Post Temps i Espai (Time and Space) Though “Time and Space” represent two concepts that have taken on a multitude of interpretations throughout history, ranging from the two basic categories of human beings, according to Harvey, to merely being an illusion as Berkley has claimed, Miquel Solis’s special conception of time and space is more closely aligned with Kant’s perspective, in which...
Post Mind over Matter: Unlocking the Secrets of the Spiritual Brain Receiving international media coverage for his work on the effects of consciousness and volition on the emotional brain and the neural correlates of the mystical experience in Carmelite nuns, Dr. Mario Beauregard will present a nonmaterialist view of the relationships between mind, consciousness, and brain based upon various lines of scientific evidence set forth in...
Post Unifying Melodies: Redefining the Infinite World of Musical Creativity Composing original music is a joyous, stimulating, and liberating activity, but has historically been off limits to many people because of their supposed lack of musical training. Tod Machover and his innovative group at the MIT Media Lab, however, have specialized in developing tools and experiences—such as Hyperscore—that allow anyone to create their own music...
Post A Life Unseen: A Legacy of One Woman’s Courage, Humanity & Insight A simple and courageous woman who led by example, Malek Jân (1906-1993) devoted her entire life to the service of humanity and advocacy for the rights of oppressed woman and children. Notwithstanding her lack of sight and frail stature, and armed only with the strength of her character and the depth of her convictions, this...
Post Judging Children as Children: A Proposal for a Juvenile Justice System How does a civilized society view children and adolescents who violate the law? Should a just society punish such juveniles, and if so, what form should this punishment take? Should children and young offenders be treated as adults, as they currently are in most states around the country? And what are the policy consequences of...
Post The Art of Listening: A Melodic Evening with Farhad Mechkat Critically acclaimed international composer, conductor, and musical virtuoso Farhad Mechkat shares his unique perspective and insights on the fascinating world of classical music. Examining the subtleties of the age-old art of listening, Mechkat draws upon a lifetime of musical experience to help listeners open new doors for the appreciation and enjoyment of the most beautiful...
Post Healing Light: Thirty Messages of Love, Hope, and Courage Poet and author Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave offers a profoundly personal response to the tumultuous, emotional aftershocks of the devastation being witnessed today around the world. The author pays special homage to those who lost their lives or loved ones in these attacks by compassionately lending her voice to a more universal application, featured in...
Post What Happens When We Die Dr. Sam Parnia faces death every day. Through his work as a critical-care doctor in a hospital emergency room, he became interested in his patients’ accounts of experiences that they had while clinically dead. After collecting these stories and reviewing the latest research, he decided to conduct his own experiments in the field, resulting in...
Post A Literary Evening with Shashi Tharoor Dubbed as “one of the best in a generation of Indian authors” and “a fluid and powerful writer” by The New York Times Book Review, Shashi Tharoor, the eloquent Under-Secretary-General of Public Information at the United Nations and the acclaimed author of six books, is once again at his provocative best in his latest work,...
Post Revitalizing the Self: A Seminar on Energizing Mind, Body & Soul Revitalizing the Self is a special two-day workshop aimed at discovering and tapping into the unlimited power of the mind-body connection in order to achieve a more successful, balanced, and holistic approach to life. Examining the complex relationship between mind, body and soul, the workshop will demonstrate how to overcome various imbalances that quench our...
Post The Extended Mind: Unraveling the Mysteries of Consciousness A prominent neuropsychiatrist and fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr. Peter Fenwick is a leading clinical authority on near-death experiences, having analyzed more than 300 of these life-altering events in the course of four decades of research. Associated with the Mental Health Group at the University of Southampton, Dr. Fenwick is also chairman...
Post Realizing Your Dreams: The Power of Self-Perception Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we have been given is the ability to see beyond our present state—in other words, the gift to dream. As long as we’re alive, there resides within each of us a special dream. We may not label it as such, but there is a dream or vision permeating within...
Post The Quest for Survival: Coping with Aftereffects of the Deadliest Disaster in History Following the terrible earthquake and Tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004, the Virtue Foundation sponsored a team of physicians led by Dr. Kiran Patibandla to provide much-needed medical assistance to the thousands of people living in camps along the southern coast of India. Accompanied by a CBS reporter, the team’s activities were...
Post Materializing Light: Drawings & Paintings In his unique work, the artist explores fractal formations and the use of pure color through archetypal formations that express the properties of self-similarity and infinite reproducibility. The objective of my painting is to create images that impart concrete experience to the unity of spiritual and scientific realities — Bruce Pollock Location: The Nour Foundation...
Post Extreme Poverty in a Prosperous World: The Quest to Achieve Sustainable Humanitarian Efforts Featuring:Ken Bacon, President of Refugees InternationalGeorge C. Biddle, Senior Vice President of International – Rescue Committee (IRC)Ebby Elahi, MD, FACS, Oculoplastic and Reconstructive Surgery The growing integration of economies and societies around the world has been one of the most hotly debated topics over the past few years. While globalization has resulted in rapid growth...
Post Music: A Universal Language for Harmony Transcending racial, cultural, and ideological boundaries, music is a universal language that brings together human beings from all different origins, backgrounds, and ethnicities. Used in many cultures and traditions as a vehicle for inner reflection and contemplation, music invigorates the spirit and strengthens higher love. In addition, in recent years musicologists have explored numerous therapeutic...
Post Healing the World: The Ethical Dimension of Globalization and Interdependence in the Age of Terror Coinciding with the United Nations World Day of Peace, Virtue Foundation’s Third Annual Multidisciplinary Symposium commemorating the anniversary of September 11 will feature a long list of distinguished speakers and panelists, including Kate Adie, Chief Correspondent of the BBC; Ken Bacon, President of Refugees International; Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme; John Chambers,...
Post The Implications of Outsourcing: Exploring the Economics of Globalization Fearuting: Dr. Michael T. Clark, Executive Director, U.S.-India Business Council Andy Dimitri, Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Information Technology Division, CSFB Kristin J. Forbes, Member, Council of Economic Advisers, The White House Tarun Khanna, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School Teresa McGonagle, Senior Vice President and Global Practice Leader, JPMorgan Chase Shashi...
Post Spiritual Approaches to Cultural Understanding: From Ibn ’Arabi to Ostad Elahi Prof. Morris explores the longstanding combination of cultural diversity, tolerance and spiritual cooperation that has historically allowed followers of Islamic faith to live peacefully in diverse communities throughout Asia. The lecture begins by examining the principles of spiritual intelligence as expressed by master-thinkers of Islam, from the influential classical Islamic exposition by Ibn ’Arabi (d....
Post Music and the Mystic Experience This rare lecture demonstration explores the relationship between spiritual philosophy and music within the context of the Persian tanbour (lute). A rich musical repertoire developed into an integral part of Persian mysticism and became a practice that Sufi mystics could use to spiritually connect to the divine or use as “wings to transport themselves to...
Post Searching for a Window of Hope: Overcoming Poverty, Hunger & Disease in the 21st Century Featuring: Dr. Ebby Elahi, Director, Mount Sinai-NYU, Hospital Eye Care ServicesNicholas De Torrente, Executive Director, Medecins Sans Frontieres, United StatesDr. Desmond Johns, Director, UN AIDS, New York OfficeAmbassador Kishore Mahbubani, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the UNDr. Christopher Murray, Director, Harvard University, Global Health InitiativeDr. Agostino Paganini, UNICEF, Team Leader, Emergency Operations Considering the remarkable...
Post Yuncaypata: Exploring a Quechua Indian Community in Peru Located an hour or so from Cusco, Peru, Yuncaypata is a small community of 400 Quechua Indians, more than half of whom are young children. Not much is heard about this community of peaceful Indians, whose life expectancy is under the age of fifty. When a 23-year-old Franco-American student serendipitously came across this village, she...
Post Education in the 21st Century: Addressing the Realities of Globalization Featuring:John Brademas, President Emeritus, New York UniversityJoseph A. Esposito, Associate Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of EducationRosalind W. Picard, Director of Affective Computing Research, Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, M.I.T.Robert Weisbuch, President, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Although revamping the educational system has been a prevalent topic among academicians and politicians...
Post Symposium Commemorating the Second Anniversary of September 11 On the second anniversary of the unforgettable events of September 11, the Virtue Foundation has once again invited a select group of prominent experts from multiple disciplines–including Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations; Gordon Conway, President of the Rockefeller Foundation; James Rubin, Former Assistant Secretary of State; and Chris Cramer, President of...
Post The Brainart Exhibition The BrainArt Exhibition consists of the work of renowned brain scientist Dr. Evian Gordon, editor of “Integrative Neuroscience” and producer of the TV series “The Human Brain” for PAGE and SBS Television. Some 40 works representing the artist’s exploration of Human Brain Evolution, Brain Dynamics, and their relationship to our sense of Self will be...
Post The Impact of the United Nations: Multilateralism in a Unipolar World Featuring:John Dauth, Australia’s Ambassador to the United NationsRaghida Dergham, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, Al HayatEdward C. Luck,Director, Ctr. on Int’l Org., Columbia UniversityShashi Tharoor (Moderator), Under-Secretary-General, Communications & Public Information, U.N.James Traub, Contributing Writer, The New York Times Magazine Bypassing a second United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force to disarm Iraq of...
Post An Evening with Terence Ward Join author and cross-cultural consultant Terence Ward as he presents the touching story behind his inspirational and uplifting journey to Iran in 1998 in search of a former family friend. Mr. Ward will share his insight, memories, and knowledge about the culture and history of this enigmatic region of the world from a fresh and...
Post Symposium Commemorating the First Anniversary of September 11 Few would argue that the tragic events of September 11, 2001 did not devastate this nation and forever change the course of its destiny. Thousands of innocent lives were senselessly lost to an enemy that shamelessly preys on vulnerable and defenseless civilians. In response, the world community has joined together in unanimously denouncing these horrible...
Post New York Early Music Series Advisor: Pat O’BrienDirectors: Kamran Bayegan and Tony Elitcher One of the most popular music programs hosted by the Foundation since 1995 is the New York Early Music Series, an extension of the New York Continuo Collective under the direction of Elitcher and Moncrieff. Featuring French and Italian music from the Renaissance and early Baroque period,...
Post An Enchanting Evening With Ovissi With exhibitions spanning across the globe from Brazil to Japan, Europe, and the United States, Ovissi has firmly established himself as a brilliant and versatile international artist whose passionate work presents a unique blend of European, Persian, and contemporary art. A painter, sculptor, engraver, designer, and goldsmith, he has published over twelve books in Italian,...
Post An Evening of Art with Charles H. Zenderoudi Featured in museums of modern art all over the world, the brilliant works of renowned artist Charles H. Zenderoudi converge the poignant essence of the East with the intellectual spirit of the West to portray a unique and profound reflection of humanity. Join us for an evening of dazzling art as Zenderoudi presents a collection...