New Acropolis Events

Symbols are a language we can all recognise but few of us can read. Over thousands of years, symbols have been used to express the ineffable and to create a bridge between the invisible and visible dimension. Learning to understand them better will help to develop our imagination, which is one of our most important and powerful faculties. Symbols have the power to re-connect us with a world full of meaning.

This 3-week course (1 evening per week) will introduce you to symbology - the study of symbols. The course will explore some of the most important symbols of different cultures and reveal deeper layers of meaning in art and architecture.

Topics of the 3 evenings

1. Introduction to symbology and the universal symbols of numbers, geometric shapes and nature.
2. The symbolic dimension in Sacred Architecture.
3. Sacred Art and Symbols of India (Buddhism, Hinduism).

The spiritual quest is deeply embedded in the adventurous paths pursued by a number of artists during the 19th and 20th centuries. From Novalis, with his all-embracing concept of poetry, to surrealism with its discovery of the world of dreams, we find artists attempting to explore the mysteries of the night, as a symbol of the infinite. We will explore this deep quest for spiritual meaning in some of the works of Novalis, Kandinsky, Dali, Caspar David Friedrich and the Pre-Raphaelites.

‘Upcycling’ is the art of transforming old or waste items/materials into something new, adding value through creativity and design. Items are redirected from landfill, extending their life, creating new purposes and stories in the process. The day will be made up of 2 parts – a lively talk that aims to connect this modern-day practice of upcycling to timeless philosophical ideas of transformation/alchemy, “Cradle to Cradle” learning, modelling from nature and perceptions of beauty. Following the talk (and a break) we will put some of the concepts into practice in a creative sewing session (bring along some old clothes for rejuvenation!) No experience is needed. The workshop is brought to you by Barley Massey, owner of Fabrications in Broadway Market.

This talk will look at Kant’s ideas on morality and moral law. It will explore the question of whether morality is relative or unconditional, and how this might influence our daily actions.

What is water? Are we aware of all its characteristics or do we only see it in a utilitarian or perhaps aesthetic way? Viktor Schauberger was an Austrian forester of the early to mid-20 th century who made some extraordinary discoveries about the nature of water. From his direct observations of nature, he discovered that water is a living entity whose behaviour sometimes seems to contradict standard theories of physics. He applied his knowledge to many practical inventions, including research into new forms of energy, but the society of his time was unable or unwilling to understand his revolutionary ideas. This talk will describe some of his experiences and conclusions about water, and how we can enter into contact with it and work with it in a harmonious way.

In 2012 volunteers at New Acropolis created a bee sanctuary and garden in a derelict space at the back of our premises. Using the ancient Greek word for ‘bee’, we gave it the name ‘Melissa Garden Bee Sanctuary’. It was established to create a space for bees, not with a view to harvesting the honey, but to give the bees a protected home.

Every year in June, we open this magical garden to the public through the event known as Open Garden Squares Weekend. Visitors have the opportunity to observe the bees and learn about their way of life from our resident beekeeper and guides. You can also hear about the many bee-friendly plants that exist and that help the bees survive in the hostile environment of our monoculture world.

The most recent addition to the garden design is an alchemical-themed living wall incorporating some medicinal plants.

Fees: See Open Garden Squares Weekend website at http://www.opensquares.org for tickets and more information.

Sun 20 May will be the first World Bee Day, proposed in 2014 by the Slovenian Beekeepers` Association and unanimously adopted by the United Nations. The 20th of May was chosen as a date because it is the birthday of Anton Jansa (1734-1773), one of the first teachers of modern beekeeping and appointed by the Empress Maria Theresa as a teacher at the beekeeping school in Vienna, Austria.

Come and join us between 1 pm and 4 pm for:

• Bee watching (weather permitting) in our Melissa Bee Sanctuary - we have two hives
• Learning about bees and beekeeping
• Honey tasting
• At 4 pm we will show the 2012 Swiss documentary film "More than Honey"

This film, directed by Markus Imhoof, is certainly one of the best documentaries on bees. Never before seen footage of what is happening inside a beehive allows us to have a look into the fascinating world of bees. The cinematography has justly been called "visually magnificent" and "spectacularly beautiful". But the documentary also explores the devastating effects of industrial beekeeping and the use of pesticides; it raises very important questions regarding the future of bees and beekeeping and highlights the constant threats that bees are facing.

Places are limited (due to space), and it is strongly recommended to book in advance by registering your interest here.

The showing of the documentary will be free of charge but for the activities from 1-4 pm we kindly ask for a contribution of £5 (£3 concs.) towards the maintenance of our Bee Sanctuary.

Discover the different lost treasures of the past left by our ancient ancestors around the world. We will explore the hidden monuments and artefacts that could very well provide proof that civilization is much older than we might think.

We will study in more detail the remains that have often been mistaken for more recent works and how it is possible that, separated by so many thousands of miles, ancient civilizations could have used the same techniques and skills and also shared very similar traditions and myths.

First Evening

Our side of the world: Europe and the Mediterranean. Who built the megaliths, the sphinx and the Great Pyramid? Is it possible that they are much older than we have been told? New discoveries might actually change our minds about the age of the first Western civilization.

Second Evening

The New World: not so new, as remains from the so-called Pre-Columbian cultures show signs of very advanced technological skills. Were the Incas and Mayans the great builders that we think they were?

Third Evening

Asia and the Pacific: remains of another lost continent. From the Indus valley to the Far East of the Pacific, we can find some of the most intriguing remains and monuments. Could civilization have existed well before the end of the last Ice Age?

This talk will look at the Order of the Knights Templar, established in 1118 by nine Knights, led by Hugh De Payens and will explore the new model of Christianity which emerged: the monk-knight archetype.

After only 200 years of existence, the Knights Templar were persecuted, tortured and killed under the orders of King Philip IV of France. Those who survived escaped to Portugal and some believe that the knowledge the Templars brought from the East was the trigger for the Portuguese Age of Discovery.

Shamanism is an ancient and almost universal tradition among societies that live close to nature, and many seekers in the Western world feel that there is a lot that can be learnt from this natural form of practical wisdom.

Using Mircea Eliades seminal work on Shamanism as a starting point, this talk will look at the universal aspects of this inner path, such as the concepts of initiation, death and rebirth, and renewal of the individual and society through deep inner transformation.

Nikola Tesla was and remains an enigmatic figure, sometimes portrayed as brilliant, sometimes as passionate and sometimes even as crazy. This was because his ideas were, and still are for some, ahead of their time.

This talk will look at Tesla the idealist and his ambitious vision for raising humanity to a higher level of existence, with the help of science and technology. The talk will explore a little of the the mystery that was this innovative and forward-thinking man.

Over thousands of years, myths have helped human beings to understand aspects of life that the rational mind finds difficult to grasp (love, death, mystery...). Great philosophers like Plato have used myths and fables to explain their key concepts. Still today, we find the archetypal patterns of myth in books like Lord of the Rings or films like Star Wars.
This 4-week course (4 evenings over a month) will introduce you to the archetypal structure of mythology and its important role in promoting our spiritual and psychological well-being.

Topics of the 4 evenings

1. Myths, Symbols and Rituals as means of access to the Sacred and as tools for understanding and facing the trials of life.
2. The Myth of Cupid and Psyche: a key to understanding the mysteries of love and the soul.
3. The Oedipus Myth: Can free will and predestination co-exist? What is the nature of the human being?
4. Fairy Tales and Modern Mythology: Archetypal themes and their interpretation in fairy tales, literature and film.

Philosophy means love of wisdom (philo-sophia) and is an active attitude of awareness towards life. In this sense, we are all born philosophers, with an innate need to ask questions and with the intuition that there are answers to be found. And yet, most of us have little knowledge of philosophy. We have never had the chance to learn about the vast heritage of ideas that have sustained, inspired and guided humanity throughout history.

This 16-week course will introduce you to the major systems of thought of East and West. They are arranged under three subject headings: Ethics, Sociopolitics and Philosophy of History.

Course Content

Understanding yourself
Introduction to Ethics. Major concepts of the philosophies of India, Tibet, Ancient Egypt and Neoplatonism

Living together in harmony with others
Introduction to Sociopolitics
Major concepts of the philosophies of Confucius, Plato and the Stoics

Being part of something greater
Introduction to Philosophy of History
Microcosm and Macrocosm
The cosmovision of traditional societies

First introductory evening FREE. Price for the whole course £160 (£120 concessions), handouts included.

Symbols are a language we can all recognise but few of us can read. Over thousands of years, symbols have been used to express the ineffable and to create a bridge between the invisible and visible dimension. Learning to understand them better will help to develop our imagination, which is one of our most important and powerful faculties. Symbols have the power to re-connect us with a world full of meaning.

This 3-week course (1 evening per week) will introduce you to symbology - the study of symbols. The course will explore some of the most important symbols of different cultures and reveal deeper layers of meaning in art and architecture.

Topics of the 3 evenings

1. Introduction to symbology and the universal symbols of numbers, geometrical shapes and nature.
2. The symbolic dimension in Sacred Architecture.
3. Sacred Art and Symbols of India (Buddhism, Hinduism).

"Philosophy is inherent in all human activity."
If this statement is true, then the arts can also be seen as an expression of our thinking and as a quest for the universal archetypes that govern our lives. This year we would like to dedicate our contribution to UNESCO`s World Philosophy Day to the wisdom that can be found in many different artistic creations. After a brief introduction, 4 different speakers will offer their reflections on this topic in short presentations and during the break and after the event there will be buffet-style refreshments and time for philosophical conversation.

The Microbiome - the entire collection of microorganisms in a specific niche, such as the human gut - is a hot topic these days, but the importance of microorganisms in our body to overall health has been recognised for thousands of years. In this talk, homeopath Elizabeth Adalian will introduce the role of homeopathic remedies to enhance the microbiome and trace its path from early life in the womb and through the ancestry. The link with the brain will also be discussed, with a focus on the vagus nerve (formerly known as the cranial nerve).
This talk will be presented against the backdrop of a philosophical approach.

Our mind has a much bigger impact on our life than we usually realize. Knowing how our mind works allows us to take responsibility for our life and to become creators rather than remain victims.

This short course (3 consecutive Tuesday evenings, starting on 10th Oct) will explore the mind and mind-related topics such as consciousness, imagination, creativity and meditation. It will also look at collective mindsets and paradigm shifts throughout history. Each evening is led by a different speaker and will consist of both theory and practical exercises.

First Evening (Tues 10 Oct) How our mind creates our experience of reality Mindsets: what they are and how they work. Learning to see things differently. The importance of distinguishing between two realities.

Second Evening (Tues 17 Oct) Consciousness and self-awareness The stages of inner awakening according to Tibetan Buddhism. Meditation and its different interpretations and practices. Achieving a state of relaxed concentration.

Third Evening (Tues 24 Oct) Develop your innate creativity Creativity and different modes of thinking. IQ vs creativity. Imagination and the ability to create what does not yet exist. What can help us to become more creative.

To prepare ourselves and the next generation for a rapidly changing world we need to be more grounded than ever in the timeless values and principles that have provided a stable point of reference in the past.

Many of the problems we are facing today will not be solved by more money or technology. Most solutions to our current challenges will require a change in our actions, which can only be sustainable if brought about by an inner change. How can we bring about this inner change? If our actions are a result of our thoughts, then we need to change the way we think about many things.

Philosophy has for thousands of years been a valid path to explore our thinking, to search for the underlying principles of life, to put them into practice and to develop our inner potential. Philosophy as a way of life is not only an intellectual enterprise but an education for the head, the heart and the hands.

Course Content

Understanding yourself
Introduction to Ethics. Major concepts of the philosophies of India, Tibet, Ancient Egypt and Neoplatonism

Living together in harmony with others
Introduction to Sociopolitics
Major concepts of the philosophies of Confucius, Plato and the Stoics

Being part of something greater
Introduction to Philosophy of History
Microcosm and Macrocosm
The cosmovision of traditional societies

First introductory evening FREE. Price for the whole course £160 (£120 concessions), handouts included.

Does ancient Egypt still have a message for our time? This short course with 4 different sessions invites you to discover the spirit of this mysterious civilization that lies at the root of our modern culture and has - through the currents of Pythagoreanism, Platonism and the Corpus Hermeticum - continued to inspire Western civilization. By examining certain facets of the cosmovision and lifestyle of ancient Egypt, we will seek inspiration to “build towards the future”

First evening (Wed 20 Sept)
Philosophy in Ancient Egypt
Many people think the Egyptians had no philosophy, only religion and magic. However, a deep study of their culture reveals an underlying philosophy behind everything they did. Their world view was one of unity in multiplicity, in which all things become differentiated in order to travel a path towards reunification and peace.
Psychology in Ancient Egypt Although psychology was only established as an independent scientific discipline in the late 19th century, its roots are much older. Ancient Egyptians identified many different aspects of the human psyche and had a profound awareness of what contemporary neurocardiology has labeled the “consciousness of the heart”.

Second evening (Wed 27 Sept)
The Egyptian Book of the Dead This session will lead you on a journey through the Papyrus of Ani, a more than 3,000-year-old scroll whose original is housed in the British Museum. It contains teachings about the different stages of the passage of the soul from death to after-life and is beautifully illustrated.
Invisible Egypt
Over thousands of years, symbols have been used to express the ineffable and to create a bridge between the invisible and visible dimensions. This session invites you to discover the timeless importance of the symbolic imagination and will help you understand the meaning of some of the most well-known symbols of ancient Egypt.