An audio version of this talk at on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. 0:00 Imagination and the Imaginal in the modern world 7:20 Different kinds of power: agency, allure, contraries 10:40 The revival of myth-telling but in the first person singular 15:30 Martin’s rediscovery of Christianity 21:40 The mossy face of… Continue reading The Mossy Face of Christ. Martin Shaw talks w Mark Vernon about an unexpected return to Christianity
Posts
Dante’s transfiguration of time & love, seeking & suffering, telepathy & transhumanising
An audio version of this talk is on my podcast, Dante’s Divine Comedy, available via podcast feeds. Various human experiences are deepened and resolved as Dante travels through hell, purgatory and paradise. The Divine Comedy can be read as an examination of this transfiguring of perception. From the alienation of hell, through the transforming time… Continue reading Dante’s transfiguration of time & love, seeking & suffering, telepathy & transhumanising
Varieties of love in Plato, Jesus, Ibn ‘Arabi and other mystics. Jane Clark & Mark Vernon
An audio version of the talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. It is often noted that the ancient Greeks had an advantage in possessing several words for love. Eros, philia, agape and others allowed them to be nuanced about love and navigate its differences. So is there benefit in… Continue reading Varieties of love in Plato, Jesus, Ibn ‘Arabi and other mystics. Jane Clark & Mark Vernon
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.
Love in a Time of Crisis because Crises are How Love Shows Up
An MP3 version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. There is a minimal kind of love which brings consolation in crises. But there is also a maximal kind of love which appears in times of crisis. Indeed, can only be known through crises. This is worth considering… Continue reading Love in a Time of Crisis because Crises are How Love Shows Up
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