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This article was written for Christian Today in response to the publication of Angels: A Visible and Invisible History by Peter Stanford. Angels are popular. Many people believe in them and, for a supposedly secular age, a surprising number of individuals have seen them. They’re even present to about seven per cent of those who… Continue reading The presence of angels

Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our dialogues, on pilgrimage. Millions of people around the world make pilgrimages. In a supposedly secular Europe, the spiritual practice is booming too. We discuss the revelatory experiences that people have when engaging with shrines and megaliths, temples and springs in this way, and talk about… Continue reading Pilgrimage – a discussion

I’ve put together an introduction to Owen Barfield’s life and ideas, from the soul of words to the evolution of consciousness, running through these questions: Who was the last Inkling, Owen Barfield? Why did C.S. Lewis call Barfield his “anti-self”? So Barfield began to think that words have soul? What did he mean that words… Continue reading Owen Barfield – new FAQ intro

I hugely enjoyed this conversation on Radio 3’s, Free Thinking, particularly picking up the parallels between religious and secular icons with my fellow interlocutors. Much can be explained by remembering how religious icons exceed themselves – they’re material objects speaking of immaterial reality; in time conveying the eternal; seen but somehow seeing – and so… Continue reading Icons, religious and secular

Failing already at your New Year resolutions? I’ve a piece published here on why that could be a blessing. In short: willpower is a trap. It perpetuates the fight between the parts of you at odds with one another. But compassion and self-acceptance offer a more radical move, opening a path to transformation and liberty.… Continue reading Smile at New Year resolution slips

Imagine Christmas with Jesus born not in a stable but a cave. There are no angels and shepherds, kings and gifts, but instead the sheep in the fields, the birds in the air, and the clouds in the sky stand still, astonished. In fact, the whole earth is seen to pause for a moment. A… Continue reading Of caves, consciousness, Christmas and light

Angels Angelic beings seem to appear in liminal times and places, when individuals are in crisis or at the turn of the year and Christmas. In this talk, I explore how we might be more aware than we usually think of what our forebears routinely called angels. Think of Socrates, who was well known to… Continue reading Angels and subtle bodies

I have a series of talks on inner life and seeing with the eye of the soul called How To See Spiritually. Previous talks have looked at why spirituality is important, soul, wonder, interiority, scepticism, parables, ego, psi and virtues. Now I turn to imagination. Since the modern enlightenment, imagination has been downgraded to “mere… Continue reading Imagination and truth

A conversation about Philip Pullman’s brilliant His Dark Materials story in the light of Owen Barfield’s genius account of the evolution of consciousness. I talk with Wesley Schantz, who hosts the Bookwarm Games podcast, about the significance of daemons, dust and witches, about the links to developmental psychology and human experience, and about the divine… Continue reading On Philip Pullman and Owen Barfield