“Was Jesus gentle?” William Blake asks in his poem, The Everlasting Gospel. “Was Jesus chaste?” he adds. The prophet of south London is turning his ire against the image of the Christ Child that dominates at Christmas. No crying he makes? “Wake up,” Blake cries! Read the Bible. “The Vision of Christ that thou dost… Continue reading Jesus. A difficult child – a Christmas thought
Author: Mark Vernon
Dante’s Inferno, Part 2, dangers in spiritual seeking, with Rupert Sheldrake
An MP3 of the conversation is on my podcast feed, Dante’s Divine Comedy. This episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues is the second part of a conversation between Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon on the Inferno of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Deeper regions of hell are explored, in which individuals aren’t just confused about life but have… Continue reading Dante’s Inferno, Part 2, dangers in spiritual seeking, with Rupert Sheldrake
Living In Awareness – a conversation with Rupert Spira & Mark Vernon
An MP3 version of this conversation is on my podcast feed, Talks and Thoughts. Rupert Spira and I met for a second conversation, beginning with one of William Blake’s great exclamations of nondual awareness: “Awake! awake O sleeper of the land of shadows, wake! expand! I am in you and you in me, mutual in… Continue reading Living In Awareness – a conversation with Rupert Spira & Mark Vernon
Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
An MP3 of the talk can be found at my podcast feed, Talks and Thoughts. An article on Blake’s view of the Christ Child, viewed through his infernal method, can be found here. Here I discuss how William Blake used his infernal methods subtly to critique Christmas via his illustrations to Milton’s ode, On the… Continue reading Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
Dante on living in riven times. A thought
Our times are marked by divides that will remain, possibly deepen. Has the Divine Comedy anything meaningful to offer a riven state? An MP3 version of the thought can be found via your podcast feed at my channel, Talks and Thoughts.
Angelology with Lorna Byrne. A conversation and inquiry with thoughts from Dante and Blake
An MP3 version of the conversation is on my podcast stream, Dante’s Divine Comedy. Dante and Otherworld Journeys was an online conference organised with the Scientific and Medical Network. This is the conversation, with extra thoughts, that I had with Lorna Byrne. I was particularly glad to compare her experience with those of other angel… Continue reading Angelology with Lorna Byrne. A conversation and inquiry with thoughts from Dante and Blake
How to talk about God: on why God is not an object
An audio-only version of the talk can be found on your podcast feed at my channel, Talks and Thoughts. Some talk about God too much. Others are said to be too embarrassed ever to do so. I think much of the pickle around God-talk arises from a fundamental, modern mistake. God is not an object… Continue reading How to talk about God: on why God is not an object
Alien Nation – finding the good in UFOs
My Philosophy column just published in the new Idler magazine. This has been a great year if you are into UFOs – or “unidentified aerial phenomena”, UAPs, as we are now asked to call them. The US government released a report in June confessing that it had no way of explaining dozens of reports of… Continue reading Alien Nation – finding the good in UFOs
Dante’s Inferno and the meaning of descent, with Rupert Sheldrake
Watch on YouTube! Also on your podcast feed. The Divine Comedy by Dante is one of the great spiritual works of the Christian tradition. But how can it be read and what does it mean? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss the first part of Dante’s cosmic pilgrimage.… Continue reading Dante’s Inferno and the meaning of descent, with Rupert Sheldrake
Plato, Eros & Beautiful Bodies. A critique of God: An Anatomy
An MP3 version of this talk, and others, is available at my podcast channel, Talks and Thoughts, available on podcast feeds. I much enjoyed the conversation with Hetta Howes, Matthew Sweet and Francesca Stavrakopoulou on God: An Anatomy. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00114py). We had a good conversation over profound… Continue reading Plato, Eros & Beautiful Bodies. A critique of God: An Anatomy