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,… Continue reading Prisoner of Fortune, or Boethius on the inconstant
Posts
The Darkness That Is Light. Thoughts from an exhibition
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… Continue reading The Darkness That Is Light. Thoughts from an exhibition
Release of the audiobook of Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey!
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
“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… Continue reading Jesus. A difficult child – a Christmas thought
Dante’s Inferno, Part 2, dangers in spiritual seeking, with Rupert Sheldrake
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… Continue reading Dante’s Inferno, Part 2, dangers in spiritual seeking, with Rupert Sheldrake
Living In Awareness – a conversation with Rupert Spira & Mark Vernon
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… Continue reading Living In Awareness – a conversation with Rupert Spira & Mark Vernon
Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
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… Continue reading Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
Dante on living in riven times. A thought
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
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… Continue reading Angelology with Lorna Byrne. A conversation and inquiry with thoughts from Dante and Blake
How to talk about God: on why God is not an object
An audio-only version of the talk can be found on your podcast feed at my channel, Talks and Thoughts. Some talk about God too much. Others are said to be too embarrassed ever to do so. I think much of the pickle around God-talk arises from a fundamental, modern mistake. God is not an object… Continue reading How to talk about God: on why God is not an object