Author: Mark Vernon

This is a summary of an exchange between the physicist David Bohm and the philologist Owen Barfield, and others, that took place on 1st and 2nd May 1982 at the Kettering Foundation. The occasionally broken transcript was given to me by Rob Lehman of the Fetzer Institute who facilitated the meeting. The exchange ranges over… Continue reading David Bohm and Owen Barfield: a conversation

Many today struggle to perceive spiritual reality. But might we be passing through a stage in the evolution of human awareness? In this dialogue, Rupert Sheldrake and I discuss a recent conference that addressed this question. It was inspired by the ideas of Owen Barfield, whom I’ve written about in my new book, A Secret… Continue reading Imagination and unfolding reality

This essay is posted at the blog of Perspectiva. What might it look like if we learnt to grow and progress and build differently – spiritually? During 2019, climate change became climate crisis, even climate emergency. The tenor has become more urgent and with that shift are raised further, more nuanced reassessments. One interests me,… Continue reading Spiritual growth

All the recordings of our tremendous day, Evolving Consciousness: Spiritual Experience in a Secular Age, held on Saturday 30th November, can be found online.

This piece is published at Christian Today and The Idler. Many Christians will feel compelled to proclaim a social message this Christmas. How could they not? The story of a refugee family, with a tiny child, travelling across borders, fleeing hostile regimes seems irresistibly relevant in the modern world. Poverty and homelessness seem self-evidently integral… Continue reading The real meaning of Christmas

Rethinking Biology: Public Understandings, Edited by Michael Reiss, Fraser Watts, Harris Wiseman (2019: World Scientific) I’ve a chapter in this new book entitled, The Public Understanding of Biology: a journalist’s perspective, reproduced with permission here. A personal note might be useful. My scientific training extended to a physics undergraduate degree. I’ve written regularly on science… Continue reading Why we always get biology wrong

UPDATE: The complete videos and podcasts of the day are now online. Evolving Consciousness: Spiritual Experience in a Secular Age took place on Saturday 30th November at Colet House London, organised by the Scientific and Medical Network and generously sponsored by The Fetzer Institute. There’s also a report and reflection that I’ve written here. Here… Continue reading MP3s from Evolving Consciousness, Sat 30th Nov

I’m delighted to have permission to post my long review of Jeremy Naydler’s book published in the Temenos Academy Review 2019. In the Shadow of the Machine: The Prehistory of the Computer and the Evolution of Consciousness by Jeremy Naydler. Forest Row: Temple Lodge, 2018. 376 pp. £22.50. The question of what is unravelling in… Continue reading In the shadow of the machine – review

Reflections from the day conference of Saturday 30th November, 2019 by Mark Vernon. The complete films and podcasts of the day are online. “What is now proved was once only imagined,” wrote William Blake. London’s greatest modern mystic lent his inspiration to our gathering as around 150 people met in Colet House, London. Organised by… Continue reading Evolving Consciousness – conference report

I know of no better method for guaranteeing a personal revelation than walking a pilgrimage. Even a short one of an hour or two will do. It must be why they’re booming as a spiritual practice. “Bring your own beliefs” is the strapline of the British Pilgrimage Trust, one organisation doing much to spread the… Continue reading Pilgrimages at Perspectiva