Jacob Boehme’s Spiritual Alchemy of Rebirth

This chapter presents the first fully developed spiritual alchemy as encountered in the later works of Jacob Boehme, including his Signatura rerum of 1622. In his earliest work of 1612, Aurora, alchemy did not yet play a role, and rebirth had not yet acquired its distinct shape. That changed as Boehme gained access to networks of correspondents and supporters who introduced him to alchemical terminology and the notion of rebirth as developed by Valentin Weigel and others. In works composed between 1619 and 1622, Boehme frequently used alchemical language to describe rebirth, thus formulating the spiritual alchemy of rebirth. For him the ubiquitous body of Christ was the philosophers’ stone and the subtle body of the new birth at once.

The Lindbladian form and the reincarnation of Felix Bloch's generalized theory of relaxation

The relationship between the classic magnetic resonance density matrix relaxation theories of Bloch and Hubbard and the modern Lindbladian master equation methods are explored. These classic theories are in full agreement with the latest results obtained by the modern methods. A careful scrutiny shows that this also holds true for Redfield's later treatment, offered in 1965. The early contributions of Bloch and Hubbard to rotating-frame relaxation theory are also highlighted. Taken together, these seminal efforts of Bloch and Hubbard can enjoy a new birth of contemporary relevance in magnetic resonance.

Melatonin and Myo-Inositol: Supporting Reproduction from the Oocyte to Birth

Human pregnancy is a sequence of events finely tuned by several molecular interactions that come with a new birth. The precise interlocking of these events affecting the reproductive system guarantees safe embryo formation and fetal development. In this scenario, melatonin and myo-inositol seem to be pivotal not only in the physiology of the reproduction process, but also in the promotion of positive gestational outcomes. Evidence demonstrates that melatonin, beyond the role of circadian rhythm management, is a key controller of human reproductive functions. Similarly, as the most representative member of the inositol’s family, myo-inositol is essential in ensuring correct advancing of reproductive cellular events. The molecular crosstalk mediated by these two species is directly regulated by their availability in the human body. To date, biological implications of unbalanced amounts of melatonin and myo-inositol in each pregnancy step are growing the idea that these molecules actively contribute to reduce negative outcomes and improve the fertilization rate. Clinical data suggest that melatonin and myo-inositol may constitute an optimal dietary supplementation to sustain safe human gestation and a new potential way to prevent pregnancy-associated pathologies.

The Lindbladian Form And The Reincarnation of Felix Bloch's Generalized Theory of Relaxation

The relationship between the classic magnetic resonance density matrix relaxation theories of Bloch and Hubbard, and the modern Lindbladian master equation methods are explored. These classic theories are in full agreement with the latest results obtained by the modern methods. A careful scrutiny shows that this also holds true for Redfield’s later treatment, offered in 1965. The early contributions of Bloch and Hubbard to rotating frame relaxation theory are also highlighted. Taken together, these seminal efforts of Bloch and Hubbard can enjoy a new birth of contemporary relevance in magnetic resonance.

Love Came Down at Christmas

Even if we can envisage the social forms that a Kingdom of Love might require, is such a kingdom a pure ideal? Can love become a reality in a world such as ours, where even love itself is a source of human suffering and mutual affliction? Kant postulates an archetypal life of love that is humanly imaginable, but it seems it would take a near-miracle to realize the ideal. This is the miracle Christian theologians such as Karl Barth see in Christmas. The Christmas event, Barth argues is incomprehensible to human reason and we can only bear witness to it. Against this view, it is argued that the new beginning that Christians see in the Incarnation coheres with human experience, as in the ‘novelty’ of a new birth and the possibility of forgiveness. Yet, as the Christian Eucharist shows, this new beginning in history remains also a focus of eschatological hope.

The Trinitarian Nature of the Pneumatological Grace

In his magnum opus Luther follows the Trinitarian logic of John and Paul in the New Testament and the Patristic teaching on the indivisibility of the works of the three persons of the Trinity. When the Holy Spirit of the Father and of the Son makes known Christ, he simultaneously makes known the Father who sent his Son. The mission of the Son depends entirely on his Father who sent him, and the mission of the Son becomes effective only in the power of the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit makes Christ together with his gifts truly present in the human person, without the Spirit, Christological grace has no impact on the sinner—Christological grace and Pneumatological grace are inseparable and simultaneous. Luther expresses the same truth both in Pneumatological and in Christological terms, the chapter at hand displays extensive evidence on this coincidence. Moreover, Luther creates an explicit analogy between the creation of the universe and of the work of the Holy Spirit enabling the new birth or rebirth of the sinner. The universe was created “from nothing” by the monergistic power of the Triune God, so is the conversion and the faith of the sinner created ex nihilo by God’s Spirit. As human beings “did nothing to create themselves,” likewise they cannot do anything to “newly create” themselves from unbelief to faith; any notion of free choice collapses. The ability of creation and that of new creation are divine properties only: “Let God be God!”

Otherworldly Space in Novel by Lyudmila Ulitskaya “Kukotsky Enigma”

The features of the image of the otherworldly space in the novel “The Kukotsky Enigma” are considered. The relevance of the topic is due to Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s understanding of the text as a tool with which one can “see the otherworldly”. The concepts of “otherworldly” and “otherworldly space” have been differentiated. The main principles of the image of the otherworldly space in the novel are highlighted: mirroring, carnivalization, its timeless arrangement. Attention is paid to the level organization of space in the novel. The mythologemes of water, sand and fire as fillers of space are investigated. It is noted that the novel “The Kukotsky Enigma” is characterized by the connection of the other world with reality through a number of border spaces: dreams, motives of water and illness. It is noted that the water in the novel is a “portal” to the other world, in which it is transformed into sand; the possibility of rebirth in the Middle World, the author solves the problems of the moral and philosophical order. It is concluded that the Middle World desert is associated with the female womb, where the characters are experiencing a new birth. It is shown that the space also determines the change of the onomapoetic code: the characters traveling in the Middle World change their names to nicknames, and the names remain with the characters who crossed the border of no return and remained permanent inhabitants of the other world.