Life In Mani Today

Some insight into Life in Mani Today - The Road to freedom... Not since the advent of British writer Patrick Leigh Fermor's book, Mani - Travels in the Southern Peloponnesus, more than fifty years ago, has there been an historic update, written in English, concerning this land and its people, from a new and very different perspective. Miami-born, Greek-American urologist, Dr. Mickey Demos, exposes the Mani from a unique angle in his book Life in Mani Today - The Road to Freedom. This has been a project that the contributing editor, Panayiotis Kokkinias, has spent nearly two years preparing for publication. Kokkinias spent much of this past year in Mani working with Dr. Demos, who wanted to create an up-to-date version to the changes in history, which he discovered when he moved to Mani. His reasoning was based on the fact that his entire family origin began here centuries ago and, until he turned 69 years of age, he had never even visited Greece. Now, at 80, he was on a quest that encompassed an eleven year odyssey. Realizing the passion Kokkinias had for writing, based upon a number of book and periodicals that he had authored and which Demos had read, he asked Kokkinias to help him organize and complete his 600 pages of thoughts into a concise book format and get it published. "Demos was a natural," Kokkinias said in an interview, relating to the Doctor's ability to capture the stories he relates in Life in Mani Today. "So many people of Greek descent have had their roots in Mani, and the stories abound reflecting the traits and characteristics of these wild mountain people who all claim to have a direct connection to a man named Petros Mavromichalis, one of the greatest freedom fighters in Hellenic history. So many myths, superstitions, battles, wild stories, songs, poems, hearsay, as well as vampires, bats, vendettas, and the power of the evil eye are just the beginning along with the warning to those who so much as mention the word, 'Mani', to anyone outside of this region. Everybody in Greece knew about Mani and had something to say about the place. 'You had better watch yourself. Those people in Mani are dangerous.' "Life in Mani Today will give new insight into what has transpired over these past 50-plus years. It is not a dry historical chronology, but a lively look, with some comic relief, about life in the old country. You might be surprised at what has changed... and more surprised at what has stayed the same." Here is an opportunity to learn more about a part of Greece that has remained independent of the rest of the mainland for many years. How these people have survived and succeeded in life, and have stayed free from a lot of the politics that currently threaten the financial stability of this great country, continues as a credit to their hard work, their intelligence, and their use of common sense.

Some insight into Life in Mani Today The Road to freedom... Not since the advent of British writer Patrick Leigh Fermors book, Mani - Travels in the Southern Peloponnesus, more than fifty years ago, has there been an historic update, written in English, concerning this land and its people, from a new and very different perspective. Miami-born, Greek-American urologist, Dr. Mickey Demos, exposes the Mani from a unique angle in his book Life in Mani Today The Road to Freedom. This has been a project that the contributing editor, Panayiotis Kokkinias, has spent nearly two years preparing for publication. Kokkinias spent much of this past year in Mani working with Dr. Demos, who wanted to create an up-to-date version to the changes in history, which he discovered when he moved to Mani. His reasoning was based on the fact that his entire family origin began here centuries ago and, until he turned 69 years of age, he had never even visited Greece. Now, at 80, he was on a quest that encompassed an eleven year odyssey. Realizing the passion Kokkinias had for writing, based upon a number of book and periodicals that he had authored and which Demos had read, he asked Kokkinias to help him organize and complete his 600 pages of thoughts into a concise book format and get it published. Demos was a natural, Kokkinias said in an interview, relating to the Doctors ability to capture the stories he relates in Life in Mani Today. So many people of Greek descent have had their roots in Mani, and the stories abound reflecting the traits and characteristics of these wild mountain people who all claim to have a direct connection to a man named Petros Mavromichalis, one of the greatest freedom fighters in Hellenic history. So many myths, superstitions, battles, wild stories, songs, poems, hearsay, as well as vampires, bats, vendettas, and the power of the evil eye are just the beginning along with the warning to those who so much as mention the word, Mani, to anyone outside of this region. Everybody in Greece knew about Mani and had something to say about the place. You had better watch yourself. Those people in Mani are dangerous. Life in Mani Today will give new insight into what has transpired over these past 50-plus years. It is not a dry historical chronology, but a lively look, with some comic relief, about life in the old country. You might be surprised at what has changed and more surprised at what has stayed the same. Here is an opportunity to learn more about a part of Greece that has remained independent of the rest of the mainland for many years. How these people have survived and succeeded in life, and have stayed free from a lot of the politics that currently threaten the financial stability of this great country, continues as a credit to their hard work, their intelligence, and their use of common sense.

Journal for Star Wisdom 2016 includes articles of interest concerning star wisdom (Astrosophy), as well as a guide to the correspondences between stellar configurations during the life of Christ and those of today. This guide comprises a complete sidereal ephemeris and aspectarian, geocentric and heliocentric, for each day throughout the year. Published yearly, new editions are available beginning in October or November for the coming new year. According to Rudolf Steiner, every step taken by Christ during his ministry between the baptism in the Jordan and the resurrection was in harmony with—and an expression of—the cosmos. Journal for Star Wisdom is concerned with these heavenly correspondences during the life of Christ. It is intended to help provide a foundation for cosmic Christianity, the cosmic dimension of Christianity. It is this dimension that has been missing from Christianity in its two-thousand-year history. Readers can begin on this path by contemplating the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets against the background of the zodiacal constellations (sidereal signs) today in relation to corresponding stellar events during the life of Christ. In this way, the possibility is opened for attuning, in a living way, to the life of Christ in the etheric cosmos. This year's journal begins with an article by Robert Powell on the relationship between the galactic center and Christ’s miracle of the healing of the man born blind, followed by an article by Estelle Isaacson about the life of the man born blind, whose name was Celidonius. She has also written on the “star of Lazarus and reading the starry script.” Claudia McLaren Lainson’s article “The Towers We Build” relates to the planet Uranus and events of our time against the background of the position of Uranus—in 2016, the same as shortly after Christ’s Ascension. She also honors psychologist and astrosopher William Bento, who died on June 5, 2015, with her “In Memoriam.” David Tresemer’s article, written with Robert Schiappacasse, expands on a short contribution from William Bento. Brian Gray’s article focuses upon the birth of Jesus—in terms of a stellar imagination—in relation to the three kings on the one hand and the shepherds on the other. Nicholas Kollerstrom contributed “Position of the Ancient Star Zodiac,” presenting his research into the original scientific definition of the zodiac. The article “Specters” by Kevin Dann takes a unique approach to “The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness,” the subject of David Tresemer’s article. The monthly commentaries for 2016 by Claudia McLaren Lainson are supported by monthly astronomical previews by Sally Nurney, offering opportunities to observe and experience physically the stellar configurations during 2016. This direct interaction between the human being on Earth and the heavenly beings of the stars develops the capacity to receive their wisdom-filled teachings.

For many centuries, the teaching of Mani was hidden behind the distorted picture that had been created by the adversaries of Manichaeism in East and West. In the course of the twentieth century, new light was shed on Manichaeism by the discovery of several Manichaean scriptures. These have shown that Manichaeism was a true, distinct world religion that, in the question of good and evil, for instance, offers insights that complement and deepen Christianity. Also in the twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner brought Anthro­posophy, Spiritual Science, which is a continuation of a stream of esoteric Christianity that has run through human history ever since the resurrection of Christ. Anthroposophy is centered on a new, deepened idea of Christianity that, as indicated by Rudolf Steiner, is so great and all-encompassing that it can be understood in its full depth only gradually. In this book, Christine Gruwez explores the essence of Mani’s revelation and then shows what Rudolf Steiner has communicated regarding Mani and his teaching. This generates an image of two spiritual streams that, each from its own beginning, are moving toward a future when a Christianity of the deed shall become reality.

That Mysterious Power which Pushes All Things to Perfection

This study explores the artistic culture of religious instruction and the canonical art of the Manichaeans. Based on textual and artistic evidence, it identifies fragments form 10th-century editions of Mani’s Book of Pictures and its adaptations to other art objects.

“Mr. Allan Burns, I am here to tell you an example, the example of the Hunchbacks.” So said Paulino Yamá, traditionalist and storyteller, to Allan Burns, anthropologist and linguist, as he began one story that found its way into this book. Paulino Yamá was just one of several master storytellers from the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico from whom Burns learned not only the Mayan language but also the style and performance of myths, stories, riddles, prayers, and other forms of speech of their people. The result is An Epoch of Miracles, a wonderfully readable yet thoroughly scholarly set of translations from the oral literature of the Yucatec Maya, an important New World tradition never before systematically described. An Epoch of Miracles brings us over thirty-five long narratives of things large, small, strange, and “regular” and as many delightful short pieces, such as bird lore, riddles, and definitions of anteaters, rainbows, and other commonplaces of the Mayan world. Here are profound narratives of the Feathered Serpent, the mighty Rain God Chac and his helpers, and the mysterious cult of the Speaking Cross. But because these are modern, “Petroleum Age” Maya, here too are a discussion with Cuba’s Fidel Castro and a greeting to former president Richard Nixon. All pieces are translated ethnopoetically; examples of several genres are presented bilingually. An especially valuable feature is the indication of performance style, such as pauses and voice quality, given with each piece.