Philosophy and Life
Recent writing and occasional thoughts on assorted matters.
- Light, Love, Logos, Life – How to speak about God Jan 17, 2022- An MP3 version of this talk as at Dante's Divine Comedy, on you podcast feed. John Vervaeke, Paul VanderKlay and Paul Anleitner asked what "God" means, with John challenging the Pauls to talk about God via Light, Love, Logos and Life, so as not to hide behind the "g" word. Drawing on Dante, I offer some thoughts... The original conversation… …
- Prisoner of Fortune, or Boethius on the inconstant Jan 13, 2022- The new Idler magazine is out. Here's my January 2022 thought... New Years are much associated with luck. It’s why midnight is marked by rituals, from the explosive, such as igniting fireworks, to the convivial, in exchanges of good wishes. “Have a prosperous and healthy New Year!” Whether it’s with a bang or a blessing, the aim is to scare… …
- The Darkness That Is Light. Thoughts from an exhibition Jan 2, 2022- An MP3 version of this talk is at my podcast feed, Dante’s Divine Comedy. The Dante exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, for the 700th anniversary year of 2021, brought together some of the Divine Comedy’s greatest illustrators, living and dead, from Monika Beisner to William Blake and Sandro Botticelli. Here are my reflections on these studies in line and light… …
- Release of the audiobook of Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey! Dec 21, 2021- Audible have released the audiobook of Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey. I hope you enjoy the first chapter, Inferno 1. For more information go to Audible. The sample chapter can also be heard by finding my podcast feed, Dante's Divine Comedy. …
- Jesus. A difficult child – a Christmas thought Dec 19, 2021- “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 see, Is my Vision's Greatest… …
- Dante’s Inferno, Part 2, dangers in spiritual seeking, with Rupert Sheldrake Dec 17, 2021- 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 become wedded to their confusions… …
- Living In Awareness – a conversation with Rupert Spira & Mark Vernon Dec 14, 2021- 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 love divine I am not… …
- Christmas according to William Blake – a warning Dec 9, 2021- 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 Morning of Christ’s Nativity. He… …
- Dante on living in riven times. A thought Dec 1, 2021- 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 Nov 29, 2021- 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 seers, from Socrates to Dante… …