We are thrilled to share the news that Dr. Jude Currivan, a great friend and contributor to Merlian News, has recently won the 2017 Silver Nautilus Award for Science and Cosmology, for her wonderful book, The Cosmic Hologram. As we wrote in our book review last year: “Dr. Currivan has a remarkable ability to synthesize a wide variety of detailed scientific input and then extrapolate from that data a lucid theory of an “informational universe” that may bridge the gap, or reconcile, the theories of relativity and quantum physics.

Teaching Meditation to the Neediest: John Samuel Hagelin is an American particle physicist, three-time candidate of the Natural Law Party for President of the United States, and the director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the US. He is also an educator, public policy expert, and leading proponent of peace…. But it is his work teaching meditation to the homeless, prisioners, and at risk children that has really made headlines.

Dear Readers: This year promises to be an exciting one with new research and developments coming through almost daily in the fields of consciousness, science, spirituality, nutrition, activism, the environment, and more. We look forward to presenting our readers with up to date news and information, and we thank you for your support.

If you’d asked me a few years ago whether I’d be following a virtually wheat free, 90% vegetarian — hell, 90% vegan diet, I’d have said, “That’s nuts.” Now I’m likely to say, “That’s raw cashews to you, and by the way, do you know how many recipes you can make with them?” It’s safe to say that I’m not alone in making a big diet and lifestyle change, either. Based on the latest bestsellers, opinion pages in the New York Times , increase in vegetarian and vegan websites and buzz on the Internet, it seems we have reached some kind of “tipping point” toward a radical change in the way we eat and what we will accept from the food industry.

Coming from a long line of women gifted with the “Second Sight,” I’ve known since I was a child that there are many ways for the Universe or individual souls to get in touch with you. One of the easiest ways is through our dreams, and I learned years ago to pay close attention to who shows up when I’m sleeping. This is not exactly secret knowledge — there are books about the various types of dreams, such as precognitive, announcement dreams, vision quests, meeting your power animal, and more. Any of Robert Moss’ wonderful books teach the reader about these kind of dreams as well as about lucid dreaming and how to navigate through the different dream worlds.

What do you do when you get a headache or a migraine? Do you reach for your pain medication? If you get migraines, your doctor might prescribe one medication for relief and one for prevention, and you might also take an over-the-counter pain remedy. Your doctor has advised, as you’ve learned from experience, that it’s best to take medication sooner rather than later, before your migraine escalates and you lose a whole day, bedridden in a darkened room, unable to move or function normally.

Odyssey of a Creatress is a wonderful memoir of one woman’s spiritual journey to uncover and awaken the sacred feminine within her psyche, eventually allowing it to inspire and guide her life. Subtitled “A Heroine’s Journey to uncover the Essence of her Feminine Soul,” this book is not just for women – as Madeline Adams writes in her introduction, “My story is unashamedly about the feminine, as a primary creative principle, that exists in the lives of men and women.” As the author makes clear, it is through honoring the feminine in both men and women that balance and healing occur.

Love makes us warm all over, and now scientists are creating body maps to prove it. A team of scientists in Finland has used a topographical self-reported method to reveal the effects that different emotional states have on bodily sensations. After five experiments and over 700 participants from Finland, Sweden and Taiwan, who reported where on their bodies they felt different emotions , the scientists discovered surprising consistencies. Their research findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…

Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, has long been highly regarded for its distinctive golden color and subtle flavor. But did you know that it is also considered a potent healing agent? Ayurveda teaches that saffron has both invigorating and nourishing qualities and beneficial medicinal actions on the blood, the heart and the reproductive system. Now, western medicine has determined that it may be a key player in maintaining or restoring good vision. This becomes critically important as we face both an aging population and increased incidents of eye strain from overuse of electronic devices over all segments of society.