Tropical Sunsets

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:57:01 +0000

Beautiful sunsets in tropical Costa Rica!

Food at MiSala Restaurant

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:47:16 +0000

Eating at MiSala in Centro Comercial Paco in Escazu, is a treat, pun intended!

Regarding Duality

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:23:15 +0000

What is a human being? Are we animals or are we spiritual beings? If we have a spirit, what is it made of and how is it connected to the physical body? Is our soul a consequence of our physiology, something one level above but dependent on our biology? Is there a difference between our mind and our soul? Can we access our soul if we have no mind? Can we be conscious of our existence without our mind? Is then our mind which differentiates us from the other animals? Is this difference one of quality or merely quantity? If it were merely quantity, then all animals would have a spiritual side only not as rich and developed as ours. Since most of us would not accept this idea, I move that what sets us apart from other animals is a qualitative difference in our minds, in other words, our minds are of a quality much different than the minds of mere animals. So we have reached conclusions to some of our questions. Our souls are viewed via our minds and both are products of our biology – that is, of our physical brain. Just as an electromagnetic field cannot exist without electrically charged particles, so our mind cannot exist without the electricity that runs our brains. Turn that electricity off and we are mind-dead, a vegetable. This sounds all too logical. It does however bring up a terrible conclusion. What happens at death? Energy, we are assured by Physics, cannot be created or destroyed – it can only be transformed. Mental energy in a dying person is reduced as bodily functions are slowly turned off, one by one or in careful orchestration, as the “life” slowly leaves the body. There could be a fallacy here, saying that the mental energy should be transformed into some other energy as the person dies. That’s not accurate though, since the mental energy is fueled by the electricity which is further fueled by physiological functions – it is connected and owes its existence to those sources. As those sources become weaker, the corresponding mental energy must be proportionately diminished as it is not its own fuel. No, the body dies and the brain dies with it. The mind and soul therefore die as well – they are turned off, electric appliances disconnected from the power outlet. Outrageous? Heresy? Not really. Semantics always gets us in trouble. Heaven (as in the stars we see at night) was once considered perfect, as if it were the location of spiritual heaven or the place where God existed and everything was perfect (“in Earth as it is in Heaven”). Quickly enough we found we had misinterpreted or taken things too literally – an all too common problem when interpreting the Scriptures. Non literal interpretations all too often prove closer to the truth and more eternal in their validity. When Christ said “my Kingdom is not a Kingdom of this Earth” he meant it! The Apocalypse is full of references to the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem, and Christ mentioned the glorified bodies of the resurrected. Clearly he was not talking about our Biology, His “Universe” and “all things in it” bear no resemblance with our current, visible and tangible universe. This our universe is not Christ’s Kingdom, just open your eyes and verify the abundance of sin, the scarce amount of true Christian love and forgiveness, the destructive products of our animal legacy. No, whatever Christ meant by a Life after death and in His company, has nothing to do with our current physical and hence biological world. It could be a state of Peace, where time has no meaning; a state of Perfect Love. So, are we to fear our conclusion that the mind/soul are turned off at death? No! That happens in this world, not in the new world. It is important that we understand this, that we may have good reason not to fear the apparent finality of death. Suffices to remember that we should not be concerned with our biological death – it is inconsequential!

Snow Crater

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:06:52 +0000

Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah, base for Snowbird Ski Resort, is an impressive sight. 500 inches of dry snow each year has won worldwide recognition.

In 2008, together with Alta, a neighboring sister resort, they were ranked as No. 1 ski resort in North America by Outside Magazine.

The impressive topography and intense steepness often makes you feel inside a snow covered Volcano’s Crater!

Juan Dent Photography

Tropical Sunsets

Food at MiSala Restaurant

Regarding Duality

Snow Crater