THE POWER OF LOVE.

Love is a feeling of warm and tender personal attachment or deep affection and an inner and freely quality that is expressed outwardly as a commitment to seek the well-being of the people around us  through concrete acts. True love is the unmerited acceptance of people regardless who or what they are. 

Love is a central concept and the essential defining characteristic of the relationship between God and humans. The evidence that God is Love is abundant. This can be seen in the physical creation itself. With what remarkable care it has been made for the health, pleasure, and welfare of man.

The Scripture speaks of the True Love guided by principle, as love for righteousness or even love for one's enemies, for whom a person may not have affection. This expression of love is an unselfish devotion to righteousness and a sincere concern for the lasting welfare of others.

The entire narrative of the calling, election, covenant and promises made to the His chosen people is hereby declared to be the story of God's unmerited love, bestowed on the condition of the human heart. We as humans are easily drawn away from a commitment to God and stubbornly we resists God's Will.

God being the very personification of Love teaches us the levels in which His Love is denoted in the foregoing senses, through the context of the narratives in the Scripture determining the sense and degree of what His Love meant.

Love can be known only from the action it prompts. God reveals Himself as a 'Person', and figuratively speaks of His eyes, hands, heart, soul, and so forth. The nature and dominant quality of God's Love is seen in the gift of His Son and His Plan of Divine Salvation. Only by embracing the unity in His love that His Plan of Salvation requires, then we will be able to respond to Him with a true whole-hearted love. Moreover, God has the capacity to hate, the very oppose quality of love. His love for righteousness requires His hatred of wickedness.

Love is power and comes from God alone and nothing in the whole creation can separate the reconciled ones from His Powerful Love. The whole Law of the universe is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," meaning a kindly affection properly expressed to one another. A wrong kind of love could be guided by bad principles. For example, if you love those that love you only, of what credit is it to you? The principle upon which such type of love operate is: "Do good to me and I will do good to you." Other type of wrong love is the one based in the principle that the love for the things of the world will bring material benefit to the one who follows it. 

Love is the bond of mutual devotion and commitment expressed in a close friendship. Love also is the bond between parent and child. Parental love always seek the best for the child.
God's Love toward mankind is that of a Father toward His children. God displayed His Love in making  man in His image and likeness, with the capacity of love, and in the revelation of Himself to man through His Word and His Holy Spirit.

Physical and sexual attractions are the manifestation of powerful inner forces. They are strong and passionate and constitutes the emotional ingredient that comes with a conjugal union.

THE 7 ABOMINATIONS OF THE HEART.

Probervs 6:16-19 "There are 6 things the Lord hates and 7 things the Lord detest: Haughty Eyes, a Lying Tongue, Hands that Kill the innocent, a Heart that Plots evil, Feet that Race to do wrong, a False Witness who pours lies, a person who Sow Discord in a family.
- Haughty eyes (Attitude) is the main factor which drives the individual to act erratically. When the attitude is wounded then the following 6 conditions inside the heart follows. It is the most subtle of sins because it can infiltrate into our best behavior and defile it. But if the spirit behind the attitude finds a gentle and quiet disposition residing already in the deepest place of our heart then it run away.
- Lying (Speech) is the opposite of Truth and contrary to everything that is profitable to the human heart. But lying, unfortunately, has been part of the human kind from the beginning of time. At the creation of man, the haughty eyes of the woman led her to believe the lying tongue of the serpent about the reason of God's commandment 'not to eat from the forbidden tree'. This in turn led to the downfall of mankind.
- Hands that kill the innocent (Action) often is presented as a consequence of a proud heart that often resorts to lying to protect his image, and when it is uncovered, he will do away with that situation by murdering the person responsible for the act of truth. The person murdered is innocent but his blood is shed because of his standing in the way of the Truth, frustrating its way but not for long.
- Heart that plots evil (Thought) make the individuals degrade themselves in their minds thinking that the only way they can obtain pleasure is by doing evil. They make themselves feel good by seeing others suffer. This vice is placed in the middle of the list of the abominations because it is the fountain at the midst of all. We need to fill our heart with the knowledge of the right way to live, leaving no room for any vices.
- Feet that race (Action) to do wrong is referring to the wantonness of pleasure that comes from the mind of the person with the improper motivation making the individual feel no content with the right way of life. It is very well expressed by the verb 'racing' due to the the path in which the mind is settled and the feet moving along that path because of the powerful and wicked motivation.
- False witness who pours lies (Speech) is referring to keep a guard on our tongue and be very careful what we say. To falsely slander the character of another is to bear false witness against the individual.
- Person who sow discord in a family (Influence) is one of the most poisonous of the vices that eats the life of it, like a canker or gangrene does to the physical body. The person responsible for such division just feed its own nature by smooth words and flattering speech deceiving the hearts of the ones who give ear to it.
Our thoughts, our speech, our actions and how we influence others, are the things we need to monitor -as these are areas where we fall down if we are not careful.

ARISTOTLE AND THE WORK OF HIS HEART.

Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of Western world, making contributions to science, philosophy, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre. He was a student of Plato, who in turn studied under Socrates.
He was the first to devise a 'formal system for reasoning', whereby the 'validity of an argument' is determined by its 'structure' rather than its content.
Aristotle was the founder of the Lyceum, the first universal institute, based in Athens, Greece. Along with his teacher Plato, he was one of the strongest advocates of a liberal education, which stresses the education of 'the whole person' including one's moral character, rather than merely learning a set of skills. According to his view, this type of education was necessary if we wanted to produce a 'society of happy as well as productive individuals.'
Aristotle believed that 'knowledge could be obtained through interacting with physical objects.' He concluded that 'objects were made up of a potential' that circumstances then manipulated to determine the object's outcome. He also recognized that 'human interpretation' and 'personal associations' played a role in 'our understanding of those objects.'
Aristotle's research included a study of biology. He attempted to classify animals into genera based on their similar characteristics of their kind. He further classified animals into species based on those that had 'red blood' and those that did not. The animals with red blood were mostly vertebrates, while the 'bloodless' animals were labeled 'cephalopods.' Aristotle's classification was regarded as the standard system for hundreds of years.
In Marine biology, an area of fascination for Aristotle, through dissection, he closely examined the anatomy of the water creatures. His observations of marine life were expressed in his books with considerably accuracy.
 In 'Meteorology', Aristotle did not simply mean the study of weather. His more expansive definition of meteorology included 'all the affectations we may call common to 'air' and 'water', and the kinds and parts of 'earth' and the affectations of its parts. Aristotle identified the 'water cycle' and discussed topics ranging from 'natural disasters' to 'astrological events.'
One of the areas of Aristotle's philosophy focuses in the systematic concept of logic. Aristotle's objective was 'to come up with an universal process of reasoning' that would allow 'man' to learn every conceivable thing about 'reality.' The initial process involved 'describing' objects based on their characteristics, states of being, and actions.
Aristotle also discussed 'how' man might next obtain information about objects through deduction and inference. A deduction was a reasonable argument in which "when certain things are laid down, something else follows 'out of necessity' in virtue of their being so." His theory of deduction is the basis of what philosophers now call a 'syllogism', a logical argument where the conclusion is inferred from two or more other premises of a 'certain form.' For example, consider the following syllogism, 'all men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore Socrates is mortal.' Aristotle explains 'syllogism' as a 'discourse in which, certain things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed 'results of necessity' because these things are so.' Aristotle defined the 'main components of reasoning' in terms of 'inclusive and exclusive' relationships.
Aristotle's philosophy not only provided man with 'a system of reasoning', but also touched upon ethics. One of his most influential works is the 'Nicho'Machean Ethics', where he presents a theory of happiness that is still relevant today over 2,300 years later. The key question Aristotle seek to answer is "What is the ultimate purpose of human existence? What is that end or goal for which we should direct all of our activities?" Aristotle claimed that nearly everyone would agree that happiness is the end which meets all at the ends. Happiness is the final end or goal that encompasses the totality of one's life. It is not something that can be gained or lost in a few hours, like pleasurable sensations.
Happiness is more like the ultimate value of your life as lived up to this moment, measuring how well you have lived up to your full potential as a human being. For this reason, one cannot really make a pronouncements about whether one has lived a 'happy life' until it is over, just as we would not say of a football game that it was a 'great game' at half-time of it. For the same reason we cannot say that children are happy, any more than we can say that an acorn is a tree, for the potential for a flourishing human life has not yet been realized. Aristotle said, "for as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy."
The main trouble with this assertion, now in our time, is that happiness, in our modern world, is often conceived of 'as a subjective state of mind', as when one says 'one is happy when one is enjoying a cool beer on a hot day, or is out having fun with one's friends.
In order to explain human happiness, Aristotle drew on 'a view of nature' he derived from his biological investigations. He said, "if we look at nature, we notice that there are 4 different kinds of things that exist in the world that surround us, each one defined by a different purpose:
- Minerals like rocks, metals, and other things have only one common goal, what they seek is to come to a rest, and they do not possess a soul.
-Vegetative plants and other wildlife are a different kind of thing that emerge from the ground, and possess life. Because they seek nourishment, and growth, they have souls and can be even said to be satisfied when they attain these goals.
- Animals that we study as belonging to the animal kingdom. Here in this kingdom we see a higher level of life emerging from the earth. Animals seek pleasure and reproduction, and we can talk, for example, about a happy dog or sad dog, to the extent that they healthy and lead a pleasant life.
- Humans, what is it that makes human beings different from the rest of the animal kingdom? Reason.
Only humans are capable of acting according to principles, and in so doing taking responsibility for their choices. For example, we can blame Johnny for stealing something since he knows the action is wrong, but wouldn't blame an animal since it does not know any better.
By reasoning things out we attain our ends, solve our problems, and hence live a life that is qualitatively different in kind from plants or animals. The good for a human is different from the good for an animal because we have different capacities or potentialities.
He then prescribed 'a moral code of conduct' for what he called it, 'a good living.'
He asserted that 'good living' to some degree defied the more restrictive 'laws of logic', since the 'real world poses circumstances' that can present 'a conflict of personal values'. That said, it was up to the individual 'to reason cautiously' while developing his/her own judgment.
Aritotle's work also discusses the topics of 'matter and form'. In his book 'Metaphysics', he clarified the distinction between the two. To Aristotle, 'matter' was the 'physical substance' of things, while 'form' was the 'unique nature' of a thing that gave it 'its identity'. Aristotle's writings about 'how people perceive the world' continue to underlie many principles of modern psychology.
In 322BC, just a year after he fled to Chalcis to escape prosecution under charges of impiety, Aristotle contracted a disease of the digestive organs and died. In the century following his passing, his works fell out of use, but were revived during the first century. Over time, they came to 'lay the foundation of more than 7 centuries of philosophy. Solely regarding his influence on philosophy, Aristotle's work influenced ideas from late antiquity all the way through the Renaissance.
More than any thinker prior to the modern era, Aristotle enshrines 'happiness' as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself.  Happiness, he said, depends on the 'cultivation of individual virtue.' Aristotle was convinced that a genuinely happy life required the fulfillment of a 'broad range of conditions', including physical as well as mental well-being. Virtue is a method of achieving and maintaining the 'balance between two excesses.'
Aristotle's doctrine of 'balance' differs from Buddha's 'middle path' in the way of achieving it. For Aristotle the 'balance was a 'method of achieving virtue,' but for Buddha the 'balance' referred to a peaceful way of life which negotiated the extremes of harsh asceticism and sensual pleasure seeking.
The 'middle path' was a minimal requirement for the meditative life, and not the source of virtue itself.
Thus Aristotle gave us his definition of 'happiness': "... the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and this activity implies a 'rational principle', and the function of a 'good man' is the good and noble performance of these, and if 'any action is well performed' it is performed in accord with the appropriate excellence: if this is the case, then happiness turns out to be 'an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue'."

THE UNDERSTANDING OF INSTINCT.

Instinct is an innate behavior, thinking, or feeling, repeated by an individual without noticing it. Natural desire or tendency that makes you act in a particular way, also is considered under the definition of natural instinct. It is something that a human being cannot override.
There are two kinds of basic instinct: life instinct, or death instinct.
There is no transitions between instinctive and experience-based behavior components. The differences usually lie on how they emphasize biological and/or environmental forces.
Behavioral patterns come into sequences of innate and learned behavior components. Only the innate components qualify as instinctive behavior. They are rigid and do not get modified or become more flexible due to experience.
Flexible or intelligent behavior does not evolve from instinctive behavior.
In the Scriptures, in the 2nd Epistle of Peter, warns against the instinct of the false teachers who will try to substitute human words, that leads to spiritual death, for the 'Divine Word' that leads to life bringing a new heaven and a new earth. It says:
  "We do not follow cleverly devised myths ... You must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the 'impulse' of man, but men moved by the 'Holy Spirit speaking to them from God.' But false prophets also arose among the followers of the Truth, just a s there will be 'false teachers' among you, who will secretly bring in 'destructive heresies', even denying the "Master" who "bought them", bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them 'The Way of Truth' will be reviled. And in 'their greed' they will exploit you with 'false words'; their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep ... These, like irrational animals, creatures of 'instinct', born to be caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant, will be destroyed ... They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation, carousing with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice 'unsteady souls.' They have 'hearts trained in greed'... These are waterless springs and mists driven by storm; for them the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved."
One of the major risks for people who are on the path of a renewed natural and spiritual awareness, is to misunderstand the concept of 'instinct and 'intuition. To rely blindly on instinct, thinking that is the best tool to follow nature, is the greatest danger.
Many people who have embraced the natural spirituality believe that the mind (the ability of thinking) is an obstacle to the connection with the forces of nature, and therefore do not avail a training; they simply think that even the study and cultural deepening are tools that could pollute the purity of their natural soul. They rely exclusively to the personal improvisation, without understanding that the pursuing of knowledge of Truth, based on laws, regulations, ordinances, etc,  will get them more in tune with the forces of nature.
Every aborigine knows that instinct is not only to be dominated, but also to be driven, and that we must learn from the elderly (ancient laws). What would happen with one of these improvised learners if they encounter a wild bear in the forest? For sure this person will follow his basic instinct of conservation of life, he/she will run away. Well, this individual will be torn apart. But if someone had previously explained what is best to do in that situation, he/she would have saved his/her life.
The paths are personal, individual, and tailored to the needs of the individual. But taking the easy and simple way of thinking that consist in doing the minimum in the pursuit of "truth" is unfortunately limited.
We need a common ground shared by all, that its own aim should be to structure a good body of shared knowledge, "the knowledge of "truth." The study of nature and its real symbolic manifestations in heaven and earth. Only with this basis we can expect to make a qualitative leap that will take us to lead the 'instinct' through intuition.
Intuition is defined as an attitude that is learned, trained and nourished by 'theory' (study) and 'practice' (experience).
A perfect example is when an individual learn how to drive a vehicle, regardless the size. Learning the theoretical part (rules) and absolutely unnatural movements like pushing on a pedal to brake or accelerate makes you to coordinate the understanding of moving in space with a gigantic mass and follow the rules given for that purpose. After a short period of time practicing these movements and rules together, they are not only being assimilated, but internalized so deeply that they become automatic. After we have internalized the experience the intuition springs, and this new way of 'take rational decisions without thinking' is a state of mind in balance between the domain of the instinct and the domain of the mind.
It is the intuition which makes us put a feet on the brake before a pedestrian appears on the sidewalk, and this is simply the result of the interaction between the driver's past experiences and the unconscious calculation of the possibilities to avoid an accident.
The thinking that 'theoretical information can ruin our natural purity and the ability to connect with the divine' is a childish attitude. Indeed there is no spiritual path anywhere in history of the world that does not include an apprenticeship, which serves to bend the ego strength which always tries to make us believe that 'just as we are' we are perfect.
It is very beautiful to look at the sunset, but even more beautiful is to comprehend it. We confuse very often learning with knowledge, experience with wisdom, saying with doing, and this confusion leads many people to individual paths, that have value in itself, but only to understand our own limitations, and not longing for the divine.
The 'Divine' is the force of 'Love' that unites everything. It is the manifestation in the whole reality of the eternal symbols, and only knowing the deep meaning of such symbols we can expect to enjoy improvement in the life we share all together here in this world.

THE ORIGIN OF HYPNOTISM.

If we look back into ancient history, we will find that the trance like state that we call 'hypnosis' has been used for thousands of years.
From the study of ancient religions and its healing ceremonies we can see that there exists the elements essential to place people into a hypnotic state. By the use of secret rituals, rhythmic chanting, repetitive drum beats, together with strained fixations of the eyes, priests were able to induce catalepsy of the body. This was a kind of knowledge for therapeutic purposes that the priests knew from ancient time.
They were part priest, part physician, and part shaman. In the interpretation of dreams they had supernatural skills and very knowledgeable in the use of medicinal herbs.
The people looking for cure or an insight to their problems in their own universes were called Seekers.
A Seeker had something on their mind, an ailment, an issue, and an inner quest to discover themselves.
They came to seek an insight into their problems, to get a new vision or reason that would heal, guide, or provide comfort.
Hypnosis, suggestion therapy can be traced back over 4000 years to ancient Egypt. They used places known as 'healing sanctuaries' called 'Sleep or Dream Temples.' The path to the Temple was lined with huge steles made of marble, on which were carved inscriptions, describing all the cures, and healing powers of the divine dreams that had taken place in the temple.
People with all sorts of problems, both physical and mental (psychological), were put into a trance like sleep under the influence of herbs and energies from plants known to them. Then priests and priestesses interpreted the person's dream to gain knowledge about the cause of the illnesses and to find a cure for them. Special words were pronounced together with the performance of religious rituals, in order to prepare the patients in the psychological aspects of their minds. Then a suggestion therapy was applied when they entered into a 'hypnotic state.' Before falling asleep they were influenced with these suggestions, in the hope of provoking dreams which were able to reveal the inner connection of the illnesses affecting the individual's life journey in the living world. The priests appeared to be able to cast out the negative energies affecting the mind and body of the person looking for help.
The tradition dates from the time of Im'Hotep. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the priest Im'Hotep and he had many temples dedicated to him.
Im'Hotep was the physician vizier, architect and priest, to the Pharaoh Zoser (2650-2590 BC). He built the step pyramid, which is the 1st pyramid.
In Greece, Sleep Temples of Healing Dreams were renowned as places of great healing and were dedicated to the healing god Asclepius. He took over the role of Im'Hotep. At the height of the cults power, there were 420 temples, spread across the ancient Greek empire.
Asclepius was a healer, and his mythical roots goes back in to the 2nd millennium BC, when he became a semi-god. Over time he evolved into a temple god in his own right.  Greek's sleep therapy survived the most in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
Healing took place while the patient was in a deep trance like sleep. The provoked trance came about by the power of the priests who used special recitations and chanting to open up the gate to the inner world of the patient's mind. This process was known as incubation (Latin: to lie down). The person was kept in this state for up to 3 days, during which time the priests using suggestions tried to enter in the patient's inner mind, through their dreams. The purpose was to obtain the root or cause of sickness or the entity in charge, by name, that brought the negative energy affecting the mental or physical health of the individual. The method used by the priests or healers helped the patients to obtain the cure for their illnesses. The temples were a place of spirits, and mysterious powers, a place to find mental and physical healing, since each individual was induced to open up its own spiritual universe and the priests were just the drivers of the healing energy able to restore either physical or mental health of the seeker.
Asclepius' daughters were Hy'Gea and Pan'Acea. A Kline was a special place or a sacred skin set out around the temple where the sick person reclined to enter the dream state. From these names we have derived the words, Panacea, Hygiene, and Clinic.

WHAT IS TEMPTATION ?

Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment, that threatens long-term goals in the context of self-control and ego depletion.
Self-control is the ability to control self emotions and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses in order to achieve goals. It is a mental muscle that become both strengthened and fatigued. In the short term, overuse of self-control will lead to depletion. However, in the long term, the use of self-control can strengthen and improve over time. Self-control plays a valuable role in the functioning of the self on both individualistic and interpersonal levels.
Ego depletion refers to the idea  that self-control or will-power draw upon a pool of mental resources that can be used up. When the energy for mental activity is low, self-control is typically impaired, generating a state of ego depletion, impairing the ability to control oneself.
Temptation is also described as coaxing or inducing a person into committing such an act in many diverse contexts or situations, by manipulation or otherwise of curiosity, desire or fear of loss.
The role of glucose as a specific form of energy needed for self-control has been explored. Several recent experiments have found that the depletion effects can be reversed by simply tasting any sweet fruit, because of its psycho-physiological signaling effects.
The underlying neural processes associated with self-control failure have been recently examined using neuro-physiological techniques. According to cognitive and neurons' behavior, a conflict-monitoring / error-detection system identifies 'discrepancies' between 'intended goals' and 'actual behaviors.'
Error-related negativity signals are an electrical activity, in a wave form, of the brain generated in the anterior cortex and measured through electro-encephalograms and time-locked to an external event (visual stimulus) or a response (error). A robust wave frequency were observed after knowledgeable errors had been committed during various choice tasks, even when the participant was not explicit aware of making an error, however, in this case scenario the wave lengths were weaker.
These findings demonstrated evidence that depletion experienced after exerting short-term self-control, can weaken neural mechanisms responsible for conflict monitoring.
Younger people are more susceptible to the effects of ego depletion, given that the areas of the brain involved in self-control continue to develop until the mid 20s.
Ego depletion has also been implicating in guilt and pro-social behavior. The feeling of guilt is necessary in order to facilitate adaptive human interactions. It is dependent on the individual's ability to reflect on past actions and behaviors. Ego depletion has been shown to hinder the ability to engage in such reflection, thereby making it difficult to experience guilt. Since guilt leads to pro-social behavior, ego depletion will therefore reduce the good deeds that result from a guilty conscience.
In a society where a state of ego depletion exists in its young generation, the individuals are impaired of the ability to self-regulate their own emotions, making them vulnerable to a wide range of undesirable and mal-adaptive behaviors, such as acts of aggression. Knowledge and strategies to counteract it would therefore, be highly beneficial in various real-life situations.
In the world of consumerism, individuals are faced with decisions and choices that require the use of valuable energy resources in order to make the right and useful purchases while resisting temptation of impulsive or unnecessary ones.
The complexity of consumer decisions, with advertisement telling consumers how they deserve and must have a product, can generate in itself an ego depletion. Having many options consumers feel overwhelmed, causing mental fatigue and frustration. Fatigue and frustration stem from deals with specific requirements on ways to purchase a product, along with spending effort on deciding which store has the best deal or trying to get to the store. People then be led to buy the high priced or cheapest product. As soon as the consumers get low self-control they become more susceptible to buy products of high status, being now in the frequency of motivation and persistence, even to the point of pay more for a branded product. This will lead these consumers to have a sense of empowerment, the feeling to be in control, feeling that the brand name of the product is more beneficial and secure, and in this sense mistakingly overcoming their ego depleted states.
In a recent experiment, it was shown that inducing a positive mood can buffer the impairing effects of ego depletion, in the same way that the taste of a fruit can boost the neural mechanisms of it. Positive mood is generated by getting individuals with joyful energies capable of switch on the individual sense of humor. It seemed to allow people to recover faster from ego-depletion and furthermore, improved their ability to self-regulate. The existence of a spare reservoir of mental energy ultimately explains why these motivators can buffer the effects of mild or moderate ego depletion.
Self-control can be replenish and thus the immediate effects of an individual's depleted self-control can be overcome, and that an individual must be able to identify the presence of temptation (short term desire) before self-control may be affected by the outcome.

THE 9 CIRCLES OF HELL OF DANTE IN HIS DIVINE COMEDY.

Hell, the 1st part of Dante's Divine Comedy describes the poet's vision of Hell. The story begins with the narrator, who is the poet himself, being lost in a dark wood where he is attacked by 3 beasts which he cannot escape. He is rescued by the Roman poet Virgil who is sent by Beatrice (Dante's ideal woman). Together, they begin the journey into the underworld or the 9 Circles of Hell.
- 1st Circle (Limbo) is resided by virtuous non-Christian and unbaptized individuals who are punished with eternity in an inferior form of Heaven. They live in a castle with 7 gates which symbolize the 7 virtues.
- 2nd Circle (Lust), Dante and Virgil find people who were overcome by lust. They are punished by being blown violently back and forth by strong winds, preventing them to find peace. Strong winds symbolize the restlessness of a person who is led by desire for fleshy pleasures.
- 3rd Circle (Gluttony), Dante and Virgil find souls of gluttons who are overlooked by a worm-monster  Cerberus. Sinners are punished by being forced to lie in a vile slush that is produced by a never ending icy rain. The vile slush symbolizes personal degradation of one who overindulges in food, drink and other worldly pleasures, while the inability to see others lying nearby represents the gluttons' selfishness and coldness.
- 4th Circle (Greed), Dante and Virgil see the souls of people who are punished fro greed. They are divided into 2 groups -those who hoarded possessions and those who lavishly spent it -jousting. They use great weights as a weapon, pushing it with their chests which symbolizes their selfish drive for fortune during their lifetime. The two groups that are guarded by a character called Pluto are so occupied with their activity that the two poets don't even try to speak to them.
- 5th Circle (Anger) is where the wrathful and sullen are punished for their sins. Transported on a boat by Phlegyas, Dante and Virgil see the wrathful fighting each other on the surface of the River Styx and the sullen gurgling beneath the surface of the water. The punishment reflect the type of sin committed during lifetime.
- 6th Circle (Heresy), Dante and Virgil see heretics who are condemned to eternity in flaming tombs.
- 7th Circle (Violence) is divided into 3 rings. The outer ring houses murderers and others who were violent to other people and property. In the middle ring, the poet sees suicides who have been turned into trees and bushes which are fed upon by harpies. But he also sees here profligates, chased and torn to pieces by dogs. In the inner ring are blasphemers and sodomites, resident in a desert of burning sand and burning rain falling from the sky.
- 8th Circle (Fraudulent) is resided by the fraudulent. Dante and Virgil reach it on the back of Geryon, a flying monster with different natures, just like the fraudulent. This circle is divided into 10 Bolgias or stony ditches with bridges between them. In the 1st Bolgia, Dante sees panderers and seducer. In the 2nd Bolgia he finds flatterers. After crossing the bridge to the 3rd Bolgia, he and Virgil see those who are guilty of simony. After crossing another bridge between the ditches to the 4th Bolgia, they find sorcerers and false prophets. In the 5h Bolgia are housed corrupt politicians. In the 6th Bolgia are the hypocrites, and in the remaining 4 ditches, Dante finds thieves (7th), evil counselors and advisers (8th), divisive individuals  (9th) and various falsifiers such as alchemists, perjurers, and counterfeits (10th).
- 9th Circle is divided into 4 rounds according to the seriousness of the sin though all residents are frozen in an icy Lake. Those who committed more severe sin are deeper within the ice. Each of the 4 rounds is named after an individual who personifies the sin. Thus the 1st round is named Caina after Cain who killed his brother Abel. The 2nd round is named Antenora after Anthenor of Troy who was Priam's counselor during the Trojan War. The 3rd round is named Ptolomaea after Ptolemy, son of Abulus. The 4th round is named Judecca after Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

THE AREAS OF THE BRAIN THAT DEAL WITH EMOTIONS.

The limbic system is a set structures, located in the highly developed part of the brain, interconnected on both sides of the thalamus, immediately underneath the cerebrum.
The limbic system is responsible for processing a variety of functions and controlling emotions, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction in the human brain, and they rely on the nervous system to help people express and convey thoughts, ideas and feelings.
Emotional life is largely housed in the limbic and nervous system, and it has a great deal to do with the formation of memories and arousal feelings of stimulation.
The main areas involved with emotions are interconnected intensively and none of them is solely responsible  for any specific emotional state. However, some contribute more than others to this or that kind of emotion. Emotions enable us to react to specific situations -for example, anger or fear will set our heart racing, and feeling happy will make us smile.
One of the key areas of our brain that deals with showing, recognizing, and controlling the body's reaction to emotions is known as the limbic system. We shall review now, one by one, the best known structures of the limbic system:
- Amygdala is a little almond shaped structure, deep inside the antero-inferior region of the temporal lobe. It connects with the hippo-campus, the septal nuclei, the prefrontal area and the media dorsal nucleus of the thalamus. These connections make it possible for the amigdala to play its important role on the mediation and control of major affective activities like friendship, love and affection, on the expression of mood, and mainly, of fear, rage and aggression.
The amygdala, being the center for identification of danger, is fundamental for self preservation. When triggered, it gives rise to fear and anxiety which lead the animal into a stage of alertness, getting ready to flight or fight. Experimental destruction of both amygdalas (there are 2 of them, one in each hemisphere) tames the animal, which becomes sexually non-discriminative, deprived of affection and indifferent to danger. The electrical stimulus of these structures elicits crises of violent aggressiveness. Individuals with marked lesions of the amygdala, loose the affective meaning of the perception of an outside information, like the sight of a well known person. The subject knows, exactly, who the person is, but is not capable to decide whether he likes or dislikes him/her.
- Hippo-Campus, a tiny, sea-horse shaped structure, is particularly involved in memory phenomena, specially with the formation of long-term memory (the one that, sometimes, lasts forever). When both hippo-campus (right and left) are destroyed, nothing can be retained in the memory. The subject quickly forgets ant recently received message. The intact hippo-campus allows the animal to compare the conditions of a present threat with similar past experiences, thus enabling it to choose the best option, in order to guarantee its own survival.
- Fornix and Para-hippo-campal gyrus, both are important connecting pathways of the limbic system.
- Thalamus activation (stimulation of the media dorsal and anterior nuclei) is associated with changes in emotional reactivity. However, the importance of these nuclei on the regulation of emotional behavior, is not due to the thalamus itself, but to the connections of these nuclei with other limbic system structures. The media dorsal nucleus makes connections with cortical zones of the pre-frontal area and with the hypo-thalamus. The anterior nuclei connect with the mamillary bodies, and through them, via fornix, with the hippo-campus and the cingulate gyrus, thus taking part in the Papez's circuit.
- Hypo-Thalamus, this structure has ample connections with the other pros-encephalic areas and the mes-encephalus. Lesions of the hypo-thalamic nuclei interfere with several vegetative functions and some of the so-called motivated behaviors, like thermal regulation, sexuality, combativeness, hunger and thirst. The hypo-thalamus is also believed to play a role in emotion. Specifically, its lateral parts seem to be involved with pleasure and rage, while the median part is like to be involved with aversion, displeasure and a tendency to uncontrollable and loud laughing. However, in general terms, the hypo-thalamus has more to do with the expression (symptomatic manifestations) of emotions than with the genesis of the affective states. When the physical symptoms of emotion appear, the threat they pose returns, via hypo-thalamus, to the limbic centers forward to the pre-frontal nuclei, increasing anxiety.
This negative feedback mechanism can be so strong as to generate a situation of panic.
- Cingulate gyrus is located in the medial side of the brain between the cingulate sulcus and the corpus callosum (principal fiber bundle connecting the two cerebral hemispheres) and serves as a pathway that transmit messages between the inner and outer portions of the limbic system. There is still much to be learned about this gyrus, but it is already known that its frontal part coordinates smells and sights with pleasant memories of previous emotions. This region also participates in the emotional reaction to pain and in the regulation of aggressive behavior. Wild animals, submitted to the ablation of the cingulate gyrus (cingulectomy), become totally tamed. The cutting of a single bundle of this gyrus (cingulotomy) reduces pre-existent depression and anxiety levels, by interrupting across the Papez's circuit.
- Brain-Stem is the region responsible for the 'emotional reactions,' (indeed, they are just reflex answers) of inferior vertebrates, like reptiles and amphibians. The involved structures are the reticular formation, and the locus coeruleus, a concentrated mass of nor-epinephrine secreting neurons. It is important to stress that, even in humans, these primitive structures remain active, not only as an alerting mechanism, vital for survival, but in the maintenance of the sleep-awake cycle.
- Ventral Teg-Mental Area is located in the mes-encephalic part of the brain stem, inside the area there is a compact group of dopamine-secreting neurons whose axons end in the nucleus accumbens (meso-limbic dopaminergic pathway). The spontaneous firing or the electrical stimulation of neurons belonging to that region produce pleasurable sensations, some of them similar to orgasm. Many people who, for a genetic error, have a reduction of D2 (dopamine) receptors in the accumbens nucleus, become, sooner or later, incapable to obtain gratification from the common pleasures of life. Thus, they seek atypical and noxious 'plesure' alternatives, like alcoholism, cocaine addiction, impulsive gambling and compulsion for sweet foods. Certain brain-stem structures, like the nuclei of the cranial nerves, stimulated by impulses coming from the cortex and the striatum (a sub-cortical formation), are responsible for the physiognomic: expressions of anger, joy, sadness, tenderness, etc.
- Septum area has been associated with different kinds of pleasant sensations, mainly those related to sexual experiences. The septal region lies anteriorly to the thalamus. Inside it, one finds the centers of orgasm (four for women and one for men).
- Pre-Frontal Area comprises the entire non-motor anterior region of the frontal lobe. It underwent a great deal of development during the evolution of mammals. It is specially large in man and in some species of dolphins. It does not belong to the traditional limbic circuit, but its intense bi-directional connections with the thalamus, amygdala, and other sub-cortical structures, account for the important role it plays in the genesis and, specially, in the expression of affective states. When the pre-frontal cortex suffers a lesion, the subject looses his sense of social responsibility as well as the capacity for concentration and abstraction. In some cases, although consciousness and some cognitive functions, like speech, remain intact, the subject can no longer solve problems, even the most elementary ones.
When pre-frontal lobotomy was used for treatment of certain psychiatric disturbances, the patients entered into a stage of "affective buffer," no longer showing any sign of joy, sadness, hope or despair.
In their words or attitudes, no traces of affection could be detected.

THE COLD BLOODED PERSONALITY TYPE.

What exactly forms this 'avoid attachment' personality type? The answer of this unfavorable designation is mothers' general unresponsiveness to their new born. They are averse to close bodily contact and physical warmth, also they are emotionally unavailable, distant, and withdrawn, which leaves the infant's bid for such essential nurture, routinely frustrated.
Accompanying  this rejecting stance, such mothers can also betray anger and even open hostility toward the baby, and particularly when the child is making desperate attempts to establish an intimate connection with them. That is, when the infant is intensely seeking attention or affection, they are most likely to respond in punishing ways. Also they demonstrate little tolerance for their child when the child is expressing negative emotions, particularly their own anger in reaction to being rebuffed.
On the other hand, when the baby is engrossed in exploratory activity, these mothers -peculiarly insensitive to, or imperceptive of, their child's state of mind or feeling -are likely to interfere. Such intrusiveness prompts the child to feel violated, engulfed, or suffocated.
In short, mothers are unavailable, and rejecting when the baby craves closeness and apt to behave invasively when the baby requires alone time. Their lack of attune to their child's behavior provoke the formation of this cold blooded personality in the child, because such disharmonious parenting leaves the child feeling extremely frustrated, emotionally unfilled, and insecure.
Later in life the nature of this child's personality will evolve as someone detached, preoccupied, and not at all open or friendly, keeping himself/herself at a distant. If someone will try to say something or do something to easy the cold wall built around him/her, the response pretty much will nullify the effort.
When this cold blooded personality type engages in a romantic  relationship, it will start out promising, but over time his/her companion will confront the fact that the other person really won't let he/she in.
Despite all the attempts to grow their connection as a couple, to make it more mutual and heartfelt, he/she will prefer to leave it as it begun, uncommitted, relatively superficial, and impersonal. Any natural progression, at least emotional intimacy, simply it will not happen, and the constant trying to have more patience, to cut the other person more slack, or make allowances, ultimately will not make any difference in the uncomfortable feeling of just being there with no connection at all.
Hopefully for you, this is a relationship you must walk away from, because you are dealing with a person who might best be understood as having an 'avoid attachment disorder.'

THE BLOOD TYPE.

The true origin of blood groups remains a mystery to this day due to a vast span of human existence of which little is known. The impermanence of our physical existence is responsible for this void; our flesh and body fluids rapidly decompose after death. Unless preserved by extraordinary means, even skeletal remains eventually crumble and disappear. What can be said for certain is that type O occurs unanimously in the Americas and Africa, while type B is most common in Asia and type A in Europe.
Today's researchers see that the key to understanding blood groups is in the particular characteristics possessed by each group. Scientists and anthropologists have begun using blood groups as markers in the search for humanity's imprint on our distant past. This studies have allowed a greater understanding of the movements and groupings of early peoples as they adapted to changing climates, mutating germs, and uncertain food supplies.
The variations, strengths, and weaknesses of each blood group can be seen as part of humanity's continual process of acclimating to different environmental challenges. Most of these challenges have involved the digestive and immune systems.
Many of the distinctions of today effects between blood groups in the survival against most forms of epidemic illnesses is so distinct and involve basic functions of our digestive and immune systems. For example, people with type O blood possess greater immunity to malaria. Also they are known to be more resistant to the flukes and worms, and they are the only blood group with antibodies against two other antigens, A and B.
A modern day map of the ABO blood group distribution in Europe parallels the location of major epidemics, with higher densities of blood group A and lower frequencies of blood group O in areas historically known to have had long histories of repeated pandemics. Scientists now believe that the reason for such immunity is that this blood group O developed in Africa millions of years ago as an evolutionary response to environmental diseases.
Also people with type B blood possess a higher degree of immunity to the plague and the reason is that this blood group developed in areas where that illness was especially devastating.
Although evidence points to the fact that the individual genetic mutations that produced the ABO genes are quite ancient, this is trivial in importance with regard to the actual demographics of the individual ABO groups in ancient populations. In genetics it is not the actual age of the gene that matters, instead it is its frequency or drift, considering that the force acting on the population is random mating. The gene frequencies remain unchanged constant, so something other than random mating is responsible for the present day differences in frequency between the ABO blood groups.
The answer lies in the discreet interactions that occurred between early man and his environment that were under the influence of his specific blood type group. These included the areas and climates he chose to inhabit, each with their unique populations or microbes and foods that he chose to catch and cultivate. As they migrated and were forced to adapt their diets (physically, mentally and spiritual) to local conditions, the new diets provoked changes in their digestive tracts (emotionally) and immune systems (illnesses), necessary to survive and later thrive in new habitats (strength and courage).
Different diets metabolize in a unique manner by each blood group resulting in that specific blood group achieving a certain level of susceptibility (good or bad) to the endemic bacteria, viruses, and parasites (negative energies) of the area. This is, probably more than any other factor, what influences the modern day distribution of our blood group. This results from the fact that many microbes (negative energies) possess blood types of their own. Our blood antigens are not unique to us, although we are the only species with all four variants. A bacteria which for example possesses an antigen on its surface that mimic a specific blood type antigen has a much easier time infecting the person since the bacteria would be considered 'self' to the immune system of that specific blood group. Also microbes may adhere to the tissues of one type of the blood groups in preference to another, by possessing specialized adhesion molecules for that particular blood group.
The Black Plague (a powerful negative energy) which ran unchecked throughout Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries, is a perfect example. The Plague was a disease caused by bacterial infection and was almost certainly fatal to those who contracted it in early years of its initial spread. By the 15th century, however, fatalities were rare, although many people continued to contract the infection. In just 2 generations, traits were developed in the survivors that protected them from fatal infections. Since these trails were necessary to survival, they were then passed on and retained as a form of genetic memory.
The extraordinarily high percentage of blood group O in ancient or otherwise isolated populations testifies to its great advantage over the other groups. Even though the early migrations dispersed the gene for group O throughout the world, there are some extraordinary examples of 'old' populations existing in our world today, like the one called, the People of the Andes. Because of their geographic locations, these societies have remained isolated from interaction with other populations and city oriented life. If A, B, and O had developed simultaneously, the isolated population groups would have had all of them. But these 'old societies' are group O because genes for the latter blood groups never had the opportunity to enter into their populations. They have remained unchanged.

THE FOUR POWERS.

Patterns of universal energy are subdivided into four categories. Most people know these forces as the classical elements -earth, water, air, fire.
Everything consists of these four elements, four forces, in various combinations. The four elements represent energies,and the physical elements themselves are symbols of these energies.
Fire as an element in not fire from a burning torch, instead, it is an energy whose nature is similar to that of a burning torch. The burning torch symbolizes the element of fire, and, in ritual, is able to embody it.
Some texts refer to the elements as the "elements of the wise,"so the representation of elemental fire is referred to as "fire of the wise," to distinguish it from the torch; elemental earth is "earth of the wise," to differentiate it from garden soil or stones. Because of the misunderstanding of this symbolism. modern science have devalued and essentially thrown away these concepts.
Modern psychologists, particularly those whose work is based upon the works of Carl Jung, are reclaiming the symbolic meaning of these elements. Each of the elements is not only an energy found in all things, but also a level of consciousness, a dimension or plane of existence that interpenetrates all things. Each of these elements exists at a different energetic vibration, and each one brings different qualities from the rest.
Each person can relate to certain elements because he or she has a natural affinity for those qualities, and may have difficulties with other elements because he or she lacks those qualities. Working with the elements means learning to work with the principles of balance.
The energy of the earth element represents the physical form and physical world. All that can be seen and measured by the physical senses consists of the earth element. Our homes, food, plants, trees, stones, and all human made items, such as cars, toys, and jewelry are composed of earth energy. Our bodies, our bones, and all the minerals and metals within us are representations of the earth element.
Earth energy rules all physical concerns, so it also influences our physical health and financial security.
The five-pointed star indicate manifestation or protection on the physical plane. People with strong earth energy are powerful in the physical and financial worlds, while those who are learning about earth energy are challenged in those areas.
The highest form of the earth element is sovereignty, meaning you control your own body, home, and fate. In the astrological chart, the earth signs are Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. The North is usually the direction of earth, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, because of the strong, solid magnetic earth energy of the North Pole. When mystics talk about the planet Earth, they refer to the consciousness, the soul of the planet, which is personified as a feminine force or mother figure. We are all smaller parts of it. We  are like cells within the body of the planet. What affect one of us affects the greater whole.
Water is the energy of the astral plane, the level of symbolic reality where shape and form are fluid. Water is the element of dreams. In our body, water is symbolized by the liquid in our blood and cells, but the elemental energy of water is actually our astral body, which travels when we sleep and dream. The astral body is our self-image influenced by our emotions. Like water, this energy is fluid and changes form easily. Our astral body is like the container for our emotions, just as a glass contains liquid. When our emotions are clear, the liquid is clear. When our emotions are confused, the liwuid is murky. The watery level of the universe is known as the astral plane, or emotional plane.
The glass analogy also symbolizes another issue of water energy -boundaries. One challenge of water is to establish boundaries in relationships. Emotion is a building block for any type of relationship, with a family member, friend, lover, or spouse. Developing emotional connections and relationships is one of the spiritual challenges that water presents to us. Traditions usually associate water with the West. Though the strongest symbolism is the large ocean to the West, the Atlantic, the direction of the setting sun that is also the place of death, mystery, and the unknown.
The highest and purest form of water element is unconditional love, which is associated with healing, cleansing, and compassion. In a mythic sense, water is associated with cups or cauldron. In the astrological chart, the water signs are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Each of these deals with emotional relationships in some way.
Air is the element of the mental plane, the realm of ideas, concepts, and thoughts. Like the sky, our minds can be clear and peaceful. At other times, they are turbulent with thought, or clouded by the water vapor of clouds, our emotions. The link between the emotional body and the mental body is like the relationship between the sea and the sky. Before something takes shape on the astral plane, a mental idea, a thought, must animate it.
Air is the element of communication. We use the air of our breath to speak our words. The air between us carries sound waves, so our words can be heard. Many who study the element of air think it is only about talking, but it also involves the power to listen. Air is logic and memorization, but also poetry and cleverness. In a mythic sense, air is symbolized by the swords. We use imagery like "her mind is sharp" to describe a person who is strong in the air element. Being double-edged swords represent the two-way power of communication which requires both listening and speaking. They also symbolize the power of words to connect, and the power to hurt. We use sword imagery for betrayal. such as "he stabbed me in the back." The ultimate sword symbol is found in Athurian myth -Excalibur is the sword of truth. Air's ultimate power is Truth, but how that Truth is expressed is up to the wielder of the sword.
Traditions usually associate air with the East, but sometimes is associated with the South, to pair the Earth and Air as opposites in the North and the South. In the astrological chart, the air sign are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, as each works in the sphere of communication and connection.
Fire is the most intangible element. Earth you can hold, Water you can drink, and Air you can breathe, but Fire cannot be held. The element of fire is symbolized within our bodies as our metabolism. We know it is present, but we cannot extract it like the other three elements. Fire is described by mystics in different ways. Fire is the energetic reality, the power of creation. The energy of fire inspires an idea, a concept, on the mental plane. The energy flows from the mental plane to the emotional plane, giving the idea a shape or image in the astral world. The energy continues to flow from the emotional plane to the physical, earthly plane, where it manifests as a reality.
For some people, fire expresses itself as career, while for others, it expresses artistic endeavors. Fire is the drive to find identity through our passions. Fire in its highest form expresses our will, which comes in many forms. The most basic definition of will is what we want, what we desire. This is considered the ego will, or personal will. Transcending the ego will is higher will, or divine will. It is the will of our highest, most divine identity. Some call it the higher self. You could think of it as the divine spark of individuality in each of us. When we merge our personal will with our divine will, we find our true spiritual identity, and all doors are open to us. In a mythic sense, fire is symbolized by wands, spears, or torches. The wand is the symbol of the Wizard or Witch, who uses it to focus his or her magical will.
Mythically, the spear is the Spear of Destiny, the spear that pierced Christ's side.
Destiny is another way to think of the higher will. Even with destiny, we must choose to accept it and implement it. Most people associate fire with the South, since the noonday sun is associated with the South in the Northern Hemisphere, and that is the hottest time of day. Also, the further South you go, the closer you get to the equator, and the warmer it is. Others put fire in the East for the rising sun.
Obviously, some of the four directional associations would be different in the Southern Hemisphere.
In the astrological chart, the fire sign are Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Each of these signs questions identity, ego, and will, in its own way.

LOVE AND STRIFE.

Everyone wants to know the ground rules of mixing and matching. Human relationships falls down dead because of a lack of understanding that could have been gained from a basic knowledge of the rules. There is nothing mysterious about it, and Love and Tolerance are the major ingredients to it.
The first thing we need to know is our ruling elements. It helps us to understand our behavior. The 4 ruling elements are: Fire, Air, Earth, Water.
Empedocles, a 5th century BC philosopher, identified Fire, Earth, Air, and Water as the four ultimate elements which make all the structures in the world. He explained the nature of the universe as an interaction of two opposing principles called Love and Strife manipulating the 4 elements, and stated that these 4 elements were all equal, of the same age, that each rules its own province, and each possesses its own individual character. Different mixtures of these elements produced the different nature of things. These physical manifestations of them were part of the history of the universe which also dealt with the origin and development of life.
The four elements are simple, eternal, and unalterable, and as change is the consequence of their mixture and separation, it was also necessary to suppose the existence of moving powers to bring about mixture and separation.
The four elements are both eternally brought into union and parted from one another by two divine powers, Love and Strife. As long as matter exists, Love is responsible for the attraction of different forms of matter, and Strife is the cause of separation. These elements make up the universe, then Love and Strife explain their variation and harmony. Love and Strife are attractive and repulsive forces, respectively, which is plainly observable in human behavior, but the lack of harmony between them pervade the universe. The two forces wax and wane their dominance but neither force ever wholly disappears from the imposition of the other.
But it was a time when the pure elements and two powers coexisted in a condition of rest and inertness in the form of a sphere. The elements existed together in their purity, without mixture and separation, and the uniting power of Love predominated in the sphere. The separating power of Strife guarded the extreme edges of the sphere. Since that time, Strife gained more sway and the bond which kept the pure elementary substances together in the sphere was dissolved. The elements became the world of phenomena we see today, full of contrasts and oppositions, operating on by both Love and Strife.
Empedocles assumed a cyclical universe whereby the elements return to an sphere being the embodiment of pure existence, the embodiment or representative of God.
Empedocles maintained his opposition to the physical explanation of all existence, instead he maintained that the true explanation of things lies in the conception of universal unity of being. The physical senses cannot grasp this unity. It is by spiritual thought alone that we can pass beyond the false appearances of the senses and arrive at the knowledge of being, and at the fundamental Truth that the "All is One."
Empedocles's work contained a story about souls, that there were once spirits who lived in a state of bliss, but having committed a crime they were punished by being forced to become mortal beings, moving in a cycle, from body to body. Humans, animals, and even plants were such spirits. The moral conduct recommended in his work may allow us to become the souls we were before and never fall again.
Empedocles said that those who were born with near equal proportions of the 4 elements are more intelligent and have the most exact perceptions of things.
He is said to have been magnanimous in his support of the poor in character; severe in persecuting the overbearing conduct of the oligarchs; and he even declined the sovereignty of the city when it was offered to him. His brilliant oratory, his penetrating knowledge of nature, and the reputation of his marvelous powers, including the curing of diseases, and adverting epidemics, produced many myths and stories surrounding his name. He was said to have been a man with supernatural powers and controller of storms, and he himself, in his famous poem 'Purifications' seems to have promised supernatural powers, including the destruction of evil, the curing of old age, and the controlling of wind and rain.

ASTROLOGY.

Astrology (As-trol'o-gy) is a pseudo-science based on a belief that a force or entity was the ruler over each section of the heavens. Every celestial movement and phenomenon, such as the rising and setting of the sun, the equinoxes and solstices, moon phases, eclipses, and meteors, were understood as the doings of theses entities. These cosmic movements were therefore regularly noted, and elaborate charts and tables of their occurrences were made, and from these, human affairs and terrestrial events were predicted. All matters, both public and private, were believed to be controlled by these forces or entities functioning in the heavens. As a consequence, political or military decisions were not made until the astrologers were called to read and interpret the omens and give their advice. In this way the priestly class grew to have great power and influence over the lives of the people. The ancient Babylonian Temples, for example, were equipped each with their own celestial observatory.
They held supernatural powers,  a deep insight, and great wisdom, because the matter contained a number of controversial concepts of a moral, philosophical, and intellectual nature.
People were studied even before they were born, because being born on different days of the week, under different lunar phases, etc, were understood to have specific personality traits with which they developed the potential for easy compatibility, sympathy and understanding, and more opportunities for love and compassion, or for some degree of tension, antipathy, or lack of communication, hatred and mistrust.
The use of the concept was for some, inspiring, but to others, strange and disturbing. Any kind of searching implied an obligation to exchange with others in the same field, what has been found, in the interest of hastening the Harmony on Earth, and the ultimate Peace. However, the expectation in regard of the concepts taken as "Truths," had to agree with their own personal enlightenment as a group and with the personal and private conviction of each individual belonging to the group.
For giving you an example how it worked out for them, we list the seven days of the week and their meanings: -Sundays brought  distinction. -Mondays, anger. -Tuesday, wealth and love of pleasure. -Wednesday, Intelligence. -Thursday, benevolence. -Fridays, piety, and -Saturdays, the fate to die on that same day. Also some days were regarded as lucky for specific undertakings, like it was recommended not to drink water on Wednesday or Friday evenings and not to undergo blood-letting on Mondays, Tuesdays or Thursdays because of the negative planetary influences.
Yet concerned astrologers in all walks of Life persistently predicted the approaching cataclysms bringing the danger of annihilation before the critical measure of chaos from the unbalanced forces of negative influence would crash in every individual soul and produce a chain reaction to the higher cosmological forces acting in the universe because of the connection through the umbilical cord that each form of life have with it.
We have been warned and called for a change, but few have answered. By the learning of using the Power and Wisdom of Love, we may reach the real Truth. It can be found in one place only, and that is in every man's and woman's communion with the eternal Source of Hidden Knowledge within, which we must seek and find individually for our own good and create a fragment of the rainbow-spectrum message of Peace on Earth to men and women and Good Will caroled by celestial beings more than two thousand years ago, who asked us "love one another," promising that what He did, we also are able to do.
We may point out the Way to others, but each must walk along that Way alone, until every single "lost one" has made the whole journey, and hopefully reach the Light of full-born-again soul at the end of the Way, that is where we began, a long-forgotten Time ago.
It is not too late, for the joyous message of angelic hosts still rings its clarion call today, heralding hope to those who are concerned about Life Redemption.

THE CONCEPT OF LOVE.

We have many concepts about Love with which we have the potential for easy compatibility, sympathy and understanding, as well as the chance to find some degree of tension, antipathy or lack of communication, but the goal is to have more opportunities for expressing real love and compassion than for hatred and mistrust in the harmonics of our own personal lives.
The sincere expression of Love is an unselfish devotion and tender affection and personal attachment to righteousness and a deep concern for the lasting welfare of others along with an active expression of this concern for their good. Love can be known from or through the action it prompts and it is not drawn by any excellency in its objective view.
When the meaning of Love is guided or governed by principle, it may or may not include affection and fondness. Yet, though not affection, this type of Love do feel compassion and sincere concern for any fellow human, to the limits and in the way that righteous principles allow and direct.
There are good and bad principles. A wrong kind of love could be expressed upon this principle:"Do good to me and I will do good to you."
Many love the present universe that surrounds them on the principle that the love for it will bring material benefits, meanwhile the language of their heart are in complete darkness. Darkness help to  cover their insincere hearts.
Loving the ones who are opposite in the understanding of Love is a challenge that we need to overcome, because we are governed by the principle of the real Love established by our Creator whether or not such Love is accompanied by any warmth or affection.
Our Creator reveals such Love through his eyes, hands, heart, soul, and so forth. He also have other role model attributes , among them Justice, Power, and Wisdom. He has the capacity to hate but this sentiment does nothing to do with the human way of hating someone or something because it does not repent. His supernatural Love for Righteousness requires his supernatural hatred of wickedness.
The evidence of our Creator's Love is abundant. It can be seen in the physical creation itself. With what remarkable care it has been made. His Love toward mankind spares nothing that is for their good, no matter what it costs Him. His Love transcends anything that we can feel or express. It does not fail or diminish, no matter in what circumstances his people may be.
The apostle Paul said, "I am convinced that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Governments nor Things now her nor Things to come nor Powers nor Height nor Depth nor Any other Creation will be able to separate us from God's Love.
The Glory of God is in fact that His Sovereignty and the support of it by His Creatures is based primarily on Love. He desires only those who Love His Sovereignty. They choose to serve under his Sovereignty rather than to try to be independent. Their knowledge of Him and His Love, and His Justice, and His Wisdom, far surpass their own.
Satan failed in this respect, egotistically seeking independence for himself, as did the first human couple. In fact, Satan challenged God's Way of ruling, saying, in effect, that it was unloving, unrighteous, and that God's creatures did not serve Him because of Love, but through selfishness.
God allowed Satan to live and to put his people, even His only-begotten Son, to the test, to the point of death. Because of Love, He knew his Son and he knew the Love His Son had for His Father and for Righteousness. He knew His Son, and He had full Trust and Confidence in His Son's faithfulness. He had the basis for Certainty, since "Love never fails and it is a perfect bond of union." It is the most powerful bond of the whole Creation, bonding the father and the Son together unbreakably.
True Love is able to hold the couple together under any circumstances.

THE LANGUAGE OF LUST.

The word "lust" designates confrontation in our own spiritual world. It is an intense desire for holy war. A craving for doing evil.
In the Book of the Romans, chapter 1 and 2 we have an explanation in the spiritual sense of what lust means, it says:
For although they knew God, they did not want to honor him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.
For this reason God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts [lust is a powerful and wicked elemental spirit] to impurity, to the dishonoring of their [spiritual] bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the Truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature [his own fleshy bodies] rather than the Creator.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the Men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty [everything is counted in the spiritual world] for their error.
And since they did not see themselves fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind [elemental existence] and to improper conduct.
They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Though they knew God's decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only did such things but approved those who practice them. Therefore you have no excuse, O Man, whoever you are, when you judge another.
For in passing judgment upon your brother you did condemn yourself, because you, the judge, were doing the very same things. Do you suppose, O Man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? ... Or do you presume upon the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
For He will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the Truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil ... but honor and peace for everyone who does good.
In Exodus 15, the enemy of God said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my lust shall have its fill of them [turning the heart of the wicked against God] and be satisfied upon them." And God did blow with divine wind the sea and it covered them; and they [the elemental spirit of lust using the heart of the wicked] sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Psalm 78 says, "Give ear, all inhabitants of the World, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! ... I will utter dark sayings from old, ... the meditation of my heart shall be understanding ... things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us .. He establish a Testimony in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children; that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn [in the spirit world], and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the Works of God, but keep His commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
The E'phraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God's covenant, and refused to walk according to His Law. They forgot what He had done, and the miracles that He had shown them.
In the sight of their fathers He wrought marvels in the land of Egypt, in the Fields of Zo'an. He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. In daytime He led them with a cloud, and all night with a fiery light. He cleft rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
Yet they sinned still more against Him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food of their lust ... But before they had sated their craving for lust, while the food was still in their mouths, the Anger of God rose against them and He slew the strongest of them, and laid low the picked men of Israel. In spite of all of this they still sinned; despite His wonders they did not believe. So He made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.
When He slew them, they sought for him ... but they flattered Him with their mouths; they lied to Him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward Him; they were not true to his covenant.
Yet He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; He restrained His anger often, and did not stir up all his wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again. How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
They tested Him again and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not keep in mind His Power, or the day when He Redeemed them from the foe; when He wrought His signs in Egypt, and His Miracles in the Fields of Zo'an.
He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams. He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. He gave their crops to the caterpillar, and the fruit of their labor to the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost. He gave over their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.
He let loose on them His fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.
He made a path for His Anger; He did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague. He smote all the first-born in Egypt, the first issue of their strength in the Tents of Ham.
Then He led forth His people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them in safety, so that there were not afraid; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And he brought them to His Holy Land, to the Mountain which his Right Hand has won. He drove out nations before them; He apportioned them for a possession and settled the Tribes of israel in their Tents.
Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not observe His Testimonies, but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow
For they provoked Him to anger with their high places; they moved Him to jealously with their graven images. When God heard, He was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel. He forsook His dwelling at Shiloh, the Tent where He dwelt among Men, and delivered His Power to captivity, His Glory to the hand of the foe. He gave His people over the sword, and vented His Wrath on His Heritage.
Fire devoured their young men, and their maidens had no marriage song. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong Man shouting because of wine. And He put His adversaries to rout; He put them to everlasting shame. He rejected the Tent of Joseph, He did not choose the tent of E'phraim; but he chose the Tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
He built His sanctuary like the High Heavens, like the earth, which He has founded for ever.
He chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from tending the ewes that had, young he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob His People, of Israel His inheritance.
With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skillful hand.
After reading all the meaning that a lustful heart brings to your soul, it is up to you to continue in it or to change your heart toward to a sincere loyalty to God, our Creator.

TIME WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH.

Things are not always what they seems, and people are sometimes too willing to believe whatever they are told. The real thing is that all we are is enclosure in two words "lookers-on." Before arriving to any conclusion we need to look again but this time more closely.
As you will discover, there are many signs from which we have the potential for understanding the meaning of them, and we find truth by just connecting all the dots that guides us to it, other signs block us in the finding of it by using some degree of tension, antipathy or lack of communication, that instead of being beneficial to the solution of something works in the opposite way. One way lead us for more opportunities of love and compassion while the other way leads us for hatred and mistrust.
By learning to use wisdom what we are doing is to understand the universal code of nature that brings the real Truth and digests it everyday and through it we may be able to reach the harmony that once existed in the whole creation before the Truth was altered by chaos.
Love alone has the power to bring peace and a sincere heart full of love is the tool that we need in order to reach the highest level of Truth.
Any kind of search implies an obligation to exchange with others what has been found. It will help to find concepts leading us to the real Truth and help us in our personal enlightenment and convictions.
Partial Truths can be found in many places and have to be treated as the seeds of wisdom. Many of them are written specially in the Scriptures, poetry, music, art, and above all, in Nature.
But real Truth can be found in one place only and that is in every man's and woman's communion with an eternal Source of Love and Knowledge hidden in their hearts and in order to seek and find it each of them has to embrace its own personal journey in the pursuing of it.
We may be the help that others need to find their path but each individual must walk along their own path alone until every single lost one has made the whole journey and all of us finally reach the Light of Wisdom as a full grown carriers of it, and at the end of the Way we will have back what we had a long forgotten Time ago.