Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our discussions, on psychedelics. Many people today seek an expansion of mind with them. So what other worlds, intelligences and entities are being encountered and sought in such experiences? We focus…
“I feel nervous if I’m called a Christian. It feels like being boxed in. But I can also see that buried within Christianity lies a transformative wisdom. But what is it, and how might it work? Well, take the figure…
This article was written for Christian Today in response to the publication of Angels: A Visible and Invisible History by Peter Stanford. Angels are popular. Many people believe in them and, for a supposedly secular age, a surprising number of…
Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our dialogues, on pilgrimage. Millions of people around the world make pilgrimages. In a supposedly secular Europe, the spiritual practice is booming too. We discuss the revelatory experiences that people have…
I’ve put together an introduction to Owen Barfield’s life and ideas, from the soul of words to the evolution of consciousness, running through these questions: Who was the last Inkling, Owen Barfield? Why did C.S. Lewis call Barfield his “anti-self”?…
The Idler Guide to Romantic Philosophy with Mark Vernon explores a way of engaging with life that is often eclipsed in a world of utility, science and the rational. The Romantics were convinced that feeling opens reality to us and…
I hugely enjoyed this conversation on Radio 3’s, Free Thinking, particularly picking up the parallels between religious and secular icons with my fellow interlocutors. Much can be explained by remembering how religious icons exceed themselves – they’re material objects speaking…
Failing already at your New Year resolutions? I’ve a piece published here on why that could be a blessing. In short: willpower is a trap. It perpetuates the fight between the parts of you at odds with one another. But…
Imagine Christmas with Jesus born not in a stable but a cave. There are no angels and shepherds, kings and gifts, but instead the sheep in the fields, the birds in the air, and the clouds in the sky stand…
Angels Angelic beings seem to appear in liminal times and places, when individuals are in crisis or at the turn of the year and Christmas. In this talk, I explore how we might be more aware than we usually think…