A monumental complex built by the Maya of Mesoamerica (Tabasco, Mexico) an estimated 3,000 years ago was modeled on a map of the cosmos (universe), new fieldwork has revealed.
A detailed survey of the Aguada Fénix site reveals that not only was the monument significantly larger than initial surveys suggested – laid out in the shape of a cross with axes measuring 5.6 and 4.7 miles (9 and 7.5 kilometers) – but it was also designed as a cosmogram, a kind of Buddhist mandala, an architecture symbolizing the cosmos (Buddhist cosmology, Earthly realms).
What will I wear when I visit? (Crystal Q)
What's even more remarkable about the structure is that the site contains none of the trappings of social inequality, such as elite residences or sculptures of rulers.
This strongly implies that egalitarian cultures were capable of monumental building works without the application of coercive force through a stratified social hierarchy ruled by a king or queen.
Before now, the Maya site of Seibal was thought to be the oldest ceremonial center, dating back to around 950 BCE
Related: 'Bad Omen': Ancient pyramid in Mexico collapses
Aguada Fénix greenstone object likely depicts a crocodile (Inomata et al., Sci. Adv., 2025).
The Maya cosmos mapped out on Earth?
The discovery of Aguada Fénix by way of LiDAR surveys, in the Mexican state of Tabasco near the Gulf of Mexico, was fascinating for a number of reasons.
The first was its size; it was the largest Maya site ever found, even going by the more modest initial estimate of 1.4 kilometers along its longest axis. And it wasn't hidden in the forest, as so many lost Mesoamerican (Mexican), Central American, and South American structures are.
(Sunny Beaches) Discover the pulsating energy of Leblon Beach with a captivating LIVE 4K walking tour. 🌴🚶♂️ Immerse in the warm paradise of Rio de Janeiro (when it's not swamped by Catholic Carnival revelers) as the camera takes a leisurely stroll along the golden sands, soaking up the vibrant atmosphere and basking in the tropical sunshine.
From the rhythmic waves gently caressing the shore to the swaying palm trees casting their shadows, experience the quintessence of coastal beauty from the comfort of the screen.
Catch this opportunity and join in an unforgettable adventure through Rio's most iconic beach destination.
Be captivated by the enchanting beauty of Rio de Janeiro in this must-see video, a breathtaking glimpse into the lives of 2,000 stunning women from a vibrant city. Iconic beaches and bustling streets, soak in the allure and charm of Rio and explore its unique culture, sizzling nightlife, and the undeniable magnetism of its people. This visual feast that will leave viewers yearning for an adventure to Rio.
Christians may imagine their Devil at war, killing, harming, maiming, and sending humans to the hells. But it isn't that way in Buddhism. Mara (the Destroyer) is sexy, a gentleman (shapeshifter), Mara Devaputra, more of a deluded Lucifer figure, imagining himself the Ruler of the Sensual Sphere.
In Buddhist cosmology, the universe is divided into three spheres or lokas (worlds), sections of the 31 Planes of Existence. The highest is the Immaterial Sphere (arupa loka), all mind, no form. The middle is the Fine Material Sphere (rupa loka). And the lowest is the Sensual Sphere (kama loka). Where would you, dear reader, imagine the Human World (manussa loka) is located?
We are, of course, smack dab in the middle of the lowest section, the Sensual Sphere, characterized by sense craving manifesting mostly as lust (accompanied by aversion/hate and rooted in delusion).
Mara is not interested in harming anyone. His goal is seduction and keeping everyone within his sphere, reborn in worlds below his plane at the top of the Sense Sphere heavens (superior physical worlds in space). It displeases him greatly if anyone escapes to be reborn in the superior heavens of the Fine Material Sphere.
It is probably unimaginable to him that there are even worlds beyond that, more subtle and sublime than the highest and most rarefied of the Fine Material planes.
While most of depicted as a "demon" (chief of the yakkhas or ogres), Mara has three very alluring daughters, Craving, Ennui, and Lust (aka Tanha, Arati, and Raga).
Three daughters
The Buddha-to-be was not swayed by deceptive lures.
In some accounts of the wander ascetic Siddhartha's enlightenment, it is said that the "demon" Māra did not send his three daughters to tempt. Instead, they came willingly after Māra's setback in his endeavor to eliminate the Bodhisatta's quest for enlightenment and liberation [16].
Mara's three daughters are identified as Taṇhā ("Craving" or "Thirst"), Arati ("Discontentment," a kind of "Aversion"), and Rāga ("Attachment" or "Passion") [15, 17].
For example, in the Samyutta Nikaya's section on Mara (the Māra Saṃyutta), Mara's three daughters are undressing in front of the Bodhisatta, but they fail to entice him.
They had come to him glittering with beauty
– Taṇhā, Arati, and Rāga –
But the Teacher swept them away then and there
As the wind, a fallen cotton tuft [18].
The three daughters of Māra were inspired by Aratis ("Avarice"), a type of feminine goblin associated with sensual craving [19]. More
Sunny Beaches, April 16, 2025; Mara image (jendhamuni.com); Dr. Doug Smith (Doug's Dharma, April 28, 2025); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit
Republicans play "war plan" semantics as more damning texts released | The Daily Show
(The Daily Show)
March 26, 2025: Ronny Chieng dives into the churn of Signal-Gate as drunkard Pete Hegseth downplays the war chat, Michael Waltz makes excuses, and journalist The Atlantic's editor Jeffrey Goldberg brings receipts to prove his story. #DailyShow #RonnyChieng #Signal #GroupChat
Trump officials lie and defend dumbest group text, hypocrisy runs wild, and VP Vance disagrees with Daddy Don
(Jimmy Kimmel Live) March 25, 2025: Team Trump is under scrutiny after a reporter from the Atlantic was added to a group chat discussing a planned military strike in Yemen, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is busy blaming the reporter, they fired up the fair and balanced right wing news media to cover their tracks, several of the parties who were on the chat got grilled by Democrats this morning during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Trump claims he is perfectly okay with it and not planning to fire anyone, VP JD Vance apparently did not agree with Trump’s plan, Daddy Donald decided to send JD's wife Usha to Greenland, Marjorie Taylor Greene is hard at work on issues people really care about, and we celebrate Women’s History Month with help from D. Trump.
Team Trump’s text chain disaster gets worse, “war plans” lies won’t stop, very dangerous boom mics
(Jimmy Kimmel Live) March 26, 2025: The story of high-level Trump officials accidentally putting a reporter/magazine editor on a text chain continues to get more interesting, they can’t seem to just admit that they screwed up, drunkard Pete Hegseth is taking issue with the phrase “war plans,” the question about why this wasn’t handled in a secure location on secure devices remains, the guy who actually started the text chain Michael Waltz sat for an unbelievable interview with Laura Ingraham, the MAGA Media is working hard to ignore the story or focus their outrage on the reporter, Maria Bartiromo and James Comer of Fox Business decided this was a good time to dig into the reporter that accidentally bumped Trump with a boom mic, Marjorie Taylor Greene is doing really important work in Congress, and Florida establishes new rules for students visiting on Spring Break.
New heart-stopping footage of massive great white shark attack
(CNN) Jeff Kurr, the producer and director of Discovery's "Shark Week," discusses footage his team captured of a great white shark destroying a diver's enclosure. (Discovery and CNN share a corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Florida's waters hide a beast: Record-breaking great white shark discovered offshore
Scientists have found the largest great white shark ever recorded swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.
[Do they grow bigger in the Pacific Ocean near California, the Mariana Trench, or Hawaii? Years ago, I saw one I'd estimate was one ton and 15 feet from a trawler in Santa Monica Bay as swimmers and surfers frolicked on LA and OC County beaches without a care in the world. This fish was so big, had I fallen from the rail, it could have swallowed me without chewing like a biblical whale. It was so big and alarming as it surfaced, chasing a halibut, I carefully climbed off the rail as my hair stood on end. This predator was no joke and bigger than Jaws.]
The largest white shark in the Northwest Atlantic, named "Contender," was found off the coast of Georgia on Jan. 17th, 2025. Ocearch, a nonprofit conducting research on sharks, reported that ocean researchers have been tracking Contender's movements around the Atlantic.
As of Sunday, Contender was swimming off the coast of Florida, near the tourist beaches of Orlando, near Disneyland (Walt Disney World), where kids love to go and cool off.
The shark is measured at 13.8 feet long, weighing an estimated 1,653 pounds. He has swum nearly 200 miles since he was first tagged.
By tracking Contender the researchers will be able to learn more about his migration patterns. The tag will record real time data for the next five years on Contender's movements. More
Are orcas (killer whales/dolphins) apex predators? - How big could a giant squid even be?
At 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and over a mile deep at points, the Grand Canyon is one of the largest canyons in the world -- much smaller than Mexico's Copper Canyon.
Millions of people flock to the Grand Canyon every year to see its stunning beauty in person. And some people have even made historic discoveries while exploring the vast national park.
A unique set of fossil footprints dating back 313 million years has been unearthed in Grand Canyon National Park.
This park, renowned for its diverse collection of fossil tracks, now boasts the discovery of the oldest vertebrate track -- another testament to the park's geological and paleontological significance. More: 313-million-year-old fossil footprints discovered in Grand Canyon
It was probably cut quite quickly, geologically speaking, torn open by a mud flood, rather than slowly being etched away by the Colorado River. Archeology, like anthropology, almost certainly grows by punctuated equilibrium with massive deluges and long periods of little growth. So that ancient Egyptians could have arrived and built monuments, developed a system of caves, and a world of underground caverns where the "ant people" to reside in and invite the Indigenous peoples of the region to shelter in during cataclysms. The Sky People arranged it.
Could we recreate Wes' travels on an inflatable in Central Park or would thugs stop us?
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Waterways of Manhattan, NY
(Wes Wherever) June 28, 2024: Wes is crossing New York's "East River" (which is not a river but actually an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean) for a solo camping mission to the city’s smallest island, U Thant Island as dubbed by Sri Chinmoy, where rats and fish go to die and cormorants to roost. Rooms average $300-400 a night in the Big Apple, and they don’t even have a view!
HELP SUPPORT THE ADVENTURES As an Amazon Associate, Wes gets a small commission with no extra cost to buyers if they purchase from some of these gear links. Thanks for the support. 🙏 Music: Mo Green (buy@mogreen.store, mogreen.store).
Who was Sri Chinmoy?
Indian Guru Sri Chinmoy
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (Aug. 27, 1931–Oct. 11, 2007), better known as "Sri Chinmoy" [2], was an Indian spiritual guru who taught meditation in the United States after moving to New York City in 1964 [3]. Sri Chinmoy established his first meditation center in Queens, New York, and eventually had 7,000 students in 60 countries [4, 5]. He was an author, artist, poet, and musician; he also held public events such as concerts and meditations on the theme of inner peace [5, 6]. Sri Chinmoy advocated a [Hindu] spiritual path to God [Great Brahma or the Ultimate Brahman] through prayer and meditation. He advocated athleticism including distance running, swimming, and weightlifting. He organized marathons and other races and was an active runner. Following a knee injury, he became a weightlifter [5, 6]. Some ex-members have accused Sri Chinmoy of running a cult [7, 8]. More
Plant and fungi kingdoms are conscious and communicate? Yes! Once one said to me, "Go outside and sit in the dirt." I was inside a Buddhist meditation next to the garden that I could see through big windows. I didn't understand why it was so insistent. Then I realized that it sits.
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The Light Eaters: How Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers New Understanding of Life on Earth
India's J.C. Bose gets too little credit for founding the scientific study of plant consciousness and intelligence. Fortunately, Paramhansa Yogananda documented Bose's scientific contributions in Chapter 8 of his famous book Autobiography of a Yogi. This eventually led to the publication of the mind-blowing The Secret Life of Plants.
Author Zoë Schlanger releases an amazing book of botanical research tomorrow, May 7, 2024. Plants are aware and intelligent. They have a secret life! We can hardly wrap our minds around the idea, but science reveals what many from the Buddha to St. Francis of Assisi to female scientists always intuited. This book is a #1 best seller in Ecology from pre-orders. The author appeared on NPR on May 6.
“A masterpiece of science writing.”
–Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass
“Mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful.”
–Ed Yong, author of An Immense World
“Rich, vital, and full of surprises. Read it!”
–Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction
“A brilliant must-read. This book shook and changed me.”
–David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, The Songs of Trees, and The Forest Unseen
This forest is enchanted. I'm not alone here.
Award-winning Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom and reveals the astonishing capabilities of the green life all around us.
It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival.
In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies [like a space alien chameleon squid under the sea] to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.
The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence.
In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system.
What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it?
Zoë Schlanger (Heather Sten/Harper Collins)
Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close.
Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is.
We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for — if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants — and our own place — in the natural world.
Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West (Chumash Cecilia Garcia, USC Prof. James Adams)
Plants know. Isn't this exactly what we've always been trying to tell the White Man?
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