For those of you interested in creating community around things geometrical, here's a link to an hour (in 6 installments) of video of a recent meeting of fellow "Hedronists" (a whimsical name a handful of us kindred geometers who have been meeting quasi-regularly in Ashland, Oregon call ourselves). Our hour potluck meetings discuss common geometric interests as well as a variety of ideas for mutual support and creating a local and global community to not only promote our work, but to make a positive difference on a global scale.

Thanks to Micheal S. for alerting me to this link which shows a Sun - Earth - Plasma - Blast image with our beloved "torus-sphere" geometry, plus (due to the asymmetry of the solar wind around our planet) a rather remarkable resemblance
to some of the "insectogram" (or spider) crop circles of a few years ago, such as these few quick finds:

Scroll down on this page to find "Fish/Eye Formation at Silbury Hill, near Avebury, Wiltshire, 9 July 2005"
with a similar link (and overlapping content) here: note the 2nd and 3rd images past this line of text:
"This one appears in 13th July last year at West Kenet Long Barrow". Scroll down on this page to find
"The Star Nation peoples have sent similar messages in other formations"

Thanks to colleague Dan Shaw, of Vortex Maps, I discovered this lovely UVG-grid add-on (which superimposes the great circle outlines of the icosa- and dodeca- grid for Google Earth. Here is a map of our county (Jackson) in southern Oregon showing where the lines cross west of Crater Lake ...



and a more zoomed out view showing the nexus above the Giza longitude crowning the Nile Delta ...



When you zoom out, you'll see lovely images of the Earth surrounded by the grid.

Thanks to Larry G. for notifying me about this video of mysterious hexagon at Saturn's pole (which Richard Hoagland commented on some years ago...) Here's a closely related article from Jim R. and another from Shaun L, thanks!

Thanks to Larry G. for sending the link to this Interesting article on Sacred Geometry & Feng Shui.

The Way Home is my favorite music by Kevin Braheny; deeply soothing, relaxing, meditative, soulful - perfect unwind music...

Tonight we went to one of our local cinemas to see the "Amazing Grace" movie which features excellent performances by cast that includes one of my favorite world music artists, Youssou N'Dour. Before I realized that the film was about the abolition of the slave trade in England (the famous song is really only incidental to the plot), I thought maybe Youssou would sing, but that would not have fit the well-told and moving story. If you want to here his music, I recommend, a couple of his CDs, Joko From Village To Town and The Guide (Wonmat).

Here's a thoughtful, heartfelt response from one of the 500+ subscribers to my email bulletin (who asked to remain anonymous) which mentions the public interest in videos such as "The Secret" and "What The Bleep" as indicative of a deeper longing for remembering our connection to natural law. While I don't have any first-hand knowledge of the information presented in the comments below to either validate or invalidate the claims about the some of the presenters mentioned; I DO know from my own experience that it is vitally important to hold the intent to make all choices of thought, feeling and action in accord with the optimum welfare of all life everywhere (rather than "manipulate" outcomes for limited personal "benefit"), and to ask for permission whenever our actions and choices involve others. Here is the response:

"Cheers Blessings and WoW back at you!! And Thank you for responding so immediately – and for so graciously hearing me. It seems our deepest intentions are ‘on the same page’.
I didn’t feel you were endorsing either movie – and that is part of what is so painful for me – the innocence with which “What the Bleep” is pointed to. I can’t really speak much about “The Secret”, yet. I know that some of the other scientists have also voiced complaint of misrepresentation regarding their presentation in “Bleep” --- but hard to find. Needless to say JZK Inc. doesn’t provide that info on their web page.!
I so agree with you regarding the hunger people have for ‘something’ unnamable. And I can recognize why “Bleep” has achieved such cult-like notoriety. Nevertheless – the kicker for me, and many of us ‘ex-Ramsters’ living in the Yelm area, is that when the movie premiered here in Yelm, it was a joke. We know the scam Ramtha is, and Dr. Joe etc., and assumed everyone would see through it. Many did. Too many haven’t.
It has always been a hunger in me to be able to articulate the ‘greatest gifts’ within me – so you inspire me now to attempt to articulate how the science and spiritual truth are one.
First, it seems to me it’s not so much the information/science as it is the manner and environment in which it is presented. What I know is that, for instance, with JZK Inc.’s Ramtha, the information for the most part is valid, presented in an abusive environment, and from a perspective of “power over” our world(s). I believe it’s the same in “The Secret”. The message seems to commonly be, ‘you have the capacity, the power to create your life and your world; as proven by quantum physics and the ‘fact’ that the observer impacts the observed.
In the New Testament, King James Version, Paul describes faith as: “the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen.” This is quantum physics. Buddhism has had the same understanding long before humankind could spell quantum. Some form of the story of the 3 Wishes is in every culture throughout time. Humanity today has proven it’s ability to ‘create/manipulate reality – to the nano level!!! – We’ve manipulated the environment and every living creature on it and our world is going to hell around us. So it seems. When will we understand that manipulation doesn’t work.?
To me it’s as simple as, we don’t have the capacity to see all parameters simultaneously. For instance, imagine being able to see the entirety of the planet earth, or to be inside the Platonic solids seeing all sides simultaneously. And, if chaos theory has any validity, and if the flap of a butterfly’s wings changes the weather on the other side of the world – how are we as individuals capable of knowing everything simultaneously to make the ‘right’ decision/create reality that isn’t ultimately destructive?
Without question our attitudes, our perspectives, our socio/cultural/ethnic/etc status impact/create how we experience what happens. It’s the old glass half full or half empty thing…. And, as your website so clearly is – our Intent is the key.
Most importantly, to me, is what Sacred Geometry shows us. There is an inherent harmony in our universe(s). When we are in tune/in alignment/allowing of that inherent harmony, ‘magic’ happens. Christians would call it, as I do, Grace. You can manipulate/impose your will/create your reality of angles and shapes – but nothing will make your heart and Soul sing like the work/play you do of flowing with the inherent Harmony. All that we call beautiful – whether of “Nature” or human made is that which reflects/articulates this Sacred Geometry/inherent Harmony.
There is a beyond duality that is accessible to us. The ability to impose our will upon the ‘substance’ of reality has always been known. The ‘evidence’ of the ‘unseen’ has always been recognized – simply called by different names. The point, therefore, to me, is recognize that there is a Harmony and to allow It. Isn’t that what the ‘great Teachers’ were saying?
Sooooooooo – yes, the science is correct. And we have a choice – to manipulate ‘reality’, or to flow with the inherent Harmony. Simple. Which is not to say it’s easy."

Thanks to Jordan P. for alerting me to this very cool spiral animated "music box" - Check out all the variations! There are a whole series of animations you can select with different musical intervals and corresponding geometries that trigger the notes; pretty fun!

Thanks to Jim H. for pointing out a permanent link to the article on advanced math in art/architecture and Islamic Art that I mentioned in my March email bulletin (the one I listed had expired after a week.)

Thanks also to lucid dream researcher and forum host Ed Kellogg for showing me an interesting book by Shafica Karragula (author of Breakthrough to Creativity: Your Higher Sense Perception which I read a bit of decades ago) and Viola Petitt Neal entitled "Through the Curtain" which contains references to the diamond and other geometric shapes as appropriate for meditation and spiritual resonance. This reminded me of the significance of the diamond (rhombus) shape and the appearance of the Golden Rhombus (the diamond shape you get when you connect the midpoints of the sides of a golden rectangle) in the Rhombic Triacontahedron, also known as Kepler's Solid; I have a fold-up pattern for it on my website here. The conversation Ed & I had about the diamond/rhombus shape also lead to talking about Eric Weisstein's fabulous magnum opus, Eric's Treasure Troves of Math (and Physics and ...) which evolved into his Encyclopedia of Mathematics and the online version, a collaboration with Wolfram which I seem to refer to constantly. Kudos to Eric and all the other contributors which make this such an exemplary gift to humankind's understanding!

Thanks to Luke G. and Michael H. for this neat visual progression from R.W. Gray about dodecahedron/tetrahedron nesting relationships.

Thanks to Iona for this interesting article about 248 Dimensions! Looks like string art and string theory combined

For anyone who enjoys superb latin guitar, check out the live performance calendar of virtuoso latin guitarist, Ivan Najera. His Devotion CD is one of my faves. He also happens to be a former co-worker when I lived in Nevada County.

I had an inquiry over the weekend from some friends wanting to know where to get models of polyhedra. In addition to some awesome screensavers, here are some lovely polyhedra & geometric models (in gold an bronze) you might want to explore! More on the way... stay tuned!

Today we celebrated a friend's birthday with an outing to the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, where we made a loop from Eagle Point to Klamath Falls via Hwy 140, then down Hwy 97 to Miller Island, Worden, The Bear Valley Refuge, Dorris, and the Lower Klamath Refuge. Not only did we see a bald eagle in flight, but tens of thousands of Canadian Geese, Snow Geese, and an assortment of ducks, egrets, herons, and many more species. A perfect day for bird-watching even for novices like me! Watching a flock fly low overhead in drove after drove, hearing only the sound of wings was a magical experience! Here's a photo of a tiny portion of the population we saw with Mount McLaughlin (which I had the pleasure of climbing last summer) in the background.

Having read Neale Donald Walsch's series of 3 "CWG" books a few years ago, last night we watched the "Conversations With God" DVD at our friends home and we all enjoyed it. The story line was good, with a few good philosophical/metaphysical insights, and the production values were excellent! (I saw the name of my friend, Ed Keller, in the credits and he does great videography/editing work!

My aunt and uncle just sent me this worthy, quick and simple way to show support for what appears to me to be VERY appropriate legislation:

Subject: Co-sponsor Barbara Boxer's global warming bill

Dear Friend,

Senator Barbara Boxer has just introduced legislation with Sen. Bernie Sanders to comprehensively reduce global warming, and she's asking for citizens like you and me to join with her in co-sponsoring the bill.

One week before Earth Day, which comes on April 22nd, Sen. Boxer will announce the number of citizen co-sponsors that have been gathered, giving her a huge push forward as she approaches her colleagues and enlists their support for Sanders/Boxer.

I hope you will join me in signing on as a citizen co-sponsor of this critically important legislation -- just click the link to do it!

Here's a new medium (digital download) that can eliminate buying a physical product, and actually help with the issues this video describes! If we attend to the suggested fixes toward the end of the film, we can turn around the craziness and create a sustainable habitat for humans and all the other species on Mother Earth. You can now watch An Inconvenient Truth without driving to a theater or video rental store (direct fossil fuel use) or filling your storage places with modified fossil fuels (plastics)!

Here's a press release for geometry enthusiasts from Robert Webb:
(looks like a great update for this interesting looking software; another enticement to get an Intel-based Mac, I suppose
===============================================

I just released version 4.0 of Stella, plus a new product called Stella4D. It includes everything from Great Stella, but also includes
support for 4D polytopes! Watch a tesseract (4D cube) undergoing 4D rotation. Watch 3D cross-sections of 4D polytopes animating as the slicing hyperplane cuts deeper and deeper. All 1849 known uniform 4D polychora are included, plus more!

I attach a photo of a paper model I made of a 4D polytope using nets created and printed from Stella4D (the cantellated tesseract).

Home page: http://web.aanet.com.au/robertw/Stella.html

Get the demo of Stella4D here: http://web.aanet.com.au/robertw/Downloads.html

See a bunch of screenshots, including animated ones, here: http://web.aanet.com.au/robertw/ScreenShots.html

Thanks to a number of people who sent me this visual exercise in cosmic perspective... quite humbling!

I am in a state of heartfelt acknowledgment for the work of our my new friend, Dr. Leonard Laskow ... He is the author of a marvelous book entitled, Healing with Love. His 3-day workshop which I attended this last weekend was truly life-transforming for me... can't say enough good things about the wisdom, genius and astonishingly simple and profound truths he shared... and the catalytic effect his presentations and exercises had for me... LOTS more to say, although most of the impact was on an intuitive & emotional level that is rather ineffable.

I've been a fan of Caroline Casey's brilliant show on KPFA-FM for a decade or two... a great blend of astrological alchemy, insightful dialogue with interesting guests and transpersonal poltical vision grounded in egalitarian wisdom. She authored a book entitled Making the Gods Work For You, and her radio show is on the web Thursdays from 2-3PM Pacific Time. Both highly recommended!

The U.S. vs. John Lennon is an excellent documentary about a visionary we all know who asked us to imagine; great music, some unique footage and a very compassionate tribute to the life of a superstar who touched so many lives for the better.

Here are some neat videos:

This one addresses global perspectives and the exponential growth of information and interconnectedness (Thanks to Libby M.)

This one shows some neat footage of a dolphin interacting with scuba divers (Thanks to Daniel B.)

This one asks questions about how much of our happiness depends on transpersonal altruism (Thanks to Daniel H.)

This one and this one both involve pythons (Thanks to Larry G. YouTube, and the principle of serendipity)

Enjoy!

Here's my response to a post in the Polytopia forum on yahoo from someone interested in the mathematics of pendulums:

In addition to entries like this one, I would also recommend (from both a physics and artistic perspective), this book:
Harmonograph - A Visual Guide to the Mathematics of Music which is John Martineau's beautifully illustrated book by his grandfather, Anthony Ashton, on the pendulum-based invention that creates such lovely patterns.

Years ago in my high school electronics class I used every oscillator in the classroom to an oscilloscope to observe
Lissajous patterns (and then built my own music synthesizer to go further). The illustrations in the book add the factor of damping due to exponential decay (the "e" term) and the results are exquisite... Highly recommended!

Another gem of a DVD I viewed from RVML's library this week: Artmind - The Healing Power of Sacred Art with Alex Grey which complements his book of classic visionary art: Sacred Mirrors. A favorite quote from the DVD: "You are one with everything; you couldn't be here if you weren't!"- Alex Grey

I just finished watching two very interesting RVML presentations; one by Catherine J. Larkin that talks about the Mayan Calendar and the work of Carl J. Calleman. I particularly resonate to the idea that the days of dualistic thinking are drawing to a close. The other was by Carl Marsak talking about the Enneagram and how we can understand ourselves and each other more fully by exploring our own archetypal energies and tendencies. The videos have much more important information than I've alluded to here; these two are just a tiny sample of the great videos at RVML!

An email dialogue with lifelong friend Dave in Colorado reminded me of a thought that occurs to me when I ponder the "Hedgehog Concept of Jim Collins (author of Good To Great); namely that the 3 overlapping circles of his model for excellence (personal or collective) can be also thought of a more classical trinity:

Spiritual (our optimum gift to the world)
Mental (Passion)
Physical (Resource Affirmation)

Today we attended the Ashland Chocolate Festival which was rather tasty; some remarkably delicious (for a non-chocaholic) gourmet chocolate fare of all sorts, from a number of high quality vendors, mostly locals. The highlight for me (and all the fare was outstanding!) was the talk (and ware samplings) from local producer, Dagoba, which presented a very inspiring and compelling hour of details about not only the importance of "fair trade", but some of the ramifications of what is really going on behind the public relations, and who is really walking their talk. Dagoba is! (We get their chocolate locally from the Ashland Food Coop.) Highly recommended from both culinary and activist perspectives... When you visit their website, wait until the photo of the adorable sloth comes around; we saw some in the trees in Costa Rica when we were there a few years ago and were inspired by them. Our interconnected, vote-with-your-wallet choices DO make a difference!

Thanks to Lani for letting me know about the 2nd Annual Northwest Labyrinth Gathering - May 18-20, 2007 in Medford, Oregon! Looks like a great event coming up featuring an interesting slate of speakers, including Dr. Jean Houston.

I had the pleasure today to meet over lunch (at a great restaurant called Alex's in Ashland, Oregon) with a new friend, Dr. Leonard Laskow. He is the author of a marvelous book entitled, Healing with Love. My first encounter with his important work was a few weeks ago when he gave a superb talk as part of the RVML's Tuesday evening lecture series. I discovered that in addition to his profound insights into techniques for reconnecting with a feeling and consciousness of oneness (firmly grounded in medical research) and its implications for healing (which I'll elaborate about more while attending his workshop this weekend... stay tuned!), we also share an appreciation for a number of colleagues such as Dr. Beverly Rubik, Marcel Vogel, Dr. Carl Simonton and many others...

I am delighted to announce the availability of a new book by a dear friend, James Andrew Barrett. James' book is entitled "The Silent Gospel: The Science of Divinity - Creation of the Shroud of Turin". The Silent Gospel skillfully reveals connections within current biomedical breakthroughs such as Heart Rate Variability research, Eastern mystical breathing practices and traditions concerning physical and spiritual enlightenment, quantum zero point physics, sacred geometric proportions and so much more, encoded in the tapestry of the Shroud of Turin, and most importantly, offers profound implications for our own lives. Highly recommended!