An MP3 version of the talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available on podcast feeds. Few have explored the nature of being human more directly than Charles Foster. He writes about his experiences in the wild in his books, Being A Beast and, most recently, Being A Human, raising profound questions about our… Continue reading Homo Sapiens? Mark Vernon & Charles Foster in conversation
Author: Mark Vernon
Apocalypse Now: Arnold Toynbee, William Blake and our understanding times
An MP3 version of this talk can be found at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, that should be available from a podcast feed. The British historian, Arnold Toynbee, is currently out of fashion. The British poet and artist, William Blake, is not, though he is rarely well understood. So what might they have to say… Continue reading Apocalypse Now: Arnold Toynbee, William Blake and our understanding times
Spiritual Intelligence: what it is, why its needed, how it might return
I’ve a new long form essay up at Perspectiva. The YouTube above is an introduction. This is how it begins… “I recently became a wizard. Unfortunately, my assumption of the role involved neither magical rites nor secret lore. Rather, I became a wizard of a pedestrian type, increasingly common in a technological age. I am… Continue reading Spiritual Intelligence: what it is, why its needed, how it might return
The Tragedy of the Spiritual Commons: review of The Dawn of Everything by Davids Graeber and Wengrow
An MP3 version of the post is at my podcast channel, Talks and Thoughts. A shorter, written article version of my talk follows below. And here’s the link to the post I mentioned in the talk, on Homo spiritualis – https://youtu.be/0XUWYn8SyT8. The new book by David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything: A… Continue reading The Tragedy of the Spiritual Commons: review of The Dawn of Everything by Davids Graeber and Wengrow
Dante and Spiritual Intelligence – a lecture to the Temenos Academy
An MP3 version of the talk is online here. This lecture was given to the Temenos Academy on Tuesday 19th October 2021 – a particular delight as it was on its perennial philosophy course that the Divine Comedy first began to open up to me. See here for more details – https://www.temenosacademy.org I make some… Continue reading Dante and Spiritual Intelligence – a lecture to the Temenos Academy
Climate crisis: spiritual crisis. Five principles as consciousness changing practices
An MP3 version of the talk is here. Our carbon consuming culture has completely internalised the belief “that the world is made up of dead stuff plus active minds and acquisitive wills,” wrote Rowan Williams in This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook. We have forgotten the spiritual intelligence that knows how to… Continue reading Climate crisis: spiritual crisis. Five principles as consciousness changing practices
Gnosticism, Then & Now – a conversation with Rupert Sheldrake
A MP3 version of the conversation is here. The label “gnostic” is used to recommend and condemn. So what is, and what was, Gnosticism? This episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, with Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon, takes a lead from a series of fascinating essays exploring the ancient movement and its modern forms by the… Continue reading Gnosticism, Then & Now – a conversation with Rupert Sheldrake
How To Know Paradise and Know It Now – new Dante talk
A MP3 version if this talk is here. Today, many people feel Dante’s Paradiso is irrelevant. It’s not. It is the place of true perception and delightful knowledge, and the goal of the Divine Comedy. The question is how to follow Dante’s lead and become aware of this domain of reality that is here, now… Continue reading How To Know Paradise and Know It Now – new Dante talk
Know Thyself – Rupert Spira and Mark Vernon in conversation
An MP3 podcast of the conversation is here. What is the direct path of Advaita Vedanta and why is it significant for so many now? How is it found across traditions, including within Christianity? Why might it matter to us today, collectively as well as individually? What are its links to psychotherapy, individuality, freedom, God?… Continue reading Know Thyself – Rupert Spira and Mark Vernon in conversation
Book Launch and Celebration of Dante 700, event recording
MP3 version here. For further details about Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey – https://www.markvernon.com/books/dantes-divine-comedy-book For further details about the Dante Society of London – https://dantesocietylondon.com/index.html 2:34 Welcome 3:23 Dante’s first 700 years 6:08 Dante Society of London 9:14 Invoking Dante today 10:33 Introducing my new book 18:08 Reading in Italian and… Continue reading Book Launch and Celebration of Dante 700, event recording