An Edgy Relationship with Religious Freedom Vietnam’s dispute with Zen master turns violent By BEN STOCKING (AP) HANOI, Vietnam — Communist Vietnam’s sometimes edgy relationship with religious freedom is being tested in a dispute over a monastery inhabited by disciples of Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the world’s most famous Zen masters. For four years, the Buddhist monks and nuns at Bat Nha monastery in central Vietnam have been quietly meditating and studying the teachings of the 82-year-old Vietnamese sage who is perhaps the world’s best-known living Buddhist after Tibet’s Dalai Lama. But lately, they are in a standoff that could test the patience of even the most enlightened. First,…

Mayan Conservationists We must begin to learn from the mistakes of the past – When the ancient Maya abandoned their forest conservation practices, it was to the detriment of their entire culture. Ancient Mayans practiced forest conservation 3,000 years ago Washington, July 27 (ANI): In a new study, scientists from the University of Cincinnati (UC) have determined that the ancient Mayans practiced forest conservation about 3,000 years ago. Paleoethnobotanist David Lentz from the University of Cincinnati has concluded that not only did the Maya people practice forest management, but when they abandoned their forest conservation practices, it was to the detriment of the entire Maya culture. “From our research we…

To Regress or Not To Regress? Health Ministry to hypnotists: Stop helping clients explore past lives By Haaretz Health Correspondent, Dan Even Israeli hypnotists were told to refrain from helping clients explore past lives, following a recent decision on the matter by a special Health Ministry advisory committee. The Advisory Committee on the Law on Hypnosis made the ruling following complaints by clients who said that they had sustained serious emotional damage because of reincarnation hypnosis sessions. Israel has several experts on reincarnation hypnosis, who give sessions that aim to “discover who they were in past lives,” as Dr. Lianna Sofer defines her treatments. “The reincarnation hypnosis allows us to…

…believe a few impossible things From Wired. The Truth Is Out There, and the Nation’s Maddest Scientists Are After It “Paranormal phenomena aren’t just for Fox Mulder, Melinda Gordon, and Rod Serling. Even top academics can’t resist a good ghost story. And maybe that’s for the better: Brilliant ideas often seem crazy at first. Scientific American dubbed the Wright Brothers “the Lying Brothers” despite test flights witnessed by trainloads of startled onlookers. More obscure findings can fare worse: Germs, quarks, black holes, and continental drift were all once considered laughable. Still, impeccably credentialed scientists persist, as Lewis Carroll’s White Queen says, in trying to believe a few impossible things before…