Philosophy and Life
Recent writing and occasional thoughts on assorted matters.
- Animals That Talk – a conversation with Rupert Sheldrake Apr 23, 2021- Why do matters as seemingly unconnected as children’s stories and shamanic encounters feature talking animals? This episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, with Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon, is prompted the book, Roland In Moonlight by David Bentley Hart. It relates long conversations between the Eastern Orthodox philosopher and his pet dog, generating fascinating thoughts on all sorts of liminal experiences,… …
- The Experience of Life and the Nature of the Afterlife Apr 18, 2021- Modern Christianity, at least as expressed by the church, has become very confused about the afterlife. So can our experience of life now, illuminated by wisdom traditions and modern science, offer a way into this perennial question? I've written more fully about these things in my book, A Secret History of Christianity. See here - https://www.markvernon.com/consciousness …
- The Death of Princes and the Evolution of Consciousness Apr 10, 2021- Death always brings subterranean assumptions and stresses to the surface, and the pass of Prince Philip is no exception. The moment carries the weight of millennia, which is why it's hard to navigate, though it can be better understood as part of the evolution of human consciousness, as Owen Barfield and others understood it. The key test is the vision… …
- Billionaires, Brains and Beliefs – A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake Apr 9, 2021- Could bliss be transmitted by a Happy Helmet? Are the fantasies of the super-wealthy secretly shaping our lives? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss a new novel, Double Blind, by Edward St Aubyn. It is a story of ideas, including issues previously explored in these dialogues, from the nature of consciousness and the… …
- How Dante discovered the Power of Now – recording Apr 3, 2021- For more on Dante do see. Details of my book, Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey, are here. Also, use this code, “dantemv”, to get £10 off my Divine Comedy course at The Idler via this link. …
- Easter Sermon: How Dante teaches us the power of now Mar 31, 2021- This piece is published by The Idler. (Use code, "dantemv", to get £10 off my Divine Comedy course at The Idler and click here.) If there were one big lesson that Dante learns as he struggles through hell and up Mount Purgatory it would be this. The present moment, right now, is the only moment that matters. Now, I know… …
- Descent is Ascent – How the road up is the road down in Dante Mar 27, 2021- Making sense of why Dante had to travel through hell, what was going on in purgatory, and how that's all linked to the destination of heaven, comes with appreciating how, in the spiritual life, descent and ascent are profoundly linked. Dante explores the links between virtues and vices, moving beyond the literal, high places are risky places, desiring not more… …
- Dante in love Mar 23, 2021- Use this code, "dantemv", to get £10 off my Divine Comedy course at The Idler via this link. The year was 1274, May Day to be precise. The young lady Beatrice was walking the lovely streets of Florence and she approached a youth called Dante. She smiled. Instantly, he was besotted. Little did he know that this youthful infatuation was… …
- Dante’s Divine Comedy in 100 Images – new online course! Mar 18, 2021- Use this code, "dantemv", to get £10 off with this link. What you get: Video: Nine half-hour richly illustrated video lessons. Audio: The option to download and listen to the course lessons in podcast form. Notes: The course is accompanied by downloadable and printable notes. These include an outline of the structure and story of The Divine Comedy plus further… …
- Longing for the Infinite – 7 key features of Dante’s transhumanism Mar 14, 2021- The word transhumanism was coined by Dante to capture his realisation of divine life in paradise. It has been colonised today by technologists dreaming of utopias. I explore 7 key differences to recover Dante’s vision from the Divine Comedy, in the 700th anniversary year of the great poet’s death, which is also to explore the richness of true transhumanizing. 1.… …