Tag Archives: Tarascon

The golden thread of the free spirit – talk by Peter Huijs at the symposium ‘The golden thread of the free mind’

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The high intellectual content and certainly also the high spiritual level of people such as Gadal and Garrigou, and many others we talk about in our book, finds its origins in an insatiable thirst for freedom:

    • freedom of thinking, of feeling and acting;
    • freedom of consciousness;
    • freedom also of religious experience and practice.

Gadal remembered a conversation around 1893 with Adolphe Garrigou, already very elderly, that characteristically illustrates this thirst for freedom. Gadal asked the old man why he and his Continue reading →

Prometheus’s dream: the comprehension of nature – talk by Sergi Grau Torras at ‘The golden thread of the free mind’

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Classical mythology recounts that Prometheus, son of the god Iapetus and the nymph Clymene, created humankind from clay in order to repopulate the Earth. Having done this, he realised that humanity was defenceless against nature and wild animals, so he decided to climb Mount Olympus to steal fire from the gods and to give it to the human population so that this population might reap its benefits. His act, however, aroused the wrath of Zeus, who punished Prometheus by chaining him up forevermore; he was nevertheless set free by Heracles.

The versions of the myth transmitted by ancient witnesses, from those of Hesiod to Aesop and Aeschylus, for instance, contain Continue reading →

Catharism a refuge for women – talk by Gwendoline Hancke at ‘The golden thread of the free mind’

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To bring up ‘a free space’ for women in medieval society of Southern France, might at first sight seem to be a paradox or even an anachronism. In the Languedoc of the 13th century however, women of all social classes moved in social and religious structures that were dominated by men.

Yet, through their prestige in the Cathar teachings and their priestly role in religious life, women could in a modest way open the gates of that male domination. Precisely because the Cathar religion was so deeply rooted in Continue reading →

On the wings of love – talk by Maria Bartels at the Symposium ‘The golden thread of the free mind’

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In the castles of the Occitan nobility and in the houses of the Cathar faithful, in the hymns and the poetry of the troubadours and in the sermons of the “perfects”, there was a word that was perhaps at the very heart of Occitan culture and society in the 12th and 13th centuries: amor.

However, two distinct Greek concepts underlie the Latin term amor: eros and agape, concepts that originally had nothing what­ soever to do with each other and which are, in fact, opposed to each other. What worlds are concealed behind them, and in what way do they form the basis for Catharism and the fin’amor? How did these two kinds of love come together in the Occitania of those days? And how can they still come together in our own souls? Continue reading →

The breath of the spirit and spiritual energy – talk by Eric Palazzo at the Symposium ‘The golden thread of the free mind’

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Christian theology in the era of the Antiquity and the Middle Ages has rather poignantly placed the question of the freedom of the Spirit or, reversely, the spirit of freedom at the centre of their studies of the activation of the spiritual pursuit of Man, both on an individual basis as well as on a collective level.

In saying this I underline the fact that Christian theological thought in Antiquity and the Middle Ages has always differentiated itself from the gradual evolution over the centuries of the Continue reading →

The paleolithic art of decorated caves – talk by Philippe Grosos at the Symposium ‘The golden thread of the free mind’

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Usually we understand ‘boldness’ or ‘audacity’ as the deed or the word of a human being who dares to do, dares to say whatever he or she is saying. The word then indicates: the courage to take a risk, no matter how small it may be. Boldness shows strength, that is when the concept is not confused with brutality or hubris. Contrary to those two motives, it will neither shock nor provoke morally or socially; it doesn’t get involved with those values, and therefore it does not foolishly run ahead to its powers.

As far as that is concerned, it is even possible to Continue reading →

The caves of Volp – talk by Robert Bégouën at the Symposium ‘The golden thread of the free mind’

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The Tuc d’Audoubert and Trois-Frères caves were discovered in 1912 and 1914 by three teenagers, Max, Jacques and Louis Bégouën, in a village in the Ariège called Montesquieu-Avantès. They are large and decorated caves, and the decision to preserve them completely intact was taken immediately after their discovery. This point of view, very original for those days, is explained by the fact that at the moment of the discovery of the caves, the family had already been interested in the origin of life in general and in the origin of mankind in particular for two generations.

The grandfather of the three brothers, count Maximilien Bégouën (1826-1885) was indeed an erudite and multilingual humanist. Although trained as a Continue reading →

Trailer Gadal Symposion Tarascon 2021 – Get access to the long video of more than 7 hours

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GET ACCESS TO THE FULL SYMPOSIUM VIDEO (MORE THAN 7 HOURS) FOR € 10,-

The above trailer gives a short impression of the symposium (French spoken) with the English title ‘The golden thread of the free mind’ that took place on September 10,11 and 12, 2021 in Tarascon-sur-Ariège in France. The full symposium video lasts more than 7 hours and can be accessed online for €10.

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SYMPOSIUM: Le Fil d’or du Libre Esprit, les 10, 11, 12 septembre 2021, Tarascon-sur-Ariège, France

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☆ FRANÇAIS ☆ DEUTSCH ☆ ENGLISH ☆ ESPAÑOL  ☆ NEDERLANDS ☆

REGISTER FOR THE LIVE STREAMS OF THE SYMPOSIUM: € 10

REGISTER FOR THE LOMBRIVES-CONCERT BY JORDI SAVALL & HESPÈRION XXI: € 49

REGISTER FOR THE SYMPOSIUM AND THE CONCERT: € 150

  • FR ☆ Le fil d’or du libre esprit ☆ Il réunira un ensemble de scientifiques, philosophes et musiciens internationaux, partageant un grand intérêt pour le Sabarthez et l’Ariège, et présentera des sujets qui mettent en lumière l’histoire humaine millénaire de la région. ☆ brochure – pdf ☆
  • DE ☆ Der goldenen Faden des freien Geistes ☆ Es bringt internationale Wissenschaftler, Philosophen und Musiker zusammen, die eines gemeinsam haben: die Liebe zum Sabarthez und zum Ariège. Sie werden Themen präsentieren, die die jahrtausendealte Menschheitsgeschichte der Region beleuchten. ☆ Brochüre – pdf ☆
  • EN ☆ The golden thread of the free mind ☆ A selection of international scientists, philosophers and musicians joins together, who as a common denomination all cherish a profound love for the Sabarthez and the Ariège, presenting subjects that shed a light on the ancient old human history of this region. ☆ brochure – pdf ☆
  • ES ☆ El hilo de oro del espíritu libre ☆Reunirá un conjunto de científicos, filósofos y músicos internacionales, que comparten un gran interés por el Sabarthès y el Ariège, y presentará temas que saquen a la luz la historia humana milenaria de la región. ☆ folleto – pdf ☆
  • NL ☆ De gouden draad van de vrije geest ☆ Het brengt een keur van internationale wetenschappers, filosofen en musici bijeen, die als gemeenschappelijke deler een grote liefde voor de Sabarthez en de Ariège koesteren, en die onderwerpen presenteren die de vele millennia oude menselijke geschiedenis van de streek belichten. ☆ brochure – pdf ☆

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