An MP3 of this talk, though without images, can be found on my Talks and Thoughts podcast via your podcast feed. Perception is cleansed in the struggles of life, William Blake realised, as his own life was lived between heaven and hell, innocence and experience, vision and labour. Opposites are the energy that bring the… Continue reading Contraries and Human Existence – William Blake and Cleansing the Doors of Perception
Tag: imagination
The Four-Fold Vision of William Blake
The Four-Fold Imagination is an essay I’ve had published at Aeon. The YouTube below is a complementary look at some of Blake’s images, conveying a felt sense of single vision, two-fold, three-fold and four-fold vision. Do read and share the essay!
Owen Barfield: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 3
Having considered the insights of William Blake and Carl Jung in the first two talks of this series, I now turn to those of Owen Barfield. He presents the biggest possible story for the imagination, integrating it into nothing less than our creation and return to the divine. What is fascinating is that he arrived… Continue reading Owen Barfield: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 3
Carl Jung: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 2
The power of the imagination runs all the way through the depth psychology of Carl Jung. It is liberates because it is not axiomatic or discursive but perceptive. It goes beyond reactions and settled patterns of behaviour, to discover a new worlds. But it needs fostering, discerning, trusting. In this talk, I begin with the… Continue reading Carl Jung: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 2
William Blake: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 1
William Blake argued that the imagination is the key human faculty for knowing fourfold vision, life to the full, and our divine destiny. But he also knew it needed cultivating, training, discerning. In this talk, I look at Blake’s images that can become part of such a training. I also describe the schema of Ulro,… Continue reading William Blake: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 1