The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads by Maria Popova

Sundogs and the Sacred Geometry of Wonder: The Science of the Atmospheric Phenomenon That Inspired Hilma af Klint
Sundogs and the Sacred Geometry of Wonder: The Science of the Atmospheric Phenomenon That Inspired Hilma af Klint

Notes on the eternal dialogue between art and science in our yearning to know reality.

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What We Look for When We Are Looking: John Steinbeck on Wonder and the Relational Nature of the Universe
What We Look for When We Are Looking: John Steinbeck on Wonder and the Relational Nature of the Universe

Searching for “that principle which keys us deeply into the pattern of all life.”

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What It Takes to Grow: Pioneering Psychoanalyst Karen Horney on the Key to Self-Realization
What It Takes to Grow: Pioneering Psychoanalyst Karen Horney on the Key to Self-Realization

“Self-knowledge… is not an aim in itself, but a means of liberating the forces of spontaneous growth. In this sense, to work at ourselves becomes not only the prime moral obligation, but… the prime moral privilege.”

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Stunning Century-Old Illustrations of Tibetan Fairy Tales from the Artist Who Created Bambi
Stunning Century-Old Illustrations of Tibetan Fairy Tales from the Artist Who Created Bambi

Soulful art from stories that speak “to the childhood of all times and all races.”

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The Last Wonder: D.H. Lawrence on Death and the Best Lifelong Preparation for It
The Last Wonder: D.H. Lawrence on Death and the Best Lifelong Preparation for It

“Know thyself, and that thou art mortal. But know thyself, denying that thou art mortal.”

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May Sarton on the Art of Living Alone
May Sarton on the Art of Living Alone

“The people we love are built into us.”

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Love and Fear: A Stunning 17th-Century Poem About How to Live with the Transcendent Terror of Love
Love and Fear: A Stunning 17th-Century Poem About How to Live with the Transcendent Terror of Love

“Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back.”

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The Paradox of Free Will
The Paradox of Free Will

The neuroscience, physics, and philosophy of freedom in a universe of fixed laws.

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How We Render Reality: Attention as an Instrument of Love
How We Render Reality: Attention as an Instrument of Love

“Since our consciousness plays some part in what comes into being, the play of attention can both create and destroy, but it never leaves its object unchanged.”

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Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” Brought to Life in a Spanish Flashmob of 100 Musicians
Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” Brought to Life in a Spanish Flashmob of 100 Musicians

A touchingly human reminder of our capacity for ecstasy, transcendence, and collective felicity.

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