The emperor of an Eastern country built a palace which he called the House of the Singing Floors. When the palace was finished he desired that gardens be planted about it so that the palace itself should stand in the midst of an earthly paradise. The emperor sent for the wisest and most skilled of his gardeners and commanded him to landscape the palace grounds. The gardener, who was very old and very wise, went out from the palace, and selecting a place nearby, built himself a crude sort of chair with a canopy of branches as a protection from the elements. The old man then seated himself there quietly.

Beauty is an elusive power, whose presence is an invisible asset, whose absence leaves a supreme need unfulfilled. Beauty has been defined as symmetry or the harmony of form. It is a proper adjustment of parts, a reasonable synthesis of members, an order pleasing because it is proper. Beauty is not identical with an object nor with the grouping of objects. It is a spirit, which is created by the proper bringing together of a number of parts, which may not be necessarily beautiful in themselves, but which produce a harmonious whole.

The Flower Dragon was photographed at the Denver Botanical Garden on September 14, 2021. Before learning the proper name of this flower, I called it the Flower Dragon because its appearance and essence gave rise to the image of a Chinese mythological dragon in my mind’s eye. Staring at it, I saw a small flower face with an elongated snout with several arms and two flaming ears or wings extending from its head. Later, I learned that this flower is commonly called the Flame Flower or Flame Nasturtium.  Seeing other images of this particular species online, I felt that I encountered a very special individual within this flower family.  This particular...

On June 30, 1957, Mr. Manly P. Hall lectured on the topic of the human magnetic field and the related research efforts of Anton Mesmer.  Mr. Hall explained Mesmer’s theories regarding the existence of a human magnetic field and his therapies to treat energy flow blockages.  The great Hall insight in this lecture was that the individual must make themselves “receptive” to the magnetic field energies if they want to live, have energy and good health.  Mr. Hall elaborates on how choices of food, activities, and most importantly, thoughts and emotions can affect the flow of energy from the magnetic field to the body.  He describes...