BETWEEN SCIENCE AND MYTH: The Hidden Knowledge
SUMMARIE

Alchemyandits RelationtoScience. A historicperspective.
JOAQUÍN PÉREZ PARIENTE

Joaquín Pérez Pariente refutes the idea thatalchemyis a discipline proper to the delusional, showing how itwascultivated by someofhumanity’sgreatesttalents, and how its til lis be ingpracticed in spite of be ingmarginalized by academicscience. I tis to those primitive alchemists that we owe no thing less but the foundation ofman’salliance with matter. More than a minor art and the antecedent of modern chemistry, alchemyis a sublimation of Aristotelian philosophy turned into experimental science.

Energy fields. A New Way of Looking at Creativity and Education
SATURNINO DE LA TORRE

The static view to that the scientific realism has accustomed, begins to wobble to the light of the new ones knowledge that go from the neuroscience to the trans personality and from the mechanical physics to the quantum theology. We are energy. We can explain all as energy in action and transformation. Additionally mental phenomena as the thought, the creativity or the education can be interpreted, as flow, a construct so useful as the motivation, the intelligence or the creativity. But how deal with it scientifically? How to move this concept from the physics to the education? Is like to open a door to the transdisciplinariety and to see inside from another view.

Bioconstruction: The healthy house
DIEGO CABEZUDO

In spite of the current progress of technology and of “Intelligent buildings”, the branch of architecture by the name of bioclimatics falls back on ancient traditions to find a frame of reference in classic knowledge that is conscious of the planet and the integral health of the persons who live and work in its constructed spaces. Because of the technological advances, and especially the superiority this has bestowed on man, he believes he has the power to master nature, which made him turn his back on it–and this is precisely where the problems have begun. The solution is the common sense and the use of natural and ecological materials.

Symbolic Thought
RAIMON AROLA

Symbolic thought is a modality of approaching and understanding the world. It gives an experience of knowing that makes both the relation between art and the absolute, and the double path between the particular and universal,comprehensible. Through symbolic thought it is possible to touch upon the essence of the works of art of all ages. In many cases the symbol is only associated with esoteric and occult interpretations behind which, after all, secret societies hide themselves. Or they are coupled with heresies at loggerheads with the Church. Although symbolic thought is losing its role as the natural unifier between the two worlds, its flow does not disappear. We reflect upon these two paths which we discern, to see if we can still consider them valid courses at this crux of time when both art and religion have lost the duties that had been assigned to them. This however leads to a question of uncertainty: whether symbolic thought is still possible in the faltering 21st Century.

The secret of the Cathars
JOSÉ LUIS ESPEJO

The article delves into the origin and development of the Cathars, a group of initiates that kept their distance to the Medieval Catholic Church that considered them heretics. Their doctrinal plan, libertarian and rigorous at the same time, also had its particular advance in Spain, especially in the regions of Catalonia and Aragon. José Luís Espejo relates a group of Cathars, that escaped France after papal repression, with the marginalized minority of the Agotes. He elucidates the connection between this forced migration and the rise and evolution of the region’s textile handicrafts–trades in which the “Perfecti”, as they were also known, were accomplished artisans.

An Insight into Islamic Mysticism. The Dervishes' Road to Perfection
RUBÉN FIGAREDO FERNÁNDEZ

At a moment like this in which the West perceives the Islamic world as a threat, and in which Muslims themselves are at the difficult crossroads between opting for modernity or entrenchment in fundamentalism, paying attention to the mystical Sufi tradition transports us to a realm of beauty, self-knowledge and harmony with the universe, which is essential in a world intimidated by the unknown, and that sees a potential enemy in the “other”, uncertain as the West is about its own values. The road to perfection of the Dervishes leads through a garden where the thorns protect against the roses, one dies to be born and is born to die, and one flourishes and dies on the rhythm of the seasons of the soul passing us by with a murmur that we can hardly hear amidst all the background noise.

Mario Roso de Luna (1872-1931): An unusual occulist
ESTEBAN CORTIJO

Unclassifiable authors must endure a dose of oblivion on top of already having the disadvantage of being born in a country, as is Spain, so little devoted to letters and science. The Extremadurian Mario Roso de Luna, a true Homo Universalis who touched upon subjects like those of the heavens and those of the sky, an astronomer, philosopher, scientist, psychologist and literate who wrote about dreams before Freud proliferated in our libraries, just like he discovered celestial bodies with his naked eyes in the dark nights of his Extremadura. And, according to many, the best travel book situated in Asturias ever came from his hand as well: El Tesoro de los Lagos de Somiedo (The Treasure of the Lakes of Somiedo), an exceptional narrative larded with occultism and theosophy.

In Search of Truth
JUAN MANUEL MACÍAS LÓPEZ

George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff has been one of the most controversial Spiritual Masters of our time. His thoughts and methods revolutionized Western beliefs about the real possibilities of human evolution.
Obsessed with waking people up from the condition of “artifact”, he sometimes behaved in ways that were shocking and unacceptable according to the social codes of conduct of his era. But those who can see beyond this disguise, discover an authentic human being, capable to effectuate changes within the persons who surrounded him.
Gurdjieff's work is a syncretism of Eastern and Western traditions, applied to modern human beings, which he called “The Fourth Way”; this includes practical elements of three traditional paths: the Way of the Fakir, the Way of the Monk, and, the Way of the Yogi, through which humanity must accomplish its role within the cosmic scheme of things.

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Formal Freedom , Real Freedom
PEDRO VÍCTOR RODRIGUEZ

If one wishes to attain true freedom of thought, it is useless to seek refuge in temporal values and, grounding oneself on mere intellect, build ideological structures which hide the pure natural essence of things. To rise above all that, one should, at least, have the courage to accept the relative value of ideas. For, how could we obtain objective discernment if we simply follow whatever mutable conventionalities consider intellectually correct, or beautiful, no matter how extraordinary or brilliant it may be? Above all that, we should first be concerned with that which is useful and capable of shining light and bring solutions at helping us distinguishing true from false, from an inner and unquestionable certainty. That ideal transcends the intellect as well as every other sensory perception organ whose reliability is always questionable

Poliphilio: a hermetic and philosophical voyage, how to overcome religious an geographical boundaries
BEATRIZ FRAGUELA

The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is a book of emblems and heir of the the Hieroglyphica of Horapollo. The book consists of two parts: in the first Poliphili falls into a deep sleep and dreams he’s searching Polia. He travels, and describes his encounters with imaginary creatures, ancient ruins and the abundant forest that pervades everything. In the second part it is Polia who relates their history. At the end of Polia’s story, Poliphili wakes up and curses the daylight that separates him from his beloved.
The first edition (1499 A.D.) is considered to have been printed in a very limited edition because of its hermetic and erotic content. However, we intend to demonstrate that this book was already consulted in Spain at the beginning of 16th century, and more, that it even served as a source of inspiration.

Cuisine and Culture. Aspects of santeria foods in Bahia, Brasil
MARIA DO CARMO SOARES
PAULO GILVANE LOPES PENA

This article offers a presentation of the principles of Afro-Brazilian food, culture and religion. More specifically it offers a description of the foods used in santería in the state of Bahia in Brazil, the country’s region with the largest concentration of African descendents. Given the popularity of Candomblé (the predominant line of Santería in Bahia), several socio-religious aspects are present in the general population’s knowledge about food and alimentary practices, which all have originated in sacred rites and now occupy the profane spaces of the globalized world. The beliefs have received a new significance for the continuity of this Afro-Brazilian tradition, that gains strength through its representations related to food.

Lucid dying. Practicing Immortality
PALOMA CABADAS

Lucid dying is not a form of dying, but a form life enriched with awareness and experience of the transcendental. It is a concept based on the assumption that persons who live their life with clarity and abundance, aware of their multidimensional reality, and undertake their journey with confidence, joy and love, are given the experience of their continuous presence. We walk this earthly plane to find answers, not to find some person.
True knowledge is inseparable from action. Talents are capsules of energy, infinite energetic reservoirs of exceptional quality, that are replenished by their very activation which bestows the pleasurable realization of unlimited self-gratification on individuals.

Gods, Men and Archons. Exobiological Reflections on the Origin and Evolution of Humanity on Earth
LUIS ANTONIO LÁZARO

Skeptics may consider the article a brilliant piece of literature, a product of the imagination, while those who believe in the apparently impossible such as described in this perturbing article, can find traces of veracity, or even the whole truth.
Luis Antonio Lázaro paints a tale in which fantastic creatures transform into real beings that walk with us to guide us from another dimension. These otherworldly beings, the Archons, have been given expression on many occasions in the history of art, but never, until now, have they been attributed the role of Keepers of Humanity, of a human race that lives in ignorance while they unfold their dark designs. Gods, Men and Archons. Exobiological Reflections on the Origin and Evolution of Humanity on Earth is a work that evokes us to rethink the independence of the human being in relation to power, and how we play a primordial role in saving our planet and our values.