A philosophical system developed at Alexandria in the third century A.D. by Plotinus and his successors. It is based on Platonism with elements of mysticism and some Judaic and Christian concepts and posits a single source from which all existence emanates and with which an individual soul can be mystically united.

• Sidney Clouston

  Plato's Timaeus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) >>> plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-timaeus/ >>> In the Timaeus Plato presents an elaborately wrought account of the formation of the universe.

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    One of the weirdest facts about quantum physics is that particles are constantly springing into and out of existence all around us. Even within "empty space," which seems like it should contain noOne of the weirdest facts about quantum physics is that particles are constantly springing into and out of existence all around us. Even within "empty space," which seems like it should contain no energy at all, there are virtual particle pairs that manifest for a moment before annihilating each other. This means that energy is contained even in the empty vacuum of space itself, a fact which yields all sort of strange behavior. This vacuum energy may explain the dark energy that cosmologists observe, but the problem is that the theoretical calculations and experimental observations are off by quite a lot. If the theoretical calculations were correct, there'd be a lot more vacuum energy (sometimes called vacuum pressure) and the universe's acceleration would be a lot faster ... so fast that, in fact, the universe probably wouldn't have been able to form galaxies, stars, and planets. It's precisely this sort of behavior that physicist Brian Greene refers to as quantum jitters in his popular science books. In fact, there's a very high likelihood that this sort of "energy from nothing" aspect of quantum physics provides the physical basis for the formation of the universe. The Big Bang theory describes how the universe proceeded from the moment of its creation, but doesn't actually dictate how that creation occurred. Actually, once you have the laws of quantum physics in place, the idea of manifesting something from nothing becomes relatively commonplace, as described in Lawrence Krauss' A Universe From Nothing and Hawking & Mlodinow's The Grand Design. Of course, general relativity is also needed, for that universe to begin expanding ... at least until we figure out a theory of quantum gravity. Virtual particles are important in astrophysics for at least one other reason: they provide the basis for the Hawking radiation, the radiation that should be emitted by black holes. http://physics.about.com/b/2012/05/14/virtualparticles.htm?nl=1

    13 days ago
• Sidney Clouston

  Mystery Analysis

  “Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.” - Max Planck , Nobel Prize“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.” - Max Planck , Nobel Prize in Physics

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    Sidney Clouston · Clouston Energy Research, LLC× Hello William Jackson: Yes, I agree with your point of view. St. Paul said before the Bishop Iranaeus of Lyons did his best work to edit the BibleSidney Clouston · Clouston Energy Research, LLC× Hello William Jackson: Yes, I agree with your point of view. St. Paul said before the Bishop Iranaeus of Lyons did his best work to edit the Bible and selecting the gospels, that the milk is given before the meat. When a child I thought as a child but .......now I put away childish things as a mature researcher (paraphrased). My work included practice of the traditions and literature reviews. I see a great similarity between Zazen and the practice Meditation on Mu with the ideals of a Neoplatonic Tabula Rasa in the work to seek the One. Grace is important and Free Will that I know is no less spiritual in the likeness of God with the Holy Spirit and the union known and discussed as the Kingdom that is within. A posteriori experience that many souls will validate. For this is a matter of consciousness, much like the Buddhist who in Zen seek Satori a union with the One, so too drops of dew seek the river that will lose it's name when it joins the Ocean. Past the Gateless Gate and beyond desire.

    19 days ago
• Sidney Clouston

  It seems to me that God and Scientist have a sense of humor. - Sidney Clouston >>> "The interplay of particles as they pass between the three accelerators will either verify or reject MAGIC as aIt seems to me that God and Scientist have a sense of humor. - Sidney Clouston >>> "The interplay of particles as they pass between the three accelerators will either verify or reject MAGIC as a theory," said Harris. "This experiment could change how we think about physics and the universe." But preliminary studies have yielded strange results that experimentalists are struggling to explain. "As soon as particles enter the CLOAK prototype, they disappear. Particles in ELDER gain mass at an alarming rate. And particles in the stoNE prototype have a much longer half-life than predicted," Dixon said. "According to current theories, this is impossible, and we have not been able to figure out why we are observing these results." But theorists think these preliminary results are perfectly in line with MAGIC and only strengthen MAGIC as an all-encompassing theory of everything. "MAGIC tells us to expect the unexpected, do the impossible and follow our hearts," Quigg said. "You have to believe in it for it to work." >>> http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/archive_2012/aprilfools2012_MAGICReadMore.html
• Sidney Clouston

  "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." - Aristotle
• Sidney Clouston

  THE ONE AND THE TAO. >>>The OneThe first principle in Neoplatonism is the One (Greek: to Hen). It is the principle which produces all Being. For this reason, the Neoplatonists thought that the OneTHE ONE AND THE TAO. >>>The OneThe first principle in Neoplatonism is the One (Greek: to Hen). It is the principle which produces all Being. For this reason, the Neoplatonists thought that the One could not itself be a being. If it were a being, it would have a particular nature, and so could not be universally productive of all being. Because it is beyond being (epekeina tes ousias is a phrase from Plato's Republic 509b), it is also beyond thought, because thinking requires the determinations which belong to being: the division between subject and object, and the distinction of one thing from another. For this reason, even the name The One isn't a positive name, but rather the most non-multiple name we can think of, a name derived from our own inadequate conception of the simplicity of the first principle. The One causes all things by conferring unity, in the form of individuality, on them, and in Neoplatonism existence, unity, and form tend to become equivalent. The One causes things to exist by donating unity, and the particular manner in which a thing is one is its form (a dog and a house are one in different manners, for example). As the One confers individuality it is in reality the principle of plurality. Because the One makes things exist by giving them the unity which makes them what they are as distinct and separate beings, the Neoplatonists thought of it also as the source of the good of everything. So the other name for the One is the Good. The first principle isn't double, however. Instead, all things have a double relation to it, as coming from it (One) and then being oriented back towards it to receive their perfection or completion (Good). >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclus

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    The Neoplatonist suggest in this analysis that the One (God) is ineffable. but made the Nous (as likeness). The Wu Chi made the Tao (One) and it made the Yang (Positive) and Yin (Negative)The Neoplatonist suggest in this analysis that the One (God) is ineffable. but made the Nous (as likeness). The Wu Chi made the Tao (One) and it made the Yang (Positive) and Yin (Negative) polarity. This in principal was thought as complementary Niels Bohr who in Quantum Mechanics won the Nobel prize in Physics. He added the Yin and Yang (Tao) symbol to his family crest and it is on his tombstone also.

    Mar 26, 2012
• Sidney Clouston

  Experients may force revision of astrophysical models of the universe http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/dnl-emf031912.php

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    Philosophies are tentative because the theory is "a priori" and can be validated by "a posteriori" experience such as emprical methods if ever possible. The Big Bang would be quite difficult, butPhilosophies are tentative because the theory is "a priori" and can be validated by "a posteriori" experience such as emprical methods if ever possible. The Big Bang would be quite difficult, but forensic sciences tend to reverse engineer from the present to the past. Science method is a great tool but not the only tool for natural and supernatural research.

    Mar 26, 2012
• Sidney Clouston

  A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The otherA Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.” The grandson asked him, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?” The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    I wrote above "We can consider and experience Meditation on Mu in Zazen of Zen Buddhism and how that relates to the Tabula Rasa of Neoplatonic Philosophy." I should have said that I practiced ZazenI wrote above "We can consider and experience Meditation on Mu in Zazen of Zen Buddhism and how that relates to the Tabula Rasa of Neoplatonic Philosophy." I should have said that I practiced Zazen and could understand that the Tabula Rasa state of mind is the goal. There is a time for thoughts and things in Prayer or conversations before and after the practice of pure thoughtless awareness in meditation on Mu (Nothing). With good concentration the practice leads to the Gateless Gate. After a few years of practice, I came to understand my first Zen teaching by Sensei (Teacher) George Wong. He said; 'Meditation is the key that unlocks the door to a hallway of many doors."

    Mar 17, 2012
• Sidney Clouston

  Science and the Eastern Orthodox Church http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&title_id=9702&edition_id=13122 I contributed two chapters. One is a criticism of reductionismScience and the Eastern Orthodox Church http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&title_id=9702&edition_id=13122 I contributed two chapters. One is a criticism of reductionism and materialism; the other outlines a rather Neoplatonic philosophy of science. Contributors include scientists, theologians, and philosophers. Thomas Mether

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    On Quarks and Leptons ..... "They have no size and contain nothing in them, but, if mixed correctly, they can build atoms, us, the entire universe." - Don Lincoln >>> This "nothing" reminds meOn Quarks and Leptons ..... "They have no size and contain nothing in them, but, if mixed correctly, they can build atoms, us, the entire universe." - Don Lincoln >>> This "nothing" reminds me of the Tabula Rasa.

    Mar 9, 2012
• Rod Hemsell

  I have recently started to post a series of transcribed lectures on Heidegger and Sri Aurobindo, the first of which is perhaps a preface to the fundam...

  The lecture series included two parts: one on Heidegger and technology, and one on Heidegger's neo-platonism.

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    Chris, your comments are weird.

    Mar 8, 2012
• Dr. Zeeshan Nawaz

  Lead or Leave !

  Lead or Leave !

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• Sidney Clouston

  The Theory of Everything: Dr. Michio Kaku on February 23, 2011

  Today, Dr. Kaku addresses a question posed by Bruce Vang Vang: What will we gain if we eventually discover the Theory of Everything? http://bigthink.com/ideas/31331

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• Sidney Clouston

  Looking For Your Face -- Rumi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ1LrJI2U7w&feature=player_embedded SUFI WISDOM, The path is not the destination.Looking For Your Face -- Rumi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ1LrJI2U7w&feature=player_embedded SUFI WISDOM, The path is not the destination. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edp1VBofcWQ&NR=1&feature=endscreen

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• Sidney Clouston

  Practice Here, then, we enter upon the practical philosophy. Along the same road by which it descended the soul must retrace its steps back to the supreme Good. It must first of all return toPractice Here, then, we enter upon the practical philosophy. Along the same road by which it descended the soul must retrace its steps back to the supreme Good. It must first of all return to itself. This is accomplished by the practice of virtue, which aims at likeness to God, and leads up to God. In the ethics of Plotinus all the older schemes of virtue are taken over and arranged in a graduated series. The lowest stage is that of the civil virtues, then follow the purifying, and last of all the divine virtues. The civil virtues merely adorn the life, without elevating the soul. That is the office of the purifying virtues, by which the soul is freed from sensuality and led back to itself, and thence to the nous. By means of ascetic observances the human becomes once more a spiritual and enduring being, free from all sin. But there is still a higher attainment; it is not enough to be sinless, one must become "God", (henosis). This is reached through contemplation of the primeval Being, the One — in other words, through an ecstatic approach to it. Thought cannot attain to this, for thought reaches only to the nous, and is itself a kind of motion. It is only in a state of perfect passivity and repose that the soul can recognize and touch the primeval Being. Hence the soul must first pass through a spiritual curriculum. Beginning with the contemplation of corporeal things in their multiplicity and harmony, it then retires upon itself and withdraws into the depths of its own being, rising thence to the nous, the world of ideas. But even there it does not find the Highest, the One; it still hears a voice saying, "not we have made ourselves." The last stage is reached when, in the highest tension and concentration, beholding in silence and utter forgetfulness of all things, it is able as it were to lose itself. Then it may see God, the foundation of life, the source of being, the origin of all good, the root of the soul. In that moment it enjoys the highest indescribable bliss; it is as it were swallowed up of divinity, bathed in the light of eternity. Porphyry tells us that on four occasions during the six years of their intercourse Plotinus attained to this ecstatic union with God. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Platonism#Demiurge_or_Nous

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    Sidney Clouston replied

    I would edit the quote below to remove the word tension and relpace it with awareness or relaxed and receptive consciousness. Make the mind an empty Tea Cup for the blessing to fill that inI would edit the quote below to remove the word tension and relpace it with awareness or relaxed and receptive consciousness. Make the mind an empty Tea Cup for the blessing to fill that in gratitude. "The last stage is reached when, in the highest tension and concentration, beholding in silence and utter forgetfulness of all things, it is able as it were to lose itself."

    Dec 26, 2011
• Sidney Clouston

  Wu Chi (Void or Nothingness)>>> The constant interaction of Yin and Yang is called Tai-Chi. Tai-Chi comes from Wu-Chi, the Void or Emptiness. Wu-Chi is what Taoists described as "Pre-Heaven", theWu Chi (Void or Nothingness)>>> The constant interaction of Yin and Yang is called Tai-Chi. Tai-Chi comes from Wu-Chi, the Void or Emptiness. Wu-Chi is what Taoists described as "Pre-Heaven", the state of Emptiness, which existed before the creation of the universe. We will represent it as an empty circle.

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• Sidney Clouston

  Dark Matter & Dark Energy - The Universe Part 1/3 (HQ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98KWR_aiK98

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    Mani mohamed .A .P replied

    DARK MATTER seems very interesting ; as no detection is possible , but the effects are shown , the mater exhibits the lensing effects .hence the medium is cosmically malleable but ifDARK MATTER seems very interesting ; as no detection is possible , but the effects are shown , the mater exhibits the lensing effects .hence the medium is cosmically malleable but if woven thro universe ,the inter fabric has to be interlaced thro the gravitational force . but how the could black hole exist that way pulling allthe energy arround , is black hole pumping the dark matter and energy in turn ?///

    Mar 5, 2012