Monarchy and the emergence of consciousness

A quick thought on the deep, inner, even esoteric history and significance of the Platinum Jubilee in the UK. The full story of monarchs and the birth of individual consciousness is part of the story told in A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness.

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William Blake and the Psychedelic Renaissance. Seven facets of cultural transformation

Am MP3 version of this talk is at my podcast, Thoughts and Talks, available via podcast feeds. William Blake is famous for his phrase “cleansing the doors of perception”. But he has much, much more to offer the renewed interest in psychedelics underway in our times. He responds to the need for a social and… Continue reading William Blake and the Psychedelic Renaissance. Seven facets of cultural transformation

The Road of Excess Leads to the Palace of Wisdom. William Blake on desire, attention and wanting it all

An MP3 version of the talk is on my Thoughts and Talks podcast, available via your podcast feed. “More! More! is the cry of a mistaken soul, less than All cannot satisfy Man,” wrote William Blake. How we might participate in the All, without consuming more and more, can serve as a summary of Blake’s… Continue reading The Road of Excess Leads to the Palace of Wisdom. William Blake on desire, attention and wanting it all

Understanding the Hollywood Medium. Thoughts on Life After Death with Tyler Henry

An MP3 version of the talk can be found on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. The reality TV star, Tyler Henry, became famous with his celebrity readings. His new Netflix series, Life After Death, is a chance to consider what he does in a different light. My sense is he is… Continue reading Understanding the Hollywood Medium. Thoughts on Life After Death with Tyler Henry

William Blake and learning from Covid. On dying before you die

This essay is published by Beshara Magazine. The pandemic is said to have exposed modern society to its vulnerabilities. Nowhere is this exposure clearer than in relation to death. Covid has revealed that, nowadays, most people have inadequate ways of relating to this fact of life. The weakness is doubly striking as wisdom and religious… Continue reading William Blake and learning from Covid. On dying before you die

Defending the Spiritual Commons. A short talk at Idler Drinks

An MP3 version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available on your podcast feed. The land commons are the shared material resources that nobody in particular might own, and everyone might have, though they are routinely taken from us. Land and forests, water and minerals. The spiritual commons are the being… Continue reading Defending the Spiritual Commons. A short talk at Idler Drinks

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Wrestling with Christianity. A Medicine Path podcast conversation with Brian James & Mark Vernon

An MP3 of this conversation can be found at my Talks and Thoughts podcast available via your podcast feed. A conversation on wrestling with Christianity – or perhaps more accurately, the Christianities that swirl around the figure of Jesus – at the Medicine Path podcast, #87, with Brian James. For more on Brian – http://medicinepathpodcast.com,… Continue reading Wrestling with Christianity. A Medicine Path podcast conversation with Brian James & Mark Vernon

Dante on Idealism. Or Dante in dialogue with Bernardo Kastrup and others

An audio version of this talk can be found in my podcast Dante’s Divine Comedy available via podcast feeds. This is a contribution to recent dialogues on idealism between Bernardo Kastrup, John Vervaeke, Matt Segall, Philip Goff and others, including myself. I draw particularly on: – Dante’s account and analysis of his journey to the… Continue reading Dante on Idealism. Or Dante in dialogue with Bernardo Kastrup and others

The Spiritual Path of the Soul – a Stoic conversation with The Walled Garden

The conversation as audio is on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available on podcast feeds. Modern Stoicism is more diverse than I knew, I learnt when I spoke with Simon Drew, Kai Whiting and Sharon Lebell. In particular, the divine element in ancient Stoicism, which was central, has not been discarded by everyone involved in… Continue reading The Spiritual Path of the Soul – a Stoic conversation with The Walled Garden