The stages of life in Native American traditions are sometimes represented through the Medicine Wheel, a cross within a circle that indicates the Four Directions:  East, South, West, and North.  The symbolism that is usually described goes as follows:  East – birth, childhood;  South – youth, growing up;  West – aging, mature adulthood;  North –...Read More

In W.B. Yeat’s poem Supernatural Songs, part IX of the poem presents his “theory” of the human life cycle in poetic form.  According to Yeats, there are four stages of life or “ages of man” that relate respectively to body, heart, mind, and soul.  The first age recalls infancy, as the baby struggles to walk...Read More

If you’re 50 and you plan to give your heart to your honey this Valentine’s Day, maybe you should first check to see whether it’s gotten any smaller in the last year.  Researchers at St. Francis Heart Center in Roslyn, New York have determined that the human heart undergoes a particularly significant shrinkage around the...Read More

I read a cute book of quotations from Penguin Books called Child: Quotations About the Delight, Wonder, and Mystery of Being a Child, edited by Helen Handley and Andra Samelson.  Here are ten of my favorite quotes from the book: “Babies are such a nice way to start people.” – Don Herold “In a secular age,...Read More

A map of the human life cycle that is associated with the Islamic middle ages and a philosopher/scientist named Al Biruni (973-1048 C.E.) is called Firdaria.  It is a system of astrology based upon specific planets that influence our lives at different stages of life.  The Sun rules the first 10 years of life (ages...Read More