We eat and breath through our mouths and that means we can choke on food. That’s a terrible design! Maybe aliens evolved differently and don’t need to breathe through a mouth but, like worms do, through their skin. Anything is possible as long as it makes sense for the environment.
But how do we contact ‘them’ in this huge, vast universe and…what if we really do find complex life out there? Would it change our place in the universe because it is telling us that we are not alone?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel… and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet” and this week we are going to make an adventurous journey through the universe with SETI‘s Senior Director of Education and STEM Programs, Dr. Simon Steel. So, fasten your seatbelts, put on your space helmets, get rid of those outdated alien stereotypes and let’s explore our cosmic freezer like galactic detectives.
[Top]STE(A)M; A New Wave in a Vast Ocean of Possibilities.
By Maria anna van Driel, www.medium.com
Don’t wait until they tell you you are ready, get in there! If you, as a freshman, want to write, direct and star in your own vibrating career, the lights are already aimed at you.
That particular moment in where you know you have to deal with you’re not allowed to do that you know you have presented yourself in an incredible way and it’s only a ‘tough thing’ to convince people that there is something more or that they might want to see something different.
I have always believed that it is not about convincing others of you fitting the profile of their thinking but, that it is about an illuminated spark. It is about who you are as a person. It is about your soul reaching out to your true purpose in live.
What is the struggle worth? The ‘safe road’ is going pay off way better! Well, there are many payoffs to it but can you travel that familiar road and have your soul be on a completely different track…away from whatever it is that is truly firing up your passion and curiosity? It is always worth asking questions, explore new territory and, take a risk every now and then by, for instance, bringing new thoughts into your essay. And if this exploring side of you is not excepted by the, so called, popular kids in school, so what. You are expanding your mind, yourself!
You are the vanguard of knowledge and consciousness…a new wave in a vast ocean of possibilities.
On the other side of those school doors there is a world starving for new ideas and new leadership. And even though fear might be a player in your life sometimes, deciding how you can spend your whole life imagining ghosts and worrying about the pathway to the future, all there will ever be is what is happening here and the decisions you make in this moment for you to walk up to tomorrow. Decisions which are based on either love or fear.
As a teenager I had so many dreams of where I wanted to go, who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a brilliant engineer and build space ships, write scripts for Science Fiction movies and earn billions and billions of Euro’s. It might take a little time I thought but it will happen. What I didn’t want to think about was what do I have to start tomorrow. Then, 30 years later, completely unexpected, I was thrown into this expansive, incredible feeling of freedom. A freedom from myself – my problems – I saw that I was bigger then what my 18 year old version wanted to do. I was bigger than my body – I was everything and everyone.
I was no longer a fragment of the universe, I was the universe. And in that moment I realized that the purpose of my life was never about me walking the illuminated places the stage of life is presenting so sparkly. My true purpose in life had always been to free people from concern, to make them familiar again with their own define rhythm, for them to present their amazing work while walking the stage of life.
Realizing that my Ego was trying to keep me trapped in the multiplex of the mind, in this allay of ‘materialistic thinking’ eventually resulted in the expanding my thoughts. Today, 30 years later, this has reached a myriad people and created an incredible effect in them feeling comfortable…a view that is making me smile time and time again.
Too many people choose a path/career out of fear for what they really want, what seems impossibly out of reach or is too ridiculous to expect. So they never dare to take that step towards their true purpose in life, never dare to ask the universe for it. I am saying, you can fail at what you don’t want so, you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
So, as soon as you start your favorite STE(A)M subject, your very first day at collage remember that your soul is not contained within the limits of your body, your body is contained within the limitlessness of your soul. And even if it might sound crazy to you at this moment, don’t search for defining moments because they will never come. These moments that define you have already happened and they will happen again.
And if you get a bit derailed along the way, that is alright…soon something starts to happen. A rhythm sets in just like it did after your first few days on the university. Just try not to wait, like me, until you are 48 before you find it, continue the one you have already found.
The world is yours!
[Top]Is Learning How to Expand Our Consciousness the Bridge to Build Between the Human Mind and AI?
For a long time, humans have wondered whether machines could eventually achieve consciousness or, whether artificial intelligence would ever reach a state of self-awareness.
The exact definition of AI is hotly debated and there are already many fantastic explanations of AI on the internet but broadly speaking, AI is advanced statistics and applied mathematics which harnesses new advances in computing power and the explosion of available data to give computers new powers of inference, recognition, choice and, eventually, possessing an awareness of its own consciousness.
Will future AI really be able to do so?
Well, the first thing that is important to understand is that all that exists, whether seen or unseen, when it is broken down into its simplest and most basic form of energy, consists of a rate of frequency. To begin to comprehend the nature of Consciousness, and to directly experience an ‘Expanding Consciousness’ through increasing ones personal frequencies, one must go beyond flat linear thinking, thought addiction and stop accepting everything one has been told by others as fact and truth.
Will AI be able to train its own ‘mind’, step into the realm of direct cognition and higher sensory perceptual experiences what then allows it to perceive things as they really are and not what it, perhaps, wishes them to be?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel… and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet” and this week I am speaking with Partner & Trainer in accelerating thinking at Council for Human Development Swiss Association, Anna K. Hiltensberger and Founder, Director and CEO at Consciousness Coin, Kern Frost about how we can learn to expand our consciousness and if this is the future bridge to build between the human mind and AI?
A Message With an Impact From Your Scientific Community!
By Maria Anna van Driel, www.medium.com , edited by Cheryl Knight-Wilson
Life is a cruel system, is it not? Or should I say society is? As a young student, you work hard, really hard! For days, weeks, months…you put all your energy in your field/lab research, your calculations, or in finding the perfect words for your essay, thesis, book, article. During this period, you slowly start to see a fabulous outcome. Yes…you are going to ace this for sure! Proudly, you present the results of your hard work! And then, reality kicks in. People say your calculations are gibberish, you have researched in the wrong direction, and your book does not contain coherent grammar. SH*T!
Now you can throw all your notes out the window from the highest building you can find and crawl into a deep, dark cellar hiding yourself from the world and let this terrible feeling of disappointment consume you entirely. Okay, this sh*tty feeling is understandable, but do really think you have failed?
Well, the contributors of The Next Truth magazines have another thought on this that is backed up with both waterproof scientific evidence and years of life experience. And odd as it might sound to you at this point in your young life, but the successful people you see in this picture have experienced the needed ups and downs during their studies and professional careers. But whatever it was that crossed their paths, they never gave up on their passions and to become an expert in their fields.
And you know what, if these people can do it, you can too! So, when life knocks you down, try and land on your back, because if you can look up, you can get up. If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for, to work day and night for your passion, spent your time on making this your decade, you’ve got to start saying YES to your dreams and your unfolding future.
Believe it or not, you are going to be there one day, but you will never get there if you give up, if you give in and quit.
STEM education is YOUR path forward regardless if you are a boy or a girl, your country of birth, skin color…to build your confidence, skills, and knowledge to become an expert in a field that fires up your curiosity the most. So why would you let any barriers get in front of you and hold you back?
From left to right (top): 1) International PR & Space Technology Commercialization Transfer advisor and role model for Space4Woman Network by UNOOSA , Chiara Chiesa. 2) Theoretical physicist and expert on Albert Einstein’s theories, Prof. Emeritus Ronald Lawrence Mallett, who is best known for his research on gravitational frame dragging by light (aka Time travel by laser light). 3) Social psychologist and the Cornelia H. Dudley Prof. of Psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, Frank T. McAndrew, who became best known for his pioneering work on gossip, creepiness and the psychology of mass shootings.
From left to right (middle): 1) Global Young Academy Co-Chair and Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research Kolkata, Anindita Bhadra. 2) German-born theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) 3) Paranormal Underground Magazine’s editor-in-chief, Cheryl Knight-Wilson and PUG’s publisher, Chad Wilson.
From left to right (bottom): 1) Near-Death and Out-of-Body Expert and the author of “The Wonder of You”, Lynn Kathleen Russell. 2) Matthew J. Sharps, PhD, Professor of Experimental Psychology, California State University, Fresno, specializing in forensic cognitive science. 3) Shaman and author of the workbook, “The Way to Self-Healing Workbook: Your Guide for the Journey Inward through the Power of Your Mind” and contributor to TNT, Tony Damian.
Think Before You Deny Young People to Explore Science!
Odd as it might sound to some but, if we deny young people, who are our next generation scientists, to explore UFO technologies we deny them to explore the science of engineering. If we deny them to search for Bigfoot, the creature of Loch Ness, we deny them enroll studies like Mythology.
If we deny their curious minds to find out if their is extraterrestrial life in the universe, we deny them to become an Astronomer, Astrophysicist, or perhaps to become an Astronaut. And if we teach young people that it is childish to play with dinosaurs, Anthropology and Biology will be wiped out from their curious minds. If we hold our future generation scientists back by telling them to stick with ‘thinking inside the box’, we will destroy the future philosophers.
STEM is not just a subject at school it’s a way of thinking and doing and an important skill set that could see your generation working together to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.
Stem stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics but it’s not about being an expert in all of those things, instead it’s about harnessing the essential transferable skills behind them.
Scientists know how to hypothesize experiment analyze and evaluate what they discover.
Technology can make our lives better designers of all sorts work together to make everyday tasks more effective and more fun.
Engineers don’t solvers that work on some of the world’s biggest challenges like creating bionic limbs for people with disabilities or exploring outer space.
Mathematics teaches us how to quantify data and how physics rules the world around us. With mathematics we can implement change and minimize error.
You won’t have to master all of these skills either. Teamwork is an essential STEM skill. Take the search for new energy sources for example. Geologists and geophysicists search for gas deposits. Engineers help you design and run platforms and processing plants Construction. teams work to build essential infrastructure under the supervision of project managers. And environmental scientists work with everyone every step of the way.
Plane to your strengths and working in a team will have you creating a greater impact than if you are working alone. It would cost the Australian economy 9.3 billion in lost productivity profitability and employee satisfaction.
STEM skills are useful to almost every career 75% of today’s fastest-growing careers require STEM skills and 82% of today’s employees say they value STEM skills even if they’re not required for the job. STEM skills can even unlock your potential to earn a higher salary or become more employable. You don’t have to earn a university degree in stem to be successful either. There are plenty of courses to get you started in stem but we don’t have enough stem graduates to meet demand.
Numbers show the demand for STEM careers has grown 79% since 1990 but enrollments in stem degrees are at an all-time low compared to the last 20 years. And despite the job opportunities just 16 of stem professionals are women.
STEM careers can start small then change the world. Engaging in your high school stem classes or learning to code could be your first step to delivering tribalist vehicles to the roads, starting a research project at home or entering a science competition could see you to feeding cancer with a cure.
And that’s just the beginning! We don’t yet know what kind of jobs will exist 10, 20, 30 years from now but with STEM you’re prepared for anything.
How will you shape the future with your stem skills?
Sasquatch; Legend Meets Science
An interview with Idaho State University’s Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, D. Jeffery Meldrum
Every part of the world has its legends.
The Lakota believed in a powerful, burly figure they called “Chiye-Tanka”, or “Big Elder Brother”. The Eskimos called it “bushman”. The Colville Indians call him “Sasquatch” and the Hoopas of northern California call him “Omar”.
In 1604, French navigator Samuel de Champlain ominously described a frightful monster, what bears the name “Gougou”. In 1811, explorer David Thompson was hiking through the Rockies when he stumbled upon some seriously massive footprints, while an 1884 edition of a British Columbia newspaper called ‘The Daily Colonist’ reported the capture of a young, gorilla-like primate called “Jacko.” In 1924, a group of miners in Washington claimed to have been besieged all night long by a troop of hairy ape-man in a chasm now known as “Ape Canyon“.
Is it a bear? Could it possibly be some kind of giant ape? Could it even be some kind of ancient hominid, a member of the human family like Neanderthals that were thought to be extinct or…could it be a hoax.
Bigfoot, Yeti, sasquatch… It strikes fear and the imagination. Is it real or myth and why hasn’t anyone captured a Bigfoot. With all the leading technology scientists have today, why haven’t they found definitive evidence?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel… and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet” and this week I am speaking with Idaho State University‘s Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, Jeff Meldrum about the science behind Bigfoot. Is there compelling evidence of Bigfoot being real.
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