| PARABOLA

Winter 2021: The Golden Rule

“One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.”
This Yoruba proverb is one of hundreds of iterations of the Golden Rule around the globe and through human history. Given the prevalence of the Rule, often expressed in Western culture as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” we can consider it the universal human ethic, distilled from the well of humanity’s conscience.”

From the Current Issue

The Golden Rule and the Transformation of Being

How the Golden Rule can be the Golden Path

Tracking Thoreau & Leopold

A trail toward a Golden Rule, a Land Ethic, and real magic

Pure Gold

A conversation with Brother Satyananda of Self-Realization Fellowship

Friendship

A journalist and a monk exchange revelatory letters

Poetry of the Sacred

The annual winners of the Poetry of the Sacred Contest (2021), chosen by the Center for Interfaith Relations.

The Golden Rule Tetraflexagon

The Golden Rule Tetraflexagon is a magic device created by Steffan Soule in order to teach the Golden Rule.

Online Exclusives

DOWN FROM ABOVE, UP FROM BELOW: a book review

A review of Jane Madeline Gold’s “DOWN FROM ABOVE, UP FROM BELOW: Working With Lord Pentland and the Gurdjieff Ideas.”

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 50: Fire

Parabola Podcast Episode 49: Young & Old

Story editor Betsy Cornwell and Parabola intern Surnai Molloy read excerpts from the Summer 2021 issue, Young & Old, in this episode of our free podcast.

My Journey through Depression

My First, Second, and Third Calling

“What Dreams May Come”: Ancient holistic healing at the Asklepion

cultivation of the integrity and soundness of body, mind, soul, and spirit in the ancient Mediterranean world

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. Your thoughts about yourself, experiences, and perceptions continually arise and change, come and go, but awareness remains. Don’t try to grasp or understand awareness; notice…

A New Conception of God

An interview with Keith Buzzell

Parabola Commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of Paramahansa Yogananda in America

With a gaze of majestic power, the master electrified me with a glimpse of his cosmic consciousness.

Thomas Merton and the Language of Life

The language of life asks for our ears and calls for our souls.

Walking with George

learning mindfulness and connection from a dog named George Lucas

From the Recent Past

As Time Goes By

The special power of classic films

The Return of the Runner

An older Navajo runs for his people

The Desk

A miracle made of wood

A Path of Love and Freedom

A conversation with Sufi master Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

The Lesson

An encounter to last a lifetime

Prospero, Jonah, and “The Greek”: A Winter’s Odyssey

A stormy voyage into mystery and revelation

These Are the Words of the Secret: The Gospel of Thomas Revealed

Yeshua said: Whoever lives the interpretation of these words shall no longer taste death.

Isaac Newton: Magician

Newton’s inward search for hidden truth

The Dark

Learning to love winter’s night

Where Do We Go From Here?

Reflections on the 2020 All and Everything International Humanities Conference and beyond

Four times a year for over 40 years Parabola has gathered the wisdom of the world’s spiritual traditions to illuminate the central questions of life.

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Parabola Magazine · Parabola Podcast Episode 49: Young & Old

Upcoming Issues

Wonder (submission deadline: December 01, 2021)
Ancestors (submission deadline: March 01, 2022)
Belonging (submission deadline: June 01, 2022)
Transformations (submission deadline: September 01, 2022)

Please note that these deadlines apply to editorial submissions; our schedule for advertisers may be found here.

Highlights from the archive

The Parabola Book of Healing

A collection of writings by such individuals as John Donne, Norman Cousins, Anatole Broyard, Joseph Bruchac, and Maya Deren, who try to define health and examine efforts by various groups of people to encourage it.

I Become Part of It:
Sacred Dimensions in Native American Life

This collection of essays and stories, many of which first appeared in Parabola magazine, explores Native American life in the last, present, and future, from Navajo sand paintings to first hand accounts of spirit quests.