'The soul of humankind and the world' - Rico Sneller

Dr. Rico Sneller taught philosophy and ethics at Leiden University for a significant period.He is currently affiliated with the Mandeville Academy (institute for the gifted) and the Jungian Institute. He is also a guest lecturer at the Al Farabi University in Almaty (Kazakhstan). His main interest is the relationship between philosophy and extraordinary states of consciousness. Recent publications include 'Perspectives on Synchronicity, Inspiration, and the Soul' (Cambridge Scholars 20212), 'The Riddle of Socrates' (ISVW 2021), and a reissue of the original English translation of Carl du Prel's 'Philosophie der Mystik: The Philosophy of Mysticism', ed. and introd. James Ellis & Rico Sneller. London: Hermitix Publishing, 2022.

The word "soul" is frequently torn apart between vague spiritual people on the one hand and frantic adherents of scientism on the other, which holds that science is the only route to valid knowledge. The spiritual people cannot speak of anything else and the follower of scientism shun the term 'soul'. In my contribution, I want to look for an acceptable middle ground. I do so by looking at phenomena in and around us. I will present four everyday domains where soul perception takes place:
1) 'idea projection' or 'ideation': a) psychopathology, b) entelechy (which means purposefulness or organization in an organic growth process)
2) offspring
3) relationship to ourselves
4) culture.

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'Analytical idealism, the next paradigm in science' - Bernardo Kastrup

Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories. His ideas have been featured on 'Scientific American,' the 'Institute of Art and Ideas,' the 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' and 'Big Think’. Als wetenschapper werkte hij voor de Europese Organisatie voor Nucleair Onderzoek (CERN) en Philips Research Laboratories. Zijn ideeën zijn gepubliceerd in boeken en academische publicaties, zoals 'Scientific American', 'Institute of Art and Ideas', 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' en 'Big Think'.

Analytic Idealism is a theory of the nature of reality that maintains that the universe is experiential in essence. That does not mean that reality is in your or our individual minds alone, but instead in a spatially unbound, transpersonal field of subjectivity of which we are segments. Analytic Idealism is one particular formulation of Idealism, which is based on and motivated by post-enlightenment values such as conceptual parsimony, coherence, internal logical consistency, explanatory power and empirical adequacy. It’s a formulation that will appeal to intellectually hard-nosed, science-oriented people.

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'How to respond to the present need in the light of the Eternal Wisdom' - Tim Boyd (Engels)

Tim Boyd joined the Theosophical Society in America in 1974 and became a national lecturer for the TS in America in 1988. From 1996 to 2000 he worked in hospice services as a volunteer in a team that involved doctors, social workers, and nurses. In 2007 he became president of the Theosophical Order of Service (TOS) USA, and in 2011 was elected President of the TS in America. In 2014 Tim was re-elected as TS in America President and also elected President of the Theosophical Society Adyar. He currently shares his time between the headquarters of the TS Adyar in Chennai, India, and his home in Chicago(USA), where he lives with his wife and daughter.

For the past few hundred years a cycle of human activity has been building. A new way of seeing and experiencing the world has been the driving force leading to this time. In the words of Mircea Eliade, "The completely profane world, the wholly desacralized cosmos, is a recent discovery in the history of human spirit." This approach to living has produced a cascading series of problems including degradation of the environment, global violence, and personal unease. How do we respond to the present need in the light of the Eternal Wisdom?

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''Maria Magdalena Unveiled’: Wisdom of the New Age' - Annine van der Meer

Dr. Annine van der Meer is a religious historian, theologian and symbol expert. She has written several authoritative books on the hidden history of the sacred feminine and women and their forgotten contribution to evolution and civilization. In 2008 she founded the Pansophia Foundation as a school of Wisdom in the 21st century, where the raising of consciousness, spirituality and the empowerment of women are combined, a school she led until 2018 and which has a sequel in the current Pansophia Community. In 2021, she published her widely acclaimed book 'Mary Magdalene Unveiled. Hidden sources restore her damaged image'. 

This is a time of transition accompanied by crisis. The old disappears to make way for the new. The way in which we see the world and the image of man need to be refreshed in order to gain courage and insight into the how and the why and thus to be able to stand firm for renewal through the proces of demolition. Rediscovering the Ageless Wisdom and its universal laws is of fundamental importance in developing a new and holistic worldview. New scientific discoveries support this and make that which was intuitively known to the ancients rationally understandable. The first-century Gospel of Mary the Magdalene, which came into the open in 2010, after being hidden for a long time, contains keys that can support and further develop this new image of man and worldview. 

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