Maktub

The meaning of maktub.

Also see

The Alchemist
The Pilgrimage
Brida
The Witch of Portobello
The Lost Symbol

I write …

I write to empty my mind and to fill my heart. Writing is easy: just stare at the screen of your computer until a tear drops on your keyboard.

— Paulo Coelho

Earth Our Mother

Earth our mother, breathe forth life
all night sleeping
now awakening
…in the east
now see the dawn.

Earth our mother, breathe and waken
leaves are stirring
all things moving
new day coming
life renewing.

— Nika Marie Parham

Wines from Cyprus

Wines from Cyprus

I enjoyed drinking the Alina at the weekend sitting in my garden with my lovely friend Sian. The Alina we found to be a very pleasant dry white wine.

Albrecht Dürer magic square

magic square in Melencolia I

Albrecht Dürer magic square

A magic square is a matrix where all the rows, all the columns, and the diagonals add up to the same number.

Albrecht Dürer appeared to achieve the impossible. Not only did all the rows, the columns and the diagonals add up to 34, the four quadrants, the centre square and even the four corner squares, all add up to 34! Not only that, he managed to embed the date 1514, the date Melencolia I was completed, the engraving in which the magic square was hidden!

Magic squares were created by mathematicians in India and Egypt four thousand years ago.

Melencolia I is part of the Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Albrecht Dürer was the ultimate Renaissance Man – artist, philosopher, alchemist.

The magic square in Melencolia I forms part of the plot in The Lost Symbol (2009) by Dan Brown.

Chess on the beach

chess on the beach

Surreal!

Melencolia I

Melencolia I by Albrecht Dürer

An engraving on laid paper by Albrecht Dürer.

Melencolia I depicts Man’s struggle to comprehend the Ancient Mysteries. It is replete with symbols, many of which we have yet to interpret. The level of symbolism is such that it makes Leonardo da Vinci appear overt in comparison.

Melencolia I, completed in 1514, is considered to be the seminal work of the Northern European Renaissance.

One of the symbols hidden within Melencolia I is a magic square. Contained within the magic square is the number 1514, the year in which the work was completed.

Melencolia I is part of the Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Albrecht Dürer was the ultimate Renaissance Man – artist, philosopher, alchemist.

Melencolia I is part of the plot of The Lost Symbol (2009) by Dan Brown.

Cyprus wines

Cyprus wines

Cyprus wines courtesy of Nicolas Tavern and Sunrise Beach Hotel in Protaras.

God, God, God!

From the depth of slumber,
As I ascend the spiral stairway of wakefulness,
I whisper
God, God, God!

Thou art the food and when I break my fast
Of nightly separation from Thee
I taste thee and mentally say
God, God, God!

No matter where I go, the spotlight of my mind
Ever keeps turning on Thee;
And in the battle dim of activity my silent war cry
Is ever;
God, God, God!

When boisterous storms of trials shriek
And worries howl at me,
I drown their noises, loudly chanting
God, God, God!

When my mind weaves dreams
With treads of memories,
Then on that magic cloth I do emboss;
God, God, God!

Ever night, in time of deepest sleep,
My peace dreams and calls; Joy! Joy! Joy!
And my Joy comes singing evermore;
God, God, God!

In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,
Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving,
My soul constantly hums, unheard by any;
God, God, God!

– Paramahansa Yogananda

Thanks to Nika Marie Parham for sharing this poem.

Tarifa

Tarifa - Priya Sher

The Alchemist: At the highest point in Tarifa there is an old fort, built by the Moors. From atop its walls, one can catch a glimpse of Africa.