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Newsletter December 2020
Now we stand on the threshold of a pause. Each one of us is going to look out at the world and into his or her heart. Out of this creative suspension will come a new impulse. Each one of us will be responsible for that impulse, for that which is going to carry us forward into the future. This combination of our impulses, thoughts, and new attitudes will create a new world. To do so we will not only consider our own hearts but we will begin to dialogue with others, with nature, and with the sacred. We have left the dream of absolute certainty behind. In its place we each of us must now take responsibility for the uncertain future.
F. David Peat
Don’t miss our exciting new series
Synchronicity, Mind and Matter
February 13 – March 7, 2021
with Allan Combs, Roderick Main, Cruz Manas Sabbadini, Christa Robinson, Remo Roth, Shantena Sabbadini, Yuriko Sato and Jean-François Vézina
The highlight for the beginning of 2021 is our online Synchronicity course. We are privileged to have such a great lineup of presenters, all experts in the field, many of whom will be familiar names to you. Each session will include a presentation with lots of time for discussion and Q&A. In addition, Cruz Mañas Sabbadini and Shantena Sabbadini will be giving a weekend workshop to give you an experiential taste of reading events in a synchronistic perspective. Registration is now open.
Synchronicity is a concept, first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl Jung, which holds that events are ‘meaningful coincidences’ if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related. Join us for presentations and discussions with our guest speakers, scholars who have thought very deeply about the underlying principle behind synchronicities and their meaning.
Quite an extraordinary year is coming to an end. It has brought us global confinement and movement limitation on an unprecedented scale. The economic impact of the crisis has caused serious shortage in many households all over the world, especially among the poor. The peoples’ reactions/responses have ranged from fear and contraction to love and generosity. Our lives have been changed, probably in an irreversible way. Virtual networking has expanded greatly and we have had a taste of that transformation here at the Pari Center.
The winter solstice (Christmas/New Year in the modern world) is traditionally a time for going inwards, staying at home with beloved ones, preparing for renewal. This winter solstice many people will be separated from their beloved ones. Let us send them our thoughts. And let us use the meditative energy of this time of the year to defuse the fear and polarisation that have been rampant in the last few months.
The Chinese expression weiji, signifying ‘crisis’, ‘critical moment’, consists of two characters, wei, danger, and ji, which means (amongst other things) chance, opportunity. There is no doubt that we are living a critical moment. Let us not miss the opportunity it offers us not to return to the old ‘normal’, but to create a new and saner one.
Shantena Sabbadini, Director of The Pari Center
Pari Perspectives
In Memoriam: David Bohm 1917-1992
David Bohm has been described as one of the most significant thinkers of the twentieth century. A theoretical physicist whose radical theories challenged the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, his interests and influence extend far beyond the narrow confines of science. He worked on theories of mind and consciousness, developed a method of Dialogue, and had close relationships with both Krishnamurti and the Dalai Lama. Our ‘In Memoriam’ issue includes essays by former colleagues of David Bohm and scholars who are continuing and building on his work, as well as ‘lay people’ who have contributed shorter piece discussing the influence David Bohm has had on their thinking. One of the neglected areas of Bohm’s influence is the visual arts and so we are pleased to include ten artistspainters, sculptors, photographers, installation artists and a cartoonist who have been heavily influenced by Bohmian ideas. A fully-illustrated, 230-page issue of excellent reading material for the holidays.
Don’t miss this issue ‘In Memoriam: David Bohm, 1917-1992’ with contributions by Basil Hiley, Paavo Pylkkänen, Lee Nichol, F. David Peat, David Moody, Beth Macy, David Schrum, Glenn Aparicio Parry, Shantena Sabbadini, Paul Howard, and many more.
Season’s Greetings from the Schrums to the Peat/Doolan/Barbieri family and to our Friends of Pari family:
We end 2020, despite its challenges, with appreciation for our time together sharing enquiry and exploration. This year has brought to fruition David Peat’s vision and Paul Howard’s direction and production of the film Infinite Potential, bringing into the Pari Center community new friends. Welcome. And our thanks to old friends for their continuing support. May our explorations into art, science, psyche, and the sacred, continue to unfold in the coming year.
With best wishes to all for a health filled 2021 and for the flowering of our unlimited potentials.
David Schrum and Caroline Pawluk
Online Pari Dialogue
What Breakthroughs In Science Can We Reasonably Predict?
with Olival Freire Jr.
Saturday January 16, 2021
9:00 PST | 12:00 EST | 18:00 CET
It is much easier to talk about advances in the field of science in the past than to guess about its future. The case of Lord Kelvin’s 1900 statement concerning the two little clouds that still obscured the sky of physics, and that would eventually be resolved into revolutionary theories—special relativity and quantum mechanics—is a well-known example of this. While risky, guesses about the future of science are appealing. Indeed, dramatic change is a recurrent theme in science studies as illustrated by Thomas Kuhn’s ideas on shifting paradigms in scientific revolutions as well as by several other authors who elaborated different views on the subject. Informed guesses about the future of science breakthroughs will be the subject of our conversation.
This online talk will be followed by questions and answers and discussion.
This event has a fee of €10,00 a participant, €9.00 for Friends of The Pari Center.
In a year when we thought we might have to close the doors of the Pari Center, we find more people than ever wishing to step inside and join our community. A big welcome to all the newcomers. We feel we have made so many new friends with our regular Zoom events; it’s always great to put a face to a name. Thank you for becoming a part of The Pari Center.
And to those of you who have been friends and supporters for many years – some since our inception in September 2000 – we say a great big thank you for having faith in us. Despite the loss of our founder David Peat followed by this past Year of Living Dangerously (threats to health, democracy, the biosphere, economies, the dissemination of accurate information) our community has grown and strengthened. With your continued support we’ll be able to offer more and varied programmes in the coming year – for now virtual but with the hope that we’ll be seeing many of you in Pari before the end of 2021, where we will all enjoy the benefits of a newly-renovated palazzo.
To everyone, we wish you a joyous holiday season and great hopes and blessings for the coming year. We send love from Pari to you all,
Maureen, Eleanor and James
Flickering Reality: Exploring Ideas in Film and Television
Flickering Reality is a free monthly get-together for the Pari Community to explore films, documentaries and TV series that are thought-provoking, philosophical, and take risks. Join us for presentations followed by discussion. All ideas and suggestions for future get-togethers are welcome. Just send us an email.
Our first get-together in the series took place on December 13 with James Peat Barbieri Exploring Alex Garland’s Devs (2020). This session explored the ideas in physics used in the show, such as Bohm and Everett’s interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, the philosophical implications of living in a deterministic world, and the meaning of faith in science and in the creators of visionary technologies.
If you missed this first session and would like to see the recording: https://youtu.be/HbzND6KzXYM
Our next session in this series will be:
Horror and the Role of Terror:
The Antithesis of Being Glad to Be Alive
with Christopher Hauke
Saturday January 30, 2021
at 9:00 am PST | 12:00 pm EST | 6:00 pm CET
Would Christianity have taken off as successfully if Christ had been imprisoned and died out of sight? The horrific image of a nearly naked man, nailed to a cross and bleeding from his hands, feet, forehead and stomach has had greater impact. What is the relationship between horror, its images and the sublime?
From the ancient through the mediaeval to Victorian and contemporary forms of the genre, horror, and terror, have been used to impress upon us the frailty of humanity and, often, the value of a spiritual alternative. In one era, the paintings of Bosch or the original German folk tales could terrify their audience, while in the present day the horror film and its digital game equivalent offer a corresponding function.
Jung was aware of how myth and archetypal imagery took on modern forms when included in contemporary visual media—and yet the psychological impact remained. Jung maintained that evil was a real entity in the world. In their stories, horror writers and filmmakers rely on such an assumption. Christopher Hauke will be discussing a Jungian perspective on horror, the sublime and the role of terror with wide-ranging examples from literature and especially film. You may want to keep the light on…
This series is free and open to everyone! Join our Zoom meeting via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81879261698
FRIEND OF THE PARI CENTER
Membership Campaign 2020
Help us Reach our Goal of 300 Members allowing us to carry on the work of the Pari Center!
None of us can predict what the next few months will bring. Our planned events for this year are now uncertain. We are fortunate to have few overheads at the Center but we still need an income to cover administration costs, maintain our website, publish Pari Perspectives, and so forth. We ask you to please consider becoming a Friend of the Pari Center. By so doing you will be helping the Center to extend the work of David Peat, to continue with its established events and projects, and to start new ventures.
We need your Help and Support!!
Your membership fee will entitle you to:
- a digital copy of the quarterly Pari Perspectives
- a 10% discount on all events at the Pari Center on any events you may choose to attend at the Pari Center within the year
- access to a Members Area of our website which will include blogs, discussion groups, and a library of past issues of Pari Perspective
Your Friend of the Pari Center membership is valid for one year from the date of purchase.
Join our Community now and become a Friend of the Pari Center!
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