An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Dante’s Divine Comedy, available via podcast feeds. This episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues continues Rupert and Mark’s exploration of Dante’s Divine Comedy, taking a lead from Mark’s book, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey. Dante is now guided by Beatrice through the… Continue reading Dante’s Paradiso. Awakening to the Light. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake
Author: Mark Vernon
You Are Gods by David Bentley Hart. Reflections on Vedantic Christianity
An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. A set of reflections liberally drawing on You Are Gods by David Bentley Hart (Notre Dame Press, 2022). Bentley Hart says that the book could equally have been subtitled, Studies in Vedantic Christianity, which I take as a… Continue reading You Are Gods by David Bentley Hart. Reflections on Vedantic Christianity
The Mossy Face of Christ. Martin Shaw talks w Mark Vernon about an unexpected return to Christianity
An audio version of this talk at on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. 0:00 Imagination and the Imaginal in the modern world 7:20 Different kinds of power: agency, allure, contraries 10:40 The revival of myth-telling but in the first person singular 15:30 Martin’s rediscovery of Christianity 21:40 The mossy face of… Continue reading The Mossy Face of Christ. Martin Shaw talks w Mark Vernon about an unexpected return to Christianity
Dante’s transfiguration of time & love, seeking & suffering, telepathy & transhumanising
An audio version of this talk is on my podcast, Dante’s Divine Comedy, available via podcast feeds. Various human experiences are deepened and resolved as Dante travels through hell, purgatory and paradise. The Divine Comedy can be read as an examination of this transfiguring of perception. From the alienation of hell, through the transforming time… Continue reading Dante’s transfiguration of time & love, seeking & suffering, telepathy & transhumanising
Varieties of love in Plato, Jesus, Ibn ‘Arabi and other mystics. Jane Clark & Mark Vernon
An audio version of the talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. It is often noted that the ancient Greeks had an advantage in possessing several words for love. Eros, philia, agape and others allowed them to be nuanced about love and navigate its differences. So is there benefit in… Continue reading Varieties of love in Plato, Jesus, Ibn ‘Arabi and other mystics. Jane Clark & Mark Vernon
Monarchy and the emergence of consciousness
A quick thought on the deep, inner, even esoteric history and significance of the Platinum Jubilee in the UK. The full story of monarchs and the birth of individual consciousness is part of the story told in A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness.
Love in a Time of Crisis because Crises are How Love Shows Up
An MP3 version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. There is a minimal kind of love which brings consolation in crises. But there is also a maximal kind of love which appears in times of crisis. Indeed, can only be known through crises. This is worth considering… Continue reading Love in a Time of Crisis because Crises are How Love Shows Up
William Blake and the Psychedelic Renaissance. Seven facets of cultural transformation
Am MP3 version of this talk is at my podcast, Thoughts and Talks, available via podcast feeds. William Blake is famous for his phrase “cleansing the doors of perception”. But he has much, much more to offer the renewed interest in psychedelics underway in our times. He responds to the need for a social and… Continue reading William Blake and the Psychedelic Renaissance. Seven facets of cultural transformation
The Road of Excess Leads to the Palace of Wisdom. William Blake on desire, attention and wanting it all
An MP3 version of the talk is on my Thoughts and Talks podcast, available via your podcast feed. “More! More! is the cry of a mistaken soul, less than All cannot satisfy Man,” wrote William Blake. How we might participate in the All, without consuming more and more, can serve as a summary of Blake’s… Continue reading The Road of Excess Leads to the Palace of Wisdom. William Blake on desire, attention and wanting it all
Understanding the Hollywood Medium. Thoughts on Life After Death with Tyler Henry
An MP3 version of the talk can be found on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. The reality TV star, Tyler Henry, became famous with his celebrity readings. His new Netflix series, Life After Death, is a chance to consider what he does in a different light. My sense is he is… Continue reading Understanding the Hollywood Medium. Thoughts on Life After Death with Tyler Henry