Author: Mark Vernon

An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Christmas risks losing its meaning not only because of the commercial frenzy but because of the way it is talked about in churches. In this conversation, Russell Jefford talks about his discovery of the understanding of the incarnation… Continue reading On the Incarnation or the real meaning of Christmas

An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. “A worldview that understands indigeneity is a paradigm of regeneration, a worldview rooted in enduring values in what we call our original instructions, common themes of reciprocity, of gratitude, of responsibility, of generosity, of forgiveness, of humility, of… Continue reading Loving and knowing in indigenous ways of life. A conversation with Melissa Nelson

An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Clare Martin is co-director of the St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, located in the heart of the City of London. In this conversation, we spoke about what love can look like in the public square, particularly… Continue reading What can love look like in an era of crisis and fear? Clare Martin, St Ethelburga’s Centre, London

An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. VALA can be downloaded as a pdf here – https://blakesociety.org/wp-content/u… My essay is at p60

What is the nature of artificial intelligence? How does it compare with human intelligence, emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence?   These are important questions to ask and understand as AI becomes more pervasive. Most of the people alarmed about advances in AI have little sense of what human intelligence is, as they live and operate in… Continue reading What is intelligence? A discussion with Dante as guide

An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. What is the role of love in public life? Can it have a place given the scrutiny faced by leaders and the processes of bureaucracies? Or is love what we need to face the huge challenges of today,… Continue reading Love, power and public life. A conversation with Claire Gilbert & Mark Vernon

An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Constellations, also called family systems, is a way of visualising the dynamics of love that operate in any group that has to do with creativity or life. A constellation workshop brings people together to look at predicaments with… Continue reading Principles of love and the wisdom of constellations. With Robert Rowland Smith & Mark Vernon

This comment was written for the newsletter, published this week, of the Fetzer Institute. In the midst of the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas, it’s hard to make heads or tails of religion. The situation is complex and multifaceted, with faith playing only a part. But before jumping to the conclusion that humanity would be… Continue reading Defying Darkness: Love’s Radical Rebellion Against Global Discord

An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast feed, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Do our minds reside solely inside our heads, or perhaps bodies? Or do they extend into the wider world, perhaps even reaching to the stars? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon… Continue reading The extension of mind through space and the sense of being stared at. Conversation with Rupert Sheldrake

An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Robin Dunbar is an Oxford evolutionary psychologist who has written extensively about friendship, amongst other things, not least in relation to “Dunbar’s Number”. We talked about what friendship is, and how it differs from other loves. We explored… Continue reading How to make friendship work. A conversation with Robin Dunbar