A Welcome Oasis: The 27th All & Everything International Humanities Conference
I would first and foremost like to follow an age-old injunction that every writer, before giving out any advice or critique to anyone else, should obligingly give an honest account of their journey. So before doing an appraisal of the…
My Ancestor
In my mid-thirties I found myself in Dante’s dark wood, where my way was entirely lost. My marriage was falling apart. My primary mentor, Reynolds Price, seemed to be dying of a weird spinal cancer that was slowly paralyzing him. …
Parabola Podcast Episode 50: FIRE
Story editor Betsy Cornwell shares excerpts from the Fall 2021 issue of Parabola Magazine, Fire, including the lead essay by Sufi master Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, “Fire Season.” Read the full issue by subscribing to Parabola. Parabola Magazine · Parabola Podcast Episode…
Parabola Podcast Episode 49: Young & Old
Our younger selves seed what we become and, as we age, we carry our earlier years with us. A sage elderly woman once told me, “some things you can only understand when you’re old”; yet equally true is that the…
“What Dreams May Come”: Ancient holistic healing at the Asklepion
The word “holistic” is rooted in the ancient Greek word ὅλος (holos), meaning “all, whole, entire.” It is cognate with the English adjective “whole,” a concept which, before modernity, had always been bound up with health and wellness. Tragically, humanity…
Icon and Mirror, a Photo Project by Pola Rader
The photo project “Icon and Mirror” analyzes the Orthodox woman and her social role in feminist context. Familiar situations and everyday spaces recreate images of reality of the protagonists, who…
The Very Rev. James Parks Morton (1930-2020)
The Very Rev. James Parks Morton (1930-2020). Photo: stjohndivine.org Parabola regrets the passing of James Parks Morton. He served for many years on the Board of the…
Coronavirus: A New Responsibility
Photograph by Lee van Laer In the midst of our anxiety and our reaction to the danger of infection, life seems somewhat surreal—compelling, distracting. I’m taken by the moment,…
Agencies, by Anthony Blake
Heracles freeing Prometheus from his torment by the eagle (Attic black-figure cup, c. 500 BC) I must, before I die, find some way to say the…
What Is The Weight of Wealth?, by Amy Barnes
Painting by James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum. And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain…
Parabola Podcast Episode 50: FIRE
Story editor Betsy Cornwell shares excerpts from the Fall 2021 issue of Parabola Magazine, Fire, including the lead essay by Sufi master Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, “Fire Season.” Read the full issue…
Guidance, by Susan McCaslin
Photo by Heidi Sandstrom (@bravelyventure) “I’m guided by a signal in the heavens.” (from Leonard Cohen’s “First We Take Manhattan”) Early Guides The etymology of the…
Growing a Cross-Cultural Garden, by Padma Hejmadi
Some time ago—after a peripatetic existence across the U.S., my native soil of India, and a few points in between—I get to put down roots for a while in a…
The Poet and the Shepherd, by Joshua Boettiger
King David, Leonard Cohen and the Search for Meaning Leonard Cohen at the Arena in Geneva, 27 October 2008 (Wikipedia) Since Leonard Cohen died, I’ve been…
Part of an Ancient Story: A Conversation with Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (Full Version)
Llewellyn-Vaughan-Lee photographed by Richard Whittaker One August day recently in Northern California, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee sat down with Parabola in to speak about free will and destiny.…
Encountering the Teachings of Gurdjieff: A Young Man’s Search, by David Ulrich
David Ulrich, Untitled, 1970 “Above all, you must feel the need to know yourself. You are something and you don’t know it. You have to acknowledge…
A New Conception of God
It is our view that it is critically important for the future of mankind that a continuing effort be made to understand the depths of Gurdjieff’s “new conception of God…
Our April Gift to You: A Free PDF of “The Search for Meaning”
These are challenging times for all of us. We at Parabola are offering a free PDF of our “The Search for Meaning” issue from Spring 2017 to anyone who would…
Parabola Podcast: Wellness
Story editor Betsy Cornwell shares excerpts from the Spring 2021 issue of Parabola, Wellness, including an exploration of the world’s healing water goddesses and a practical guide to awakening awareness.…