In July 1656, the 23-year-old Bento de Spinoza was excommunicated from the Portuguese-Jewish congregation of Amsterdam. It was the harshest punishment of herem (ban) ever issued by that community. The extant document, a lengthy and vitriolic diatribe, refers to the young man’s ‘abominable heresies’ and ‘monstrous deeds’. The leaders of the community, having consulted with the rabbis and using Spinoza’s Hebrew name, proclaim that they hereby ‘expel, excommunicate, curse, and damn Baruch deJoshua Phillips

For years I struggled to find the peace I really wanted.You know the dream: Happiness Not overthinking No anxiety Physically fit And to live every moment without being distracted by the past or the future. During that time, I lived with anxiety, insomnia and way too much useless thinking going on in my head. It was never easy. One of the reasons I was never truly at peace was because of one recurring problem: I couldn’t learn toDana Kreuzberg

Fear of flying, or aviophobia, is a relatively common phobia. Although distressing, there are ways to reduce the negative feelings and eventually conquer the fear. Here, we discuss the options.Aviophobia can be successfully tackled. Here are some key points about the fear of flying.Fact: flying is the safest way to travel. The latest International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) report shows that, in 2015, there were only 92 commercial airline accidents out of 33 million estimatedDana Kreuzberg

Noel’le Longhaul – one of the world’s first ‘witch tattoo artists’ – has mystified Instagram with her primeval creationsThe best word to describe Noel’le Longhaul’s tattoos is “primeval.” Even when freshly inked and uploaded onto her Instagram, they look like illustrations from an ancient grimoire or a book of disappeared folk tales, passed through the generations and probably bound in human skin. Her signatures are black-and-white with rustles of colour, intricateMarian Yates

A white Dallas police officer who fatally shot her black neighbor in his apartment last year had no drugs or alcohol in her system at the time, a police detective testified Tuesday.DALLAS — A white Dallas police officer who fatally shot her black neighbor in his apartment last year had no drugs or alcohol in her system at the time, a police detective testified Tuesday.Detective Eddie Ibarra's testimony during the second day of Amber Guyger's murder trial marked the first time her toxicologyDana Kreuzberg

HOUSTON — In a show of Indian-Americans’ rising political clout, some 50,000 made their way into Houston’s NRG Stadium Sunday for the “Howdy Modi” event kicking off the Indian prime minister’s weeklong visit to the United States.President Donald Trump also joined in on the festivities — turning the event, which had sold out long before he signed on, into a right-wing populist blowout.Indian-Americans are a voting bloc that usually votes Democrat, but they also love Prime Minister Narendra ModiDana Kreuzberg

You probably won't get to the end of this article. Everyone knows our attention spans are getting shorter. It's just obvious. Or is it?In the always-connected world of social media, smartphones and hyperlinks in the middle of everything you read, it can feel that much harder to stay focused.And there are statistics too. They say that the average attention span is down from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds now. That is less than the nine-second attention span of your averageKristy Perkins

THE new age movement heralded by Theosophy in the late 19th century, is at last bearing meaningful fruit here in the 21st. “Theosophy is indeed the life, the indwelling spirit which makes every true reform a vital reality,” wrote H. P. Blavatsky the movement’s inspired original spokesperson. “Theosophy is Universal Brotherhood, the very foundation as well as the keystone of all movements toward the amelioration of our condition.” “Fear kills the will and stays all action,” she declares inDana Kreuzberg

Anthroposophy, like Metaphysics, was originally approached as a purely philosophical study.Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) is best known for his application of the scientific method to the subject of human spirituality. To read an excellent technical article on Anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner I suggest visiting Wikipedia.Many scientists believe that the scientific method of reproducing conditions and measuring results cannot be applied to the esoteric fields of metaphysics and human spiritualityIsaac Casey

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) teaches mindfulness skills to help individuals live and behave in ways consistent with personal values while developing psychological flexibility.Practitioners of ACT help individuals recognize ways in which their attempts to suppress, manage, and control emotional experiences create challenges. By recognizing and addressing these challenges, individuals can become better able to make room for values-based actions that support well-being. History ofGlenda Jacobs

Kaisorn Chaichana, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, discusses minimally disruptive subcortical neurosurgery. Dr. Chaichana discusses how to reach deep-seated lesions for intracranial hemorrhage and brain tumors safely as well as current standards of care, research performed, outcomes and minimally invasive surgicalDana Kreuzberg